These chorizo quesadillas are crispy on the outside, cheesy on the inside, and packed with chorizo, potatoes, and veggies. But, the pièce de résistance is a generous drizzle of hot honey and salsa. The sweet-spicy-savory-cheesy combo is crazy good.
This is a riff on one of my all-time favorite meals: crispy corn tortilla quesadillas. I am not over exaggerating when I say that I make those quesadillas at least once a week. The are super quick and easy to make, use ingredients I always have on hand, and something both my husband and I find so delicious we don't mind eating them all the time.
The concept is super simple: Sandwich whatever you like between cheese and corn tortillas and cook it in a skillet until the cheese is melted and the tortillas are golden and crispy.
For this version, I cooked some fresh chorizo with chopped onion then added garlic, bell pepper, and a chopped jalapeño. This, along with some chopped boiled potatoes, becomes the filling for these packages of cheesy goodness. And, you can stop there and they will be perfectly delicious.
BUT, please, I beg of you, do not stop there. Because topping these crispy, chorizo filled quesadillas with hot honey and salsa is shockingly good.
Shockingly?, you say.
Yes, yes I did. And I'll say it again. Shockingly good.
Try them and see for yourself.
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Ingredients needed to make these quesadillas
- Baby potatoes: I used baby yellow potatoes, but any kind of small new potatoes will work perfectly well.
- Vegetable or canola oil and/ or butter: You'll want to use a bit of oil to cook the chorizo and vegetables for the quesadilla filling. Then, use a bit more oil, OR butter, OR a combination of butter and oil to cook the quesadillas.
- One small yellow, white, or red onion
- Fresh chorizo: See note below for information about the difference between fresh and cured chorizo.
- A couple of bell peppers: I like to use a yellow and a red bell pepper to make these quesadillas, but feel free to use any color of bell pepper you like.
- One jalapeño
- Pepper Jack cheese
- Corn tortillas
- Hot honey: I used Mike's Hot Honey, but any brand will do.
- Salsa: My favorite jared salsa is Herdez Roasted Salsa Verde. We always have some in the refrigerator so that is what I used here. But use whatever kind of salsa you like.
The difference between fresh and cured chorizo: Fresh chorizo is uncooked, raw pork sausage sometimes sold ground (like in the photo above) and sometimes sold in a casing. Cured chorizo is ready to eat and the texture of hard salami. This recipe uses fresh chorizo, but you can certainly use cured chorizo if you prefer. As there's no need to cook cured chorizo, sauté the vegetables then layer slices of cured chorizo into the quesadillas along with the cheese and cooked veggies.
Substitutions and additions
Like with these crispy corn tortilla quesadillas, this is one of those recipes for which anything goes. Pack nearly anything you like into the center of these cheesy quesadillas, drizzle with hot honey and salsa, and enjoy. Here are just a few ideas to get you started...
- Use any kind of veggies you like instead of or in addition to the onions, garlic, and bell pepper. These quesadillas are an excellent way to use up whatever's rolling around in your vegetable drawer.
- Instead of white or yellow potatoes, use sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are a delicious compliment to chorizo and hot honey!
- Instead of Pepper Jack cheese, use regular Monterey Jack cheese, Oaxaca, Colby Jack, or spicy cheddar.
- Swap out the corn tortillas for flour tortillas. Bonus points if you make homemade flour tortillas! (Warning: if you do make homemade flour tortillas, you'll never go back. They are that good.)
Step-by-step photos and instructions
Cook the potatoes in salted water until you can pierce them easily with a fork. Drain in a colander set inside the sink and let rest until cool enough to handle.
Pro tip: I usually boil more potatoes than I'll need for these quesadillas and then use them in other meals throughout the week.
Chop the cooked potatoes into bite size pieces.
Chop the bell peppers into pieces that are the size of a bean. Mince the jalapeño and garlic and put all the veggies into a bowl.
Cook the chorizo and onion in a large skillet until the sausage is no longer pink.
Add the vegetables to the skillet and cook for a couple of minutes, until they are crisp-tender.
Dump everything into a colander set over a bowl to drain excess fat from the chorizo.
Add some butter and/or oil to a skillet and set it over medium heat. When the butter has melted or the oil is hot, lay a corn tortilla in the skillet and add a few slices of cheese.
Pile on a generous amount, about a half of a cup, of chorizo and vegetables and a few potatoes.
Add a few more slices of cheese and another tortilla. When the cheese begins to melt out of the bottom of the quesadilla, use a spatula to quickly and carefully flip the whole thing over.
When you flip the quesadilla over, some of the filling will fall out. This is not a problem. Use the spatula to press some of it back in and just let the rest sizzle in the pan along with the quesadilla.
Continue to cook the quesadilla until it's golden brown and crispy on both sides then remove to a plate and drizzle with a generous amount of hot honey.
