Quesadillas without the cheese? Crazy talk you say. Well one bite of these toasty warm, overflowing triangles and you will not be missing the cheese at all! On the menu: Vegan Cheeseless Quesadillas. Filled with sweet chopped onions, silky avocado, bold spices, juicy red tomato (and more..) Veggies, protein, deliciousness, these triangle bites are perfect at any hour of the day or night...
My Afternoon Bite. Late afternoon snacks to share are some of my favorite dishes. Avocado toast, quick blended soup for one, a creamy smoothie, veggie sticks and dip, open faced sandwiches, toast with sunny fruit like berries, a vegan "tuna" sandwich, pb&j, spicy saute 'wich or maybe some mini English muffin pizzas. Light enough to devour, yet filling enough to keep you doing what you love on a lazy or busy weekend afternoon.
My Saturday afternoon consisted of some serious marathon sunbeam napping with sunbeam napping champion, Nelly the cat by my side. (photo below) This was my first weekend back at home in a few weeks thanks to tons of traveling. NYC. Maui and more. So napping it was. These easy, flavor-filled, vegan quesadillas were my post-nap snack to share.
Oh the contrast. Yesterday I was swinging through the air over Santa Monica Pier. Today I passed out on the couch with a kitty and a sunbeam by my side...
This simple recipe is one to keep in your back pocket when you crave savory, skillet warm quesadillas .. but without all the cheese. (OK, ok if you want to add a sprinkling of vegan cheddar or pepperjack, go for it!) Daiya melts dreamily.
For the wraps.. You can use extra large spinach wraps (like I did) or corn wraps, gluten-free wraps or any variety of flour tortilla. Sprouted grain tortillas are great too.
Another avocado-infused "dilla" I love.. The Avo-dilla
Oh and don't forget to enter my #smoothietude contest + giveaway, $2k in prizes sponsored by Dole. Three ways to enter. And psst, the "pin-it-to-win-it" way needs more entries, just pin the image of my book 365 Vegan Smoothies as shown in the post. A Vitamix is up for grabs! (Plus more Vitamixes and smoothie goodies for the "contest" and giveaway.)
Cheeseless Quesadillas
vegan, serves 1-2
1 XL vegan tortilla or wrap
*I used IndianLife Spinach Wraps (I love love love them)
1 large tomato, diced
1 small sweet onion, diced
1 avocado, cubed or sliced
1-2 limes (1 squeeze for veggies, the rest sliced for serving)
salt + spices to taste
*I used generous sprinkles of Penzey's Spices 4S (a salted blend of chili and peppered spices)
⅓ cup garlic hummus OR vegan refried or mashed black beans
for pan: ½-1 teaspoon oil (try safflower, extra virgin olive oil) + cooking oil spray (optional)
Hummus: Make your own hummus using this recipe!
optional: hot sauce to serve
Directions:
1. Chop your onion, tomato and avocado. Add to a large bowl along with the spices - be sure to salt a bit and add some spicy or pepper spices. Add a squeeze of lime juice and toss well.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat.
3. If using an XL wrap, you can slice in half before adding goodies. Smaller wraps or tortillas can be folded over as they come.
4. Place the tortillas in the oiled pan to warm them and toast the edges a bit. You can even flip once to warm the inside surface if using thick tortillas.
5. Remove the warmed tortillas from pan and slather the hummus or beans over the inside. Then add a generous amount of the avocado mixture. Close the tortilla and carefully place in hot pan. I like to spray a bit of cooking spray on the outer side so that both sides heat up nice and crispy on the edges. Cook 1-2 minutes on each side. Flip carefully. Scoot the veggies back inside the tortilla if any fall out.
6. Serve warm with fresh lime wedges and some additional avocado mix on the side.
Snack for two!..
Natalie says
Can someone please mention that if you take cheese out of a quesadilla it’s just a dilla because quesa=cheese and if something doesn’t have cheese it doesn’t have quesa
Stacey Mckennah says
it is awesome. Although I made mine into a quesadilla/shawarma thing by putting the hummus inside the tortilla instead of on-top and folding
Elisa says
Hi,
I’m Elisa, a writer for Spoon University, and I’m writing a story about vegan diets. If it’s okay with you, I’d love to use the photo in the article and of course give you proper photo credit.
If you could let me know as soon as possible, that would be great.
Thanks so much ahead of time.
Kathy Patalsky says
Hi there, yes using just the photo and applying credit would be fine. Thank you for asking!
christine wee says
looks really delicious!
HisHeart says
Just tried this today, and it was delicious! I used wheat tortillas, and left out the hummus/beans because I didn't have any. Still came out great!
Kira Thompson says
I made this for dinner tonight and it was AMAZING! They hummus and bit of lime in the filling went so well together. I made a bunch of them and found that they were much tastier when I let the tortillas get nice and crispy. My boyfriend eats quesadillas with cheese and he loved them as well 🙂
Jen Leppert says
This is a great one to make on the grill at camp this weekend!!
Jared Bigman says
The colors look great, and these flavors sound awesome all rolled up and grilled together. I like the idea of mashed beans > hummus as I don't always have prepared or homemade hummus on hand.
jodye says
I'd so much rather have avocado and hummus in my quesadilla than cheese anyway! These sounds wonderful and summery and I think I'll make one today! The spinach wraps look great, too, I'll have to search for some.
michele says
Looks great I will make both recipes,love healthyfood.
Jill Maley says
This was delicious! I used Habanero Lime wraps from Trader Joe's and refried pinto beans. I topped it with shredded lettuce and some fresh guacamole. 🙂 I love love LOVE finding recipes that are vegan minus the imitation products that are still satisfying and delicious to eat!
Jennylind says
I NEED this quesadilla in my life. Right now! I think I've just found my dinner for tonight. Thanks for sharing this recipe with us.
What should I eat for breakfas says
It sounds chrispy and dreamy.
Guest says
Sounds delicious I am doing a whole foods challenge with another blogger and this fits the bill!
Warm Vanilla Sugar says
This looks so fantastic! Love this cheese less variation!!
Lindsay @ VeganYumminess.com says
YummmMMM!! Kathy, I love that this recipe has no vegan processed products in it. Sometimes I just get tired of buying vegan fake stuff, and its just refreshing to appreciate naturally vegan ingredients every once in awhile. Thanks for sharing! Looks like you've been busy! Now, I feel like paying a visit to Santa Monica Pier myself. How fun!