Caramelized Onion, Spinach, and Avocado Quesadillas

An avocado a day keeps the doctor away. Okay, that statement may need some fact-checking, but I do eat a whole avocado most days — so I’ve made it my motto as well as my M.O. Adding avocado to a hot, melty quesadilla may seem strange, but let me assure you: it just works. For these Caramelized Onion, Spinach, and Avocado Quesadillas, you simply add the sliced avocado at the very end of the cooking process so it doesn’t get overly hot or mushy.

Caramelized onions definitely take their fair share of time to cook, but they’re so worth it. They add rich, deep flavor to a meal, which makes you feel fancy — even though you secretly know they’re a cinch to make. The onions cook down quite a bit, so I use two for this recipe. To caramelize them, start by adding 3 to 4 tablespoons of oil to a skillet, add the onions, and sauté over medium heat. The onions will sweat, then turn translucent, and then finally brown into caramelized goodness. The best thing about caramelized onions is that they freeze well! So you can make a big batch when you have time, keep ’em in the freezer, and use them whenever you need an emergency quesadilla.

Those sweet caramelized onions paired with creamy avocado make a delicious quesadilla on their own, but we also invite spinach, because: vitamins. Since everything on the inside of this quesadilla is soft, I like to make the tortilla crispy to add contrast. I cook the quesadilla on medium-low heat for a few minutes so that the tortilla crisps up nicely, but doesn’t burn. Who would have thought all you need for a fancy, flavorful quesadilla is onion, spinach, and avocado?

Enjoy this crispy/creamy quesadilla with your favorite salsa or cilantro pesto.

This post was originally published on May 12, 2014.

Go to Caramelized Onion, Spinach, and Avocado Quesadillas recipe