Crispy golden tortillas with the most delicious filling inside. A filling of teriyaki flavoured pulled chicken coated in melted gooey cheese. Who could say no to that!?
This is possibly one of the tastiest chicken dishes I have ever made. I guess anything flavoured teriyaki style is going to taste incredible, but it was nice to incorporate this into one of my favourite things to make, a quesadilla!
Why Pull the Chicken?
Well, there’s there are 2 simple reasons. One, like it more. And 2, pulled meat makes for more of a suitable filling. The texture and it’s ability to hold together makes it much better than say, cutting the chicken up into pieces.
Of course, if you wanted to do that, go for it. It will still be awesome, but for me, there is something about shredding the meat that makes it so much more satisfying to eat.
Beware of too much moisture and oil
What does moisture do to bread? That’s right, it makes it go soggy. You’ll notice that in the recipe, I dried out my meat using kitchen paper and I only used ½ a tablespoon of oil which isn’t much for the amount of meat I had.
And I’ve made the mistake of having too much oil or fat i incorporated in the filling. When it came to toasting the quesadillas, the oil just oozed out and the sides of the bread just went soggy and oily. You don’t need a lot of oil or moisture to stop the chicken from going dry because the cheese and the teriyaki marinade will take care of that.
As long as you keep this in mind, you can make whatever filling you like. And have a think about the ingredients you are adding when making your own filling. For example. If you wanted to add spinach, remember that spinach is mostly made up of water, and that water comes out as soon as it heats up. So perhaps it would be a good idea to wilt the spinach, get rid of the water content, then add it to your filling.
The cheese is Important
Why is the cheese important you ask? Well, apart from making the quesadilla extra tasty, it acts as the glue. There is no way that the filling and the tortilla can hold together if you don’t add the cheese. In fact, the filling is likely to just fall out.
The key is to add a cheese that melts, goes nice and gooey and sticks. I just used good old regular cheddar cheese, which worked out great. If you want a lighter flavoured cheese, then something like mozzarella would be great.
Other cheeses that are great for melting are Provolone cheese, Fontina cheese or a personal favourite of mine, Edam cheese!! Just so buttery and melty….mmm…
Do quesadillas freeze?
So, the other day I made this…
It’s a spiced black bean quesadilla and I made because I wanted to see if quesadillas are OK to freeze. As it turns out, they totally are. And the best way to heat them up is to use your oven.
And again, just like you read earlier, moisture will make the tortilla soggy. So the oven does a really good job of heating the tortilla up but drying out the moisture too. The microwave however, may just leave you with a sad, floppy quesadilla.
So I stacked my quesadillas on top of each other, stored them in a container then put them in the freezer. The day I decided to take the quesadillas out and re-heat them for lunch, the stacked quesadillas were like an icy brick. So I pre-heated my oven to about 150-160 degrees Celsius, put the quesadilla brick on a tray and then heated it up. After 10 minutes the quesadillas were thawed out enough to separate, then they just needed another 15 minutes to heat up all the way through.
I am hoping that these tips and tricks don’t just teach you how to make teriykai pulled chicken quesadillas, but also how to make your own quesadilla recipe. As long as you have the cheese to glue the filling in, you can add whatever the heck you want. So keep that in mind.
Feel free to subscribe if you want weekly updates for new recipes. And if you enjoyed the chicken quesadilla, then you may also like this Chicken & Leek Pie! Peace and blessings, love you all!
Pulled Teriyaki Chicken Quesadilla
Golden toasted tortillas filled with gooey melted cheese and pulled chicken that is coated in teriyaki marinade.
Ingredients
- 1.5 L of chicken stock
- 2 chicken breasts brought up to room temperature fat trimmed
- 1/2 tablespoon of vegetable oil
- 1 red onion peeled and sliced
- 2 garlic cloves peeled and finely chopped
- 5 tablespoons of teriyaki marinade
- 1 handful of coriander roughly chopped
- 4 tortillas
- 300 g cheddar cheese grated
Instructions
-
Put your stock in a pot, then bring to a boil over high heat. Add the chicken breasts and bring the stock back to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down low and simmer the chicken breasts for 17-18 minutes until cooked through.
-
Use a pair of tongs to transfer the chicken to a chopping board, then shred the meat with 2 forks.
-
Put the shredded meat on some kitchen paper to dry it out a bit.
-
Pre-heat a large pot or frying pan over medium heat. Add your vegetable oil, then add your red onions. Fry the onions for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally until they go nice and brown. from there, add your garlic and fry for another minute. Then, add your chicken and teriyaki marinade and stir through until the chicken is well coated.
-
Turn the heat off, then add your coriander.
-
Get a preferably non-stick frying pan over low-medium heat. Place a tortilla flat in the pan.
-
Put a layer grated cheddar cheese on one half of the tortilla, then put some of your pulled teriyaki chicken on top the cheese. Finish with another layer of cheese, then fold the other half of the tortilla over the top.
