Quesadilla Lasagna
Layers of tortillas, spiced sour cream sauce, and shredded chicken baked casserole-style — the mash-up that solves the Mexican-versus-Italian dinner debate.
- Prep Time
- 20 min
- Cook Time
- 35 min
- Total Time
- 55 min
- Servings
- 8 servings
One of the biggest problems I run into on any given night is choosing between Mexican and Italian — my two favorite styles of food, which feels a little ironic for a Southern, freckled, ginger girl who gets asked if she ever sees the sun.
This recipe grew out of wanting a freezer meal that skipped pasta entirely, combined with wanting to recreate the sauce I use for chicken quesadillas. I felt like a mad scientist putting it together, except in this case it's actually safe to eat the experiment.
Fair warning: when I filmed the video for this one, I got so distracted eating it that I had to shut the camera off just to keep going. The margaritas balance everything out.
Ingredients
- 24 oz. sour cream
- 1 lb. fajita style cooked chicken, diced
- 1 lb. Mexican blend cheese
- 18 flour tortillas (use corn tortillas to make this gluten-free)
- 1/2 tbsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp. cayenne
- 2 tbsp. sugar
- 2 tbsp. cumin
- 2 tbsp. paprika
- 1/4 cup jalapeno juice
- 2-3 cups grated mozzarella cheese, for topping
Instructions
- 1Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- 2Whisk together the sour cream, garlic powder, cayenne, sugar, cumin, paprika, and jalapeno juice in a large bowl.
- 3Stir in the chicken, then the Mexican blend cheese.
- 4Layer 6 tortillas in a greased 9x13 inch baking dish.
- 5Spoon a third of the chicken mixture over the tortillas in an even layer. Repeat the layers two more times.
- 6Sprinkle the mozzarella over the top.
- 7Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and lightly browned.
Storage & Reheating
Make-ahead: cover and refrigerate up to 7 days before baking (increase baking time to 35-45 minutes), or cover with plastic wrap and foil and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before baking — cooking time from frozen is 60-75 minutes.
