Our Air Fryer Quesadilla recipe cooks in under 10 minutes. The quesadilla sauce is a riff on the Taco Bell quesadilla sauce, making this chicken quesadilla super saucy, cheesy, and hard to resist!
If you’ve been following our recipes for long, you’ve probably realized that we have a bit of a thing for Taco Bell!
I know it’s not cool to admit, but I love hitting them up for a quick lunch. Love recreating their recipes at home even more though. 😉
So far we’ve shared recipes for a Crunchwrap Supreme recipe and the ever popular Air Fryer Mexican Pizza! Both hit the spot when you get a craving the the Bell!
Now we’re sharing our version of the Taco Bell quesadilla sauce. Spread it on a flour tortilla, top it all with cheese and seasoned chicken, air fry it up, and you have a cheesy, saucy, filling quesadilla that is even better than the drive-thru!
Serve these up with our air fryer tortilla chips for an easy meal!
Ingredient Notes:
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Chicken – We’re using cooked and shredded chicken, but you could also use cooked ground chicken or leftover diced chicken. We’ll season the chicken with a bit of taco seasoning.
Tortillas– We’re using 8 inch flour tortillas. We love La Banderita and Guerrero brands for the best tortillas!
Filling ingredients– We’re using a combination of cheddar and monterey jack for flavor and meltiness.
Taco Bell Quesadilla Sauce ingredients– The sauce requires mayo, sour cream, pickled jalapenos, cumin, chili powder, and salt.
We like to keep it simple and use rotisserie chicken. Shred it right when you get home from the grocery store, while strill warm, for the easiest shredding! Use the chicken up in some of our other favorites, like a chicken bacon ranch crunchwrap, buffalo chicken egg rolls, or air fryer flautas.
How to Make Chicken Quesadilla in the Air Fryer:
- Quesadilla Sauce– Simply add all the ingredients for the sauce to a small bowl and whisk to combine. If you desire more spice with your quesadilla you can add a little more chili powder or jalapeno to the sauce during this step.
- Season the Chicken – Add the chicken and taco seasoning to a bowl and toss to coat the chicken.
- Assemble – Spread your sauce on half of the quesadilla and then sprinkle your cheese over the top. Add your seasoned chicken on top of the cheese and fold the other half on top.
- Air Fry – Place your assembled quesadilla in the air fryer and spritz with cooking oil. Air fry at 350 degrees F for 7 minutes. Flip halfway through. If you would like the tortilla more browned or crisp after 7 minutes, cook another minute or two.
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Taco Bell Quesadilla Sauce
We love Taco Bell’s quesadilla sauce and think it adds so much creamy spicy to their quesadillas! We’ve recreated that sauce at home – a little spicy, very creamy, and loaded with flavor. It really does take this air fryer quesadilla to the next level! Add as much or as little as you like. You can even dip your quesadillas in the leftover sauce!
FAQ:
We like a blend of freshly shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack. Mozzarella and Monterey Jack make a really cheesy blend too. Many Mexican-inspired dishes in America use white American cheese. You could use that here in addition to cheddar or Monterey Jack as well!
So many options to add heat to your quesadilla. You could add more spice to the sauce with additional chili powder or jalapenos or stir in some ground cayenne. You could also add slices of jarred/canned jalapenos to the quesadilla with the chicken. Use pepper jack cheese in place of monterey jack cheese, if you like.
Karly’s Tips!
Flipping the quesadilla in the air fryer is simple when you use tongs! Grab the quesadilla along the open edge and carefully drag it over and flip. No mess and no risk of burning yourself on the hot air fryer basket.
We like this recipe with shredded chicken, but leftover taco meat makes a great addition. Or skip the meat altogether and have a tasty cheese quesadilla!
Make it low carb by using Mission Carb Balance tortillas!
More Mexican Inspired Recipes You Might Like:
- Air Fryer Chicken Fajitas
- Air Fryer Street Corn
- Air Fryer Empanadas
- Air Fryer Taco Egg Rolls
- Air Fryer Fried Tacos
Air Fryer Quesadilla
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Taco Bell quesadilla sauce:
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 tablespoon pickled jalapenos diced
- 1 tablespoon juice from jar of pickled jalapenos
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For the quesadilla:
- ¾ cup shredded, cooked chicken
- 2 teaspoons taco seasoning
- 2 8-inch flour tortillas
- ½ cup shredded Monterey jack cheese
- ½ cup shredded cheddar
Instructions
To make the sauce:
- Add all of the sauce ingredients to a small bowl and whisk to combine.
To make the quesadillas:
- Add the chicken and taco seasoning to a small bowl and toss to coat the chicken in the seasoning.
- Spread half of each tortilla with a tablespoon or two of the quesadilla sauce (you won't use all of it) and top with the Monterey jack cheese.
- Sprinkle the chicken over the cheese and then top with the cheddar.
- Fold tortillas closed and place in an air fryer basket. Spritz lightly with cooking spray.
- Air fry at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking, until tortillas are as browned and crisp as you’d like.
- Serve with the extra sauce for dipping, if desired.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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