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Doing a little Mexican today with these Chipotle Black Bean, Brown Rice, and Mango Quesadillas.
Which also happen to be the easiest, quickest, and most delicious vegetarian quesadilla I have personally ever made…or eaten for that matter.
These quesadillas are filled with black beans, brown rice, mangos, and chipotle peppers. They’re extra cheesy and served up with the quickest homemade salsa verde. The meal is slightly spicy, balanced with a little sweetness, healthy…ish, and possibly one of my new favorite go-to weeknight dinners.
And you guys…want know the very best part? Aside from these being delicious and all made on one sheet pan, these quesadillas are a panty staples recipe. Meaning that I found all the ingredients used to make this recipe in my pantry. I’m not sure if that’s appealing or not to you guys, but I think it’s pretty cool. It’s especially cool when Friday night rolls in and you realize you have zero groceries to make dinner with, and the thought of going to the grocery store…that’s crowded with out-of-town skiers (reality when living in a ski town), sounds miserable.
That wasn’t me this past Friday or anything…Dad please come home (just kidding, but I can’t wait until you do)!
Here’s the deal, my mom has taught me a lot of things: She’s taught me that breakfast for dinner should be a once a week thing, how to sweet talk my way into just about anything, how to make the best oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and how to keep a well stocked pantry.
All very, very, very important things to know. And I am being very serious right now.
Growing up, my mom was insane with her pantry upkeep. If there is one women that knows a thing or two about food backups, it’s Jenny, aka mom. She’d have backups for backups of all the pantry items she used most. The moment her stock piles got low, she’d replenish. And because of her, there was never a night we couldn’t bake up a batch of chocolate chip cookies.
Obviously, my mom is a very, very smart woman…or cookie? Sorry that’s cheesy, but I had to.
Anyway, she passed the skill on down to me. Granted, I am nowhere near as good as she is, but I try. And because of it I have a pretty well stocked pantry. Therefore, I was able to avoid the crowded grocery store and make these quesadillas.
YESSSS.
Here is what you’ll need to do. Mix up some cooked brown rice with a can of black beans, mango chunks (which I always have on hand, both fresh and frozen), and chipotle peppers. Layer that mix inside a tortilla (corn or flour, I like both, but flour is my favorite), add plenty of cheese (which I always have in the fridge). Arrange everything on a baking sheet and bake your quesadillas until the cheese has melted and the quesadillas are golden and crisp.
While the quesadillas are baking, mix up some salsa using canned green chiles with lime juice, cilantro, and salt.
Put everything together and eat while warm.
Oh my gosh. SO GOOD. Cheesy, spicy, a little sweet from the mango, crunchy, and all kinds of perfection.
A couple of recipe notes/things.
Traditionally, quesadillas are pan-fried, but I love baking them for three reasons.
- it’s easy, and there’s VERY LITTLE MESS
- it’s healthier
- it creates the perfect, extra crispy quesadilla
Don’t be afraid to play around with this recipe depending on what you have in your pantry. No brown rice? Try using quinoa, white rice, barley, or whatever grain you do have on hand. Have some pinto beans but not black beans? Use the pinto! Have fun, use what you have, and don’t skimp on the cheese!
I mean, these are quesadillas after all.
Chipotle Black Bean, Brown Rice, and Mango Quesadillas
Servings: 4 quesadillas
Calories Per Serving: 686 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
- 1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
- 1 can (14 ounces) black beans, drained
- 1/2 cup mango chunks, fresh or frozen
- 1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo, chopped
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- kosher salt
- 8 small corn or flour tortillas
- 1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- plain greek yogurt, limes, avocado, and cilantro for serving
Quick Salsa Verde
- 2 cans (4 ounces) diced green chiles
- juice from 1 lime
- 2 tablespoons toasted pepitas
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- kosher salt
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. 2. In a bowl, combine the rice, spinach black beans, mangos, chipotle peppers, cumin, cilantro, and a large pinch of salt. 4. On a baking sheet, rub the tortillas with olive oil. Lay 4 tortillas flat and then layer evenly with rice and beans mix plus cheese. Add the top tortilla. Transfer to the oven and cook for 5-8 minutes, then flip and cook another 5 minutes more, or until the cheese has melted and the tortillas are crisp. 5. Meanwhile, make the salsa. Stir together the green chiles, lime juice, pepitas, and cilantro. Season to taste with salt.6. Serve the quesadillas topped with salsa and drizzled with yogurt. EAT!
