Recipe: Vegan Quesadillas
Categories: Kids Snacks and Meals, Lunch, Vegan, Vegetarian
I have to admit, I love cheese. There’s just something about the taste – the umami of an aged Parm, the tang of strong Vermont cheddar, or the rich sweet funkiness of a Cambazola – that I enjoy and is difficult to duplicate. On the other hand, I’ve found plenty of circumstances when cheese doesn’t really add much to a recipe besides grease and cholesterol, so I’ve been creative at trading out the dairy in those circumstances.
One of my favorite cheese-swapped recipes is the humble quesadilla, once a cheddar-loaded staple of my diet, but now, in its vegan iteration, it’s a satisfying dairy-free regular. So what’s the swap, you ask? It’s basically guacamole.
Ingredients:
- One large whole wheat flour tortilla
- Half a large avocado
- A pinch of salt
- A pinch of garlic powder
- A squeeze of lemon or lime juice
- Two teaspoons of nutritional yeast (the yellow cheesy-smelling stuff from the health food store)
- About ⅓ cup of beans (drained, rinsed, and shaken til mostly dry)
Directions:
- Mash everything together into a rough paste, just enough that the nutritional yeast is blended in and the mixture is spreadable.
- Throw your tortilla on the heat (I love grilling these, but they also work well on a gas burner, or a hot skillet), and when hot and just starting to char a bit, pull it off.
- Spoon out the avocado mixture over half the cooked side of the tortilla, and add the beans and any favorite toppings that will fit: roasted mushrooms, green onions, cilantro, chipotle powder or finely minced serrano pepper. I could go on, but don’t overfill – it makes it awkward to fold and handle.
- Fold the quesadilla (guacadilla?) in half, press firmly, and toss back on the grill, turning once, until hot through and starting to char in spots.
- Top with salsa, sour cream, more guacamole, or whatever you love, then enjoy, and save the cheese for savoring.
Recipe by Bret Sarnquist, RDN
