I definitely need a better picture.

Looking for something new for lunch? I have the perfect thing!  This lunch has to be baked, so it’s a great fall-winter recipe. I found it at Simply Recipes awhile back—picture cred to Simply Recipes, too—but it’s a mighty small version of my Quesadilla Pie. I usually make at least four layers. Unfortunately all my pictures disappeared when my entire website melted down about a year or so ago. I am trying to recreate everything but it’s going to take a minute.

Finding this recipe was a paradigm shift in lunches around here. For me, Quesadilla Pie is not so much a recipe, but a method. It’s like learning to make an omelette, or a sandwich, and realizing there are no limits to what you can do—every omelette could be different, every sandwich has so many options, and every Quesadilla Pie will be unsimilar to the last!

The only two ingredients needed for this pie are cheese and flour tortillas. Everything else is up to you—what you like, and what you have on hand! Oh! You’ll need a pie plate, too, and your tortillas should fit nicely into your pie plate.

Sometimes my Quesadilla Pie has three layers, other times five layers. Some times it’s all veggie and sometimes it’s a carnivore’s delight—usually it’s a mixture of both 🙂 It’s always cheese-y though.

Quesadilla Pie

INGREDIENTS

• 4 or 5 or 6 plate sized flour tortillas, 9-10″ in diameter, depending on how many layers you want your pie to have. Tortillas should fit snuggly into your pie plate
• A bit of butter—not optional
• Approximately ½ pound grated cheese—one kind, or a mixture based on what you have on hand
  • Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, and Mozzarella are really good choices
  • Cheddar is not ideal unless mixed with another cheese. A lot of cheddar results in an oily, soggy dish.
  • I usually blend a variety of cheeses, whatever I have in the refrigerator. I always use some cheddar along with some Mozzarella or string cheese—I like it’s “stringy” qualities.  

• Choice of filling ingredients: Each layer should have cheese plus one, maybe two, filling    ingredients. Try not to make each layer the same.
  • Leftover cooked, cubed or shredded chicken, beef/steak, pork, sausage, or bacon
  • Canned beans (refried or whole black beans, pinto beans, pinquitos)
  • Fresh or frozen corn
  • Tomatoes, juiced, seeded and chopped and drained on a paper towel, otherwise they make the tortilla soggy.
  • Any leftover cooked veggies, diced
  • Diced, cooked onions
  • Sliced green onions
  • Sliced and drained olives
  • Cooked zucchini
  • Cooked mushrooms—if not sautéed first, they make the tortilla soggy
  • Spinach—fresh spinach is fine
  • Cooked or canned green chiles
  • A sprinkle of cumin or chili powder on one or two layers for a little extra heat

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Butter the bottom and sides of a pie plate or quiche dish approximately the same size as your tortillas. Do not skip the butter—it helps release your pie after baking.
3. Place one tortilla on the bottom of the pie dish. Sprinkle some shredded cheese over the tortilla. Use a generous portion of cheese. Add your chosen filling ingredient to this layer. If you want, sprinkle some cumin or chili powder on top for a spicier pie
4. Repeat: tortilla, generous sprinkling of cheese, a chosen filling ingredient, and a sprinkle of optional cumin or chili powder. Make three or four layers, all stacked on top of each other.
5. Butter the top of the final tortilla and place on top of your “pie”, buttered side up.
6. Cover the dish with aluminum foil.
7. Place pie plate in preheated 350° oven for 20 minutes.
8. Remove foil and increase the heat to 375° and cook for another 5-10 minutes, or until the top tortilla is lightly browned and cheese is bubbly.
9. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
10. Cut into slices—this pie is finger food, once it cools off a bit! It’s actually a bit difficult to eat with just a fork 🙂
11. Serves 2, 3, or 4 persons, depending on appetites and possible side dishes. We just eat, as-is, for lunch, like a sandwich.
12. Serve with hot sauce, salsa, sour cream/crema, or guacamole if desired.

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today!  I hope you and this recipe for Quesadilla Pie enjoy many happy years together!