I kid you not, I ate these Chili Garlic Breakfast Quesadillas for breakfast nearly every day for at least a whole year. At the time I was flat broke, commuting over an hour to school, and needed something easy, cheap, and filling. These quesadillas were IT. They only take a few minutes to make in a skillet, which I could do while my coffee was brewing. The simple ingredients were easy to keep on hand, and, of course, super inexpensive. And there’s just something really comforting about egg and melty cheese. :) Anyway, those days have long passed, but I still make a delicious breakfast quesadilla on a fairly regular basis!
Originally posted 2-15-2010, updated 9-30-2021.
What Kind of Tortilla Should I Use?
I find that flour tortillas work a little better than corn tortillas for these breakfast quesadillas because they don’t crack quite as easily, and you can find flour tortillas in a bigger size more appropriate for the quesadilla. Within the flour tortilla range, you can feel free to use any kind—white, wheat, low-carb, whatever fits your lifestyle best! You can also experiment with flavored tortillas like sun-dried tomato or spinach.
Do You Oil the Skillet?
I usually skip oiling the skillet when I make quesadillas. I find the tortilla still gets nice and crispy without being overly heavy and oily. But, if you prefer to have that fried texture on your tortilla, feel free to add a little oil or butter to your skillet before toasting the quesadilla.
Can I Substitute the Sauce?
Yes, there are all sorts of sauce possibilities for these quesadillas! I used a chunky chili garlic sauce, but you could also do something like sriracha, chili crisp, or no sauce at all. I’ve even made a similar quesadilla using leftover pesto!
Try these other quesadilla flavors:
Chili Garlic Breakfast Quesadilla
Servings 1Ingredients
- 1 tsp butter ($0.04)
- 1 large egg ($0.21)
- 1 8-inch tortilla ($0.14)
- 1 tsp chili garlic sauce ($0.04)
- 1/4 cup shredded cheddar ($0.21)
- 1/2 cup fresh spinach ($0.19)
Instructions
- Add the butter to a skillet and heat over medium. When the skillet is hot, add the egg and fry until over-easy (or your preferred level of doneness).
- While the egg cooks, spread the chili garlic paste on one half of the tortilla. Add the shredded cheese on top of the chili garlic sauce.
- When the egg is finished cooking, place it on top of the shredded cheese on the tortilla. Top with the fresh spinach, then fold the tortilla closed.
- Transfer the stuffed and folded tortilla back to the skillet used to cook the egg. Continue to cook over medium on both sides until golden brown and crispy and the cheese is melted on the inside.
- Slice the breakfast quesadilla in half, then enjoy!
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Equipment
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Chili Garlic Breakfast Quesadillas – Step by Step Photos
Start by frying an egg in a skillet with a little butter (or whatever cooking oil you prefer). I like to do over-easy eggs for my quesadillas so I get a little bit of a creamy-liquid center in the yolk, but not so much that it’s dripping all over when I’m trying to eat the quesadilla.
This is the chili garlic sauce that I used. You can find this in most major grocery stores in the U.S., usually in the international aisle. It’s kind of a chunky mix of red chiles, garlic, salt, and vinegar.
While the egg is frying, spread about a teaspoon of chili garlic sauce over one half of an 8-inch flour tortilla.
Then add about ¼ cup shredded cheddar (or your favorite cheese).
Then plop that fried egg right on top of the cheese (it will help begin melting the cheese).
Then top it off with a handful of fresh spinach. Fold the tortilla closed over the filling.
Place the quesadilla back in the same skillet that you used to fry the egg and cook over medium heat on both sides until golden and crispy on the outside and the cheese is melted on the inside.
Cut the chili garlic breakfas quesadilla in half and enjoy!
That mix of the tangy spicy chili garlic sauce, melty cheese, and creamy yolk is just PERFECTION. I guess the spinach is just in there for good measure. haha
My 2-year-old LOVES these (I leave the chili garlic sauce out for her–but the husband and I love it with).
Thank you for this amazing recipe that can be made in under 5 minutes. You’re my hero!
Hi!!!!! I just made this recipe and its cooling. It looks delicious. I read the comment about dividing the cheese amongst the spinach and below the egg. I did that and it caMe together really well. Thanks for the idea of a cheap recipe!!!!
So good! I skipped the spinach and used sambal oleak instead of chili garlic paste. Very pleased. With such little effort a restaurant worthy breakfast. Will make again tomorrow!
This worked with a burrito size tortilla. Never would have thought of this combo, tasty and filling!
My daughter raves about these!  I finally got all the ingredients together and I’m making one for breakfast in the morning.Â
I’m going to make this later, I like the step by step photos. Your comment about the spinach is funny, thanks for this recipe.
Can these be frozen and reheated?
They would probably freeze just okay. Eggs will always cook further upon reheating and when they do they expel water, so that might be an issue during reheating.
I can’t get chilli garlic paste in my country so I used whatever hot sauce I had in the pantry and these were so delicious! Really easy to put together with just a few ingredients, pretty healthy too!
Beth! Honestly, I’ve seen this here for ages and always thought, “not sure how I feel about breakfast quesadillas.” I made this this morning because I was starving and needed something to eat before my run- had all the ingredients on hand obviously. So easy and delicious! I’ll be building into the breakfast routine! Thanks!
Love, love, love this! I’ve been alternating between this and the Hummus Breakfast Mug for the past couple of weeks. It is a great way to get a little bit of veggies in at the beginning of the day and I’ve had good luck with whatever variety of shredded cheese I have on hand. The only thing I do differently is put the quesadilla in the pan spinach side down first, so that I don’t need to stand there and hold it shut.
Thanks for such a simple and tasty recipe. I consider myself a pretty good cook but I’m severely lacking in the creativity category. I never would have come up with this on my own!
Had this for breakfast this morning and it was so good! I split the cheese so that some was between the chili garlic sauce and the egg and the rest was between the spinach and the other half of the tortilla to try to make it stay together a little more. Took about 10 minutes (helped by the fact that I washed the spinach last night) and was easily able to eat it as I walked out the door to start my morning commute. Thanks for another great recipe, Beth!
Hi Beth, just thought I’d stop by and say how happy I am to have found your website, all the way in Manchester, England! I’m a nurse living alone on a very tight budget, and always on the look out to find reasons to actually cook myself something decent to eat at the end of the day instead of just heating up a can of soup….. And these quesedillas look fantastic for tonight’s supper- thank you!
OMG, I’m in love. This is soooo good. Thank you.