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Weeknight-style Crispy Chicken Tinga Quesadillas. Chicken seasoned up with smoky chipotle chiles and enchilada sauce, then mixed with cheese, stuffed into tortillas with rice, and oven-baked. Each baked quesadilla is crunchy on the outside and spicy and cheesy inside. Serve with a creamy, salty, garlic honey-lime crema sauce, and a mix of your favorite toppings. These come together easily and are so delicious. The perfect crispy, no-fuss quesadilla that everyone loves!
When it comes to Mexican-style food, we love it to be spicy, cheesy, and usually saucy, plus crispy. But it does depend on what the recipe is. When it comes to a really good quesadilla, it’s all of the above.
Since Cinco de Mayo is this Friday, I think this could be a fun, easy, and delicious recipe to share. We love Mexican night in our family!
A few important things to note. Instead of just cooking the chicken in a skillet with spices, I decided to sear the chicken and simmer it with enchilada sauce and chipotle peppers. I wanted an extra saucy chicken with some spice. Kind of like I make my crockpot tinga tacos and my 30-minute tinga tacos.
With almost every quesadilla I make you’ll notice two things, there’s always rice and plenty of cheese! Oh, and typically peppers too. These have all three.
And then, these are baked, not pan-fried. Quesadillas can be a little tedious to make for the whole family. Standing at the stove and flipping isn’t the most fun. So I usually bake my quesadillas instead of pan-frying them, just like I do with my tacos. Only, I use flour tortillas for my quesadillas. They always turn out so delish!
Details
Cook the chicken in a skillet with an onion. Then add the peppers, the enchilada sauce, chipotle chiles, and seasonings. Cook until the sauce coats the chicken.
Now the rest is just assembly. I take flour tortillas and layer them with cheese, chicken, peppers, rice, cilantro, and then more cheese. The key is to rub the outside of the tortillas with olive oil. This will crisp them up in the oven until they are golden and crunchy on top.
While they’re baking, I make a simple lime garlic sauce with yogurt, mayo, lime zest, and a drizzle of honey.
Then, I love a fresh mango salsa to balance the spices out.
Once they’re baked up, just serve as desired with sauce, avocado, and mango salsa. I always do lots of fresh cilantro on top as well!!
Looking for more simple Mexican recipes? Here are a few favorites:
Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Soup with Salty Lime Chips
Cauliflower Al Pastor Quesadillas with Lime Smashed Avocado
Mushroom Al Pastor Tacos with Garlic Lime Special Sauce
Healthier Homemade Crunchwrap Supreme
Crispy Chipotle Chicken Tacos with Cilantro Lime Ranch
Lastly, if you make these Crispy Chicken Tinga Quesadillas, 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!
Crispy Chicken Tinga Quesadillas
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 683 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless chicken breasts or thighs, cubed
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 poblano pepper, sliced
- 3/4 cup red enchilada sauce
- 2-3 chipotle peppers in adobo, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4-6 flour tortillas, warmed
- 2 1/2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
- 1 cup cooked rice
- 1 cup fresh chopped cilantro
- 1 mango, diced
Garlic Lime Sauce
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
- 3 tablespoons mayo
- 2 teaspoons lime zest, plus 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 clove garlic, grated
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 425° F.2. In a large skillet, add the olive oil, chicken, and onion. Set over medium-high heat. Cook 5-8 minutes, until the chicken is seared. Add the poblano pepper, enchilada sauce, chipotle chiles, oregano, cumin, and salt. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.3. To assemble, layer the cheese, chicken, and rice on one half of a tortilla. Then sprinkle over more cheese and cilantro. Fold the tortilla over to cover everything. Arrange on a baking sheet. Rub each quesadilla with olive oil. Bake for 10 minutes, until crispy and the cheese is melted. 4. Meanwhile, make the garlic lime sauce. Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Season with salt. 5. Toss the mango with lime zest. Serve the quesadillas topped with garlic sauce, mango, avocado, and cilantro.
Made these last night w rotisserie chicken and less spicy. my husband and I loved so much!!
Hi Maggie,
Happy Friday!!😎 I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for making it and your comment! xx
Is there supposed to be honey in the lime sauce?
Hi Kathy,
Nope, no honey in the lime sauce, you can follow the recipe as written:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Thanks for the quick reply so I was just curious. In the description it said something about a homey lime sauce. But my daughters aids he could eat this everyday! So delicious!! Thanks.