Carbs and cheese…the best.
PS. two bean recipes in one week means one thing…I’m feeding myself and not the family.
So good! Used flour tortillas but I think corn would have been a better choice. Left the chipotle peppers out of my kids’ quesadillas and they loved them as much as we did.
Aw so glad you all could enjoy this recipe so much! Thank you Jen! xTieghan
Wow! What a delicious meal, absolutely loved the mango in it. Thanks again for another yummy recipe 🙂
Hi Helen! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! Thank you! xTieghan
I might try this with pineapple instead of mango since I do not have the mango…thoughts?
Hey Jessica! I am sure pineapple will be great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Can you explain how you fold the quesadilla in half? Cause in the recipe it seems like you just make a quesadilla sandwich…
Many thanks !!
Hi Rebecca! Yes, you just make a quesadilla sandwich. Layer ingredients on 1 side, then fold the other side of the tortilla over the ingredients. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan ???
I veered pretty far off the written recipe because of what I had available, but these were still pretty great! Adding rice to them makes them a bit more filling, which is sometimes a concern with vegetarian dishes. I have to say though, baking quesadilla’s was a complete game changer! I agree- super easy and less greasy. I was skeptical initially but I will be making all of my quesadillas in the oven from now on!!
Thank you so much Sarah! I am so glad you loved this recipe and it turned out amazing for you! xTieghan
I wouldn’t have thought to add mango into a quesadilla, but I loved how these turned out! I had some leftover black beans and rice on hand, and used frozen mango and frozen spinach as well. I didn’t have the adobo peppers, so swapped in some canned green chiles. Super quick and easy, and very creative!
Yes a little sweet and savory! I am so glad you liked this recipe, Coral! Thank you! xTieghan
I used jalapeños and no mango only because i didn’t have any. But wow. these were DELICIOUS.
Thank you Grace! xTieghan
I’m starving to death on this floor. ahahah … These images open my appetite in a crazy way! I’ll try to do the same, but it will definitely not be easy.
Thank you so much Diaz! I am so glad you loved this!
Simply AMAZING! This recipe will become a house staple from now on!
Thank you Lolo! I am so glad you and your family loved this!
Your recipe looks so delicious and we are trying it out tonight. I’m confused by the photograph because it shows the quesadillas folded over, but the recipe says to bake them flat with the bean/rice mixture in between two flat tortillas. Hope you can clarify before we start dinner 🙂
HI! It’s easiest to cook them flat in a circle, but if you prefer you can fold them over into half circles and then bake. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
I’m so late to the party on these quesadillas. I need these in my life ASAP. Since it’s just me and one roommate that I cook for, I anticipate there will be a lot of leftovers. Do you know how well they would reheat if I take them to work for lunch?
Thanks!
HI! Leftovers are great the next day and I just heat them on the stove or microwave. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
Made these tonight and they were SO good! My fiance and I both loved them. This is the first time we’ve baked quesadillas and they turned out great. I’m going to make them like that from now on. The only thing i did differently was added in chili powder because I couldn’t find the Chipotle in Adobe and we used white rice. We served it with black bean and corn salsa, lime wedges, and avocado slices. Thank you for this amazing recipe!
That sounds amazing! I am so glad you and your fiance loved this recipe, Ashley! Thank you so much!
I made these and they were very good. I think next time I will make them in a skillet so I can keep at eye on them. The tortillas were too hard and over-baked. No fault of the recipe though.
Thank you so much Barr! I am really glad you enjoyed this!
The one picture looks like there’s also fresh spinach in this? I’m making these for dinner (excited!). I’m trempted to add some spinach, but I’m nervous that maybe you tried it and it wasn’t good…
HI! Go ahead and add spinach!! It was in mine too and I Loved it. Recipe is fixed! Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
I always seem to end up throwing away half the can of Adobe chilies! How long will they keep in the fridge if I put the rest in a jar? Thanks! This looks delicious!!
I freeze what I don’t use in small container and just thaw in the fridge when I need to use it again. Freezing in an ice cube tray and storing in a freezer bag works great for smaller portions.
HI! MIne last at least a month, so a while. I’d would be saving them for sure! Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