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These Black Pepper Chicken and Bacon Quesadillas with Avocado Basil Ranch are the perfect cheesy quesadillas to enjoy for lunch or dinner. Spicy, roasted lemon pepper chicken folded up with homemade creamy basil ranch dressing, honey mustard, arugula, sun-dried tomatoes, and crispy bacon. This colorful chicken quesadilla is simple to make, wholesome, and delicious. Use leftover grilled chicken, rotisserie chicken, or make my roasted lemon pepper chicken. Everyone will love this fresh chicken quesadilla!
We’re taking things back with these yummy quesadillas. Some of you may remember that quesadillas are one of the main reasons I began to love cooking so much. I used to make them ALL THE TIME for my brothers when I was in high school.
The quesadillas really did ignite my love for cooking and sharing food with the ones around me.
When my brothers and I were in school, they’d often get out around 12 or 1 pm to go snowboarding in the afternoon. I know that sounds not right for kids in middle school, but we grew up in a mountain town and that’s what kids on the snowboard/ski teams usually did Monday through Friday.
By the time they got home from the mountain around 4;30, they’d want food before dinner. Somehow I started making them chicken quesadillas and the meal really stuck. I’d make them almost every day. I loved how happy and excited they would all get.
I rarely make quesadillas now, but anytime I do, they always bring back happy memories.
But these?! These are a game-changer, so delicious and hands down my favorite. It’s the basil ranch dressing that really does the trick. When paired with chicken, cheese, and creamy honey mustard, they are so yummy!
Details
Start out by making the basil ranch dressing. It’s very creamy and easy to make with fresh basil, cilantro, and then the usual ranch ingredients. Mayo, buttermilk, chives, Worcestershire, garlic, onion powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper.
I’ll usually toss in a jalapeño too. YUM.
Blend everything up in a blender or food processor until creamy – super easy to do. This really adds all the flavor!
Next, make the quesadillas! The recipe calls for already-cooked chicken. You can use whatever you have on hand. Or just make my roasted lemon pepper chicken.
It’s simply chicken (I like to use thighs, but breasts are good too), tossed with olive oil, cajun seasoning, and black pepper. Then roast the chicken up and finished with lemon zest. I gave you the recipe in the notes section. So you can either make the lemon pepper chicken, or as I said, use leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken.
You’ll need tortillas, cheese (I love to use gouda and cheddar, or fontina and cheddar), arugula, chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, pickles or pepperoncini (or both!), and crispy bacon. Then, the dressing, and honey mustard too.
Assemble everything into the tortillas. Then cook each quesadilla up in a skillet until the cheese is super melty! You can also use a panini press, which is fun.
I serve these topped with avocado plus extra basil ranch and some honey mustard. The honey mustard is not needed, but we sure love it!
Looking for fun family dinners? Here are my favorites:
Sheet Pan Honey Buffalo Chicken with Broccoli
Cheesy Green Chile and Avocado Rice Quesadillas
One Skillet White Chicken Chili Bake
Skillet Chicken Fajitas with Creamy Jalapeño Verde Sauce
Cauliflower Al Pastor Quesadillas
Lastly, if you make these Black Pepper Chicken and Bacon Quesadillas with Avocado Basil Ranch, 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!
Basil Ranch Chicken and Bacon Quesadilla with Avocado
Servings: 4 quesadillas
Calories Per Serving: 436 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Basil Ranch Dressing
- 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt or sour cream
- 1/3 cup mayo
- 2 tablespoons buttermilk
- 1 cup fresh basil
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped chives
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- kosher salt and black pepper
Quesadilla
- 4 large tortillas
- 1 1/2 cups shredded gouda and or cheddar cheese
- 1-2 cups baby arugula
- 1-1 1/2 cups grilled chicken, sliced (homemade in notes)
- 1/2 cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes
- 1/4 cup chopped dill pickles and or pepperoncini
- 6 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
- 1/2 cup honey mustard (homemade in notes)
- 1 avocado, chopped
Instructions
- 1. To make the dressing. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper.2. To assemble, layer cheese, arugula, chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, pickles, and bacon on one half of a tortilla. Drizzle over the basil ranch and honey mustard, then sprinkle over more cheese. Fold the tortilla over to cover everything.3. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a skillet, add 1 quesadilla, and cook 2-3 minutes per side until crisp and golden brown. Serve warm with avocado and additional basil ranch.
Notes
Honey Mustard: In a bowl combine: 1/4 cup dijon mustard, 1/4 cup honey, 1/3 cup mayo, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste), kosher salt, and black pepper, whisking until smooth.
