Sweet Potato Black Bean Quesadillas {Vegetarian}

 These sweet potato black bean quesadillas are super easy to prepare and can be made in less than 30 minutes with only six simple ingredients! Made with sweet potato and black beans, it makes for the ultimate nutrient-packed meal! {Vegetarian & can be made gluten-free}

Sweet Potato Black Bean Quesadillas

I’m so excited to introduce you to one of my new favourite go-to meals that can be made in a pinch.

Vegetarian Sweet Potato Black Bean quesadillas.

That’s right. That black bean sweet potato combo is tough to beat and then you add some taco seasoning, cilantro and cheese? And it’s a match made in heaven!

While I love experimenting with new recipes of all different kinds, my absolute favourite types of recipes are the no-brainer ones that require minimal ingredients, are simple to prepare and get the stamp of approval from the whole family. You’ll probably be seeing more and more of those types of recipes on the blog these days, because with a crazy schedule, this mama ain’t got no time to waste.

No more putzin’ around in this kitchen!

We are all about getting down to business. With these quesadillas, it’s totally possible!

Reasons to love these Vegetarian Quesadillas

Simple ingredients: Who doesn’t love a recipe with only 6 ingredients?! Seriously. Especially when those ingredients are ones that you probably already have on hand! In my opinion, those are the BEST types of recipes.

Healthy: With the black beans, sweet potato, fresh herbs and cheese, these babies are oozing with fibre, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, iron and calcium! Tough to go wrong with these nutrient-dense ingredients!

Family-friendly: Our whole family loves these quesadillas, including our toddler! They’re low maintenance and super easy to serve. Not to mention everyone can customize their own quesadilla with their favourite toppings!

Easy: How many recipe can be prepared in less than 25 minutes? Not many. If you prepare the sweet potato ahead of time, it can help make the process even faster because all you have to do is assemble and bake!

How to Cook the Sweet Potato

In order to prepare this recipe, you’ll need to cook up a medium-sized sweet potato. This can be achieved in a couple of different ways. You can either bake the potato or prepare it in the microwave.

Oven method:

Pierce the sweet potato with a fork. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and place the sweet potato on a baking sheet. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper or foil to prevent it from sticking and making a mess on the pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until easily pierced with fork.

Microwave method:

Place sweet potato on a microwave safe plate. Pierce with a fork. Microwave for 5 minutes, flipping halfway through, or until easily pierced with fork.

How to Make Vegetarian Quesadillas

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, mash the cooked sweet potato. Add in the black beans, taco seasoning, and cilantro and mix until combined.

Lie a large tortilla on a flat surface and evenly spread the sweet potato mixture over half of the wrap. Sprinkle with a quarter of the cheese.

Fold in half and place on baking sheet. Repeat for all four tortillas.

Place baking sheet in oven and bake for 20 minutes. Allow to sit for 3-5 minutes before serving.

Storage Instructions

Once cooked, the quesadillas can be stored in the fridge for up to two days. That being said, these quesadillas are generally best when eaten straight out of the oven for the ultimate crispiness.

How to reheat: If you do wish to reheat them after refrigerating, you can place in the oven set at 325 F for 10-15 minutes or pop in the microwave for a minute or so.

Can these quesadillas be made in advance?

Rather than making the quesadillas in advance and reheating them, I recommend preparing the filling for the quesadillas and storing it in the fridge until you’re ready to bake and serve the quesadillas. As mentioned above they’re best when served fresh!

You can prepare the filling and store it in the fridge for up to four days. Then simply pack the filling into the tortillas and bake!

It makes for a super easy dinner that can be on the table within 25 minutes!

Can these quesadillas be frozen?

You can freeze the quesadillas before cooking if you’d like to prepare them in advance. Simply place the filling in each tortilla and wrap tightly with saran wrap. Place in a large Ziploc bag, making sure that you squeeze out all of the air.

When ready to reheat, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the saran wrap and place the frozen quesadillas on a baking sheet. Bake them for 25-30 minutes.

Toppings for Quesadillas

Similar to tacos, quesadillas can be taken to the next level by adding lots of fun and flavourful toppings!

You can jazz up these quesadillas with the following toppings:

• Homemade or store-bought guacamole or avocado creme
• Salsa
• Pico De Gallo
• Plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
• Extra sprinkle of fresh cilantro
• Or some of this Grilled Corn, Tomato & Avocado Salad served on the side!

Recipe tips

• Use whole-grain tortillas rather than corn tortillas. They are much more pliable and easier to fold over the sweet potato black bean filling.
• Opt for a lower sodium taco seasoning. I like to prepare a big batch of my own taco seasoning to have on hand to control sodium levels and other additives. We use this stuff all the time! If you’re in a pinch, you can use a reduced-sodium store-bought taco seasoning.
• Use freshly grated mozzarella cheese rather than pre-shredded cheese. Pre-shredded cheese contains preservatives like potato starch and natamycin, which are added to help prevent the shreds from clumping together in the bag. That also means they don’t melt together as well when cooking. Freshly grated cheese, on the other hand, lacks those additives so for ooey gooey melted cheese, opt for freshly grated.
• Serve quesadillas fresh from oven. Wherever possible, it’s always best if you can serve the quesadillas right after baking. They just don’t have that same crispy factor when reheated (although they are still tasty)!
• Top with all the things. Although these quesadillas are tasty on their own, we love serving ours with guacamole, salsa and Greek yogurt to infuse even more flavour into this simple meal!

More black bean recipes:

• Spicy Black Bean Burger Recipe
• Black Bean Burrito Bowl
• Black Bean Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Avocado Creme
• Vegan 3-Bean Chili
• Vegan Black Bean Tostadas

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