Quesadilla Stacks

Quesadilla Stacks

Well, this is getting posted a little later than I had hoped for but you’ll have to forgive me – it’s been a hectic few weeks. You have no choice anyway really, I’ve taken the fact you’ve got this far to assume that forgiveness has been granted.

We’ve had a bit of mixed bag weather wise for the past month, and I managed to get “struck down” (very OTT description) with the cold and flu like symptoms that were flying round. That has driven me to generally spicier food (which didnt help the already runny nose) but nothing too ridiculous. I actually had some time to meal plan this month too, which means I did have the odd repetitive (but healthy) meal including about 4 days of chilli with just about every side dish going. That very same week, I needed a veggie day immediately after to take a break from the spicy red meat ragu I'd become overly accustom to.

In 2017 I had one veggie day a week, and I’ve upped that to 2 days a week this year. It’s forced creativity with my recipes which by no means a bad thing, and this recipe is one I love returning to for some wholesome and fresh tasting grub (which in this instance can also be made gluten free): Quesadilla Stacks!


So what do you need?

Core components:
  • 6 pack of (gluten free, if you fancy) tortilla style wraps
  • Grated cheese (light cheddar preferably)

For the Salsa:
  • A 200g pack of plum or tomatoes (quartered)
  • 1 red onion (finely chopped)
  • Fresh coriander (to taste)
  • A squeeze of lime juice

For the spicy guacamole:
  • 2 small or one large avocado
  • Fresh coriander (to taste)
  • 2 birds eye chillies (chopped)
  • A squeeze of lime juice

For the bean pâté:
  • 1 tin of borlotti or pinto beans (washed and drained)
  • Fresh coriander (to taste)
  • A squeeze of lime juice

First thing you will want to do is turn the oven to 180 Celsius for baking the tower once you’ve cooked it, and that can warm up whilst you do the food prep.


The prep couldn’t be easier; it’s a case of mixing each bowl’s ingredients together (albeit more of a mashing technique required for the guacamole and pâté!). Once the prep is done, it’s a case of building it in a large pan. Each of the bowl’s now mixed ingredients will become a wrap separated layer within the tower – but fused together with nature’s glue, the grated cheese. Wrap, cheese, filler, cheese and repeat. Easy! 

You'll need to spread them evenly, about 0.5cm thick per tier. What you don't use in those layers can be served on the side or saved for another meal.

My guidance is to order the layers as follows – pâté, guacamole, salsa, guacamole, pâté. That way any moisture (which is more likely from the middle layers) aren’t going to give you a soggy base as you cook.

Cook the tower on a medium heat for about 2 minutes before using a dinner plate to help you “flip” the tower and cook the other side. I would guess that it’ll take about 3 or 4 turns on each side to give you a nice golden colour to the outer wraps. Once you have that finish you can transfer to a baking tray and pop that into the now pre-heated oven for about 8-10 minutes. This will hopefully help the cheese that’s had less heat exposure in the pan to melt and allow for those layers to further “glue” together.

Once out you can plate up and serve in slices as wide as you like. I love the hints of spice paired with the ever-present freshness of coriander and lime juice. Plus that’s plenty of food for one or two people to enjoy, so it can serve as a great lunchtime snack the next day too!


I’m confident you could get creative with substitutions to the various layers, so would welcome to hear what works (and doesn’t!) should you try it yourselves.

Happy cooking x

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