I’m of the opinion that pretty much everything tastes better in a toasted tortilla. I often take leftover ingredients from my fridge and turn them into a tasty quesadilla. So that’s exactly what I made with the leftover frozen spinach in my freezer. Easy, cheesy, creamy Spinach and Mushroom Quesadillas!
To craft these Spinach and Mushroom Quesadillas, I used my Creamy Chicken and Spinach Quesadillas as a template. The filling is a combination of your main ingredient (in this case mushrooms and spinach), cheese, and a little bit of sour cream to make everything extra creamy and delicious. That little bit of sour cream really takes the quesadillas to the next level!
Can I Use Fresh Spinach?
I also tested this recipe using fresh spinach, just to see which would be better. I added the fresh, roughly chopped spinach to the quesadilla filling without sautéing. The quesadillas were good, but they did get a bit watery if they sat in the hot skillet too long or sat on the plate too long before eating.
Another option for fresh spinach would be to sauté the fresh spinach down until almost all of the water is cooked out, but you’d likely need a very large quantity of spinach yield enough to fill the quesadillas once sautéed.
Cheese Options
I kept my spinach and mushroom quesadillas very simple with classic mozzarella cheese, but you could have fun here and add more flavor by swapping out the cheese or adding a second type of cheese. Adding a few crumbles of feta or a couple of tablespoons of grated Parmesan to the mozzarella would add an extra punch of flavor. Mixing in some smoked gouda would also be amazing! If you want things a little more spicy, you could use pepper jack in place of the mozzarella.
Spinach and Mushroom Quesadillas
Servings 5 quesadillasIngredients
- 8 oz. mushrooms ($1.69)
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp salt, divided ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked pepper, divided ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper ($0.02)
- 1/2 lb. frozen chopped spinach ($0.84)
- 8 oz. mozzarella*, shredded ($1.85)
- 1/4 cup sour cream ($0.29)
- 5 7-inch flour tortillas ($0.94)
Instructions
- Slice the mushrooms and add them to a skillet with the cooking oil, garlic powder, crushed red pepper, and half of the salt and pepper. Sauté over medium until the mushrooms have release all of their water and it has evaporated out of the skillet. Set the mushrooms aside.
- While the mushrooms are cooking, thaw the frozen spinach then squeeze out as much of the water as possible. You should have about one cup of spinach (loosely packed) once squeezed.
- Add the mushrooms, spinach, shredded mozzarella, sour cream, and another ⅛ tsp each of salt and pepper to a bowl, then stir to combine.
- Add about ½ cup of the cheesy spinach mushroom mixture to each tortilla, spread it out to cover one side of the tortilla, then fold to close.
- Cook the quesadillas in a skillet over medium heat until brown and crispy on the outside and melty on the inside (I do not use butter or oil in the skillet, but can if you want a more fried texture).
- Slice the quesadillas and serve!
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Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Love spinach and mushrooms together? Try our Spinach Mushroom French Bread Pizzas!
How to Make Spinach and Mushroom Quesadillas – Step by Step Photos
Slice 8oz. mushrooms. I used baby bella, but you can use whatever type you like.
Add the mushrooms to a skillet along with 1 Tbsp cooking oil, ¼ tsp garlic powder, ⅛ tsp salt, ⅛ tsp pepper, and ⅛ tsp crushed red pepper. Sauté over medium until the mushrooms have released all of their moisture and it has evaporated out of the skillet. Set the mushrooms aside.
Thaw ½ lb. of frozen chopped spinach. Squeeze as much water out of the spinach as possible. You should have about one loosely packed cup of dried spinach.
Add the spinach, mushrooms, 8 oz. shredded mozzarella, ¼ cup sour cream, and an additional ⅛ tsp salt and pepper to a bowl.
Stir the ingredients together until well combined.
Add about ½ cup of the spinach mushroom mixture to each tortilla, spreading it out over one side, then folding it closed.
Toast the quesadillas in a skillet over medium heat until they are golden brown and crispy on the outsides and melty on the insides. I don’t use any butter or oil in the skillet, but you can if you prefer a more fried texture to the tortilla.
Slice the quesadillas in half and serve!
Another winner! I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious. I will definitely be making this again!
I was wondering about adding some beans to this for additional protein and to make it more filling – would some great northern or cannellini beans work?
Yes, those are both great choices!
WOW! Made these for myself and a friend last night and I swear when she bit into this quesadilla she was in heaven. These are so good. I added some goat cheese, used sharp cheddar instead of mozzarella cheese, and used kale (sauteed with the mushrooms) instead of spinach. Just incredible. Thank you so much to Beth and the whole team for bringing these recipes that spark joy into my life.
YUMMO! Made these for dinner tonight and they were delicious! Added some minced garlic with the mushrooms, and a few shakes of grated parmesan to the mix before blending everything, but otherwise left the recipe alone and they were wonderful. We will definitely have these again. Thank you for sharing this!!
I’ve spotted some mushrooms on sale and I can’t wait to try them with this recipe! I’m not very fond of sour cream, do you think I could use some cream cheese instead?
You’ll definitely need to warm it up a bit in order to mix it together with everything, but other than that I think cream cheese would be really good in this! :)
Thank you, you’re always so helpful! I ended up using the mushrooms for your egg drop soup instead, as it was a chilly, comfort-food kind of day, but I’m definitely trying this one next!
Came back to leave a comment saying how great and easy this was. Made this last night for dinner for me and my notoriously picky grandmother. Not only did she eat it, but she went back for SECONDS!!!! She’s 95 with dementia/alzheimer’s, so she’s fussy. but this went down no problem. I am so making this again. Thank you Budget Bytes!