Delicious teriyaki chicken quesadilla with juicy chicken thighs marinated in a savory teriyaki sauce and melted Mexican cheese.
What are some of the favorite food that your family loves besides the ones from your own country? Living in the Bay Area, we are lucky to have many choices available to us within a short drive.
Though we try many different foods as a family, one of our favorite cuisine that we definitely enjoy is Mexican food. Today I want to share a slight twist on a popular Mexican dish, Teriyaki Chicken Quesadilla.
What Cheese to use for Teriyaki Chicken Quesadilla
My children look forward to weekends because typically one of the lunch meals would be a quick Mexican take out. Since we are busy filming and shooting recipes during the day, we try to find quick meals that minimize the interruption.
Our favorites are almost always the same, I would order fish tacos, Mr. JOC goes for the steak and shrimp super burrito, and without a doubt, my children always order the quesadilla.
I make them for school lunch as well as they are quick to prepare in the morning. While shopping at Foods Co, I saw Sargento® Fine Cut Shredded 4 Cheese Mexican and decided to test out my new quesadilla recipe.
I’ve previously used Sargento’s® sharp cheddar cheese for my Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup recipe and I really liked their cheese. Even though the cheese is shredded, it’s not dried out like typical shredded cheese packages. As you pour the cheese out of the package, the cheese is fresh and moist like you just shaved them off the block.
Children Favorite Teriyaki Chicken Quesadilla
For today’s recipe, I knew I wanted to make quesadilla but put a twist on it. I debated what kind of ingredients I wanted to use, whether it’s beef, chicken, seafood, or vegetarian. In the end, I decided on teriyaki chicken as the marinated chicken would work well with cheese. I added salsa and sour cream on top in addition to the fresh avocado I included inside the quesadilla.
What was the result? I got a huge thumbs up from the entire family. My children loved it and prefer it over the regular chicken quesadilla. Besides the flavorful chicken, I believe the quality Sargento® made a big difference with the final result as well.
I hope you’ll give this recipe a try and you can definitely experiment with your own ingredients. Look for Specially Marked Packages of Sargento® Shredded Cheese for $1 Savings at your local Kroger.
Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want to look for substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.
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Teriyaki Chicken Quesadilla
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1-2 avocados
- 4 flour tortillas
- Mexican-style shredded cheese (I use Sargento® Fine Cut Shredded 4 Cheese Mexican that includes Monterey Jack, Mild Cheddar, Queso Quesadilla and Asadero cheeses)
For Serving (Optional)
- salsa
- sour cream
- limes
- cilantro (coriander)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients. Preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). For a convection oven, reduce cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC).
- For teriyaki marinade, combine 1 tsp brown sugar, 3 Tbsp sake, 3 Tbsp mirin, and 3 Tbsp soy sauce in a bowl. Whisk well till the sugar has dissolved completely.
- Use a fork to prick the chicken thighs. This will help shorten the marinade process. Put the chicken in a baking dish and pour the teriyaki marinade. Let the chicken marinade for 15 minutes. Turn the chicken once or twice.
- Bake the chicken in the middle rack at 400ºF (200ºC) for 15 minutes. Turn the chicken once or twice.
- Meanwhile prepare the bowls of salsa and sour cream or other condiments. Cut lime if you use any. Cut each avocado into 8-12 wedges. Alternatively, you can slice them, but I like the chunkier texture of avocado in the quesadillas so I cut into 8 wedges.
- Remove the chicken from the oven and let it sit for a few minutes. Cut the chicken into strips or cubes (I prefer strips, looks better after slicing quesadillas).
- Heat the griddle pan or frying pan over medium low heat. Place tortillas to warm up and flip once. Place a generous amount of cheese on the tortillas.
- Then put the fillings and fold in half while the tortillas are pliable.
- Cut each quesadilla into 3 or 4 triangles. Serve immediately with salsa, sour cream, lime, and cilantro.
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and in the freezer for 2 weeks.
