Quesadilla con Chorizo

The bold flavors of chorizo paired with sweet caramelized onions make one tantalizing quesadilla - experiment with different cheeses to take this Quesadilla con Chorizo to an even higher level of awesome!

One of the keys to making an amazing quesadilla is to mindfully choose your fillings - as you'll see with this Chorizo Quesadilla recipe. This means quality ingredients and choosing just a few of them. While some people may find this limiting, I think it’s only limiting if you let it be. Ingredients can be manipulated to extract different flavors, thereby providing more tasty options. 

Let’s take today’s recipe for Quesadilla con Chorizo, which I've decided to pair with caramelized onion. Onion is an ingredient I often include in quesadillas, typically after a quick pan fry in butter so they are still tender-crisp but not as sharp in flavor as raw onions. Against the bold flavors of chorizo, caramelized onions bring a sweet complexity that raw or quickly pan-fried onions lack.

Chorizo and caramelized onions. It’s a bomb combination. Let’s start by caramelizing those onions.

Jump to:

• How do you make Caramelized Onions?
• How do you make Chorizo Quesadillas?
• Variations and Substitutions
• What do you serve with chorizo quesadillas?
• Storing leftover quesadillas
• Reheating quesadillas
• Quesadilla con Chorizo

How do you make Caramelized Onions?

I followed Bon Appetit’s instructions on caramelizing onions. But here’s an abridged version of what I did. 

1. Thinly slice your onion.
2. Add two tablespoons of butter or bacon grease to a pan over medium heat. Once melted and sizzling, add the onions.
3. Stir well for 30 seconds or so, until the onions are coated in butter/bacon grease.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently. I stopped here (step 6 of Bon Appetit’s instructions) because I was hungry. Even at this stage, the onions will take on a lovely sweet, roasted quality. 
5. For truly caramelized onions, you’ll want to keep cooking for an additional 15-20 minutes or beyond, depending on how dark you want your onions. Go ahead and cook them to your desired doneness for this recipe. 

How do you make Chorizo Quesadillas?

To make these Quesadillas con Chorizo you will need the following ingredients (makes 2 servings):

• 2 extra-large tortillas
• ½ pound chorizo, cooked and strained on paper towels
• 1 large yellow onion
• 3 cups pepper jack cheese
• Salsa of your choosing 

Instructions

Caramelize the onions (see instructions above). 

Bring a large skillet or griddle to medium heat. 

Assemble a quesadilla on a cutting board. Divide the three cups of shredded pepper jack cheese into four even portions. 

Sprinkle one pile of shredded cheese over half of one tortilla. Add half of the cooked chorizo, followed by half of the caramelized onions, distributing them each evenly. Top with another of the piles of shredded cheese. 

Fold the naked half of the tortilla over the top of the side with fillings. Repeat step above with the second quesadilla.

Place quesadillas into a large pan or put on a griddle (you may need to cook one at a time, depending on your cooking surface).

Cook for 5-7 minutes on each side, or until crisp and toasty looking. 

Remove from heat and cut into four slices. Serve with your favorite salsa.

Variations and Substitutions

You can easily make this Quesadilla con Chorizo recipe your own! Try these suggestions.

• Chorizo - you can use either pork or beef chorizo here. Trader Joe's also makes a product called soyrizo if you'd like a vegetarian option.
• Caramelized onion - give it a quick saute if you're in a hurry. Or leave it out if you don't like onion.
• Cheese - I used pepper jack but you can use any good melting cheese you like such as Oaxaca, mild cheddar, or Colby jack.

What do you serve with chorizo quesadillas?

Try these awesome accompaniments, perfect for dipping!

• Roasted Garlic Chimichurri - a fresh and herbaceous dipping sauce
• Roasted Garlic Guacamole - a unique take on traditional guacamole
• Spicy Pico de Gallo - fiery and irresistibly fresh
• Citrus Jalapeno Salsa - fresh, acidic, punctuated with pleasant hits of heat
• Creamy Green Sauce - bold, thanks to fresh jalapeno and spring onion

Try these awesome side dishes, perfect for serving alongside Chorizo Quesadillas!

• Easy Seasoned Refried Beans
• Salsa Ranch Pinwheels
• Instant Pot Spanish Rice
• Instant Pot Pinto Bean Soup

Storing leftover quesadillas

Store leftover quesadillas in a sealed container in the refrigerator. I would plan on doing this for no longer than 24 hours as the quality degrades pretty quickly. 

Reheating quesadillas

Reheating a quesadilla to its former glory is pretty much impossible, let’s just get that out of the way. Now that your expectations are set to “good enough”, I will tell you that the best way to reheat a quesadilla in an attempt to mimic its fresh-made gloriousness as closely as possible is in the air fryer. But reheating in the oven or slowly reheating on the stovetop or on a griddle works as well.  

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