This Ground Turkey Quesadilla is filled with shredded cheese, sautéed peppers & onions, black beans and fajita seasoning! It's made on a sheet pan and baked in the oven, saving you loads of hands-on cooking time!
A traditional quesadilla is made on an oiled griddle and each quesadilla is individually grilled on both sides. Even though this is a delicious way to make a quesadilla, it can take a lot of hands-on cooking time. It can take even longer to make your quesadillas this way if you have a small cooking surface and several quesadillas to make.
When you swap out the griddle for a sheet pan, you can make all of your quesadillas at the same time! You end up with a cheesy ground turkey quesadilla that is baked in the oven and cut into squares. I promise you that no flavor is sacrificed when making a quesadilla this way!
Jump to:
Recipe Highlights
- Excellent game day/super bowl party appetizer!
- Minimal prep work
- Endless substitutions
- Feeds a crowd!
Ingredients needed
- Ground turkey - I always purchase lean ground turkey that is about 85-93% lean. Not fat-free or 98-99% fat free lean ground turkey. Fat adds flavor and moisture to ground turkey. When you remove too much of the fat you risk having dry and bland meat.
- Tortillas - This recipe calls for 10" flour tortillas. If you can't find 10 inch tortillas, then go for something a little larger or as close to 10" as you can get.
- Bell peppers & sliced yellow onion
- Mexican blend shredded cheese - I used Cabot brand cheese for this recipe. I find the flavor of their cheeses to be superior to many other brands. They also obtain their milk from farms in NY and VT which makes them a somewhat local brand for me.
- Black beans - If you don't have black beans then you can definitely substitute in pinto beans.
- Fajita seasoning - Use whatever fajita seasoning blend that you and your family like! Hannaford is a grocery store that is local to me and I shop at often. I love most of their Nature's Promise store brand products so that's what you'll often see me using in my recipes.
- Olive oil
- Optional add-ons: Sliced avocado, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, chopped green onions, jalapeno peppers, diced cilantro
Kitchen equipment needed
- Two 13x18 rimmed baking sheets (half pans) - One baking sheet will be used to hold the sheet pan quesadilla and the second baking sheet will be placed on top of the quesadilla to weigh it down while it is cooking.
- Sauté pan
- Cutting board & chopping knife
- Measuring cups & spoons
What is a quesadilla?
A quesadilla is a Mexican dish that is made with cheese, meat, vegetables, seasoning and either a flour or corn tortilla. The ingredients are placed on one half of the open tortilla shell. The shell is then folded over and placed on a hot griddle and grilled until the cheese has melted and the outside of the tortilla is crispy.
How to make
Making ground turkey quesadillas on a sheet pan is simple and saves so much time! First, you will want to layer your tortillas on a rimmed baking sheet (shown in photos below). Then start layering your ingredients! For this recipe, I started with the Mexican blend shredded cheese. Then I added the ground turkey mixture with peppers, onions and black beans. After you've added your ingredients, place a single tortilla in the middle of your toppings. Then simply fold the overhanging edges of the tortillas towards the center of the sheet pan and over top of the tortilla placed in the center of your pan. That's it! Now your quesadilla goes in the oven and the oven does the rest of the work.
What to serve with quesadillas
Do you like to eat your quesadillas with salsa or Pico de Gallo? Or are you more of an avocado and guacamole person? Maybe you prefer to keep it simple and only add a dollop of sour cream! I'll take one of each of those with some sliced jalapeno peppers, diced cilantro and chopped green onions too!
Aside from garnishes and dips, quesadillas pair well with Spanish rice, chicken tortilla soup and refried beans. This Ground Turkey Quesadilla would also go well with my Turkey Taco Meatloaf.
Easy quesadilla variations
Quesadillas are incredibly versatile and can be served with a variety of different fillings. Some of the different ways I have made quesadilla recipes include plain shredded cheddar cheese, shredded cheddar cheese and chicken, Mediterranean style, buffalo chicken and cheddar cheese, breakfast style with eggs and ham and totally vegetarian.
Pin me!
