The quesadilla recipe you need in your life: tender chicken, avocado, juicy tomatoes, fresh basil, and gooey mozzarella. This Chicken Quesadilla with Avocado is simple and ready in a flash!
When I need a meal on the table quickly, quesadillas are my go-to. We love making healthy chicken quesadillas, spinach feta breakfast quesadillas, and even sweet potato black bean quesadillas. But this is the one I crave the most!
The Caprese flavor combination is classic and one I crave year-round: juicy tomatoes, fresh basil, mozzarella, and balsamic vinaigrette or reduction. Pairing it with avocado and chicken and surrounding it with a crispy tortilla is just a good life choice, plain and simple!
Reasons you’ll ♡ avocado caprese chicken quesadillas
- Classic flavors paired with avocado is so incredibly tasty!
- They are ready in under 15 minutes for an easy dinner
- it's a great way to use up rotisserie or pre-cooked chicken
Ingredients you'll need
- Chicken- I used shredded rotisserie chicken for this recipe. You can use leftover baked chicken breasts or chicken thighs.
- Tomatoes- use your favorite tomato. Pictured here are cherry tomatoes (halved), but roma tomatoes would also work well.
- Mozzarella- use your favorite mozzarella cheese. I'm using pizza mozzarella because it melts really well, but fresh mozzarella is more traditional in caprese salad and could also work for these quesadillas.
- Basil- fresh basil brings the necessary sweet and herbacious flavors to the quesadilla. Dried basil won't work the same and I urge you to try to find fresh basil
- Avocado- go for a good, ripe avocado, and slice into thin slices. See How to Cut an Avocado
- Tortillas- I use a large flour tortilla; corn could potentially work well, too.
- Balsamic reduction- sometimes called balsamic glaze, you should be able to find it in the salad dressing aisle. If not, make your own 2-ingredient balsamic reduction!
Best Chicken Quesadillas
I like to cook two quesadillas at a time, but if you are new to cooking quesadillas, start with one.
- Melt butter in a large skillet. Add a large tortilla and sprinkle or scatter mozzarella, basil leaves, tomato halves, shredded chicken, and avocado slices over half of the tortilla. Season with salt and pepper.
- Press the other side of the tortilla over, and firmly press onto the fillings.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes per side until lightly golden brown. Drizzle with balsamic reduction, if desired and enjoy!
Variations
This isn't your basic chicken quesadilla recipe with just melty cheese and chicken. It is an elevated twist on a classic that is still super easy. If you'd like to try different variations of this recipe, these are some of my favorite options:
- Chicken, avocado, tomatoes, mushrooms, Monterey jack cheese. Served with sour cream.
- Chicken, pepper-jack, cheddar cheese, guacamole and salsa. Serve with chopped green onions and hot sauce.
- Chicken, avocado, tomatoes, basil, oregano, bell peppers, served with dips of choice such as pesto.
- Chicken, shredded cheese, chopped veggies, a sprinkle of chili powder and cumin. Serve with pico de Gallo.
Recipe video
Watch the video below to see exactly how I prepped this avocado caprese chicken quesadillas. It’s so easy! You can find more of my recipe videos on my YouTube channel, or on Facebook.
More 30 minute meals
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Avocado Caprese Chicken Quesadillas
The quesadilla recipe you need in your life: chicken avocado caprese quesadillas! With creamy avocado, juicy tomatoes, fresh basil, and gooey mozzarella all finished up with a drizzle of balsamic reduction, they are ready in just 30 minutes. Course LunchCuisine Italian Prep Time 15 minutes minutesCook Time 15 minutes minutesTotal Time 30 minutes minutes Servings 4 Calories 613kcal Author Denise BustardIngredients
Quesadillas
- 4 large tortillas
- 16 slices mozzarella cheese
- 1 bunch fresh basil (approx 10 leaves per quesadilla)
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes (halved - approx 8-10 tomatoes per quesadilla)
- 1 ½ cups rotisserie chicken (shredded)
- salt and pepper
- 2 avocados (sliced - half avocado per quesadilla)
To serve
- balsamic reduction
Instructions
- Spray a large non-stick frying pan with oil and heat over medium heat.
- While pan is heating, assemble quesadillas as shown in photos above, by scattering mozarella, basil leaves, tomato halves, chicken and avocado slices over half of the tortilla. Season with salt and pepper.
- Transfer to frying pan, press the empty side firmly onto the filled side. Cook until golden brown, 2-4 minutes.
- Gently flip the quesadilla and cook until the other side is golden brown, another 2 or so minutes.
- Serve immediately, and don't forget to drizzle generously with the balsamic drizzle!
