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Greek Chicken Quesadillas

chicken entrees· Tailgating Recipes

Greek Chicken Quesadillas – Chewy flatbread covered in mozzarella and feta cheese and Greek-marinated chicken and grilled to perfection. Served with a tomato salad and homemade tzatziki sauce. 

Greek Chicken Quesadillas - Chewy flatbread covered in mozzarella and feta cheese and Greek-marinated chicken and grilled to perfection. Served with a tomato salad and homemade tzatziki sauce.Happy Solar Eclipse Day!

In case you live outside the US, today we’re having a solar eclipse. My husband is a huge science/space nerd so there was no question that we had to see a total eclipse. In Atlanta, we were only going to be able to see 97.3% of the solar eclipse. So we traveled to Nashville to be able to see 100%.

I was pretty bleh about the whole thing when we first starting talking about it, but now I am pretty pumped. Seeing a total eclipse is such a rare event so I bet it’s gonna be pretty incredible. Plus, we’re staying with our good friends here in Nashville so that’s made the adventure even more special.

The only thing that could derail this day are the crowds. Yesterday, getting dinner in the city was insane – everything was crowded! Me and crowds don’t mix well. I’m trying to stay strong for my husband so we’ll see how this goes. Pray for me.

I wish I could say today’s recipe is eclipse-themed. But sadly, it’s just a normal, incredibly delicious, flavorful dish.

Actually, I take that back – these Greek Chicken Quesadillas are anything but normal. According to my husband, these are in the top 3 things I’ve made for him. EVER! What an honor, huh?! He even ate the leftovers for dinner two nights in a row. That’s an even BIGGER honor.

I wish I could tell you what the other top two things are, but he changes up this list so frequently so I can’t keep track. He talks about these cinnamon rolls and these croissants croissants so much so I’m sure they’re on the list.

Now, I have to warn you. The recipe looks long. Please don’t get intimidated! There are a few different steps to these quesadillas because (1) the chicken tastes best when marinated in Greek flavors and (2) I like serving the quesadillas with homemade tzatziki sauce and a chopped tomato salad.

But you really don’t have to buy tons of ingredients – most of the same ingredients are used in the marinade, sauce, and salad. Garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper will not be underutilized in this recipe, that’s for sure.

When I was dreaming up this recipe, I was craving all the spices of Greek food, but I was surprised at how many Greek ingredients that I don’t really love: olives, artichoke hearts, and spinach. Without using any of these ingredients in the quesadillas, I was a little nervous that they wouldn’t be “Greek enough.”

But that’s when the tzatziki sauce and tomato salad come in. There’s an incredible amount of flavor in both of these that elevate these quesadillas to a whole other level.

Since there are a few things to make in this recipe, I wanted to explain the best way to handle this recipe. I also mention it in the actual recipe, but I wanted to reiterate here:

  1. Begin marinating chicken
  2. While the chicken marinates, make tzatziki sauce and tomato salad
  3. Cook chicken
  4. Make quesadillas

These steps will ensure you make the best use of your time – which is super helpful if you’re making these for a weeknight dinner.

Here are some more steps to help you achieve the best Greek chicken quesadillas:

  1. Make sure the chicken is diced before marinading – that will help it marinade and cook faster. You can even skewer this chicken and grill it if you want!
  2. When making the tzatziki sauce, make sure that you squeeze out as much water from the cucumber as you can. This will keep the sauce from getting watery. Speaking of watery, you also want to use strained yogurt (aka Greek yogurt) to make sure the sauce is nice and thick. I love the Fage brand because it is ultra-thick!
  3. Also, I recommend using real garlic, not garlic powder. You’ll get much stronger flavor from the real garlic, which is SUPER important in the tzatziki sauce. I’ve made it both ways so trust me – garlic powder doesn’t have the same oomph.
  4. When cooking the quesadillas, make sure to keep an eye on how the bottom is browning. If it’s getting too dark without the cheese melting, turn down the heat. The temp should be good between medium-low and medium.

Print Recipe

Greek Chicken Quesadillas

Chewy flatbread covered in mozzarella and feta cheese and Greek-marinated chicken and grilled to perfection. Served with a tomato salad and homemade tzatziki sauce.
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Total Time1 hr 35 mins
Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients

For the Greek chicken:
  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
For the tzaziki sauce:
  • 1 large cucumber
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 17.6 ounces strained Greek yogurt
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon fresh dill chopped
For the tomato salad (optional):
  • 4 roma tomatoes diced
  • 1/2 red onion diced
  • 2 tablespoons parsley chopped (measure after chopping)
  • 1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
For the Greek quesadillas:
  • 8 flatbread pitas
  • 2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
  • 1/2 cup feta cheese crumbles
  • 1 pound cooked greek chicken (recipe above)
  • 2 tablespoons butter salted

Instructions

For the Greek chicken:
  • Cut the chicken into 1 inch cubes. Add to a large bowl with rest of the chicken ingredients. Combine with the chicken using a wooden spoon or your hands. Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge to marinate for 30 mins- 1 hour. While you wait, skip down and make tzaziki sauce.
  • Once the chicken is ready, heat medium saute pan over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, use tongs to pull chicken from the bag and add to hot pan. Cook for 8-10 minutes until cooked through. Remove from heat.
For the tzatziki sauce:
  • Grate cucumber so it's in shreds. Strain to remove water. But to remove EVEN MORE water, place into a cheese cloth or paper towels and squeeze out the water. Set aside
  • In a medium bowl, add oil and minced garlic. Whisk quickly to help blend the garlic flavor into the oil. Do this for 1 minute. I used a mini food processor for this but if you don't have one, whisking violently in a bowl will do.
  • Add yogurt, cucumber, and rest of tzatziki ingredients to medium bowl with oil and garlic. Combine with a spoon or spatula. Let it sit in fridge until quesadillas are prepared.
For the tomato salad:
  • Add all the ingredients to a medium bowl and stir together. Give it a taste and add more salt/pepper if necessary.
For the quesadillas
  • Add 1/3 cup of mozzarella cheese to each flatbread. Add 1/2 tablespoon of feta (or more!) on top. Finish with 1/3 cup cooked Greek Chicken.
  • Heat large saute pan to medium. Add 1/2 tablespoon of butter to pan. Once it's melted and bubbling, add flatbread with cheese and chicken so it can cook. Add empty flatbread on top and press down with spatula. Let it cook until the cheese starts melting and the bottom flatbread has turned golden brown (3-5 minutes).
  • Flip quesadilla so the other side can brown and cheese can melt all the way. Remove quesadilla and cut into 4-6 slices. Turn the heat down if the outside is browning before the cheese is completely melted.
  • Repeat with 3 other quesadillas. Serve with tomato salad and tzatziki sauce.

Notes

Greek marinade and tzatziki sauce recipe adapted from My Greek Dish

Pin for later:

Greek Chicken Quesadillas - Chewy flatbread covered in mozzarella and feta cheese and Greek-marinated chicken and grilled to perfection. Served with a tomato salad and homemade tzatziki sauce.

 

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Comments

  4. Sharon, your recipes always looks incredibly amazing! These Greek Chicken Quesadillas are no exception. I would love to give this recipe a try. I know my family would love it. 🙂

    Reply

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