-
Turn the heat up to medium, then toast the quesadilla on both sides until the bread is golden and the cheese has melted.
-
Serve straight away and enjoy!
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- Make sure your filling isn't too soggy or wet, this can make the tortillas go oily/soggy when you try to toast them.
- Remember, a quesadilla won't work without the cheese. The cheese is the glue to bind the tortilla and the filling together.
- Use a cheese that melts easily. If you don't want to use cheddar, you can use mozzarella, provolone and/or fontina cheese.
- If you freeze the quesadillas, put them in the oven to heat them back up. The hot air from an oven will dry out the moisture and won't make your quesadillas soggy.
Looks great! 😊 Folding the quesadilla in half sounds much easier, I’ll have to try that next time I make one!
I really like that you’ve given tips to encourage people to make up their own recipe. It’s a great way to get people cooking
It definitely does. Thanks for the comment Jenny (:
Absolutely! I mean, maybe if it’s someone who has only just started cooking, then yeah maybe just follow the recipe. But if not I always tell people not to limit themselves (:
Any time I’ve boiled chicken, I find it gets dry and loses a lot of its flavor. Boiling it in stock helps with the flavor, but how do you keep it from drying out? Or are the other things you are throwing into the final recipe enough to counter the dryness?
Hey Jason! Not overcooking it is important to make sure the chicken doesn’t go bone dry. But it is also the marinade that coats the chicken that transforms it. so don’t be shy on the marinade. Hope this helps (:
looks Yummiiiii..
Thanks!!! Love your blog btw (:
seriously a brilliant unique idea. We love teriyaki chicken and I would have never thought of this easy extra meal after making chicken like that! Great repurpose for leftover! thank you
YES to this delicious FUN food. We enjoy Mexican food. This is perfect for fun and easy entertaining on the weekend. The guests would love this for sure.
Thank you so much!! I am really glad you like it!! (:
So glad to hear it Gloria! I was super happy when the recipe worked (:
Ah..now there is a twist I love. We love teriyaki chicken and we love quesadillas so this would be a welcome addition for our weekday dinner. Looks so good.
Hmm – fusing the teriyaki flavors with the Mexican dish … I’m going to try this! Thanks for the tips on freezing quesadillas, I’d wondered myself, but never tested that. And I vote for shredded meat in quesadillas, too!
Yes this looks like the best kind fun food with kids. All the amazing flavors from marinade sounds perfect!
Hi, Nick!! I agree with the shredding of the chicken — it happens to stay in the tortilla a lot better. And it certainly is clever of you to fold the tortilla so that you have a solid edge. Very smart!! I haven’t had lunch yet and my tummy is growling as I’m reading all about the teriyaki chicken quesadillas. I’d love one right now!!
Gorgeous photos as always, Nicolas, but this recipe is just mouthwatering! Pinning for later..I cannot wait to try 🙂
Thank you Veena! If you make it I hope you like it. It definitely worked like a charm (:
Yes definitely not your usual quesadilla but I assure you it works. I really hope you like it Noel!! (:
Kids would definitely love this dish. Thanks so much for the comment Jo! (:
Thanks Marisa! Pulled chicken for the win! And I know how you feel, I felt the same way reading through some of your posts too 😉
This comment made me super happy. Thank you so much Tammy!! I really hope you like this recipe (:
Teriyaki chicken quesadillas looks delicious, I like it because it can be freeze for future use too. As my weekdays get busy. Love the idea of shredding chicken to keep the perfectly in the quesadillas.
You had me at teriyaki!!!!! Oooohhh and that CHEESE, a good quesadilla has a ton of gooey cheese!! Looks delish!
Yes indeed, any dish you can prep and freeze during the week is fantastic. And shredding the chicken is the best way to go for sure. Thanks so much for your comment (:
Indeed it does, wouldn’t be the same without it. Thank you so much for your comment (:
What a great idea to use leftovers chicken. Looks absolutely delicious. Quesadillas are great for lunch so I’m putting this on my to make list.
Would be a fantastic way to ue leftover chicken. I really hope you like this recipe Natalie!! Thank you for commenting (:
Oh my, these quesadillas look and sound simply amazing! Perfect for parties!
I think quesadillas are my favorite food, and these sound so full of flavor! So straight forward and so tasty! Great pics too!
Love that you used chicken for a lighter option. This looks delicious!
Oh my goodness this looks amazing!!! My mouth is watering just looking at it. This is my kind of deadly thing that I’d love to cook up. Thank you for sharing this, I think this is what my taste buds need right now 🙂
Yum! Going to make these soon for a special treat with dinner. Thanks for the healthy recipe!
Thank you so much! (:
Thank you so much Carrie!!
The chicken was great but you can add whatever you like.
Thanks Mary! Definitely worth making! (:
Thank you so much! Let me know how they go! (: