Meet Alex Caspero
Alex Caspero is a Registered Dietitian, New York Times Bestselling Plant-Based Chef and mom of two. She aims to cut through the nutrition noise by providing real-life, nourishing tips for body and mind. Learn more about Alex.
Hi friends! I’ve got a super quick weeknight dinner for you today. Lentil quesadillas stuffed with mushrooms, spinach and spicy pepperjack cheese.
These babies are ready in less than 30 minutes and perfect for crazy evenings when you want a healthy dinner on the table, fast.
That’s probably the reason I’m writing this on a Monday night instead of a Sunday; time is flying way too fast and my evenings fill up so quickly. I can’t stop gushing about how much fun things are right now; Vander is just 6 months and babbling up a storm. He’s alert, laughs at just about everything and I’m trying to soak up as much of this sweet time as I can.
We started him on solids a few weeks ago and I truly think this has been my favorite phase of parenthood so far. We’re doing baby-led weaning (you can follow our journey on Instagram here) and I can’t get enough of watching him explore different foods. I think he’s only gotten a fraction of the food actually into his mouth, but I love getting to witness him learning and entering this new stage.
Soaking up baby giggles and snuggles means that my time in the kitchen is almost non-existent right now. Therefore, I’m relying on lots of quick things that I can assemble quickly. These quesadillas are no exception.
For ease, I use cooked lentils that I purchase at Trader Joe’s. If you don’t have a TJ’s near you, you can usually find cooked lentils in the produce section of the grocery store. I know that canned lentils exist, but I can never find them in my local grocery store. Of course, you can cook lentils from dry, but I was trying to make these are weeknight friendly as possible.
Brown some mushrooms, add in spices, lentils and thawed from frozen spinach. Then fill that into tortillas with some pepperjack cheese and brown until crispy. That’s it! For my dairy-free friends, you can use vegan cheese in these.
Enjoy! xo
If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, and tag your Instagram photos with #delishknowledge . I absolutely love seeing your creations. Happy cooking!
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Vegetarian Lentil Quesadillas
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 quesadillas 1x
- Category: dinner
- Cuisine: vegetarian, mexican
Description
Vegetarian Lentil Quesadillas! The perfect weeknight vegetarian dinner. Spicy spinach, lentil and mushroom filling with pepperjack cheese. Ready in less than 30 minutes.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 quesadillas 1x
- Category: dinner
- Cuisine: vegetarian, mexican
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 quesadillas 1x
- Category: dinner
- Cuisine: vegetarian, mexican
Scale
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 cup cooked lentils
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 (10 oz.) package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
- 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
- 8 flour tortillas
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt and let cooked until browned, about 8-10 minutes.
- Add the spices, frozen spinach and cooked lentils. Cook until warmed and heated through, about 5 minutes.
- Remove the mixture and wipe the skillet clean. Lightly spray the skillet again or add a little more oil and place one tortilla down. Sprinkle on 1/4 cup cheese and ~1/3-1/2 cup of the filling. Place another tortilla on top and let cook until crispy, then flip.
- Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling. Slice into triangles and serve!
did you make this?
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(7 comments) leave a comment
This looks very delicious. Surely I ll add this into my family menu. Thanks Alex
★★★★★
Do you have the nutrition facts for this recipe? I plan to make it vegan by adding nooch and no cheese. The seasoning for this sounds fabulous, Thanks!
Hi Janelle! Not yet… I’m currently working on updating all of my recipes to include nutrition facts, but haven’t done so yet. I LOVE the idea of using nooch!
This sounds great! I’m going to make this next week! Just one question for you…you call for 1 cup of cooked lentils in two places in the ingredients list. I just wanted to confirm that 2 cups of cooked lentils are required.
Hi Jeff- no, that was a typo! Total is 1 cup cooked lentils. Just updated it! Thanks!
This sounds fantastic. Have you ever made it using fresh spinach? I don’t like frozen, I was just curious.
Hi Stacie- I can’t see why you couldn’t use fresh spinach. I would likely use 6 ounces baby spinach and cook until it’s wilted. Thanks!