These Easy Cheesy Vegan Quesadillas with Homemade Cheese are absolutely delicious! Made with healthy plant-based whole foods and no store-bought processed cheese and are oil-free! These have black beans, corn, green onions and lettuce for delicious flavor and texture!
CHEESY VEGAN QUESADILLAS
Ever since posting my Best Vegan Mozzarella Cheese, which has totally exploded with remakes and 5 star reviews from you guys, I’ve been wanting to try them in vegan quesadillas. Well, they are incredible!! I mean, I can’t even put into words how delicious this vegan quesadillas recipe is.
By the way, you gotta make that cheese if you haven’t. Multiple reviews stating it’s the best vegan cheese they’ve tried, better than store-bought and can’t believe how much it tastes like cheese. Most vegan quesadilla recipes call for store-bought cheese, but not these. Homemade is not only so much healthier, but oh man, it tastes a thousand times better!
Let me tell how much my hubby and daughter loved these. My daughter actually let out a few moans, haha. I did make her one without the jalapenos though, since she can’t handle the heat yet.
For these cheesy vegan quesadillas, I went with ingredients I love and thought would go great with the cheese. Black beans for good plant-based protein, corn for some sweetness, bell peppers for color and texture, green onions for delicious fresh flavor, black olives for a salty, briny bite and pickled jalapenos for a spicy kick! I carefully chose each ingredient so they would all meld together and compliment each other really well. This way, the quesadillas are well rounded in flavor.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
(full amounts on recipe card below)
Each ingredient plays a key role in rounding out flavors and texture. Tangy, salty, slightly sweet from the corn, texture from the bell peppers, a kick from the jalapenos, freshness from the green onions and of course a super cheesy flavor!
- My Best Vegan Mozzarella recipe: OR you could also make it with my Easy Vegan Mexican Cheese. Both recipes only take about 10 minutes, so you really can’t go wrong. I’m sure the Mexican cheese is amazing in them, too. But I really loved this mozzarella in them.
- Black beans: Good protein and texture.
- Bell peppers: Use any you like. I love the look of colorful quesadillas, so I went with the tricolor bell peppers that you can buy prechopped in containers. Makes it super easy.
- Sweet corn: The subtle sweetness compliments the other flavors.
- Black olives: Gives a wonderful salty, briny bite.
- Pickled jalapenos: To me, these are a must for quesadillas here. Now, if your kids are sensitive to heat, omit or buy the ones that are mild. But I love pickled jalapenos not only because they provide a lovely kick, but the salty, vinegar brine flavor they bring is dynamic in these!
- Green onions: Wonderful fresh flavor they bring to the quesadillas. I’m pretty much obsessed with green onions.
- Large tortillas: 8-10 inches
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN QUESADILLAS
Step 1: First, make a batch of my homemade mozzarella cheese. Since the cheese is saucy, you will bake it briefly first. This firms it up just a bit so that it is a better texture for quesadillas and won’t ooze out all over the place. Line a 6 inch round cake pan with parchment paper (as pictured) pressing it along the sides of the pan to fit flat. Pour the blended up cheese sauce in the pan and bake at 350°F for 10 minutes. Let it cool and firm up before using.
Step 2: To make the quesadillas, spread a generous thick layer of the cheese on one tortilla right up close to the edge, leaving a 1/4 inch gap.
Step 3: Add all of the toppings. Spread a thin layer of cheese on another tortilla and place it on top.
Step 4: Cook the quesadilla over medium heat until well browned and flip and brown the other side.
Cool a few minutes to firm up and slice and serve!
MORE VEGAN MAIN DISHES
- Cheesy Mexican Tortilla Bake
- 30 Minute Vegan Mexican Chili
- Easy Vegan Zucchini Fritters
- 30 Minute Vegan Chickpea Curry
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Cheesy Vegan Quesadillas (Oil-free!)
Ingredients
- 1 batch my Homemade Mozzarella Cheese
- 1 15 oz can black beans, drained & rinsed
- sweet corn
- bell peppers, I used tricolor blend
- sliced black olives
- diced pickled jalapenos
- sliced fresh green onions
- 4 large tortillas (8-10 inches)
NOTE
- Each ingredient I selected plays a key role in rounding out flavors and texture. Tangy, salty, slightly sweet from the corn, texture from the bell peppers, a kick from the jalapenos, freshness from the green onions and of course a super cheesy flavor! This combo is incredible.
Instructions
- First make a batch of my Best Vegan Mozzarella Cheese.
- Since the cheese is saucy, you will bake it briefly first. This firms it up just a bit so that it is a better texture for quesadillas and won't ooze out all over the place. I tried it first without baking it and it was very messy. MUCH better after baking it. Line a 6 inch round cake pan (or a similar size baking dish) with parchment paper (as pictured) pressing it along the sides of the pan to fit flat. Pour the blended up cheese sauce in the pan and bake at 350°F for 10 minutes. Let it cool and firm up before using.
- To make the quesadillas, spread a generous thick layer of the cheese on one tortilla right up close to the edge, leaving a 1/4 inch gap.
- Depending on the size of tortillas used, your topping amounts will vary. Refer to photo for visual, but I just sprinkled an even layer of the black beans first, then some corn, bell peppers, black olives, jalapenos, green onions.
- Spread a thin layer of cheese on another tortilla and place it on top of the toppings. Press it down.
- Heat up a large nonstick pan over medium heat. I used my crepe pan. Once hot, carefully place the quesadilla on the pan. Heat 3-4 minutes or until golden brown. Use a large spatula to quickly flip it over and brown the other side.
- Remove from the pan and press the edges together. The heat and cheese will help seal it some. Let sit 2-4 minutes to cool a bit and firm up before slicing.
My hubby and I loved, loved .loved this dish. It will be a regular for our weekly meals. Thank you, Brandi
So glad to hear that Barbara!
I’m so excited to make these tomorrow ! I did just make a batch of the Alfredo sauce (which is amazing OMG!) Do you think this sauce would work well too? I just made a bit batch and want to use it in the 4 days before its not good. Im loving your easy recipes ! Thank you so much.
Hi Abigail! So glad you loved the alfredo! I do not think, though, that the alfredo will work well in a quesadilla, it’s just too runny. You can always freeze leftovers if you want with what you don’t use up! Some of my readers use the alfredo sauce for alfredo pizza, or a white lasagna!
Wow! Theses were wonderful! The “cheese” is incredible. Definitely tie go to recipe
That mozzarella reminds me of laughing cow cheese except it’s melting. WOW!! Question tho, instead of baking in the oven to harden it up a bit for quesadilla, how bout heating it in a pot?
So, so good! The vegan mozzarella is an absolute game-changer. It amazes me that these ingredients can come together to make “cheese”! I love the veggie combo in the quesadillas, and that I can have my plant-based Mexican food while the rest of my family has actual cheese and meat…and I don’t feel like I’m missing out. Great recipe!
The mozz cheese recipe is a game changer. The possibilities with this are endless. Quesadillas were one of my favorite things when I was eating dairy and no matter what I’ve tried, I haven’t been able to find anything to replace the cheese. This mozz recipe is pretty dang good. I’ve made 4 quesadillas, and a pizza so far and I’m so impressed. Thank you for all your hard work developing this recipe.
Yay, this is awesome to hear, thanks Jen for the review!