Bean & Corn Quesadilla

Recipe: Bean & Corn Quesadilla
Quesadillas! Who doesn’t go mad over crispy tortillas stuffed with cheesy goodness? A versatile dish, one can stuff it with meat, seafood or vegetables. Serve it with guacamole, salsa or any dip or sauce of your choice. The possibilities are endless. Bean & Corn Quesadilla is a vegetarian option, filling and tasty.
What Is Quesadilla?
It is a Mexican dish where tortilla is filled with cheese and cooked on a griddle or skillet. Fillings like chicken, meat, beans, vegetables, etc are added to the filling to make it more wholesome. Traditionally corn tortilla is used but these days wheat or plain flour tortilla are commonly used.
Queso means cheese in Spanish. Quesadilla date back to the 16th Century where corn tortilla were stuffed with cheese and sometimes other ingredients. Cooked on a griddle, folded and eaten by hand.
Tragedy
As most of my regular readers know, my blog is not just a recipe blog. I tend to note down events, happy memories, experiences, etc. The World was shocked on July 17th 2014 when another Malaysian Airline MH 17 went down. It was shot while flying over Ukraine from Amsterdam to Kuala Lampur. A buk missile shot it down near the border of Ukraind and Russia. Who is at fault will take forever to find out but in the meantime a nation has to once again in a span of four months face the tragedy of losing yet another aircraft full of passengers.
None of those passengers had anything direct to do with the fight between Ukraine and Russia and yet they all paid with their precious lives. So many questions cropped up in my mind. How was a plane flying over 33,000 ft shot down by a missile? How destructive are all these war weapons? If Ukraine was a problem spot, how come the plane was allowed to take that flight path? Who is responsible for this? Will the world just sit back or will action be taken against the guilty?
Just 4 months ago a whole plane MH 370 disappeared under mysterious conditions. It just vanished completely with all its passengers and crew. How is that possible?
All these incidences just act as a reminders to all of us that life is unpredictable and short. It is not time to hold grudges, speak ill of others and waste life in meaningless talk. Life reminds us to put into action whatever good we want to achieve.
A person’s a person, no matter however small – Dr. Suess
Some Mexican Dishes You May Want To Check Out





Bean & Corn Quesadilla
Ready made tortilla are either difficult to get or very expensive in Kenya and India. As a result, I make them at home. A bit time consuming but they turn out so good. Sometimes, if I don’t get mushrooms then I just add more beans and corn. Or I add sweet potato, carrot, french beans, etc.
Sauce served with it varies, depending what is available. Sometimes getting good avocados in India is a task so I serve quesadilla with sour cream and homemade salsa.
Watch How To Make Guacamole
Ingredients Required For Bean & Corn Quesadilla
- Wheat Flour – to make the tortillas. If you get ready made ones then you don’t the flour. Extra flour required for dusting.
- Plain Flour – all purpose flour for the tortillas. If you get ready made ones then you don’t the flour.
- Baking Powder – for the tortillas. If you get ready made ones then you don’t the flour.
- Salt – for the tortilla and the filling.
- Warm Water – for the tortillas. If you get ready made ones then you don’t the flour.
- Butter – for the tortillas. If you get ready made ones then you don’t the flour.
- Beans – use red or black beans. Can soak dried beans for 6-8 hours in warm water and then cook them. Or use canned beans. Whenever possible, I like to use fresh red beans. If you use fresh beans then you need to cook them in the pressure cooker for 1 whistle in salted water. Or boil them in a saucepan with salted water till done.
- Sweet Corn – boiled, frozen or canned.
- Mushrooms – wiped with a damp cloth or wash them. Slice or cut into chunks. Can replace mushrooms with sweet potato, carrot , french beans, or more beans and corn.
- Onion – red ,yellow or white. Peeled and chopped finely.
- Garlic – peeled and minced
- Olive Oil – or any other oil of your choice. Required for the filling and also to roast the tortilla on a griddle or skillet.
- Oregano – fresh Mexican oregano or dried. Can use normal oregano.
- Fresh Coriander or Cilantro – washed and chopped. Chop also the tender stems as they contain flavour.
- Pepper Powder – add according to your taste.
- Chipotle Powder – if you don’t have any use normal red chilli powder
- Coriander Powder
- Cheese – cheddar or Monterey Jack is best

