Prep: Chop onions and peppers. Rinse and drain cilantro and roughly chop it. Drain and rinse canned black beans.
Prepare the Filling
Heat a nonstick pan on medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add black beans, onions, peppers, and corn, and saute for 2 minutes. If adding jalapeños, add in this step and saute along.
Add chili powder, paprika, coriander, cumin and salt and saute for another 1 minute. Turn off the heat.
Stir in cilantro and remove the filling in a bowl. Using tongs and a wet kitchen towel, carefully wipe the hot pan clean.
Assemble Quesadillas
Spread about ¼ cup of shredded cheese on one-half of a tortilla. Adjust the quantity of cheese based on your liking.
Using a spoon, spread about ¼ cup of the bean and corn filling on top of that.
Top that with another ¼ cup of shredded cheese (adjust to taste). Fold over the plain half of tortilla, to make a half moon.
Cook the Quesadillas in a NonStick Pan
Heat the nonstick pan on medium-high heat. Add 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil.
Place two quesadillas in the pan and brush some olive oil on top. Cook for about a minute on this side, or until golden crisp.
Using tongs or a spatula, flip the tortillas over. Cook for another minute or so, until it reaches the desired crispness.
Cook the Quesadillas in Air Fryer
Set the temperature to 370F. Lightly grease the quesadillas with cooking spray or brush some olive oil. Place greased side down. Cook for 4-5 minutes.
This time may vary depending on the intensity of your air fryer, and how crisp you like your quesadillas. If you like them medium crisp, check at 3 mins.
Note:Insert a couple of toothpicks in the quesadillas to prevent the tortilla from flipping open. Alternatively, you can place an oven-safe trivet on top.
Pull out the basket. Grease the quesadillas on top. Using tongs flip them and set another 4-5 minutes (or less), depending on how crisp you like them.
I have an XL size Air Fryer so I can make 2 quesadillas at a time. Repeat this process based on your air fryer size.
Cook the Quesadillas in Oven (Great for Parties)
Place the baking sheet in the oven and preheat the oven to 400F for 8 mins. By pre-heating the baking sheet, quesadillas crisp evenly.
Bake for 8 mins, or until you reach your desired crispness.
Finish and Serve
Remove quesadillas and rest on a cutting board for 1-2 minutes. Cut in 3 slices or 2 based on your preference. Serve with your favorite condiment, like Guacamole, tomato salsa, sour cream or Sriracha.
Video
Notes
Possible variations to customize this recipe to your taste:
Tortillas: Use Flour, Whole-Wheat, Spinach, Tomato or any flavored tortillas you like. Corn Tortillas don’t work as well in this recipe.
Filling: You can skip the beans and make a veggie quesadillas as well. Saute assorted vegetables like chopped zucchini, peppers, squash, corn etc for 2 minutes and follow remaining instructions.
To make this recipe VEGAN, substitute dairy-free cheese, OR, use refried beans so the quesadilla can stick together.
If substituting Taco Seasoning in this recipe, use 2 tablespoon + salt for this quantity.
Making this for entertaining? Prepare the filling ahead of time (can make a day ahead). An hour before the party, assemble quesadillas. 30 minutes before the party prepare them in the oven at 400F for 8 mins.
Pro Tip for Oven Baked Quesadillas: When preheating the oven, place the baking sheet in. The quesadillas crisp evenly when cooked on a hot baking sheet.
The nutrition facts below are my estimates and include whole-wheat tortillas. If you are following any diet plan, I recommend cross-checking with your preferred nutrition calculator.