Skip the cereal—make this recipe for cheesy vegetarian Make-Ahead Breakfast Quesadillas, easily reheated to make a filling, on-the-go weekday morning meal.
Quesadillas for Breakfast?!
I am a little ashamed to admit that I never had breakfast quesadillas until about two years ago. Sure, I had enjoyed many a cheesy quesadilla filled with spinach or other veggies for lunch and dinner. But for breakfast, and with eggs? This was a whole new concept to me!
I’ve made a few versions over the course of these last two years, but this one may be my favorite. Red onion and corn are sautéed in a skillet along with a few spices like cumin and smoked paprika, and then mixed together with scrambled eggs and black beans. A little bit of cheese and salsa adds the perfect finishing touch.
Freezer Prep
One of the main reasons that these are my favorite is that they are freezer-friendly. I am all for any breakfast that can be made in advance and just pulled out whenever you need it—whether it's for breakfast proper, or a quick weeknight dinner.
I like to set up a sort of assembly line when making a batch, which makes the whole process nice and easy. After they are all assembled, wrap them up tightly in plastic wrap and then place them in a single layer on a baking sheet or some other flat surface that will fit in your freezer. Once they are firm, you can transfer them (in the plastic wrap) to a plastic freezer bag or other airtight container to keep in your freezer.
If you are making these ahead to freeze, let the egg and veggie mixture cool down to room temperature before you start assembling. This allows any steam to dissipate before everything's wrapped up, which will help prevent sogginess. You can either cook the quesadillas in a skillet ahead of time and reheat in the microwave later—or skip the skillet step, freeze, then cook in the skillet when you're ready to heat them later.
Enjoy whenever you would like, and with whatever toppings are your favorites! Personally, I love them with a good helping of sliced avocado and a bit of extra salsa.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil divided
- 1 small red onion diced
- ½ cup corn kernels fresh or frozen
- ½ tsp salt divided
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 8 large eggs
- 1 tbspmilk
- pinch of black pepper
- 1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 10 large flour tortillas
- 1 ½ cups cheese of choice shredded
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp chunky-style salsa
- optional toppings such as plain Greek yogurt chunky salsa, and/or sliced avocado
Instructions
- Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until it starts to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the corn, ¼ teaspoon salt, cumin, paprika and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper. Set the skillet back over medium heat. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. When hot, add the egg mixture. Cook, stirring frequently, until scrambled, 3–4 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- If the bowl of veggies has any excess juices, drain them off. Add the veggies back to the skillet with the scrambled eggs. Add black beans and mix to combine. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if desired.
- Place a tortilla on your work surface. Spoon about 1/10th of the egg mixture on half of a tortilla, leaving a small border around the edge. Top with 1/10th of the cheese and 1 tablespoon salsa. Fold the empty half of the tortilla over the top of the filling to form a semicircle. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
- Wipe out the skillet that you used for the eggs and set over medium-high heat. When hot, mist lightly with an oil mister or cooking spray. Place an assembled quesadilla in the pan and cook for about 5–6 minutes, until both sides are browned and the cheese is melted, flipping once halfway through. Repeat this process with the remaining quesadillas.
- Cut into triangles. Serve with optional toppings if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on 15 September 2014.
Tina muir says
What a wonderful idea! This is so smart, and could be either breakfast quesadillas or for dinner? LOVE it! Please join us in our meatless monday linkup today, these would be so perfect! Especially as they are freezer friendly, they can be made in a batch for on the go recipes 🙂
Ashley Jennings says
Thanks Tina! They're definitely great to have on hand for those days when you don't feel like cooking!
Rasa @ This Fox Cooks says
I have never though of making quesadillas ahead of time and freezing them - love this! I usually use corn tortillas when making quesadillas. I'm not sure if that will work with this recipe, but I'm totally going to give it a try. Thanks for the amazing idea!
Ashley Jennings says
I think they should work just fine! Thanks Rasa!
Liz @ Floating Kitchen says
What a great idea! I am always racing around the house in the morning and don't usually manage to eat a proper breakfast. These are perfect!
