Protein-Packed Vegan White Bean & Spinach Quesadilla
This cheesy, creamy vegan quesadilla with white bean and spinach are flavourful, filling and take just 10 minutes to make! This healthy quesadilla recipe has it all: plant-based protein and gut-friendly fibre from the creamy white beans (which sit on my high fibre food list), and the essential minerals and anti-inflammatory properties of dark green plants. It’s an easy and nourishing meal for breakfast, lunch or dinner!
Sometimes, you just need a really quick meal without much fuss. I’m trying to go a whole month without any takeout (even coffee!) so I’ve been brainstorming satisfying meals that simple enough for those nights when I just can’t. Quesadillas are one of those midweek wins, so I wanted to jazz them up a little bit without losing one bit of their ease. So these white bean + spinach quesadillas are just a tiny bit more involved than slapping cheese and beans in a tortilla but the payoff is BIG.
How to create a healthy, balanced vegan that keeps you full
As a dietitian, one of the biggest slip ups I see when folks are moving towards a plant-based or vegan diet is skimping on plant-based protein and healthy plant fats. It’s a common mistake make a dish vegan by simply removing the animal products – and it will leave you feeling hangry and craving carbs 24/7.
In order to feel full and satisfied at a meal, you need a few things:
- protein
- fat
- fibre
- an appropriate volume of food for your body
- eating foods you enjoy, that taste good to you
Animal foods offer fat and protein, so you need to replace it with plant-based sources of protein like beans, nuts and seeds. These quesadillas offer about 16-20 grams of plant-based protein from the beans, cashew and tortillas (I checked a few different brands of whole grain tortillas to get a protein estimate). Fat is critical for flavour, as many flavour compounds are fat soluble…so a little fat really helps food taste amazing! Healthy fats from coconut, nuts or seeds also helps you to create creamy textures, which I’m obsessed with.
What you’ll need to make this healthy vegan quesadilla really craveable
To me, a really good quesadilla is all about that soft, melty, sauciness so I’ve layered it on in a couple of ways:
- soft white beans that are easy to smash and quite buttery all on their own
- your favourite vegan pesto, which is a delicious and nutrient dense flavour bomb (I’ve got a great vegan pesto recipe if you want to make your own!)
- melty vegan cheese, I find that Earth Island Pizza Shreds and Daiya both melt well but you can easily make these quesadillas without cheese if you like for a more whole food recipe
- creamy, umami-rich cashew Alfredo which takes just 5 minutes to make but really takes these quesadillas over the top
Health Benefits of Spinach
I love baby spinach because it is such an ‘instant’ veg to have on hand. No chopping, no washing (yes, you’re really supposed to wash it but it’s much easier than field spinach!) and it’s incredibly nutrient dense. Baby spinach makes it SO easy to pump up the plant power of your meals! Just one cup of raw spinach (which isn’t a lot!) contains
- Just under a gram each of microbiome-boosting fibre as well as protein
- About 30mg of bone-building calcium as well as 25mg of calming magnesium
- Tons of vitamin A carotenoids (about 1700 micrograms) that help to support collagen in the skin and immunity
- About 60 micrograms of folate, for healthy red blood cells and to support a healthy pregnancy
- Plenty of other anti-inflammatory and antioxidant phytochemicals such as lutein + zeaxanthin
- Cooked spinach is another of those great plant-based sources of iron with 3.5mg per half cup
Genius tip for making a golden brown, crisp quesadilla
If you want a truly golden, crisp tortilla you have to press the quesadilla down into the pan. I used to do this by simply pressing the quesadilla with my spatula until I got read this genius hack from Nisha at Rainbow Plant Life: just place a smaller skillet on the quesadilla to act like a sandwich press. So much simpler, like a DIY sandwich press!
Love this? Here are more plant-based sandwich and burger ideas:
- Easy Vegan White Bean Sandwich with Crispy Kale
- Vegan Tofu Banh Mi Recipe
- Mediterranean Hummus Toast
- Meet the (no meat) burger of your dreams: Beet Walnut Burger
- Buffalo Cauliflower Burgers with White Beans
Protein-Packed Vegan White Bean & Spinach Quesadilla
Ingredients
White Bean + Spinach Filling
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil, or extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups cooked white beans, navy, cannelini, butter
- 4 large handfuls baby spinach
- 1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 clove garlic , minced, or ½ tsp (2 mL) garlic powder
- salt
- freshly cracked pepper
For serving
- 4 large gluten free or whole grain tortillas
- 4 tablespoons your favourite vegan pesto
- 1 cup shredded vegan cheese or cashew alfredo, (or both!)