Top with salsa and dig in.
Pro tips:
- As the cheese melts, it will leak out of the quesadilla. That is a really good thing! The cheese will "fry" in the skillet, creating little bits of delicious crispy fried cheese.
- Be sure to add cheese on both sides - before and after you add any filling ingredients. You want melted cheese covering both tortillas so that the quesadilla will hold together as you flip it. Also, more cheese = more yum. 😊
- It's important to fry the quesadillas at moderately high heat so that the outside of the tortillas gets crispy. Adjust the burner as necessary, turning it down if the butter in the pan starts to smoke. Each side will only take a couple of minutes to cook if the burner is hot enough. If your burner isn't very hot just let the quesadilla cook longer. When you flip it over, the tortilla should be golden brown, with little dark brown spots all over the surface. If you don't see that, just keep flipping it over until you do.
Serving suggestion
When it's summer and sweet corn is at its peak, I love serving these chorizo quesadillas with fresh corn salad.
The salad comes together in under 20 minutes, requires no cooking, and puts the bright, fresh flavors of sweet corn, tomatoes, arugula, and fresh basil on center stage.
It's the perfect complement to the sweet-spicy-cheesy flavor of chorizo quesadillas.
The rest of the year, when fresh sweet corn is not in season, I like to serve chorizo quesadillas with roasted corn because it can be made with frozen kernels. It's also a super quick and easy side dish and can be flavored with whatever your heart desires.
More quick and easy recipes I think you'll love
If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Scroll down to leave a comment and rate it!
📖 Recipe
Chorizo Quesadillas with Hot Honey
These chorizo quesadillas are crispy on the outside, cheesy on the inside, and packed with chorizo, potatoes, and veggies. But, the pièce de résistance is a generous drizzle of hot honey and salsa. The sweet-spicy-savory-cheesy combo is crazy good.
Ingredients
- 6-8 baby potatoes (new potatoes or petite potatoes)
- Salt
- 2 bell peppers, any color
- 3 - 4 cloves garlic
- 1 jalapeño, stem and seeds removed
- about 2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
- 1 pound fresh Chorizo sausage
- ⅓ cup chopped yellow onion (white or red onions are also ok)
- 2 - 4 tablespoons butter and/or oil
- 12 corn tortillas
- 16 ounces Pepper Jack cheese, cut into ¼-inch thick slices
- hot honey, for serving
- Salsa, for serving
Instructions
- Add the potatoes to a medium size saucepan and fill with enough water to cover the potatoes completely. Add enough salt to make the water taste salty. Set the pan over high heat, bring to a boil, then lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook until you can easily pierce the potatoes with a fork. Drain in a colander set inside the sink and let rest until cool enough to handle. Cut into bite size pieces.
- Remove the stem and seeds from the bell peppers and chop them into pieces that are about the size of a black bean. Remove the stem and seeds from the jalapeño and dice it into very small pieces. Remove the papery skin from the cloves of garlic and dice into very small pieces. Add all the vegetables to a bowl and set near the stovetop.
- Add 2 tablespoons of oil to a large skillet and set it over medium heat. When the oil is hot, crumble the chorizo into the pan and add the chopped onions. Cook, stirring frequently, until the chorizo is cooked through and no longer pink.
- Add the chopped vegetables to the pan and cook until they are crisp-tender. Transfer the chorizo and vegetable mixture to a colander set inside a bowl to drain excess fat.
- Add a tablespoon or two of butter and/ or oil to a skillet and set it over medium heat. When the butter has melted or the oil is hot, add a corn tortilla. Add a few slices of cheese. Top the cheese with about a half cup of the chorizo and vegetable mixture and a few pieces of potato. Top with more slices of cheese and another tortilla. Use a flat spatula to press everything down.
- When the cheese on the bottom layer of the quesadilla looks melted and starts to leak out of the tortilla, use a spatula to carefully and quickly flip the whole thing over. When you do this some of the filling will fall out. This is not a problem. Use the spatula to press some of it back in and just let the rest sizzle in the pan along with the quesadilla.
- Cook the quesadilla, flipping it as necessary, until it's golden brown and crispy on both sides.
- Transfer to a plate and drizzle with a generous amount of hot honey and a few spoonfuls of salsa.
Notes
This recipe gives instructions for cooking one quesadilla at a time, which is usually what I do, even when making several. Once the filling ingredients are prepped, each quesadilla only takes a few minutes to make. If you have a large enough skillet, you can cook two or three at a time, but I find it much easier to cook them one at a time. If you want to serve several all at once, keep the cooked quesadillas warm in a 200 degree oven.
The cooked potatoes and chorizo and vegetable mixture will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 933Total Fat: 62gSaturated Fat: 29gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 30gCholesterol: 144mgSodium: 1621mgCarbohydrates: 56gFiber: 4gSugar: 26gProtein: 41g
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