Crispy and melty spinach and mushroom quesadillas loaded with hearty portobellos, smoked gouda, and blistered cherry tomatoes.

Need more vegetables in your diet, but you still crave comfort food? These mushroom quesadillas are the answer. These make for a hearty lunch and would be perfect served alongside homemade sweet potato fries.

Spinach and Mushroom Quesadillas Ingredients

• Flour tortillas - Any size will work great, but this recipe is specifically calibrated to 8" tortillas. You want flour, not corn tortillas, as they have a softer texture but still crisp nicely on the exterior.
• Portobello Mushrooms - Portobellos are the best mushrooms for these quesadillas because they are thick and meaty. I recommend slicing them into strips.
• Spinach - Use fresh spinach. It will quickly cook down in the pan within seconds.
• Smoked Gouda - The deep smoky flavor of smoked Gouda pair the best with this meal.
• Cherry tomatoes - Blistering some cherry tomatoes to add into the quesadillas adds a bright tangy punch. (you will notice I forgot to add them into my quesadillas when I photographed... oops!)
• Balsamic vinegar - Balsamic vinegar is one of my favorite additions whenever I cook mushrooms.
• Olive oil - Olive oil helps the mushrooms saute while also adding flavor. You want regular olive oil, not extra virgin. Extra virgin is not well suited for high-temperature cooking.
• Seasoning - Keep it simple with a dusting of salt and pepper.

How to make them

Slice the mushrooms into thick strips and then toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. One large mushroom cap is sufficient per quesadilla, however, if your store only has smaller caps you will have to use more.

Saute the mushrooms until cooked through and tender, add balsamic vinegar and stir to coat. Remove the mushrooms and add the tomato halves, cook for two minutes longer, or until tomatoes begin to burst. Remove tomatoes from heat and add 1 cup of fresh spinach leaves per quesadilla. Let cook until wilted. (alternatively, tomatoes and spinach can be cooked at the same time and removed as each finish cooking)

Assemble the quesadillas by adding mushrooms, tomato, wilted spinach, and ½ cup of cheese to one half of the tortilla, then fold shut. Cook in a skillet over medium-low heat until the tortilla is crisp and cheese has melted, flipping once. Let cool slightly and serve.

Tips, tricks, and substitutions

Don't have portobellos? You can use any of your favorite fresh mushrooms as a substitution. Smaller mushrooms may just fall out of the quesadilla more easily as you eat it.

If you don't have balsamic vinegar on hand you can substitute red wine vinegar.

I often make my quesadillas simply by placing them into a skillet to crisp, but you can add a small amount of butter to the skillet for addition browning.

More Mushroom Recipes

• Portobella burger - Swap out the beef patty with a portobello cap for a vegetarian twist.
• Sausage Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms - These caps are loaded with flavorful sausage, cream cheese, and herbs.
• Balsamic and Feta Bake Portobellos - Portobello mushrooms drizzled with balsamic vinegar, loaded with feta cheese and baked until tender.
• Smoked Mushrooms - A must for any mushroom lover! Can be made in the smoker or on the grill.