Equipment
- High Speed Blender
Instructions
- If you’ve got 5 extra minutes, I highly recommend making the cashew alfredo. If you’re game, do that first!
- Then, heat up oil in a large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add beans, spinach, red pepper and garlic with a good pinch of salt and plenty of cracked pepper. Warm until garlic softens and spinach wilts, stirring often, about 2-3 minutes. Lightly mash beans with back of spatula so they won’t roll out of your quesadilla! Remove from heat.
- Spread tortillas with pesto along one side. Divide vegetable mixture over pesto, then sprinkle with cheese and drizzle with alfredo, if using. In the same pan, give it a quick wipe and then warm over medium heat until tortilla is golden and cheese is melty, about 1-2 minutes a side. Hot tip: place another smaller skillet over the quesadilla while it cooks to make them crispier!
17 Comments on “Protein-Packed Vegan White Bean & Spinach Quesadilla”
Enjoying your recipes, website and commentaries. Also supporting all things Canadian.
Steve Ault
a neighbor from the South [USA], not behaving badly.
Thank you so much Steven!! Stay safe out there 🙂
Made this after reading the newsletter this morning. So good! I just made it with the easy cashew Alfredo and subbed pinto beans because that’s what I had. Delicious! Even my pickiest eater ate it. Likely because it was in quesadilla form, but I’ll take it!
Quesadillas are the great family equalizer!!! I’m so glad your family loved them, Michelle 🙂
Quick and easy, but most importantly, so flavorful! Thank you for the great recipe. I will be making it again!
I’m so glad you love them Josee! Quesadillas are such a staple around here 🙂
Quesadillas were great Desiree. Husband loved them! Another plant-based recipe for the win!! Thank you.
Followed recipe exactly.
Hi Karen,
Ooh yay!! Hubs approved 🙂 I’m so glad you both enjoyed them. Have a great weekend!
This came together so fast!! Super delicious! Will make again!
So glad you enjoyed it Holly! We all need a few super quick weeknight dinners in our back pockets 🙂
So delicious, I have made this on repeat for the past couple of weeks. Risking getting sick of them but I also doubt that! One question: Do you think I could make a bigger batch of the filling and freeze it in single-quesadilla portions, to pull out and whip up a quick lunch for one?
Hi Tiffany,
Ooh, good idea! I haven’t tried it, but since it’s pretty low moisture I feel like that should work. Please let me know if you try it! I also feel like you could use the freezer burrito technique from my black bean sweet potato burrito post and make these as freezer burritos too.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I made this recipe for our lunch today and it was sensational! Plaza Aztecs, El Major Rodeo, and all of the other Mexican restaurants may need to take a hike after trying these quesadillas! Your recipe was better than theirs, in my opinion. 🧐
So much to share! Where should I begin? I had to decide how to use my fresh, organic basil that is prolifically growing in our backyard. I have collected 3 vegan pesto recipes with basil: basil- pistachio, basil- walnut, and basil- pine nut. I did not know which one to use! I used the basil- pistachio pesto today with mozzarella cheese and the cashew alfredo sauce. It all gave the veggies so much TLC ❤️. I did not know how well the cashew alfredo sauce would work with the pesto and cheese but really it was so creamy, mild, with just a hint of umami from the 1 tsp. of nutritional yeast. Thank you, Desiree, for the tips on how to make the tortilla crunchy and cheesy! They all worked great! We loved this recipe and will remake with the other 2 pesto we collected just to experiment with flavors. Awesome recipe! 😁 Jordanna
Aw, that’s high praise Jordanna! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. They’re such a yummy treat 🙂
Hope that the stars show up to go with my below comments! 🙂
Delicious! The white beans, peppers and spinach paired beautifully with the cashew alfredo! I had never heard of a cashew sauce before, but it was an excellent addition.
Cashew sauce is my LIFE! I am so happy I could introduce you to it’s magic, Gwen 🙂