Jerk Chicken Quesadillas

These jerk chicken quesadillas are the perfect summer lunch or dinner recipe!

I really hate to admit it, but before Andrew and I got together, I had never had jerk chicken before.  Shoot, I had never had jerk anything before. Now, it’s a staple at any family function with Andrew’s family and I’m in love.  Admittedly, I was a bit nervous before trying, because I’ve heard jerk can be insanely spicy and while I like spice, I didn’t like my mouth on fire. Luckily, jerk, to me, is the perfect balance.

For the longest time, I was terrified to even attempt to make jerk.  I mean Andrew’s parents are Jamaican.  How do I even compete with that?  When I first made jerk chicken pizza, Andrew laughed.  Before he even tried it, he said there was no way that it was going to taste anything remotely like jerk chicken he was used to eating.  Much to his surprise, he loved it.  We’ve made that pizza so many times.

Then, one day, my friend was like, “OMG, you need to make jerk chicken quesadillas”, and I was all, “OMG, we do.” You guys…

JERK CHICKEN QUESADILLAS. 

Life happened and we’ve ended up pushing off this jerk chicken quesadilla recipe forever, but….BUT….here it is. And it was just as magical as the pizza. Maybe even more so. It’s the perfect balance of sweet and spicy wrapped into a delicious flour tortilla and then grilled to perfection. I love that they are handheld pockets of tastebud joy. Added to the fact that both my children actually loved them and that’s the perfect combination of a win-win in our house.  These will definitely be going into our menu rotation ASAP.

Do me one favor before you grab this recipe.  Do not.  I repeat DO. NOT. YOU. EVEN. DARE. try to make this recipe with marinating the chicken for at least 8 hours. Make this ahead a day or two but don’t try to do it for less. Pretty, pretty please 🙂

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Jerk Chicken Quesadillas

Author: Larisha Campbell

Ingredients

Marinade

• 3 tbsp Jerk chicken seasoning
• Juice from 1 Lime
• 2 tbsp Pineapple Orange juice
• 1 tbsp Low Sodium Soy Sauce
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 tbsp white vinegar
• 2 boneless chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces

Quesadillas

• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup Red onion diced
• 1 Green pepper diced
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup fresh pineapple diced + 2 more 1/2 inch slices
• 10 inch tortilla shells
• plain Greek yogurt optional
• lime wedges optional

Instructions

1. Mix all marinade ingredients together, except chicken, and whisk until well combined.
2. Add chicken and combine well.
3. Add to ziplock bag or tightly sealed container and refrigerate overnight (at least 8-12 hours).
4. In a large skillet, over medium heat, saute half the peppers and onions for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add entire container of chicken mixture.
6. Chop the 2 pineapple slices into large chunks and toss into skillet.
7. Cook chicken thoroughly, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
8. Remove from heat. Remove large chunks of pineapple.
9. Assemble the quesadillas by evenly spreading out the chicken mixture, red onions, green peppers, mozzarella cheese, and diced pineapple,
10. Once assembled, in a clean skillet, cook 2-3 minutes on each side or until the tortilla is golden brown and cheese has melted.
11. Serve with lime wedges and plain Greek yogurt if desired.

Enjoy!

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