Refried bean quesadilla: Easy vegan lunch

Refried bean quesadillas are one of my favorites whenever I’m trying to think of an easy lunch, dinner, or even breakfast.

They’re so simple to make, really fast, and always tasty.

Plus, I’m a fan of any food that lends itself to dipping, splashing on hot sauce, or piling on avocado and jalapeño pepper slices.

The three most important ingredients in a refried bean quesadilla are tortillas, vegan refried beans, and non-dairy cheese.

And while a quesadilla is supposed to have “queso” in it, that’s one part I sometimes skip.

In truth, once you’ve loaded a tortilla with flavorful refried beans, toasted it between tortillas, and then covered it in toppings, you can hardly tell if there’s any non-dairy cheese underneath all of that.

So I leave that to you.

If you’re feeling like having some non-dairy cheese in your quesadilla, by all means, go for it.

But if you want to skip a step, my bet is you’ll hardly notice the difference.

Start by slathering a tortilla with refried beans.

Pinto or refried black beans work well here. I prefer to use homemade.

And by the way, refried beans freeze well. So I recommend making a double batch. Then freeze half for quick lunches like this one.

But if you have a canned or pre-made refried beans brand that you like, use that instead.

Add a sprinkling of shredded non-dairy cheddar cheese on top, if using.

Then top the quesadilla with a second tortilla.

Toast in a dry skillet on medium heat until it’s nice and brown on one side.

Flip it, and brown the other side.

Remove the tortilla from the skillet.

Then cut the quesadilla into triangles with a knife or kitchen shears.

It’s easy to make a refried bean quesadilla your own by swapping out the type of beans you’re using as the filling.

Simply replace the refried pinto beans with any of the following:

• Refried black beans
• Easy hummus recipe with no cheese
• Buffalo hummus with non-dairy blue cheese
• Sun-dried tomato hummus with non-dairy mozzarella or no cheese
• Kalamata olive hummus with non-dairy feta or no cheese (I’m a fan of Violife vegan feta)

In addition, you can add other things to your bean quesadilla, depending on the filling you choose.

Add any of the following fillings:

• Add avocado, salsa, and/or cilantro to refried pinto or black bean quesadillas
• Add grilled artichoke hearts to easy hummus or kalamata olive hummus quesadillas & serve dolmas on the side
• Add sliced green onions to buffalo hummus quesadillas
• Add thin slices of mushrooms or vegan pepperoni to sun-dried tomato hummus quesadillas

Here are even more vegan quesadilla recipes you’re sure to love.

• Pierogi-style vegan quesadilla with ranch
• Vegan breakfast quesadilla
• Veggie quesadilla with apples & caramelized onions