Transform leftover chicken into a 5-star meal in under 20 minutes with these leftover chicken quesadillas. They’re crispy, cheesy, and pack the right amount of flavor and texture!

Don’t you just hate it when you have leftover chicken in the fridge that looks unappetizing and you have no clue what to do with it? I know, I do too! I always end up with a bowl of leftover chicken every other day and I can never get myself to throw it out because it’s such a waste to throw out perfectly fine chicken.

One of my favorite things to do is wrap up leftover chicken in tortillas and cook them in different ways with different spices. Tortillas cook very fast and are also great for taking to work or eating as a snack. This is one of my favorite quick and easy recipes because it literally takes minutes to put together and makes a great lunch, dinner, or snack.

What you Will Need:

All you need for this recipe are a few basic ingredients and my guess is that you already have them in your fridge right now.

You’re going to need one cup of cooked shredded chicken. Leftover rotisserie chicken usually works best but you can also grilled a chicken breast and shred it or use any other type of shredded leftover chicken.

  • Cooked shredded cooked chicken
  • Shredded Cheese, Any melting cheese will do
  • Sour-cream or cream cheese
  • Garlic powder (optional)
  • Chopped cilantro
  • Flour Tortillas

I love using flour tortillas for a ton of things. I always have a few bags in my freezer so I NEVER run out of them. I get all different sizes for tacos, fajita, burritos, and what not but never actually end up using the right size for the food I’m making. I usually switch it up a bit in order to make smaller or bigger servings.

How to Make Quesadillas with Leftover Chicken

Making these quesadillas is as simple as combing all the ingredients in a bowl until fully combined.

Next spread some of the mixture onto a flour tortilla and cook for 2-3 minutes per side or until crispy.

You can do this by using only one tortilla and filling half to it and folding it in half. Or by laying one tortilla flat on the pan and filling the entire tortilla and then covering with another tortilla. Be sure to cook it until it’s super crispy and all the cheese on the inside is melted through.

Quesadilla Dipping Sauces

Serve with your favorite dipping sauce or my favorite sauces:

More Delicious Quesadillas to Try

4.55 from 37 votes

Quick and Easy Leftover Chicken Quesadillas

By: Layla
Transform leftover chicken into a 5-star meal in under 20 minutes with these leftover chicken quesadillas. They're crispy, cheesy, and pack the right amount of flavor and texture!
Prep5 minutes
Cook10 minutes
Total15 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the sour-cream, shredded chicken, cheese, garlic powder, cilantro, salt and pepper.Mix thoroughly until well combined.
  • Heat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray over medium heat. Carefully place one tortilla on the pan, top with half the mixture and spread out evenly, top with another tortilla. Cook for 2 minutes then flip with a spatula and cook the other side for 2 minutes or until light golden and the cheese is melted. Repeat for 2nd quesadilla.

  • Remove from heat and cut into 8 slices. Serve with salsa or guacamole.

Equipment

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving (1/2 quesadilla), Calories: 256kcal, Carbohydrates: 2g, Protein: 21g, Fat: 18g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Cholesterol: 85mg, Sodium: 268mg, Potassium: 183mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 563IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 226mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dinner, lunch
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chicken, leftover, quesadillas
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43 Comments

  1. My kids loved it! I had sour cream in my fridge that was mixed with ranch seasoning so I used that and added a bit of bbq sauce!

  2. I made this tonight with a few variations and it was delicious!!
    I sautéed diced onion and garlic in a lil OV then I added the shredded chicken. Once that heated up I added the cheese and then when that melted I added the sour cream and salt.
    I did not use garlic powder or cilantro. It turned out delicious!! Will be making these again!!

  3. Easy, delicious recipe for left over chicken! I tried Flour-Cauliflower tortillas, they were awesome. Also, threw in 1/2 red habenero pepper. Soooo, spicy but SOOOO good. First-timer, will make again in near future! Thanks for sharing

  4. Super delicious, I did use the sour cream, also added chopped green chiles and sautéed onions

  5. Delicious. Thanks for helping me use my leftover grilled chicken in such a good way.

  6. Delicious. Thanks for helping me use my leftover grilled chicken. Made exactly like recipe. Topped with salsa and avocado.

  7. Very good, easy!! Will make again. I used cheddar cheese., but next time will use mexican blend shredded cheese.

  8. perfect way to use up leftover chicken – no leftovers for this meal.
    I didn’t have fresh cilantro on hand, so just left it out and it still worked great.