Wow. This was so so good. I wanted something different that had more flavor and this delivered for our Saturday night meal. Paired with a spicy jalapeño margarita? Chef’s kiss 😘
These are SO good! I swear when it comes to Mexican-inspired dishes, you don’t miss. My husband hasn’t stopped talking about these quesadillas since we made them.. lol!! Definitely adding to the rotation 🙂
Hi Lindsay,
Happy Monday!! I am so glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it! xT
Hi Danielle,
Perfect!! Love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed and thanks so much for making it! Happy Mother’s Day!💐
So delicious! I followed the quesadilla recipe but topped mine with avocado lime sauce instead of garlic lime. I’m excited to try the garlic lime sauce next time, I will definitely be making these again:)
Hi Ashley,
Happy Friday!!🥑🍑 I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for making it and sharing your review! xT
These are so darn good! With the enchilada sauce, crispy shells and quesadilla stuffing, we’ve renamed these, “Encha-taco-dillas”. Ole! 💃🕺
Thanks so much Cindy!! Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you! Happy Sunday! xx
I made these yesterday for Cinco de Mayo and they were delicious! I really like the addition of rice 😍
Instead of baking them in the oven though I grilled them on my panini grill for 3 minutes 😋😋
Hey Debbie,
Happy Sunday!!😃🍊 I appreciate you making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear it was delish! xx
Hey there!
What is the sauce you have in the background that is red?
Thanks 🙂
Enchilada Sauce
Hi Mira,
That is the red enchilada sauce:) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
Made these for dinner and they were a hit with my husband and high school boys. One of my kids said it was the best quesadilla he’s ever had. My husband said better than the work lunch he had that day at one of his favorite Mexican restaurants. It was easy for a weeknight dinner for a busy family. This is a recipe I could use on busy sports nights by making the chicken mixture ahead of time and then just a quick assembly and baking for a great quick dinner! My oven may run a bit hot, mine turned out best with a 7 minute baking time. Thank you Tieghan!
Hey Kristi,
Amazing!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was tasty for you, thanks a lot for giving it a try!🥑🥝 xT
The picture of cheesy goodness is why I imported this recipe to my Plan to Eat page! You have several recipes I love, and I do not doubt this one. I have a version of a crispy chicken quesadilla we already like- but yours simmering in a sauce sounds very appealing! Making it next week…. However, we will probably have 1 or 2 leftover.
How do you suggest reheating? I assume in a frying pan to re-crisp…. Any idea how long? (from fridge cold)
Can’t wait! Thanks so much for your great recipes!
Hi there,
Thanks so much for saving this recipe! I would reheat on a skillet for 5ish minutes:) I hope this helps, I hope you love the recipe! xT
What’s the yummy looking red sauce for dipping?!
Hi Sam,
That’s the red enchilada sauce:) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
So much cilantro!
Never enough cilantro! 😍 These were top-notch, Tieghan!
Thanks so much Martina!!
Hi James,
Please feel free to adjust the cilantro to your liking:) I hope you love the recipe! xx
Made these for dinner tonight and they were amazing!! The Garlic Lime sauce and Mango w/lime zest were the best! Your recipes never disappoint! Thanks again!!
Hey Jodi,
Amazing!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it! xT
Family loved these. I used the Tortilla Land flour Tortillas, low-med heat before filling. Wouldn’t change a thing about this recipe, another win!
Hey Julie,
Amazing!! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! Have a great weekend!! xT
Delicious! So much flavor, and the sauce was so good (and easy). Thank you for this recipe, it’s going in the normal dinner rotation. Any thoughts on using this same recipe with steak?
Hey Kim,
Happy Wednesday!! Thank you so much for making this recipe and sharing your review, I am so glad it was delish! Oh sure, steak would also be delicious!! xT
Sounds like LOTS of good flavor!👍🏻
Thanks so much Becky!! Let me know if you give this recipe a try! xx
Could you do this with ground chicken?
Hi Jamie,
Totally, ground chicken would be a great option! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope it’s delish! xT
They were very good. However, the lime garlic sauce was way too limey. I think it’s cause I added in the zest, but then your last step says to mix zest with mango. Instead I combined all the listed ingredients together. So I may have misunderstood those directions