Right now, I typically cook three meals a day. This is a big change from being a working mom who typically worked right through lunch. For breakfast, I’m happy to start off my day with oatmeal or yogurt but my toddler seems to know what he likes and he likes to start his day off with fresh scrambled eggs. I think it’s more of the process of making scrambled eggs he enjoys, but, nevertheless I usually comply. Lunch is different everyday depending on what’s on the agenda. After lunch is nap time and I don’t want to spend all those precious minutes making a complicated recipe for myself. These Black Bean and Spinach Quesadillas are a recipe I developed to get a filling and healthy lunch made fast.
A few notes about this recipe
This is a simple recipe. It doesn’t have a long ingredient list or require much prep time. From my professional experience as a RD, I know people can get discouraged when they see a “healthy” recipe with an overwhelming number of ingredients and steps. While I do have more involved recipes on My Texas Kitchen, I also want to share easy recipes for the busy seasons of life. The mixture for these quesadillas takes less than 5 minutes to make and requires no chopping or dicing. I kept the seasonings basic. If you wanted to make these gourmet you could add additional seasonings or chop extra veggies and add to the mixture. This would be a great recipe to use up extra red bell pepper, poblano peppers, green chiles, diced onion or zucchini. If you add extra veggies just saute them with the spinach.
If you want to pack this for your lunch I would recommend placing bean filling and cheese in a divided container and then packing two tortillas. Assemble quesadillas at lunch and heat in the microwave. My favorite tortillas to use are the La Tortilla Factory Homestyle Blend which are a combination of wheat and corn. Feel free to use whatever tortillas you have on hand, however, corn tortillas do not hold up well with this recipe.
Easy Black Bean & Spinach Quesadillas
Ingredients
- 2 tsp. Olive Oil
- 2 cups Baby Spinach washed
- 1 15 oz. can Black Beans, drained and rinsed
- ½ tsp. Chili Powder
- ½ tsp. Cumin
- ¼ cup Salsa
- 8 6” tortillas
- ½ cup Shredded Mozzarella or Pepper Jack Cheese
Instructions
- Sautee’ spinach in olive oil over medium heat in large skillet for 1-2 minutes or until spinach is wilted. Add black beans, chili powder, cumin and salsa to spinach. Stir and cook until mixture is heated thoroughly (1-2 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside.
- To assemble quesadillas, place ¼ cup of bean mixture onto one tortilla. Top with 2 Tbsp. shredded cheese and additional tortilla. Heat on griddle until cheese is melted, flipping once.
Enjoy!
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