📖 Recipe
Ground Turkey Quesadilla {Sheet Pan}
This Ground Turkey Quesadilla is filled with shredded cheese, sautéed peppers & onions, black beans and fajita seasoning! It's made on a sheet pan and baked in the oven, saving you loads of hands-on cooking time!
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6-12 servings 1x
Ingredients
- (8) 10" flour tortillas
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 4 large bell peppers - sliced
- 1 yellow onion - sliced
- (1) 15 ounce can black beans - drained and rinsed
- 4 tablespoons fajita seasoning blend
- 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
- 3 tablespoons olive oil - divided
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425°F. Grease 1 rimmed baked sheet with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Layer 7 tortillas on the rimmed baking sheet as shown in the photos in the blog post above. The 6 tortillas overlapping on the sides of the baking sheet will be placed so that half the tortilla is on the pan and the other half of the tortilla is hanging over the side of the pan. You will have two overlapping tortillas on each long end of the sheet pan, and 1 tortilla on each short end of the sheet pan. You will then place your seventh tortilla in the center of the sheet pan so that the entire pan is now covered in overlapping tortilla shells. Set the pan aside.
- In a large sauté pan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the sliced peppers and onions and sauté over medium-low heat until soft.
- Remove the peppers and onions from the pan and add the ground turkey to the pan. Fully cook the ground turkey, breaking up the pieces of ground meat with a spatula while it is cooking. Cook the ground turkey over medium-low heat until no pink remains.
- Reduce the heat to low, and add the cooked peppers and onions back to the pan with the ground turkey. Add the drained and rinsed black beans and the fajita seasoning and mix to combine. Cook the mixture for an additional 3 minutes and then remove from the heat.
- Now you will layer your ingredients onto the sheet pan lined with tortillas. Start with the Mexican blend cheddar cheese. Evenly sprinkle the shredded cheddar cheese onto the tortillas that are on the sheet pan. Next, add an even layer of the pepper, onion, ground turkey and black bean mixture on top of the shredded Mexican cheese.
- Take your 8th tortilla shell and place it in the center of the sheet pan, on top of your filling ingredients. Now fold the 7 remaining tortillas towards the center of the sheet pan, overlapping them as you go. See the photos in the blog post above for additional clarity on how to fold over the tortillas.
- Lightly brush 1 tablespoon of olive oil onto the tops of the tortilla shells.
- Place your second rimmed baked sheet on top of the sheet pan quesadilla to weigh it down. Place both sheet pans in the oven (with the sheet pan holding the quesadilla on the bottom and the empty sheet pan on the top). Bake the Ground Turkey Quesadilla for 20 minutes. Remove the top baking sheet and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting. Cut the quesadilla into 12 equal squares. Top the quesadilla with your favorite garnishes and enjoy!
Notes
- This recipe yields 12 cut squares. A serving size is 1-2 squares, depending on how hungry you are!
- See the photos in the blog post above for further clarification on how to layer, overlap and fold the tortilla shells.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: lunch, dinner
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: Mexican
Keywords: ground turkey quesadilla
Other recipes you might like
Recipes featuring ground turkey are a staple at Sugar & Snap Peas! Here are some of my favorites that I'm sure you'll love too.
- Pink Pasta Sauce - Tomato Cream Sauce with Ground Turkey
- Teriyaki Turkey, Veggie and Rice Bowl
- Turkey Taco Meatloaf with Salsa
- Pesto Turkey Meatballs with Ricotta Cheese
- Healthy Turkey Burgers with Spinach
Frequently Asked Questions
The best way to reheat this type of a quesadilla is on the stove-top. This will keep your tortilla crispy and you will be able to carefully monitor it while it is reheating to make sure all the filling doesn't fall out.
If your quesadilla is soggy then perhaps you let it cool down for too long before eating it. You may also have left it in an area with a lot of moisture in the air. I would simply reheat it on the stove-top in an oiled frying pan to crisp it back up.
Typically an American-style quesadilla will contain a cheddar, Monterey jack or pepper jack cheese. A more authentic cheese to use would be Oaxaca cheese. Oaxaca cheese is a white, semi-hard cheese that originated from Mexico. It is similar in texture to mozzarella or string cheese.
Leave a Reply