Spinach and Artichoke Quesadilla
Spinach artichoke dip — cream cheese, mozzarella, parmesan, garlic, canned artichoke hearts, frozen spinach — folded inside a buttery, crispy tortilla with shredded rotisserie chicken. The dip you always order, turned into dinner. Twenty minutes.
Ingredients
Meat & Protein
- 2 cup rotisserie chicken shredded
Produce
- 3 garlic cloves minced
Dairy
- 4 oz cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 0.25 cup parmesan cheese freshly grated
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter for toasting tortillas
- 0.25 cup sour cream for serving
Pantry & Canned Goods
- 4 flour tortillas large, burrito size
- 1 cup frozen spinach thawed and squeezed completely dry
- 1 cup canned artichoke hearts drained and roughly chopped
Seasonings & Spices
- 0.5 tsp garlic powder
- 0.5 tsp kosher salt
- 0.25 tsp black pepper
- 0.25 tsp crushed red pepper flakes optional
Instructions
- Make the spinach artichoke filling. In a medium bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, shredded mozzarella, grated parmesan, minced garlic, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes if using. Mix until smooth. Fold in the thawed and thoroughly dried spinach and chopped artichoke hearts. Add the shredded rotisserie chicken and fold again until everything is evenly distributed. The filling should be thick enough to hold its shape — if the cream cheese wasn't fully softened, microwave the whole bowl for 20 seconds and stir again.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add half a tablespoon of butter and let it melt and foam. Lay one tortilla flat in the pan. Working quickly, spread a generous quarter of the spinach artichoke chicken filling evenly over one half of the tortilla. Fold the bare half over the filling and press down firmly with a spatula.
- Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the bottom is deep golden brown. Flip carefully and cook another 2 minutes until the second side is golden and the filling is hot throughout. Transfer to a cutting board and repeat with remaining tortillas, adding butter before each one.
- Rest 1 minute before cutting. Slice into wedges and serve with sour cream for dipping.
Notes
The spinach must be completely dry before it goes into the filling. Frozen spinach holds an enormous amount of water — thaw it, then squeeze it by the handful over the sink until no more liquid comes out, then wrap it in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze again. Wet spinach makes a wet filling that steams the tortilla from the inside and prevents it from crisping. Dry spinach is what makes this quesadilla work.
Same goes for the artichoke hearts — drain them well and pat them with a paper towel before chopping. Canned artichokes are packed in water or brine that will dilute the filling if it goes in undrained.
Cream cheese at room temperature is non-negotiable for this filling. Cold cream cheese doesn't mix smoothly with the other cheeses and creates lumpy, uneven distribution. Leave it out for 30 minutes or microwave the block for 15 to 20 seconds before mixing.
No rotisserie chicken on hand? The Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken Breast recipe on this site is the make-ahead alternative — same shred, slightly different flavor, works identically in this filling. Or leave the chicken out entirely for a vegetarian version that doesn't miss it.
Leftovers: refrigerate the filling separately for up to 3 days and assemble fresh quesadillas when ready. Pre-assembled and refrigerated quesadillas go soggy — the moisture from the filling softens the tortilla overnight.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!