Broccoli Cheese Quesadilla with Chipotle Sauce.

Broccoli Cheese Quesadilla with Chipotle Sauce…super simple, super healthy. Skillet charred broccoli and summer squash, layered between tortillas, topped with a sprinkling of cheese and cooked until golden crisp. Serve with a homemade spicy, tangy chipotle sesame sauce, cooling yogurt, and of course, some avocado too. You’ll have the most delicious quesadillas! Best for when you’re craving Mexican but want to keep things easy and vegetable-filled.

If there’s one thing I really know how to make, it’s a quesadilla. Ok well, I think at this point in time I actually know how to make a lot of things. But I’ve really perfected the art of the quesadilla.

A little back story for ya. When I was 15 or 16, I was working my way through high school, taking college courses for double the credit. Yes, it was a bit of an alternative schooling program. I wanted nothing more than to be completely done with high school, it just was not for me.

It was at this time that I really started to develop a love for cooking. Oddly it’s my brothers that have a lot to do with this. They’d come home from snowboarding around 4 o’clock (yes, they did some different forms of school as well), and they’d be starving. Since my family never ate dinner before 9 pm, I’d happily make them a little “snack”. Which, you guessed it, was often a quesadilla.

We’d always have chicken, rice, and cheese in our fridge, so this is what I’d use to make their quesadillas. But I did something a little extra to make them actually flavorful.

You ready?

I added a very generous sprinkle of taco seasoning…and not the homemade kind back then. They loved it, loved it so much they’d request these almost daily. To this day, every time Kai and Red are in Colorado, I make them quesadillas. Of course, my quesadillas making skills have improved a little since those early days. But the point is, I have a thing for making dang good quesadillas.

Today’s is a new favorite of mine because it’s all vegetable-filled, cheesy, and incorporates possibly the best sauce I’ve ever made.

And they are SO EASY too!

So what inspired this recipe? Pretty much just that fact that I needed to use up the broccoli in the fridge and my all-time favorite combo is broccoli and cheese. So, I don’t know, somehow that turned into a quesadilla and here we are!

Good news for us all, because even though this recipe is simple…ish, it’s still very flavorful and so good.

Here’s what you’ll need for this Broccoli Cheese Quesadilla:

-broccoli (I pretty much always have broccoli in my fridge)

-zucchini or summer squash (or use a combo of both)

-shallots (my obsession these days)

-cheese (I love a combo of sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack)

-fresh cilantro…or basil (use what you love everyone!)

-tortillas (these Siete Cassava Flour Tortillas are my favorite)

The key here is to char the broccoli with some olive oil in a super hot skillet. Raw broccoli is fine and all, but let’s be real, charred broccoli is where it’s at. Once the broccoli has charred, toss in the zucchini, and shallots, then simply cook until the zucchini is tender and browning. Then add your herbs and your filling is done.

While your veggies are sautéing, make the chipotle sauce. This sauce, while it’s not an absolute must, is beyond good. It’s made mostly with canned chipotle peppers in adobo, a touch of olive oil, apple cider vinegar, honey – to balance the heat, and toasted sesame seeds.

It’s not thick like salsa, but instead, it’s more like an actual hot sauce. The sesame seeds give it a little texture and nutty flavor, while the peppers add smokiness and heat.

Really, it’s addicting, but you all know me. I love sauce.

Once the vegetables have cooked, and the sauce is ready, layer everything up in the tortillas, pan-fry, and that’s it.

I like to serve with creamy greek yogurt to cool things off, some avocado, and plenty of fresh lime juice. Oh, and extra herbs for some extra flavor.

You could certainly add a fruit or a tomato-based salsa, but it’s not really needed. These are perfect as is. I have the feeling we will all be making these on a regular basis. What’s really great is that you can use up all that produce you might have sitting in your fridge at the moment. Yes, I’m talking about that stalk of broccoli you don’t know what to do with. Or the zucchini you bought way too much of thinking you’d be fancy and make this ravioli…but then didn’t.

You could even toss in some corn, which I’m sure would be great with these flavors!

But the only thing I would add…well, a Mojito-Rita of course.

I had to throw that in there, the combo is just too perfect.

If you make this broccoli cheese quesadilla with chipotle sesame sauce be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!