Grilled Veggie Quesadilla with Black Beans

Turn your typical cheese quesadilla up a notch into a filling, healthy, delicious, protein-packed meal! This Grilled Veggie Quesadilla with Black Beans takes only 20 minutes, is gluten-free, vegan, quick and easy to make, and a family-favorite! 

For many of you, at some point or another in your life, quesadillas were a go-to meal (I’m talking from personal experience here). Whether it was as simple as plain (vegan) cheese, or if you got a little fancy and added some filling, it’s an ideal easy comfort food.

But let’s face it…I can’t always stuff myself with plain cheese quesadillas. Especially not when it turns into one of my go-to weeknight meals.

Making sure my family is covered when it comes to getting enough nutrients throughout the day and having mostly wholesome meals is second nature to me. So…

How To Turn Quesadillas into a complete wholesome Meal without sacrificing Taste, Comfort, and Difficulty?

You make this Grilled Veggie Quesadilla with Black Beans!

One of my favorite simple veggie quesadilla combinations is tomatoes, cilantro, green onions, fresh jalapenos, and vegan cheese. But other than this combo, I’m not a huge fan of adding large raw uncooked veggies in my quesadilla.

That’s where the grilled veggies enter the picture. And if you’re thinking this step takes too long, I promise it doesn’t, especially with the use of my chop wizard. But even if you don’t have one, you’ll have all your veggies chopped by the time the oil heats in the pan.

Chopped veggies & high heat for a quick grill, garlic powder, and some salt. Throw in the black beans and you have yourself a delicious filling packed with both veggies and protein!

And what’s a vegan quesadilla recipe without something gooey and sticky to hold it together?

Vegan Cheese For Quesadillas

Unlike my avocado hummus quesadilla recipe, this one makes use of vegan shredded cheese.

There are some not-so-great vegan cheeses out there, but lucky for you, I’ve tried almost every off-the-shelf brand of vegan cheese out there. Different brands work well for different dishes, so here are my top recommendations for use in quesadillas (and no…this is not a sponsored post)!

Follow Your Heart & Field Roast Chao. Both brands slices are a staple in our house. They all taste great and melt well. Perfect for things like grilled cheese, nachos, and quesadillas! Provolone, american, and pepper jack when it comes to Follow Your Heart. If you can find the pepper jack slices, these are my absolute favorite for Mexican food.

I typically just tear the slices into pieces and layer it into a quesadilla, but you can easily use a knife to make thin slices/shreds if you prefer.

Daiya. For those of you non-Daiya fans, I totally get it.

But…have you tried their new Cutting Board Collection mozzarella that just came out this past year?? No funky taste or smell, melt well, and great with Italian, nachos, and pizza! I know what you’re thinking…mozzarella doesn’t go in quesadillas. But I still like it as a second option in quesadillas if I can’t get my  hands on any of the slices above.

I can do an entire post on vegan cheeses, the different brands out there, and which ones go well with which cuisines and dishes. It’s on my long list of posts for you guys, but that’s for another day. For now, I’ll leave you with these three brands to use in quesadillas.

How To Cook The Perfect Veggie Quesadilla

1. Chop your veggies (I use my chop wizard for even and fast chopping)
2. Saute the veggies on high heat.
3. Add rinsed canned black beans.
4. Season mixture with salt & garlic powder.
5. Fill your quesadillas with a vegan cheese & veggie/bean mixture (see photograph below)
6. Fold over and grill on both sides till crispy!

You can use any type of tortilla…flour or corn tortilla (for a gluten-free option). I always serve it with some guac or fresh avocado (for some healthy fats…and because avocados are amazing of course) on the side and your favorite salsa.

20 minutes and you’re done!

✔ Veggies
✔ Protein
✔ Good fats
✔ Filling healthy vegan meal
✔ Family happy

= Mom Happy!

So what are you waiting for? Summer is almost here…it’s time to whip up those easy, delicious, quick meals you can enjoy outside in your backyard with your family! Use up those veggies and make this vegan black bean quesadilla recipe!

Looking for more delicious vegan Quesadilla recipes?

