The breakfast quesadillas are a great make-ahead, freezer-to-oven recipe. I heat them up before darting out the door for work or busy weekend activities. This recipe makes four quesadillas with four slices each, and I usually find two slices to be filling enough.
Don't let the laundry list of recipe steps steer you away from this recipe. The method for cooking the eggs uses pie pans so that the eggs are the exact size and shape of the tortillas. This makes the eggs stay in the quesadilla when you're eating it, unlike a quesadilla that uses scrambled eggs. I'm guilty of eating these in my car on the way to work (without the sour cream and salsa), so I can't have quesadilla guts spilling out onto my office clothes!
Looking for more make-ahead breakfast ideas? Check out my Breakfast Taquitos and Croissant Breakfast Casserole.
Ingredients
- Flour tortillas (burrito size recommended, but see Recipe Notes and Variations section's Tortillas section below for using smaller ones)
- Bacon
- Eggs
- Red, yellow, or orange bell pepper
- Green bell pepper
- Sweet onion
- Cheddar cheese
- Monterey Jack cheese
- Cumin
- Garlic powder
- Olive oil
Equipment
- 2 pie pans (glass or ceramic 9 inch size recommended, though 8 to 10 inches is fine), for cooking the eggs in tortilla shape
- Rimmed baking sheet
- Mixing bowl
- Large skillet (cast iron recommended)
- Whisk
- Rubber or silicone spatula
- Griddle spatula
Recipe Notes and Variations
Egg Cooking Method
This recipe might look complicated due to all of the steps, but the egg cooking method makes sure that the eggs are the perfect shape of the tortillas. It also ensures the eggs will be distributed evenly among the 4 tortillas.
I tried to make the eggs like a frittata on the stovetop and it was an epic fail. Then thought maybe a pie pan would work if I used a method similar to how I cook my Croissant Breakfast Casserole! If you have good frittata skills, though, you could make the eggs tortilla-shaped on the stovetop.
Pie pan size: An standard 9-inch pie pan will work for this recipe. I've used an 8 inch pie pan with 10 inch burrito sized tortillas and it worked out just fine, and I've also used a large 10 inch pan. I've also used a mix of 8 and 10 inch pie pans for the same batch of quesadillas and it turned one fine.
Tortillas
I use flour tortillas for these because that’s what I prefer, and I don’t think corn would hold up as well. This recipe works best with extra large (10 inch, or burrito sized) tortillas. La Banderita is my favorite tortilla brand. Match the size of your pie pan to your tortillas for best results. However, I have made these with an 8 inch pie pan and 10 inch burrito tortillas.
Cheeses
Types of cheese and substitutions: These use half cheddar and half Monterey Jack cheese, but you can certainly use all cheddar or all Monterey Jack. Pepper jack is also another option if you to want to give them a spicy kick.
Hand grating cheese recommended: I hand grate my cheeses anytime melting is required. Pre-shredded cheeses contain anti-caking agents that can prevent the best melting. You can use pre-shredded cheeses for this recipe, though. The melting is just a bit better with hand grated! I use the shredder/slicer attachment for my KitchenAid stand mixer to quickly shred cheese.
Veggies
Types of peppers, substitutions, and additions: I use one green bell pepper and one red, yellow, or orange bell pepper in this recipe. If your peppers are on the smaller side, you might want to grab one more in the color of your choice. If you want to make these spicy, adding some diced jalapeño would do the trick there.
Onions: Sweet onions give these a nice flavor profile with a nudge of onion that isn’t overpowering. Regular yellow or white onions can also be used.
Cooking the veggies: The peppers and onions are roasted together in the oven in this recipe. They can also be sautéed on the stovetop if you’d like. I just prefer the flavor profile from the roasting, and I like that I can do other things in the kitchen (e.g., dishes) while the peppers are roasting. I also shred the cheeses and prep the eggs while the veggies are roasting.
