Last month I went on a mini break with friends and we hired a gorgeous swanky house right on the beach at Sapphire Beach (Coffs Harbour) on the New South Wales North Coast. And my darling friends, they insisted that I mustn’t do much cooking, that I must relax. Well! Isn’t it lucky that I did get a bit organised with a shopping list and meal plan. Because in the entire 4 nights / 5 days we were there, we only went out for ONE MEAL. In fact, other than that brief 2 hour outing, we only left the house for a short 20 minute stroll on the beach before we declared that the pool and our sun lounges were beckoning us back (along with the frozen mango daiquiris we had planned to start making the minute the clock ticked over to 12 o’clock).
. There were only 4 of us, and yet making Quesadillas for lunch was still a pain. As I stood over the stove cooking them one by one, popping them in the oven and praying they would stay crispy until I finished, I vowed to find a way to make a big batch in one go. So I figured how to make crispy Chicken Quesadillas in the oven. 🙂
It wasn’t as easy as just wacking stuffed folded tortillas in the oven. I found a few little tricks made quite a difference: I stuffed these Baked Chicken Quesadillas with the makings of Chicken Fajitas! Seasoned chicken, onion and capsicum / bell peppers. Plus cheese of course. Mustn’t forget the cheese!
There’s no denying that they don’t come out quite as shatteringly crispy as you can make them on the stove by pressing down firmly on the quesadillas while they cook. But these are still crispy – crispy enough!
Also the other thing I observed is that the tortilla starts to wrinkle after around 20 minutes. Here they are after I had been faffing around with the camera for around 30 minutes – you can see how different they look to when they are fresh out of the oven (photo above). Small compromises for the sheer convenience of of being able to make a big batch in one go!
I hope you find this Oven Baked Chicken Quesadillas recipe handy! I’ve always felt like quesadillas are like pancakes – only make them in select circumstances, when there aren’t too any people to feed. But now you can make quesadillas for a crowd – even with two trays so you can make 8 at the same time – or more if you have a large oven! – Nagi x PS You can see how crispy they are in the video (below recipe) when I am stacking the quesadillas. 🙂
More things stuffed between crispy flatbreads!
Things stuffed inside crispy flatbreads are always a good thing! I’ve done a few over the years:
Gozleme – Crispy Turkish olive oil flatbreads stuffed with spinach and feta Crispy Ham and Cheese Pockets Quesadillas Aloo Paratha And though not stuffed, this ever popular Easy Soft Flatbreads has to make the list (use as naan for curries, Greek Gyros, Doner Kebab, Chicken Shawarma – the options are extensive!)
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Oven Baked Chicken Quesadillas recipe video!
LIFE OF DOZER
Usually when I go away, I send Dozer to a Golden Retriever boarder’s place where he rules the house with other Goldies. However on this occasion, he was injured (#DefectDog) so I sent him to my mother’s place where he would be free of temptations to rumble with other Goldies. My mother (and actually, my whole family) get sick pleasure in torturing me when I go away and they don’t send me Dozer updates unless I plead multiple times. Finally, she sent me ONE photo – this one. Humph. His usual boarder is so much better. I get daily reports and tons of photos – without any begging!!!
