Pizza Quesadilla Recipe (Easy!)

Below is a recipe for an easy pizza quesadilla. The text recipe is just below, but you can keep reading for tips, tricks, and additional info.

RECIPE

Ingredients

2 10-inch flour tortillas

1 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided

1/4 cup thin-sliced pepperonis*

shredded cheese, as needed**

Sauce for dipping

Preparation

Set a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Melt the butter, then add a tortilla and gently push it around*** with a spatula. Add half your cheese and carefully place the pepperonis, then add the rest of your cheese.

Add your second tortilla, then cover and cook for about 3 minutes. You want the cheese on both sides to be slightly melted and the bottom tortilla to be crisp.

After a few minutes, lift the quesadilla with a spatula and add the rest of your butter to the pan. Carefully flip the quesadilla back into the pan to cook the second side.

Once both sides are browned and the cheese is melted, you're ready to serve. Serve hot and cut into eights or quarters with a side of red sauce for dipping.

Notes

* I recommend using just enough for one layer, but you can use more if you really want. Keep in mind things will be more messy and much more greasy if you add too many.

** You really only need enough cheese to hold everything together. Much like the pepperonis, you can use however much you want, but if you add too much if may not melt well.

*** This is to evenly cover the tortilla with butter so it browns well. You could spread softened butter onto the tortillas beforehand instead of melting it in the pan. You can also skip the butter, but you'll want extra sauce since the quesadilla will be a bit dry.

ADDITIONAL INFO

I would say food doesn't get much more simple than a quesadilla. Two tortillas with some stuff in there, then grilled? Easy.

This version keeps things familiar with a pizza motif. If pizza isn't your thing, something like Philly cheese steak would be great. You could also go for a different kind of pizza - Hawaiian anyone?

Making the thing is barely more complicated than making a sandwich. Heck, it's basically a sandwich in its own right. You could even skip the pan and throw it straight into the microwave to melt the cheese, or broil both sides face-up before bringing them together afterwards.

Something like marinara for dipping would be your safest option, but if you're feeling extra, you could do ranch dressing or even olive oil.

I personally would only cut this into fourths, but you can do eights if you really want. I think the filling would be more eager to fall out onto the plate, and I don't see the benefit, but I can't exactly stop you either.

If you're having trouble getting the cheese melted, you could try adding a small splash of water to the pan to get some steam going. You could also melt the cheese in the microwave, then grill in a pan until crispy. Realistically you're fine as long as you're hitting all these points:

- melted cheese

- browned tortilla

Yes, all two of those points. And I guess turn off the heat when you're done cooking, but I hope that's not something I need to mention. Also don't forget to eat the food, wash the dishes, etc.

Now that I think about it, browning the tortilla is optional if you just microwave the whole thing. I'm sure that sounds appealing to more than a few of you - no judgment here!

Definitely melt the cheese though, or it's more of a deconstruction than a quesadilla.