Bacon
The time in the recipe card accounts for cooking the bacon even though it does not include instructions. I usually cook it in the oven using a method like the one in this post from Downshiftology.
Can I use other meat? Yes, you can use sausage, ham, turkey bacon, pulled pork, or other meats in this recipe. You can also omit the meat to make these vegetarian. If you use other meats, I recommend about 1 to 1.5 cups of meat total.
Storing and Reheating Breakfast Quesadillas
Slice the quesadillas before storing and allow them to cook to room temperature. They are good in the fridge for a few days or for a few months in the freezer. I usually just store the frozen slices in a Ziploc freezer bag. Remove as much air as possible from the bag to prevent freezer burn.
The oven is the best reheating method for these. Quesadilla slices can be placed directly into the oven from frozen or from the fridge. To reheat, place quesadilla slices on a baking sheet in a cold oven. Heat the oven to 350 until the slices are crispy on the outside and the middle is warmed through, about 20 minutes from placing them in the cold oven.
Breakfast Quesadillas
Equipment
- 2 pie pans (8 to 10 inch)
- Cast iron skillet (or other large skillet)
Ingredients
- 1 package bacon cooked and crumbled, see notes
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 1 red, yellow, or orange bell pepper diced
- 1 sweet onion diced
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 6 eggs
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 3½ cups shredded cheddar cheese hand-grated recommended, see notes (if hand-grating, use one 8oz block)
- 1½ cups Monterey jack cheese hand-grated recommended, see notes (if hand-grating, use a little over half of an 8oz block)
- 4 extra large flour tortillas see notes
- olive oil or avocado oil
- 2 tablespoon butter softened, more as needed (for greasing baking dishes)
Serving Suggestions
- salsa
- sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425℉ or 400℉ convection bake.
- Cook the bacon (see notes).1 package bacon
- Place diced peppers and onions into a large mixing bowl. Drizzle with olive oil. Add garlic powder and cumin. Stir until veggies are coated evenly with olive oil, garlic powder, and cumin.1 green bell pepper, 1 red, yellow, or orange bell pepper, 1 sweet onion, ½ teaspoon cumin, ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Transfer veggies to a rimmed baking sheet in an even layer. Roast for about 20 to 30 minutes until some of the edges begin to get charred. Stir veggies about halfway through. (Note: If you are hand-grating your cheese, now is a good time to do it.)
- Grease two pie pans generously with softened butter. Set aside.2 tablespoon butter
Prepare Eggs
- Whisk together eggs, heavy cream, salt, and pepper.6 eggs, ¼ cup heavy cream, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Reduce oven to 350℉ when the veggies are done.
- Distribute veggies and bacon evenly over the bottom of each pie pan.
- Divide egg mixture between the two pie pans.
- Transfer to the oven and cook for about 15 minutes until eggs are cooked all the way through.
- Run a silicone or rubber spatula around the edges of each pie pan and under the cooked eggs.
- Transfer the eggs to a cutting board. Tip for removing the eggs from the pie pan: tip each pan at an angle and shaking a bit to help the eggs slide out nd onto the cutting board.
Assemble and Make Quesadillas
- Preheat a large skillet on the stove over medium heat. Meanwhile, continue to the next steps to assemble the quesadillas.
- Cut each circular egg portion in half (to make it the shape of half of a tortilla).
- Place cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese on half of each tortilla (use about half of each cheese total).3½ cups shredded cheddar cheese, 1½ cups Monterey jack cheese, 4 extra large flour tortillas
- Place eggs onto each tortilla. Top with the remaining cheese and fold.
- Reduce skillet to medium heat. Coat skillet with a small amount of olive oil.
- Cook the quesadillas one at a time. Recommended method: Cook twice per side for 2-3 minutes each time. Monitor the temperature and reduce heat if quesadillas are cooking too quickly.
- Remove quesadilla from skillet and allow to cool for about 2 minutes before slicing.
- Serve with desired accompaniments.salsa, sour cream
Notes
Nutrition
