Creamy White Bean and Spinach Quesadillas
This is like, “the week of quesadillas” at my house. LOL. When the concept for these super easy creamy quesadillas first came into my head I couldn’t decide whether to make them with chicken or do a vegetarian version, so I just made both! While I love both versions of this quesadilla, the incredible ease and low cost of these Creamy White Bean and Spinach Quesadillas might make them the winner. They literally only take about 20 minutes and are so freaking good.
If you want the chicken version, head over to the post for Creamy Chicken and Spinach Quesadillas.
Creamy White Bean and Spinach Quesadillas
How to serve Creamy White Bean and Spinach Quesadillas
Because the filling for these quesadillas is so rich and creamy, they really benefit from being served with a nice tangy salsa. The salsa I used is a smoky chipotle red salsa, which paired so well with the flavors of the quesadillas. Normally quesadillas would be served with some sour cream or guacamole dolloped on top, but there is so much creaminess already that I think that would be overkill.
What type of white beans should I use?
I definitely suggest using cannellini beans for this recipe because of their large size, firm texture, and ability to hold their shape. Other white beans, like navy beans, tend to break down and are better suited for use in soups, stews, or recipes where they’ll be mashed. If you want to read more about the common types of white beans and how they’re best used, check out this helpful guide from Camellia Beans.
Creamy White Bean and Spinach Quesadillas
Ingredients
- 1 15oz. can cannellini beans ($0.69)
- 3/4 tsp chili powder ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin ($0.03)
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 2 cups fresh spinach ($0.87)
- 4 oz. pepper jack cheese, shredded ($1.00)
- 1/2 cup sour cream ($0.35)
- 4 8-inch flour tortillas ($0.96)
Instructions
- Rinse and drain the cannellini beans well. Once well drained, transfer them to a bowl and add the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, and salt. Stir to combine the beans with the spices.
- Roughly chop the spinach into smaller pieces. Add the spinach, cheese, and sour cream to the bowl with the beans, then stir to combine.
- Divide the spinach and bean mixture between the four tortillas, then fold them in half to close.
- Cook the quesadillas, one or two at a time, in a skillet* over medium heat until the tortillas are brown and crispy and the filling is melted and gooey (3-5 minutes each side).
- Cut the quesadillas in half, then serve.
Notes
Nutrition
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Dip it, dip it good! 🤣
How to Make Spinach and White Bean Quesadillas – Step by Step Photos
Begin by rinsing and draining a 15oz. can of cannellini beans. Make sure they’re drained well, then place them in a bowl with 3/4 tsp chili powder, 1/4 tsp cumin, 1/8 tsp garlic powder, and 1/8 tsp salt. Stir to coat the beans in the spices.
Roughly chop about 2 cups of spinach into smaller pieces.
Combine the seasoned beans and chopped spinach in a bowl with 4 oz. shredded pepper jack cheese and 1/2 cup sour cream. Stir to combine these ingredients.
Divide the spinach and bean mixture between the four tortillas, covering half of the tortilla, then fold them in half to close.
Cook the quesadillas, one or two at a time, in a skillet over medium heat until the tortillas are brown and crispy, and the filling is melted. I don’t add oil to my skillet, but you can if you prefer a more fried-like texture to the tortillas. (The residue you see in the skillet is splatter from juices coming out of the quesadilla.)
Slice the cooked quesadillas in half and serve!
As mentioned above, I LOVE these Creamy White Bean and Spinach Quesadillas served with a nice tangy salsa!
Do you think I could sub in kale instead of spinach?
Yes I would just be sure to massage it before sautéing so it will not be so chewy.
Perfect recipe! Easy, super flavorful. I made it as written, and cooked the quesadillas in a dry, preheated cast iron skillet. I even refrigerated half the filling to make the next day, and those tasted just as good.
Be warned: these are very tasty and I ate the whole recipe in only 2 meals 🙂
Can you sub the sour cream for Greek yogurt?? I never have sour cream on hand
Yes! It’s an ideal swap.
Flavorful, easy and quick. Perfect for us.
It was really good.
This recipe is so versatile, and so easy! I make it as-is, and my BF makes the chicken version. (He also subbed cheddar for jack once, and said that was also delicious.) With medium-sized tortillas, this is easily four or five quesadillas, and holds up great in the fridge. I recently made the switch to vegetarian, and I’m always looking for ways to get plenty of protein and veggies into my meals. This is amazing on all counts!
Made this tonight and it came out great. Thanks!
Do these freeze well?
We haven’t tested them in the freezer, but I think properly stored they should be great!
I froze them and they re-heat well! Obviously they lose some of the crisp & crunch from being freshly fried, but they taste as delicious as ever. I microwaved one quesadilla for about 3 minutes and the cheese was nice and gooey again.
I’ve made this recipe twice and it’s been a plate-licking hit both times! Adult and kid-friendly, and while I know there’s a lot of cheese and sour cream in it, the beans and spinach make it feel healthy and satisfying. I’ve shared it with many friends! Thanks!
This was good and had good flavor, but next time I plan to use less sour cream. 1/2 cup sour cream made the whole mixture too liquidy in the quesadilla and it all fell apart easily once cooked. I also think I’ll precook the spinach before adding it into the mixture.
I made this for lunch – this was so easy to make and so delicious. I love all of the spices and the sour cream adds another dimension
I made this for lunch for my family of 5 adult eaters. I doubled it and had no leftovers. Everyone loved it! Great recipe! Thanks Beth!
This recipe was the most pleasant surprise! To be honest I’m not normally a huge bean person, but was looking for alternate protein sources with meat being a little harder to come by right now. I didn’t learn until after I cooked this that BF dislikes both spinach and beans….and he was the first to head back for seconds :) We did follow the recommendations of some other reviewers and mashed our beans a bit. Kept some of the filling in the fridge to make leftovers with fresh tortillas and it was still great two days later. We will be keeping this in the rotation for sure! Thanks, Beth.
Didn’t have any pepper jack but had a Mexican blend so I used it. Also, failed to read the instructions and started tossing everything in the bowl starting w/the spinach, and then saw I was supposed to season the beans. Whoops. So I seasoned the sour cream instead and mixed that into the rest of it all. No problem! Used big giant tortillas (2).
This was awesome! Had leftovers.
Okay – so for breakfast this morning I made an over medium egg and tossed it on top of a piece of one of these I had heated up in the microwave. It wasn’t bad! (don’t judge…or do: I don’t care).
This is all to say: I suspect there’s some versatility here. I’m willing to play with it.
great idea for breakfast leftovers.