• Grilled Crispy Eggplant & Spinach Quesadillas
• Avocado Hummus Quesadilla with Sweet Jalapeno Cream Sauce
• Squash Blossom, Roasted Poblano, & Cherry Tomato Quesadillas
• Roasted Poblano & Portobello Mushroom Quesadillas

If you do, or if you like this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and use the rating field! You can also tag me on Instagram with any re-makes, @vegetariangastronomy so I don’t miss it, as I love sharing them on Re-Make Fridays! Or you can help me spread the word about my recipes on Pinterest and Facebook!

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4.75 from 4 votes

Grilled Veggie Quesadilla with Black Beans

This Grilled Veggie Quesadilla with Black Beans takes only 25 minutes, is gluten-free, vegan, quick and easy to make, and a family-favorite! 

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time25 minutes mins

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Gluten-Free, Mexican, Vegan

Keyword: easy quesadilla, quick mexican, veggie quesadillas

Servings: 20 small quesadillas (see notes)

Calories: 86kcal

Author: Anjali Lalani

INGREDIENTS

• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 onion , white or red
• 1 zucchini
• 1/2 cup corn , frozen
• 15 oz. black bans , from can, rinsed and washed
• 1 cup fresh spinach , chopped
• 1.5 teasp garlic powder
• 1 teasp salt
• jalapeno (optional)
• 20 corn tortillas , or tortilla of choice
• vegan cheese , see notes below for recommendations
• vegan butter or oil , for grilling

US Customary - Metric

INSTRUCTIONS

To Prepare the Filling:

• Chop the bell peppers, onions, and zucchini into small pieces. I love using my chopper...makes it quick and all the same size. 
• Heat a small amount of cooking oil in a non-stick pan.
• Add the chopped bell peppers, onion, zucchini, and frozen corn and saute on medium-high heat. The small size and high heat will grill the veggies quickly. Mix frequently or add oil to avoid sticking to the pan. 
• In the meantime, drain and rinse the can of black beans.
• Once the veggies are tender, grilled, and slightly charred (about 5-10 minutes), add in the chopped spinach, salt, and garlic powder. Mix to combine and cook for another 1-2 minutes until the fresh spinach cooks in. Turn off the heat and set aside. 

To Prepare The Quesadillas:

• Heat a non-stick pan on medium heat.
• Add tortilla to the heated pan. I like to butter/oil both sides and slightly grill before filling but feel free to omit the oil or butter.
• Working with 1/2 of the tortilla, layer on a small amount of vegan cheese, a single layer of grilled veggies, and another layer of vegan cheese (you can do a single layer of vegan cheese if you prefer, but I like to do a little on both sides so the quesadilla doesn't fall apart).
• Fold the tortilla in half and grill on both sides on low-medium heat until crispy and the cheese is fully melted through.
• Serve with some fresh avocado or guacamole, and your favorite salsa! 

NOTES

Tortilla - We love using corn tortilla (gluten-free option), but these quesadillas would go well with flour tortilla, or any other you prefer.

 

Vegan Cheese - For these quesadillas, I recommend using some type of vegan cheese to keep it together. There are many vegan cheese brands out there, but the following two are ones I use and recommend specifically for quesadillas. They melt and taste great.

• Follow Your Heart & Field Roast Chao. Both brands slices are a staple in our house. They all taste great and melt well. If you can find the pepper jack slices, these are my absolute favorite for Mexican food, with American or Provolone in a close second. Just tear the slices into pieces and layer it into a quesadilla, but you can easily use a knife to make thin slices/shreds if you prefer.
• Daiya. Their new Cutting Board Collection mozzarella that just came out this past year! No funky taste or smell, melt well, and great with Italian, nachos, and pizza! I know what you’re thinking…mozzarella doesn’t go in quesadillas. But I still like it as a second option in quesadillas if I can’t get my  hands on any of the slices above.

 

Make-Ahead Tip - Prepare the veggies/bean filling mixture ahead of time and prepare quesadillas when ready to serve. 

 

Serving Size - Calculated using corn tortillas, each one folded in half to make one quesadilla.

NUTRITION

Calories: 86kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 2g | Sodium: 186mg | Potassium: 124mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 380IU | Vitamin C: 15.2mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 0.6mg

Did you Make this Recipe ?Mention @VegetarianGastronomy or tag #vegetariangastronomy!