Roasted Lemon Pepper Chicken: Preheat the oven to 425° F. In a baking dish, toss 1 pound of chicken breasts and or thighs with 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1-2 tablespoons cajun seasoning, and a good pinch of black pepper. Bake the chicken for 20-25 minutes, until lightly charred and cooked through. Finish with the zest of a lemon. Thinly slice or shred.
I made these tonight for my husband and granddaughter and they are delicious! I had some leftover roasted pesto chicken so just used that. Super easy and soooo tasty! Will definitely make these again! Thank you Tieghan!! 💗
Hi Barb,
Perfect!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your comment, so glad it was a hit! Have a great weekend:)
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Excellent recipe, a hit with the family. I made a few adjustments, like adding avocado instead of mayo to the dressing and mixing up the filling to evenly distribute all the ingredients. I was skeptical about the pickles and sun dried tomatoes, but they just blended in to make a flavour bomb. Thank you!
Hi Karmen,
Amazing!! Thanks so much for sharing what worked well for you and giving this recipe a try, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xx
Hi! Is there something you could use in place of mayo? I’m making it tonight and we don’t use mayo or anything similar at home.
Hi there,
You could try using more sour cream to see how that works for you! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
Terrific recipe!
Thanks so much Sandra!!
This is delicious! I have a job where I’m in the field and I don’t have access to re heat food so I’ve been looking for a lunch meal I can eat cold or at room temperature and this was perfect! Great meal for meal prepping lunches.
I cut my chicken width wise so it’s easier to cook and not as thick. Cooked perfectly with the chicken recipe listed.
Hey Taylor,
Happy Friday!! So glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for making it and sharing your comment! xx
Cannot wait to try this! Yum. My family is not crazy about fresh basil. What would be a good substitute, or could I leave it out?
Thanks so much Mackenzie!! You can just skip the basil:) I hope you love this recipe! xx
I was originally going to make a chicken quesadilla that I saw on TikTok but then your recipe appeared in my inbox. Needless to say, I made yours instead. Followed the recipe as written using some rotisserie chicken from Costco. Love, love, love. So freakin’ good! Bam!
Thanks so much!! So glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe and that it turned out well for you:) xT
This sounds delicious!! Could you swap the chicken for turkey? I have leftover turkey breast in the refrigerator.
Also we are an anti cilantro household, what is a good substitute?
Hi Jake,
Sure, I don’t see why not! I would use parsley in place of the cilantro. Let me know if you give this recipe a try! xx
Looks so yummy! Could I prepare and cook these quesadillas, then store in the freezer? Trying to freeze as many meals as possible.
I’m 34 weeks pregnant, and my house looks like I’m preparing for the zombie apocalypse lol
Hi Lisa,
Sure, I don’t see why not! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
So delicious! The homemade sauces and cajun seasoning (I used your homemade cajun seasoning from another recipe) really made it. I couldn’t stop saying how much I loved it!
Hey Megan,
Happy Wednesday!! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, love to hear that it was a winner!🌞 xx
SOOOO good!! I did change some things up, like I didn’t add cilantro cause I’m not a fan, but the basil ranch was so good! A little runny though, not sure if I did something wrong, but still good. Also made the honey mustard which was amazing!
The quesadillas I didn’t add the pickles or sundried tomatoes, but I added both sauces to them and SOOO good! So much flavor, I bet the pickles and sundried tomatoes would have added even more amazing flavor. These were a win, and my husband wants them again 🙂
Hi Erin,
Happy Tuesday! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing what worked well for you, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xT
This sounds delish! Think this could work as a sheet pan quesadilla? I could prep and assemble and bake that evening for dinner?
Hi Jessica,
Sure, I don’t see why not! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
Bomb! Easy flavorful recipe. Did mine without cilantro because my husband hates it. I didn’t have some of the ingredients like buttermilk, chives, didn’t make the honey mustard dressing. Supplemented some ingredients and it worked out. Made the cajun chicken which was a nice and juicy base in the quesadilla. We were skeptical about the pickles and pepperoncini but added it and it was so yummy. Going to make it again for sure. Thanks 😋
hey Emily,
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear that it was a hit! xx
Added half a jalapeño to the dressing. Lots of flavor in this recipe. I’ll make this again😁
Hi Susan,
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear that it was a hit! xx
Huge hit with family! The basil ranch is awesome and was enjoyed all. The flavours were fantastic with bacon, chicken, and basil such a good combination! Everyone wants the basil ranch to be a fridge staple. Great recipe!
Hey there,
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear that it was a hit! xx
This is a great meal; delicious. I am only sorry that the avocado we purchased this weekend could not be used as yet, if ever because it is rock solid; can’t cut it at all. We picked a nice big one but failed to notice that it would not ripen right away; if ever. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Hey there,
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear that it was a hit! xx