BEAN & CORN QUESADILLA
Ingredients
FOR WHEAT FLOUR TORTILLA:
- 2 cups wheat flour
- ½ cup plain flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ - 1 cup warm water
- 3 tbsp soft butter
- extra flour for dusting
FOR THE FILLING:
- 1 cup cooked sweet corn
- 1 cup cooked red kidney beans or beans of your choice
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- ½ cup diced onion
- 2 tbsp garlic paste
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ¼- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper powder
- 1 tsp chipotle powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ cup fresh chopped coriander cilantro
- 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
- extra oil for roasting the quesadillas.
Instructions
PREPARATION OF WHEAT FLOUR TORTILLA:
- Sift the flours, salt and baking powder together into a bowl.
- Add butter and rub it into the flour.
- Add water and form the flour into a soft dough. It should not be too sticky or too hard.
- Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel or cling film and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- Heat a griddle, skillet or tawa over medium heat.
- Divide the dough into 10 parts.
- Roll each part into a ball.
- Using some extra flour, roll one ball into a circle of nearly 8 to 9 inches.
- Put it onto the hot tawa. Roast lightly on one side till small brown specks appear. Flip it over and roast the other side.
- Keep in wrapped in a tea towel so that it does not get dry.
- Repeat the above steps with the remaining dough.
PREPARATION OF THE FILLING:
- Heat oil in a wide pan over medium heat.
- Stir fry the onions for 30 seconds.
- Add the garlic paste and mix well.
- Add mushroom slices and stir fry for 30 seconds.
- Turn off the heat. Add the cooked corn and beans. Mix well.
- Let the mixture cool down completely.
- Add salt, pepper, chIpotle, coriander powders, oregano and cilantro.
- Mix well.
PREPARATION OF QUESADILLA:
- Take one tortilla. Place it on a griddle, skillet or tawa which is over medium heat.
- Spread about 2 tbsp of grated cheese over half of the tortilla.
- Add 2-3 tbsp of the filling, spreading it out over the cheese.
- Add 1 tbsp cheese over the filling.
- Fold the other half of the tortilla over the filling. Press down gently.
- Brush oil over the folded tortilla. Drizzle some around it too.
- Drizzle about one teaspoon of oil around it and cook it light brown specks are formed.
- Flip it over gently and add more oil if needed and cook till light brown specks appear.
- Cut into half and serve with guacamole, salsa sauce, sour cream.
Notes
- Add any vegetable of your choice like carrots, sweet potato, french beans, etc.
- Add any cheese of your choice. For those who don't like cheese, add crumbled paneer.
- You can use ready made tortillas - corn or wheat ones.
- Spread out some cheese first and then add the filling. Add a small amount again on top. This way, the cheese melts and the quesadilla don't open up easily. One can hold it in their hand and enjoy without the filling spilling out.
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14 Comments
FullScoops Beulah
July 22, 2014 at 7:22 am
Another healthy dish! Your blog is awesome! Thank you for linking it to Healthy Diet event!
Hasna Hamza Layin
July 23, 2014 at 7:36 am
Wow thats so nyc.. Droling here.. Apt fr iftar nd thank u fr linkng ths to our event.. Bt i cant see any mention here.. Cud u pls add link and logo of our event ahlan Ramadan.. 🙂
Shobha Keshwani
January 22, 2022 at 11:29 pm
This is such a healthy and filling dish. What I liked is you have used very little APF and more wheat flour. My children love these. Such a versatile dish that can be made with a variation of fillings, both veg and non veg.
mayurisjikoni
January 23, 2022 at 8:35 pm
Thank you so much Shobha. And I agree with you, we can use so many different fillings.
Neha
January 24, 2022 at 1:15 pm
Loved these bean corn quesadilla. In fact quesadilla is a good way of feeding kids with some veggies because they quite like the presentation. Loved going through the post , it has something to tell about different places around the globe. Great post!
mayurisjikoni
January 25, 2022 at 5:48 pm
Thank you so much Neha. Quesadilla use to be a regular when my kids were at home. It definitely was a good way to sneak in a variety of veggies.
MIna Joshi
January 25, 2022 at 2:57 am
Wow what an amazing recipe. Sweetcorn and kidney beans with cheese are all my favouriteingredients. This would be perfect for my lunch. You also made the tortillas yourself!! I do often make something similar with various fillings but always use the readymade tortillas. So glad to see your recipe for tortillas which is much healthier than the ready made ones I buy. I will save this recipe to make these soon.
mayurisjikoni
January 25, 2022 at 5:46 pm
Thank you so much Mina, as you may know we don’t get ready made tortilla often in Kenya and when we do they are frightfully expensive. I use to follow Tarla Dalal recipe to make them at home. To make softer I started adding the baking agent.
Archana
January 25, 2022 at 2:59 am
Wow! I love these quesadillas. Thanks to how to make the tortillas I can stop paying through my nose for them. As for the filling in the quesadilla, it is just yum. We definitely need a break from the dal, roti, sabzi routine here.
mayurisjikoni
January 25, 2022 at 5:44 pm
Thank you Archana. I prefer the homemade tortillas. Ready made ones tend to have an after taste.
Rinku Bhattacharya
January 25, 2022 at 6:57 pm
I love corn and black beans and love quesadillas, this recipe is bookmarked to try for dinner.
mayurisjikoni
January 26, 2022 at 6:45 pm
Thank you so much Rinku, enjoy when you make the quesadilla for dinner.
Kalyani
January 26, 2022 at 12:25 am
I love how mexican meals are full of veggies and fresh produce. Except for the long prep time, these quesedilas make for such a hearty weeknight / weekend dinner
mayurisjikoni
January 26, 2022 at 6:45 pm
Thanks Kalyani. The long prep is only if you make the tortilla at home. Otherwise doesn’t take that much time.