Ashley Jennings says
Same! I need something fast for weekday mornings! Thanks Liz!
Kare @ Kitchen Treaty says
I've *never* had breakfast quesadillas, so I'm doubly ashamed! 🙂 But that's going to change really soon. Love that these are freezer-friendly, too.
Ashley Jennings says
Ha! Well now I feel much better that I'm not alone 🙂
[email protected] says
Such a good idea!! Making these for breakfast tomorrow!
Ashley Jennings says
Hope you enjoy Ami!
Sarah @ Making Thyme for Health says
I'm all about the Mexican food any time of day! Shoot, I'd eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. On separate days, of course. They look delicious and I love all of the healthy protein!
Ashley Jennings says
Me too - mexican food is always good in my opinion! Thanks Sarah!
Melissa says
So I made these last night and had my first one today.
Here are my thoughts on it:
Delicious. This really is so good. I added cilantro and avocado to it. Additionally, I used 2% colby jack cheese and instead of black beans used chickpeas (mostly because I forgot to buy black beans).
I wasn't too sure on the size, but I got something I felt was large enough for breakfast, but I did have a little egg mixture left over. I could have probably made 2 more of it.
I did not heat my tortillas before putting it together, so this morning I popped it in a toaster oven. My biggest issue though was that the center stayed frozen for so long. I left it in the toaster oven for about 7 minutes then had to put it in the microwave for another 30 seconds. Even then, the middle was a little cold.
I'm thinking next time, I'll pull it out to defrost a little before work and cut it in half while heating it up. Although, I guess I could have just read your reheating instructions. I just personally am not fond of microwaves.
Ashley Jennings says
Glad to hear you enjoyed them Melissa! Good to know on the toaster oven reheating - we don't have one so I didn't get to try it that way!
Melissa says
Okay, so an update...
I've abandoned the toaster oven completely. I've admitted defeat and totally switched to microwave. So much better! I just have to cut it in half then microwave for 2 minutes.
It's more of a taco than a quesadilla though. I will absolutely be making these again with variations too. I'd probably try to make it spicier.
Ashley Jennings says
Thanks for the update Melissa! I think these would be fantastic with some more spice!
Anna (Hidden Ponies) says
We eat quesadillas ALL the time, for every meal - can't believe I've never thought of freezing them to speed things up on busy days! Such a great idea, Ashley, love this!
Ashley Jennings says
Thanks Anna! It makes meal time so easy and fast!
Gwen @SimplyHealthyFamily says
Sold! Gonna get right on this!
Joanne says
I have been obsessed with breakfast burritos lately, so quesadillas are an obvious alternative! Love that these are make-ahead so I barely have to turn on my stove in the morning.
Ashley Jennings says
Exactly! The less I have to think in the morning the better! 🙂
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
I am one of those people who never has enough time in the morning so these make ahead quesadillas are definitely a recipe that will be frequenting my kitchen table. Thanks for the awesome idea!
Ashley Jennings says
Thanks Thalia! Anything that makes breakfast easier in the mornings makes me happy!
Aileen says
This was such a great recipe! I ended up using two small corn tortillas instead of one big flour one because I prefer corn. They freeze well, and just 2 minutes in the microwave was perfect. I am obsessed with your recipes and was so stoked to find this make-ahead recipe. Thanks so much!
Ashley Jennings says
So happy to hear this Aileen! I need to try them myself with corn tortillas just to switch it up!
Unical says
This is great idea for breakfast, I never thought about quesadillas that way. I also love recipes that are freezer friendly because so many times they save my life 😉
Ashley Jennings says
Thank you! I agree - I love being able to pull something out of the freezer on busy days!
Lazer Falcon says
Is this on MyFitnessPal, or do you have nutritional facts?
Ashley Jennings says
We don’t calculate calorie or nutritional counts but you can plug it in here to get a general idea! https://www.caloriecount.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
Veenas says
A Perfect Breakfast to enjoy in Saturday Weekend Mornings. Thank You for Sharing this Nice Recipe.
Marlena bruce says
That was too good