Chili Quesadillas in the Oven

For an easy and most delicious dinner, try these oven baked chili quesadillas. Baking in the oven on a sheet pan makes this Mexican dinner so much easier. The baked quesadillas are filled with the delicious flavor combination of savory chili and cheddar cheese. This simple meal is sure to be a big hit with your family and it’s done in about 30 minutes!

You might also like these keto Philly cheesesteak quesadillas.

We have quesadillas often in my house. My family loves them along with many other Mexican dishes. Today I wanted to make my homemade chili recipe (because they love it) and use that to fill the tortillas along with lots of cheese and see how that tastes. Plus I made them in the oven and it was so much easier than on the stove.

Well we all LOVED these oven baked chili quesadillas! The thick and rich chili adds so much flavor and then top it with cheese and brown in the oven made this a new meal for the dinner rotation.

I even double the batch of chili sometimes and freeze it so I can make this dinner in even less time. But it also is great on chili dogs if you family likes those. All in all you can make this easy dinner or lunch in about 30 minutes!

Recipe ingredients I used.

The simple ingredients I used for the chili filling is olive oil, ground beef, chunky salsa, black beans, tomato paste and a Mexican seasoning blend I made. This blend is combination of salt, black pepper, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and cumin.

Once you make the chili, you also need large flour tortillas and sharp cheddar cheese to make the quesadillas. You can also use a Mexican or taco cheese blend or Monterey Jack cheese. 

If you want to add more heat to the chili, you can add hot pepper flakes, cayenne pepper or hot sauce. There is enough spice from the seasonings but if you really like heat go for it.

How to make chili for the filling.

This chili is much like my Mom’s turkey chili but I use beef instead of ground beef and I made it a bit thicker so it wouldn’t be messy when you eat it.

Step 1: Get out a large skillet and heat to medium high heat. Add the olive oil and when it’s hot, add the ground beef and spices. Turn the heat down to medium heat.

Step 2: Brown the meat then add in the salsa and tomato paste, mix well and the add in the drained black bean. Mix well and cook for 5 minutes so the flavors meld and the black beans cook a bit.

Step 3: Take the chili off the stove and let cool a bit.

Now that the chili is done you can make and bake the quesadillas in the oven. Note the chili is good for topping hot dogs as well. I always make extra and even freeze it for when he wants to make a chili dog.

How to make chili quesadillas in the oven

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Get out two baking sheets. Spray one with nonstick cooking spray and the bottom of the other baking sheet.
2. Place the large tortillas as shown below so that half of each is hanging over the sides. Sprinkle half of the shredded cheese between all 4 tortillas.
3. Next add a layer of chili and top that with the rest of the cheese. Fold over the tortillas. Spray the top of the tortillas with cooking spray.
4. Add the other cooking tray on top. You are going to use this as a weight and to get the tops of the quesadillas golden brown. That’s why you spray the bottom of the second baking tray.
5. Bake for 10 minutes total. Flip at 6 minutes and place the tray back on and place back in the oven for 4 minutes. Let cool before handling.
6. Place them on a cutting board and using a pizza cutter or sharp knife or cut into 2-4 pieces. You can serve these with some sour cream, extra salsa or guacamole if you wish.

Store leftovers in an airtight container. As I mentioned above the chili itself is good for freezing so you can make these anytime in about 15 minutes.

Please scroll down for the printable recipe card.

More easy and delicious Mexican dinners to try.

My family loves Mexican food so we eat it quite often. I have quite a few keto Mexican recipes as well be these are just easy family recipes I think you might like.

• easy chicken enchiladas
• Mexican meatloaf
• Mexican street corn salad or black bean salad
• chicken burrito casserole
• veggie bean burritos
• Instant Pot burrito lasagna
• poblano corn soup
• spicy Mexican red lentils and chunky beef chili without beans
• chili macaroni skillet

Well this is something I just put together but it was a big hit with my family. I think this recipe would also be good for chili cheese fries or chili cheese nachos so give that a try too. 

I hope you enjoy this chili cheese quesadilla recipe as much as we did. And make quesadillas in the oven is the way to go if you have to make a few of them. Give it a try. Enjoy!