Easy Chicken Fajita Quesadillas on the Griddle
These chicken fajita quesadillas are made with delicious Mexican-marinated chicken, the perfect melty cheese, and your favorite fajita vegetables. All the ingredients get folded into a flour tortilla and toasted on the griddle or in a skillet for an easy Mexican meal that the whole family will love!
Servings: 5 quesadillas
Ingredients
For the Chicken Marinade:
- 6-7 boneless skinless chicken thighs about 2 pounds, excess fat trimmed off
- 12 oz can of pickled jalapeños, juice only from the can La Costena pickled jalapeños can is recommended
- juice of 1 lime
- ½ medium onion thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons Mexican all-purpose seasoning like Fiesta That Mexican All-Purpose Seasoning
- 1 tablespoon high-heat cooking oil like avocado oil
For the Quesadillas:
- 1 tablespoon high-heat cooking oil like avocado oil
- 1 bell pepper thinly sliced
- ½ medium onion thinly sliced
- 1 roma tomato cut into small wedges
- salt and pepper
- 2-3 tablespoons butter
- 5 burrito-sized flour tortillas
- 2 cups quesadilla-style cheese like Oaxaca or Chihuahu
- 1 cup freshly grated pepper jack cheese
- sour cream, salsa, or guacamole for serving
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken thighs – Add the trimmed chicken thighs to a gallon size zip top bag. Pour in the juice from the can of pickled jalapeños. Add lime juice, onion slices, about 1 tablespoon of oil, and 2 tablespoons Mexican seasoning. Work the marinade around so the chicken is well-coated. Zip the bag up, removing any air from the bag, and marinate in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours.
- Heat griddle to medium-low to medium heat, about 375-400℉. Add about ½ tablespoon cooking oil and spread it into a thin layer with your spatula.
- Mix the quesadilla-style cheese and pepper jack cheese together in a bowl.
- Cook the Mexican chicken – Place the chicken thighs top side (smooth side) down on the oiled griddle. Cook untouched about 5-7 minutes on the first side, or until a nice crust develops. Then flip to the second side and cook an additional 5-7 minutes. After flipping, add the onions from the marinade to the chicken to cook as well. Continue to cook, flipping a few times so the chicken cooks evenly, until the internal temperature reaches 165℉. Then transfer chicken and onions to a cutting board to rest.
- Cook the fajita vegetables - Scrape the griddle surface clean. Then add about ½ tablespoon cooking oil and spread it around with your spatula. Add the sliced onions and bell peppers to the griddle. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté over medium until they’re just soft. When peppers and onions are almost done to your liking, add the sliced tomatoes to cook briefly. Then transfer veggies to a bowl.
- Cut chicken - After it's done resting, and while vegetables are cooking, cut the chicken into small bite-sized cubes.
- Scrape down the griddle to remove excess food residue to prepare for cooking the quesadillas.
- Build the chicken quesadilla - Add about ½ tablespoon butter to the heated griddle, and spread it around to the size of your tortilla. Lay your flour tortilla out flat on the buttered griddle. Sprinkle about ½ - ¾ cup cheese evenly across the whole tortilla, and top with about ⅕ of the chicken and sautéed veggies. Cook laid open and flat until the cheese starts to melt, about 1-2 minutes. Repeat for all the quesadillas.
- Fold the quesadilla and cook until done - After a few minutes, fold the tortillas in half to form quesadillas. Cook on both sides until crispy and golden brown. Then transfer to a cutting board to cool briefly.
- Slice and serve - Slice each quesadilla into 3-4 triangles. Serve immediately with sour cream, salsa, or your favorite quesadilla toppings.
Video
Notes
- For the bell peppers - Use whatever color bell peppers you like. I used the tri-color mini sweet peppers and also about half of a poblano pepper thinly sliced.
- For the quesadilla cheese - We like to use a blend of quesadilla-style melting cheese like Oaxaca or Chihuahua along with freshly grated pepper jack. Some store-brand versions of these cheeses are actually labeled as “Quesadilla Cheese”. Feel free to experiment with the cheese options.
- Assembling the quesadillas - Most people only put ingredients on half the tortilla and fold it immediately in half. However, if you cover the entire tortilla with cheese, chicken, and veggies, and cook flat for a few minutes to start, you’ll be able to fit a lot more ingredients inside for a loaded quesadilla, and the cheese will melt more quickly. This is how I make all of my quesadillas.