Vegan cheese. Not a big fan unless it’s on a pizza that I order at a restaurant where my only option is pizza. I tried it once on a quesadilla and didn’t like the consistency and I figured quesadillas just wouldn’t be a thing I ate. Then I discovered a dairy-free cashew cheese recipe that I love and made a few quesadillas with it.
I’ll be honest: The cashew cheese quesadillas were good, but they were dry. I craved a gooey cheese replacement and wasn’t rewarded with a delicious option until I figured out how to make a Spicy Nacho Cashew Cheese Sauce. Woah baby is it delicious. I first used it to make Ground Turkey Nachos With Cashew Cheese Sauce and the sauce was such a success on nachos, that I knew the next thing to try with the nacho cashew cheese sauce was Chicken And Cheese Quesadillas.
We already had tortillas, dairy-free sour cream, and guacamole on hand, so I hit the grocery store on the way home from Creative Mornings Sacramento and picked up some chicken and fresh black bean and corn salsa.
I didn’t feel like cooking any chicken, so I totally cheated. I hit the salad bar at the store and filled up my contained with nothing but chicken. This was actually brilliant. We used the chicken in several meals, it was cheap, and I didn’t have to cook it. I’m actually kind of pissed I didn’t figure out this option sooner!
Making The Chicken, Black Bean, And Corn Salsa Quesadillas With Cashew Cheese
These Chicken, Black Bean, And Corn Salsa Quesadillas With Cashew Cheese were so easy to make that we went from, “It’s lunch time” to “It’s time to eat” in under 10 minutes flat.
I plugged in the panini machine to get it preheated — as with my waffle iron, I love using small kitchen appliances any time I can instead of the oven, especially in the warmer months when I don’t want to heat up the house any more than it already is.
I had already made the Spicy Nacho Cashew Cheese Sauce for my Ground Turkey Nachos, so I just had to scoop some into a bowl, add a bit of hot water, and stir it up to turn it back into a sauce.
I cut the tortillas in half and spread the Nacho Cashew Cheese over both tortilla halves, sprinkled it with diced chicken, and using a slotted spoon added the black bean and corn salsa. (The slotted spoon helped minimize the amount of salsa liquid.) I then covered it with another Nacho Cashew Cheese Sauce covered tortilla and popped it right into the panini machine to get all warm and toasty — and to get those gorgeous grill marks.
To serve, I topped the Chicken, Black Bean, And Corn Salsa Quesadillas With Cashew Cheese with dairy-free sour cream, guacamole, a bit more of the salsa, and some sliced black olives. Not only was this a delicious and easy lunch, but it definitely wowed my husband too!
Next up: Trying the Spicy Nacho Cashew Cheese on Dairy-Free Black Bean Cheese Burgers, Cashew Cheese Queso Dip, and in Dairy-Free Nacho Cheese Breakfast Burritos.
Chicken, Black Bean, And Corn Salsa Quesadillas With Cashew Cheese
Skip the plain, old boring cheese quesadillas and wow your family with dairy-free, nacho cashew cheese quesadillas.
Ingredients
- Flour tortillas
- Diced chicken breast
- Black bean and corn salsa
- Nacho Cashew Cheese Sauce
- Guacamole
- Sour cream, dairy-free
- Black olives, sliced
Instructions
- Preheat panini machine. Cut tortillas in half. Spread Nacho Cashew Cheese Sauce over both halves of each tortilla. Sprinkle one half of each tortilla with chicken. Using a slotted spoon add the black bean and corn salsa. Cover with the remaining tortilla halves, sandwiching all toppings in the middle.
- Place the quesadilla in the panini machine and cook until tortillas get dark brown grill marks and the cashew cheese starts to bubble. Remove from panini machine and cut into quarters.
- To serve, top each quesadilla with guacamole, dairy-free sour cream, sliced black olives, and more black bean and corn salsa.
Notes:
Use this Nacho Cashew Cheese Sauce recipe.
We use our panini machine to cook quesadillas. If you don't have one, use a skillet or griddle, or you cook them under the oven broiler — just be sure to watch the quesadillas carefully so they don't burn.
