Black and Red Bean Quesadillas With Fresh Guacamole

This is one of those great recipes that is quick, tasty, super healthy and inexpensive. Read: the perfect week night dinner. And for us, the best part was that we had a great time making it today. This Mexican-inspired dish is full of those awesome plant-based proteins, not to mention some fresh veggies, and of course that wonderful avocado on the side. And it is entirely vegetarian and tastes incredible. Cool beans! Too cheesy? Probably. But I couldn’t resist that one! 😉

As we were making these quesadillas, my husband decided that he wanted to have his as a pita-style sandwich – a brilliant idea! And so the genius of a two-way dish sprang up. Here we’ve written out our recipe so that you can enjoy it whichever way you prefer: either as a traditional quesadilla, or as the new pita bread sandwich. And as a little note, once cooked, the beans refrigerate really well, so you can easily enjoy this for a couple of lunches too. Happy cooking!

Black and Red Bean Quesadillas with Guacamole 

Yield: 6 servings 

Ingredients

1 15 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained

1 15 oz can of red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 small green pepper, diced

1 small white onion, diced

3 small tomatoes, diced

3 tbs of olive oil

1 tsp of fresh parsley, minced

1/2 cup of vegetable broth

2 generous tbs of cream cheese or plain Greek yogurt

A sprinkling of chili flakes (optional)

1/2 tsp of salt, plus more salt and pepper to taste

For serving

3 large pita breads (for 6 sandwiches)

6 small wraps of your choice (for 6 quesadillas)

2 cups of shredded lettuce (for 6 servings either way)

2 small tomatoes, sliced (for 6 sandwiches)

1 1/2 cups of mozzarella, grated (for 6 quesadillas)

For the guacamole

2 large avocados

1 small tomato, diced

1/2 small white onion, finely diced

2 tsp of lemon juice

2 tsp of fresh parsley or cilantro, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a pan over medium heat, sautée the onion and green pepper in the olive oil for about 2 minutes, or until the onion begins to brown.

Add the salt and pepper, tomatoes and vegetable broth. Continue cooking for another minute.

Add the beans, chili flakes and parsley, and continue cooking for a few more minutes, until most of the liquid has been reduced.

Reduce the heat to low, add the cream cheese or yogurt and cook for one more minute, stirring constantly.

Remove the beans from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.

To make the guacamole 

Dice the avocado, place it in a small mixing bowl and mash lightly with a fork, allowing some chunks to remain.

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

To serve 

For quesadillas: place 1/3 cup of lettuce, one serving of beans and 1/4 cup of mozzarella on each wrap, leaving one half free. Fold over and brown in a pan over medium heat, for about 2-3 minutes on each side. Enjoy with guacamole on top.

For pita bread sandwiches: spread mayonnaise in each half pita and then add 1/3 cup of lettuce, a few slices of tomato and one serving of beans. Top with a little extra guacamole and enjoy!