Tomato, Olive and Chickpea Quesadillas with Dill Yogurt Dip
A crispy quesadilla full of Greek flavors—including tomatoes, olive and chickpeas—served with an optional dill-mint yogurt dip.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 2, 2024
Confession: if it weren’t for this blog, I would probably subsist on quesadillas. Any time inspiration and leftovers are running low, I’ll stuff a tortilla with cheese and whatever else I can scrounge up in the vegetable crisper and call it a meal.
Quesadillas, literally queso tortillas in Spanish, originated in Mexico, along with so many other tasty concepts. Although my default quesadilla is stuffed with black beans and dipped in salsa, my quesadillas don’t always feature traditional Mexican flavors. And why should they? Quesadillas are just another delightful cheese-and-bread base recipe with endless flavor possibilities, like pizza, grilled cheese sandwiches and crêpes.
This quesadilla came to be when I had chopped vegetables and dip leftover from another recipe. It was lunchtime; I was hungry; there was no more salad to eat. Enter the quesadilla solution. If we’re getting real here, I’ll confess that I was probably still wearing my pajamas because I don’t get dressed until someone’s around to appreciate it.
Anyway, I pulled out my trusty cast iron skillet, shredded some cheese, and threw a tortilla on the pan. Five minutes later, I dipped a crispy corner of quesadilla into herbed yogurt dip and took a bite of one of my most delicious, blog-worthy quesadillas yet. Sweet tomatoes, filling chickpeas and salty sliced kalamata olives, sandwiched between layers of creamy cheese and crisp tortilla, became a totally satisfying one-skillet meal.
Tomato, Olive and Chickpea Quesadilla with Dill Yogurt Dip
A crisp quesadilla stuffed with Greek flavors, including tomatoes, olives, chickpeas and red onion. Serve with dill-mint yogurt dip (optional) for a terrific quick meal, snack or appetizer.
Ingredients
Per quesadilla, multiply as necessary
- 1 whole grain tortilla (use gluten-free tortillas for gluten-free quesadillas)
- ¾ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- ¼ cup cooked chickpeas, well drained
- 8 cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced into thin rounds
- 7 pitted kalamata olives, sliced into thin rounds (or a sprinkle of capers or crumbled feta cheese)
- 2 tablespoons chopped red onion
- ½ teaspoon olive oil, for brushing
Dill-mint yogurt dip (enough for at least 4 quesadillas)
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons packed fresh dill, torn into pieces
- 2 tablespoons packed fresh mint (or basil or flat-leaf parsley), torn into pieces
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (about ½ of a large lemon)
- Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional, for spice)
- ⅛ teaspoon fine salt
Instructions
- Make the dip: In a food processor or blender, combine all of the dip ingredients. Blend well, and transfer to a bowl(s) for dipping.
- Make the quesadilla(s) one at a time: Heat a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Warm one tortilla for about 30 seconds, flipping halfway. Flip once more, and sprinkle one-half of the tortilla with about half of the shredded cheese. Cover the cheese with chickpeas, tomatoes, olives, and red onion. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the other fillings and fold over the empty side of the tortilla to enclose the fillings.
- Quickly brush the topside of the quesadilla with a light coating of olive oil, and gently flip it with a spatula. Let the underside of the quesadilla cook until golden and crispy, about a minute or two. Brush the topside with a light coating of olive oil, flip it and cook until the underside is golden and crispy. Flip it once more and immediately transfer it to a cutting board.
- Let the quesadilla cool for a couple minutes, then slice it into three even wedges using a sharp pizza cutter or chef’s knife. Serve immediately, with a side of yogurt dipping sauce.
Notes
- Serve leftover yogurt dip with veggies like carrot sticks, celery sticks, or bell pepper.
- For a full meal, serve the quesadilla with a Little Green Salad.
- Reheat leftover quesadilla slices in the oven. They will get soggy in the microwave.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Tastes great but too messy!
If making this, get the absolute biggest tortillas you can find. Unfortunately my grocery store only had the smaller sized (taco) tortillas in whole wheat (and I didn’t want to get white ones instead). I’ve been making these for dinner the past few days and at first, I used about half the ingredients called for in the recipe, and it was super messy, everything fell out each time I flipped it. Third day in, I’ve gotten better at it – if you have trouble keeping everything in place try this:
After putting some cheese on the tortilla, put the chickpeas on first and squish them down a little bit. Then lay the tomatoes and olives on as flat as possible. Then the onions in any open spots, kind of filling in gaps. Stay away from the edges. Then the cheese. Because this takes longer, the cheese on the bottom will start to melt a little bit helping the ingredients stick together.
Even after doing this mine fell apart a little, but a lot less than before. And whenever ingredients fall out I just eat them! Too tough to get them back in, but they make a yummy snack :)
Hi Kate, made this recipe before and loved it-these are quite flavorful! I am following Weight Watchers and wondered if you had nutritional info available for these quesadillas so I can calculate points? Thank you- I can go by ingredient by ingredient but much simpler if you have the breakdown of calories, protein, carbs, fat etc. Thank you!
Hi, Sarah – Happy you enjoyed it! Unfortunately, I don’t have nutritional info available for my recipes just yet. I’m looking for a solution, and will update about it once I find one. Thanks!
I’ve been cooking recipes from your blog every night for three weeks straight. They’ve all been big hits! I’ll be making this again but will be cooking the onions first. They were a bit too raw for my little ones sensitive mouths. The dip is fantastic though!
Thank you, Maria! I so appreciate that.
These are incredible! I cook vegetarian as often as I can and these are a hit. Easy, but taste gourmet. Thanks!
Perfect! Thank you, Marissa.
This recipe was absolutely excellent – quesadilla and dip. Thanks for sharing :)
You’re welcome, J! Thanks for reading.
These were so good, I can’t stop thinking about them. I’m putting them into our regular rotation of dinner recipes. I used vegan yogurt and did the parsley in the dip. Also added in some minced garlic to the dip. So good. Thanks for the tip on soaking the onions – who knew! Can’t wait to try some more recipes.
Yes, that’s a well-kept secret! I’m so glad you enjoyed this and that you could adjust it to your needs, Donna.
I serve these quesadillas with a side of plain Greek yogurt and salsa for dipping pleasure. Carrot & Chickpea Quesadillas.Oh, and don’t skip the yogurt dill sauce, it’s so delicious!
Thanks for sharing! Yes the dill sauce really makes it, I agree!
Loved this one. Fried the chickpeas with a little garlic, and used Feta as suggested instead of olives. Absolutely delicious. Will definitely be making again.