Quesadillas Dipped in Avocado Salsa Verde

Here’s another comfort meal I make on rushed weeknights:  Quesadillas Dipped in Avocado Salsa Verde.

I used chicken for this batch, but it doesn’t matter too much what you put inside the quesadillas so feel free to change ’em up!

That bowl of green goodness is the key though so no skipping that!  Dipping a crispy quesadilla in freshly made Avocado Salsa Verde is one of the easiest ways to make some quick comfort food 🙂 

 

How To Make Quesadillas Dipped in Avocado Salsa Verde

The ultra-satisfying Avocado Salsa Verde uses tomatillos as the starting point.   More info on tomatillos if you’re new to them.

You’ll need 4-5 tomatillos for this recipe.  

Start by de-husking the tomatillos and giving them a good rinse.  I usually de-stem them as well. 

You’ll definitely want to roast your tomatillos first — this will sweeten them up and lower their tartness.

I default to using the oven (400F) for 20 minutes or so, but you could also pan roast them or use the broiler.  Other ways to roast tomatillos. 

Once the tomatillos are roasted, add them to a blender or food processor along with:

1/2 small onion
1 garlic clove
1 jalapeno or serrano (or less for milder version)
10-12 sprigs cilantro 

I usually combine this first and then take a taste for heat level. 

Keep in mind that you can always make a  milder batch by starting with just 1/2 or 1/4 of the jalapeno (or serrano).  To increase the heat simply add more slivers, combine, and taste test again.   I used a whole serrano for this batch and it had some zip!

Then we’ll add the flesh of a single avocado:

Combine well. 

You’re left with a bowl of creamy green goodness that is the official starting point for this meal 🙂

Once you’ve got that bowl of yowsa in place then everything else is just a bonus.  I like dipping quesadillas in it because the warm crisp of the tortilla is the perfect dance partner, but it will work equally well on tacos, tostadas, burritos, etc. 

For this batch I quickly cooked up some chicken:

That’s a single chicken breast coated with:

chile powder
Mexican oregano
salt
pepper

And then the chicken pieces are cooked off with some chopped onion.  It’s a quick, easy way to make some all-purpose chicken. 

Once the chicken was cooked it was time to build the quesadillas!  Each flour tortilla was loaded with:

these refried beans
cheese
the cooked chicken pieces
these Pickled Jalapenos

But again, feel free to get creative with your quesadillas as there is tons of leeway here.   I’ve made vegetarian combos in the past and they can be equally satisfying, like these:

beans, rice, cheese
Pico de Gallo and cheese
Pickled Jalapenos and cheese

You’ll probably notice that cheese is used in all of those combos 🙂

I like adding ingredients to only half of the tortilla, then folding it over.  I find it’s easiest to cook quesadillas this way, but you are welcome to load up the entire tortilla and then plop another one on top. 

You can either cook the quesadilla in a dry skillet or in a smidge of fat.  I go back and forth between these options as both are equally good.   This batch was crisped up in a dry skillet over medium heat. 

Try to chow down immediately after crisping up the quesadilla!

It’s a real treat when you get a warm, crispy bite loaded with the cool Avocado Salsa Verde. 

I hope this post inspires you to dip some quesadillas in Avocado Salsa Verde!  The Avocado Salsa Verde has a knack for making any quesadilla taste like a masterpiece 🙂

It’s a simple, delicious meal and a great curveball for the weeknight meal routine.   

Enjoy!!

Want more tomatillo recipes?  Here are 18 Recipes You Can Make Using Tomatillos.