Chicken Quesadillas
Cumin and chili powder do the heavy lifting. Mix them into olive oil, coat the chicken cubes, and pan-fry until the edges catch color. Bell pepper, chili pepper, onion, and garlic go in for the last three minutes. Everything in one pan.
Fold the filling into whole wheat tortillas with a thin layer of cheese, and crisp both sides until the shell cracks when you cut through it. 559 calories and 31g of protein in 15 minutes flat.
Cumin and chili powder do the heavy lifting. Mix them into olive oil, coat the chicken cubes, and pan-fry until the edges catch color. Bell pepper, chili pepper, onion, and garlic go in for the last three minutes. Everything in one pan.
Fold the filling into whole wheat tortillas with a thin layer of cheese, and crisp both sides until the shell cracks when you cut through it. 559 calories and 31g of protein in 15 minutes flat.
Ingredients
- bell pepper 1 piece
- chili pepper 0.5 piece
- red onion 0.25 piece
- garlic 1 clove
- chicken breast 3 ounces
- olive oil 1 tablespoon
- paprika (ground spice) 0.5 teaspoon
- ground cumin 0.5 teaspoon
- chili powder 1 pinch
- tortilla wraps, whole wheat 2 piece
- grated cheese 0.5 ounces
Method
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Dice the bell pepper and chili pepper into small cubes. Finely chop the onion and mince the garlic.
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Cut the chicken breast into small cubes. Mix the chicken cubes in a bowl with half of the oil and spices.
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Heat a pan and cook the chicken cubes for 4 minutes. Add the bell pepper, chili pepper, onion and garlic. Cook for another 3 minutes. Season with pepper and salt.
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Place a tortilla on a plate. Top the tortilla with half of the chicken mixture and half of the grated cheese. Fold the tortilla in half. Repeat with the other tortilla.
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Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan. Place both folded tortillas in it and cook until they are golden brown and crispy on both sides.
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Cut each quesadilla in half and serve on a plate.
Fold the tortillas seam-side down first. The melting cheese seals the edge shut. Flip once only. Every extra flip lets steam escape, and steam is what turns a crispy quesadilla into a chewy one.
Behind this recipe
Is 31g of protein enough for one meal?
Research on muscle protein synthesis suggests the body can use a wide range of protein doses per meal, and 31g sits comfortably in that range. The old idea of a hard 30g ceiling has largely been revised. For a detailed look at the evidence, see the full breakdown.
Read the full evidence reviewDoes frying in olive oil damage it?
Pan-frying at normal temperatures reduces some phenolic compounds, but the fatty acid profile stays stable. Olive oil handles the heat better than its reputation suggests. The Short covers the specific numbers.
Read the full evidence reviewCan I use a different cheese?
Any cheese that melts works. Cheddar, mozzarella, pepper jack. The macro shift is small at half an ounce: a few grams of fat up or down depending on the variety.
