Grilled Vegan Chicken Quesadilla with dips on a wooden board

Today, I got an ultimate feel-good food for you: Vegan chicken quesadillas. They are simple to make and the ultimate comfort food to eat. Filled with melted vegan cheese, pulled oyster mushrooms, and fresh veggies, these plant-based quesadillas pack a flavour guaranteed to make your next dinner an experience! Especially when combined with delicious guacamole and tasty roasted sweet pepper salsa, you are in for a treat! So, stick along! I hope you enjoy my vegan quesadilla recipe!

What are Quesadillas:

Quesadillas are a traditional Mexican dish, and the name says it all: They are a tortilla filled with cheese, which translates to “quesa” in Spanish. The tortilla is grilled or fried until the cheese is all nice and melty. But cheese is not the only thing to be found in a quesadilla. There are countless different fillings possible that make quesadillas as delicious as they are. While they traditionally often feature meats, our mushroom-based quesadilla is a fantastic vegan spin on this classic dish.

Ingredients for Vegan Chicken Quesadillas:

Oyster mushrooms
Tortillas
Shallots
Garlic
Sweet peppers
Vegan cheese substitute
Smoked paprika powder
Paprika powder
Garlic powder
Cayenne pepper
Cumin
Soy sauce
Maple syrup

Firstly, let me walk you through what we need to get a delicious chicken-style filling for our quesadilla. As a basis, we will use oyster mushrooms. These mushrooms work fantastically to imitate the texture of pulled chicken when prepared accordingly. Aside from tasting amazing, they are also high in antioxidants and beta-glucans. To give them a fantastic chicken-like flavour, we need to introduce some spices to this dish. Smoked paprika, paprika powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, cumin, soy sauce, and maple syrup will give the mushrooms a delicious flavour. Also, we will need shallots, garlic, sweet peppers, and a melting vegan cheese substitute. I am using a grated cheese substitute and a cheddar-style vegan cheese. I am combining them for a nice mix of flavours, but you can use any melting cheese substitute of your choice. This cashew cream cheese is also a fantastic option!

Lastly, let’s talk about tortillas. Traditionally, quesadillas are mostly made with corn tortillas. My favourites are tortillas made from a wheat and corn mix, which I am using today.

How to make Vegan Chicken Quesadillas:

Preparing the Ingredients

Firstly, we need to get our vegan chicken together. Take the oyster mushrooms, and pull them into strips using a fork. Don’t waste the stems of the mushrooms, which can be pulled too. Next, dice the shallots, and mince the garlic. Lastly, take the seeds out of the sweet pepper, and chop the sweet pepper into small pieces.

Making the Vegan Chicken Quesadilla Filling

Once the ingredients are prepared, heat some oil in your pan. Add the shallot, and sauté for a minute. Add the mushrooms, and sear on high heat with all the spices. Next, add the soy sauce and maple syrup as well. Keep tossing the ingredients to prevent burning. The mushrooms will dramatically shrink in size and lose liquid. You will want to cook the mushrooms until as much liquid has evaporated as possible, and they have a firm texture with fragrant toasty spice aromas. Add the sweet pepper when you are five minutes shy of finishing cooking the mushrooms. I like them to remain fresh for contrast. Transfer the quesadilla filling to a bowl and allow it to rest briefly.

Finished Pulled Mushrooms for vegan mushroom quesadillas filling

Assembling the Quesadilla:

To assemble the quesadillas, you first need to decide if you want to make half quesadillas or full quesadillas, which would be two whole tortillas with filling between them. For the evening snack size, I like to make half quesadillas. If you make half quesadillas, spread your fillings a bit thinner, as you will fold them together. Anyways, generously sprinkle your cheese substitutes on the tortilla and add your vegan chicken filling. Usually, quesadillas are seared without additional oil, making them less greasy to the touch and not burning as quickly. With my electric contact grill, they turn out great with a bit of oil and paprika powder, giving them an irresistible look. If you heat them on the stove, I would first try without oil and covering your pan with lit to help the cheese substitute melt. Enjoy them while fresh and hot!

Grilled Vegan Chicken Quesadilla with dips top angle

For serving, I can recommend dipping them with guacamole, roasted sweet pepper salsa, or a vegan yoghurt dip. This recipe would have gotten too long explaining how I made them, but you can check out the linked recipes if you want to know. For the vegan yoghurt dip, I simply added a minced clove of garlic, some salt and pepper, and a touch of olive oil to the soy yoghurt of my choice.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think of these vegan chicken quesadillas!

Some more Recipe Inspirations:

Perhaps you’d also like my vegan fusion tacos. They are packed with flavour!
Check out these pulled jackfruit burritos.
This avocado toast with olive oil, za’atar and pickles is a simple recipe to enjoy.
This Mexican-inspired sweet potato black bean stew is so hearty.
These Parasol schnitzel are a super special mushroom recipe.
Mushroom risotto is a classic for a reason.