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 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
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!
Is there any way to reduce the salt content for this recipe? 929mg seems like too much for 1 meal. Is that all from the 1/8 tsp of salt?
The nutrition data provided is calculated using all ingredients listed on the recipe card, including any ingredient listed as optional. Keep in mind that recipes that involve marinades, breading, salad dressings, oil for frying, or salt for cooking pasta and potatoes may be skewed because some of these ingredients will be discarded and not included in the final edible portion.
Used navy beans instead of cannelini and wowwwwww these were SO GOOD!!
I made this recipe because it matched the ingredients I had in the fridge and absolutely loved it. It had a great flavor profile and I will definitely make it again. I had to restrain myself from eating the entire recipe in one sitting. Thanks for another great meal from Budget Bytes.
I’ve made these many times they are DELICIOUS. Budget Bytes is my go-to recipe blog. I’ve never made a bad recipe from here!
Is there anything I could substitute the sour cream for? Preferably non-dairy?
This is SO GOOD. Made this last week for dinner, not really expected anything too outrageous. Husband was on board, but in the same boat – just sort of not expecting anything too crazy. OH MY were we surprised!! These were absolutely delicious and probably the best vegetarian/bean dish we’ve ever made. My 12 year old daughter also loved them. My 4 year old son is more of a black bean and corn fan, so we just made the same recipe using those ingredients (and omitted the spinach) and turned out just as good!! Thank you for an awesome, cheap and delicious recipe – bravo!
I used canned corn because that’s what i had on hand instead of spinach. Incredible! I was hesitant about the sour cream but it makes the filling so creamy. Can’t wait to make again.
This is one of the best dishes I’ve ever made off the internet – hands down. Based on other comments I did mash the beans a bit and added some picked jalapenos (about 2TB worth). I can’t wait to make them again – this will be added to the regular rotation for sure! (Also best of all – they actually only took 20 mins to make! So often people claim recipes are quick but they end up taking me much longer – this one didn’t. Dinner was ready in no time!).
I ended up only frying two of them (there’s only two of us and with a side salad that was plenty) – I saved the others in the fridge and will make them tonight – I think they’ll probably be just as good so extra bonus for that as well.
Awesome taste and really easy to prepare!!
Love your recipes. How do I retrieve the calories/nutrition information for each recipe? I have read the nutritional disclosure, yet don’t see the numbers. Am I missing something?
We only recently brought on a Registered Dietician to our team. She’s working hard behind the scenes to update the entire recipe database, over 1500+ recipes, with nutritional information. She’s working her way from the newest recipes back and it takes some time to update them all. Stay tuned!
Are the two cups of spinach packed tightly, loosely or not? Appreciate it. Want to make this pronto and often.
I’d say loosely packed would be just fine.
I absolutely loved these! This will be great for when I need to throw together something quick and delicious.
I used whole milk yogurt in place of the sour cream since it’s what I had and it’s a little lower calorie. Would recommend.
Wow! Made these tonight. Quick and so delicious. Thank you!
Delicious! We did not miss the meat. Easy to prepare and felt good going meatless. I used a package of chopped frozen spinach with all the water squeezed out and white kidney beans as I didn’t have cannelloni beans on hand. They still tasted great. My son and husband enjoyed them very much too. I did add a little spice and more salt to make them tastier as other reviewers suggested. Will definitely make these again.
That’s great to hear Sheila!
Just a question. Do these freeze well for lunches. (hoping they would work for that like the black bean q.)
Really good! I mashed up the beans as someone else suggested. I think it really added to the creaminess and helped everything stick together. I also added some finely diced jalapeno for spice and subbed pepper jack with a Monterrey Jack blend. Very quick and inexpensive, I will definitely make this again!
Thanks Ashley!