These Mediterranean quesadillas are the perfect quick lunch or dinner that’s ready in less than 20 minutes. They are stuffed with some delicious Mediterranean vegetables with some melted feta, mozzarella, spinach, tomatoes, red peppers, and basil pesto.
Why You Should Try These Mediterranean Quesadillas
- Quick and easy: you can get this ready and served within 15 minutes. You can cook the first batch of vegetables in a few minutes, then it’s just a matter of preparing and cooking the wrap to melt the cheese. If you want to save a few extra minutes, you can even use roasted red peppers.
- Healthy and full of veggies: getting leafy greens into your diet is a great health kick and the spinach works really well here. The red peppers and tomatoes also add some extra portions and as long as you don’t overdo the cheese, you can get some extra protein whilst keeping the meal plan.
- Easy to up any leftover vegetables: we love using a combination of tomatoes, red peppers, and spinach in this recipe, but quesadillas are an excellent recipe to have when you just need to use vegetables that will be going off soon. Broccoli, mushrooms, beans, etc are all delightfully flavorsome with some extra cheese.
- Mediterranean meets Mexican: aren’t we all big fans of Mexican cuisine? Why not combine the two! Mexican recipes (like this Chicken Enchilada Recipe) always hit the mark, but you can get some extra health benefits and tastes from combining the two.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Wraps: use wholemeal tortillas if you want the extra health benefits and are looking to follow a Mediterranean diet closely, but white tortillas work great too. You can even use some pita bread and stuff the vegetables and cheese in if you don’t have tortillas on hand.
- Spinach: sauté the spinach first as it won’t get cooked properly within the tortilla. Normally it’s best to season spinach during the sautéeing process, but since feta is a salty cheese, it doesn’t need it within the quesadilla.
- Bell pepper: these add a little crunch to the quesadilla. We’ve used a red bell pepper but use what you have already in the fridge.
- Sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil: sun-dried tomatoes really give it that Mediterranean flavor, but feel free to use any tomatoes you have on hand. Cherry tomatoes add a nice sweet flavor and plum tomatoes work great as well.
- Basil pesto: we’ve used store-bought pesto in the recipe purely to speed things up. But you should definitely try to make your own if you want to add even more flavor to them.
- Feta + mozzarella cheese: mozzarella is important in holding everything together and is much leaner cheese. Feta works really well with mozzarella but you can swap it for a soft cheese like goat’s cheese if needed.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1 – Saute the vegetables: heat 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Dice the peppers and add to the pan along with the baby spinach with some seasoning. Cook for a few minutes and regularly toss until the spinach is wilted. Transfer the peppers and spinach to a plate and turn off the heat.
Step 2 – Pack the tortillas: Add a spoonful of basil pesto to the wrap, chop the tomatoes and add the tomatoes, spinach, peppers, shredded mozzarella, and crumbled feta to one side of the wrap. Fold the wrap the half and press the edges together.
Step 3 – Grill the tortillas: Heat the pan again over medium heat. Drizzle or brush a little extra virgin olive oil on either side of the wrap. Cook for about 2 minutes on either side until they brown and the cheese inside has melted. Apply pressure with the back of a spatula throughout.
Step 4 – Serve: cut into small wedges and serve with some Greek yogurt or salad.
Cooking Tips
- Only use a little salt as feta is quite a salty cheese
- Feel free to adjust the amounts of the ingredients based on what you enjoy and the size of your wrap. There’s less cheese used in this recipe since that makes for a healthier quesadilla, but some extra feta will also taste great.
- Press down the top of the folded wrap with a spatula when cooking. This will help the melted cheese stick to the side of the tortilla, which is helpful when you flip the wrap, as some of the vegetables may come loose.
- If you are using sun-dried tomatoes, you can brush or spoon a bit of the olive oil there onto the wraps instead.
- Watch for the mozzarella to melt and wrap to crisp and gain color on both sides and flip soon after so that the wrap doesn’t burn. 2 minutes on each side is usually sufficient.
FAQs
How to Store Leftovers?
- Storing in fridge: once cooked these quesadillas will last for up to the 3 days in the refrigerator when stored properly. Store in an airtight container or plastic wrap.
- Storing in freezer: store for up to 3 months in an airtight container or plastic wrap.
- To reheat: either cook a little olive oil on medium heat and reheat the wrap for a few minutes until warm or preheat an oven to 350F/180C and reheat for a few mins. Microwaving the quesadilla will make it go soggy, so only use this method as a last resort.
Do You Need Both Feta and Mozzarella?
The mozzarella holds everything together while the feta adds some delightful extra flavor. If you can only use one cheese, then opt for the mozzarella.
How Do I Make it Vegan?
The only things you’ll need to change are the cheeses. You’ll likely need to buy vegan mozzarella online as it’s unlikely they will have it in local stores. Vegan feta may also be difficult to find to substitute, in which case, you can just use the vegan mozzarella.
How Do I Make it Gluten-Free?
All ingredients are gluten-free except for the tortillas, which are flour tortillas. The best substitution would be corn tortillas, which are naturally gluten-free and contain no wheat.
You may also be able to find gluten-free tortillas in your local grocery store.
Mediterranean Quesadillas
These Mediterranean quesadillas are a healthier spin on your standard quesadillas. They're full of veggies and ready in less than 20 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 handfuls of baby spinach
- 1 red pepper, diced
- ¼ cup (60g) feta cheese
- ½ cup shredded (110g) mozzarella cheese
- 2 large tortilla wraps
- 12 cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 2 tbsp basil pesto
- Pinch of sea/kosher salt
Instructions
- Saute the vegetables: heat 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Dice the peppers and add to the pan along with the baby spinach with some seasoning. Cook for a few minutes and regularly toss until the spinach is wilted. Transfer the peppers and spinach to a plate and turn off the heat.
- Pack the tortillas: Add a spoonful of basil pesto to the wrap, chop the tomatoes and add the tomatoes, spinach, peppers, shredded mozzarella, and crumbled feta to one side of the wrap. Fold the wrap the half and press the edges together.
- Grill the tortillas: Heat the pan again over medium heat. Drizzle or brush a little extra virgin olive oil on either side of the wrap. Cook for about 2 minutes on either side until they brown and the cheese inside has melted. Apply pressure with the back of a spatula throughout.
- Serve: cut into small wedges and serve with some Greek yogurt or salad.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Yield
2Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 563Total Fat 32gSaturated Fat 10gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 19gCholesterol 38mgSodium 739mgCarbohydrates 52gFiber 6gSugar 6gProtein 19g
Want More Delicious, Mediterranean Style Recipes?
If you’ve cooked this recipe, be sure to leave a comment or review! But if you’re looking for more:
- Find more Mediterranean-style recipes on our website.
- Try our free 7 day Mediterranean diet plan with 20 recipes.
- Get our 4-week Mediterranean diet plan, Med in 28 plan, that makes following the Mediterranean diet a breeze!