You can easily make a Quesadillas dish by filling a tortilla with cheese, spices, meats, and other fillings. And It’s almost done after you cook them on a stove, skillet, or oven for several minutes. It is one of the most popular and basic form recipes you can try very easily at your home. Furthermore, you can prepare quesadillas with a range of ingredients which makes them more appealing. So while enjoying this versatile dish you might be wondering whether Can I preserve this for later consumption? Of course, the easiest way to preserve food is freezing, But Can you freeze quesadillas? Let’s see!
Before going deep into the facts let’s have a little background check on quesadillas.
Origin of quesadillas
Many believe that quesadillas originated in Mexico. While some believe that It’s Spain that introduced this wonderful dish to the west. However based on deep research efforts, researchers suggest that quesadillas originated in Mexico’s south-central areas.[4]
Now let’s dig into our main topic. In this article, you’ll get a thorough understanding of the freezing of quesadillas and other related facts.
Can quesadillas be made ahead of time?
Yes. They can be made ahead of time. You can easily make a quesadilla by placing a tortilla in a skillet and filling one half of the tortilla with cheese, black beans, meats, turkey, salsa, etc. and when the cheese starts melting you can fold the other half and cook it until you get golden brown spots on the outside.
Can you freeze Quesadillas?
Yes, of course, you can easily freeze both cooked and uncooked quesadillas. If you have quesadilla leftovers you want to eat later place them in the freezer and use them later after reheating. This is perfect for ones who don’t have a great appetite and cannot consume multiple quesadillas at one time. Given below are the steps you should use to freeze quesadillas in a proper way.
How to freeze chicken quesadillas?
- Allow your leftover quesadillas to cool into room temperature.
- If you haven’t sliced them , slice the quesadillas into single serving sizes.This will make your thawing process easier, because then you just need to defrost the portion you want only.
- Place a baking sheet covering a tray and place the sliced pieces side -by-side.Instead of the baking sheet you can use aluminium foils as well. Then transfer to the freezer and keep there for several hours.
- Once the quesadillas are frozen , remove them from the tray and trasfer to a freezer bag. For additrional protection from freeze burn wrap them using a cling film.
- For better efficiency seal and label your freezer bag with the prepared date and the use-by date.[1]
How to freeze uncooked quesadillas?
You can easily freeze uncooked quesadillas for a wonderful ready-to-cook meal for later consumption. Once the filling is assembled into quesadillas you can wrap them separately and place them on a flat sheet for freezing. After a couple of hours transfer them into a freezer bag. [3] That’s it!
How long do quesadillas last in the freezer?
If you want you can freeze them for up to 4 months, with no problem at all. But regarding the quality issues, it’s better if you keep them frozen for only around 8 weeks (nearly 2 months).[5]
And also based on the filling, there is a number of quesadillas such as chicken quesadillas, vegetarian quesadillas, beef quesadillas, and much more that you may love to try. But no matter what kind of filling you used, try to stick with the above freezing steps to get the best quality quesadillas for you.
Best tips in freezing quesadillas
Reading so far, now you got the answer to can you freeze quesadillas. But you should know the following tips as well to enjoy a better quality delicious dish with your loved ones.[1] let’s go one by one.
- Freeze the uncooked
If you prepare the quesadillas more than your daily requirement, then it’s better to freeze some uncooked ones, simply following the above steps. If you wanna get a fresher taste in the taste buds, try uncooked quesadillas and overcooked ones. No doubt you’ll love uncooked quesadillas.
2. Select hard cheese
When choosing the type of cheese you want in the quesadilla, keep in mind that softer cheeses with higher moisture content are not suitable for freezing. Therefore always go for hard cheese varieties like cheddar if you go for freezing. Furthermore, if you want to keep the consistency of cheese in uncooked ones, leave the cheese out before freezing.
3. Do not use the microwave oven
When you reheat the frozen quesadillas do not microwave but oven bake them. Otherwise microwaving will give a waterlogged texture which will definitely make it less appealing!
How to reheat frozen quesadillas?
Generally, you can directly heat the cooked frozen quesadillas in a preheated oven or a grill pan, skillet, or toaster oven. You just need to reheat for around 5 minutes to get the desired appealing meal again. Besides, you can microwave them just for around 1-2 minutes, but remember that soggy quesadillas will be the final result if you overdo that.
How do you thaw frozen quesadillas?
Well, the answer to that would be, rather than cooking directly in the frozen state you can thaw them in the refrigerator until they get slightly softened. Then cook them under low to medium heat until the interior is cooked and you get a golden brown appearance on the outside.
How to cook frozen quesadillas in oven?
It’s clearly a simple process. You just have to pre-heat the oven to a temperature of 375 degrees F.Then you can thaw the quesadillas (best in the refrigerator overnight) and remove the wrapping film. After that, Keep the quesadillas on a tray and place them in the oven allowing them to bake for around 12 minutes.[3]
Frequently asked questions
In this section, we will discuss the additional facts related to freezing the quesadillas.
What is the difference between a tortilla and a quesadilla?
Tortilla is a round-shaped flatbread made of Mexican cuisine flour or cornmeal. While quesadilla is a tortilla filled with a topping or a filling such as meats, beans, cheese, sour cream, etc. In addition, vegetables can also be served with salsa or sour cream.
What is the difference between fajita and quesadilla?
There are 3 basic differences between fajita and quesadillas.
- They basically differ based on their main ingredients.Fajitas major ingredient is beef or chicken while the quesadillas major ingredient is cheese.
- Based on the flavor profiles, Quesadillas dominate cheesy flavor while the fajitas dominate savory flavor.
- In terms of serving, fajitas are served in an unwrapped state while quesadillas are wrapped when serving.
Can you freeze tortillas?
The answer to the question is yes. You can easily freeze both flour tortillas and cornmeal tortillas as a way of increasing shelf life. It is important to keep them well sealed to avoid the freezer burn. With proper storage conditions, you can keep both corn and flour tortillas at least for around six months. If you keep them well wrapped then you can tortillas for longer periods than 6 months.
During storage, make stacks made of 5 -10 tortillas and wrap each of those stacks tightly using aluminum foils or cling films. Then keep them in airtight containers for freezing. For easy usage remember to label the dates and contents on it. To make tortilla chips and nachos cut them into quarters before freezing.
How to reheat quesadilla in the Air fryer?
In this case, you have to preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees F. And place the quesadillas in a single layer within the air fryer basket. Finally, you can keep the Quesadilla air fryer time for around 3-5 minutes until you get melted cheese and crispy tortillas.
How long do quesadillas last in the fridge?
If you have problems with freezing, you can store quesadillas in the refrigerator for around 3 days. But remember that you could use this as a simple solution only, otherwise, if you made them in bulk freezing is necessary for long-term storage.[3]
Can You Freeze Salsa and Guacamole for Quesadillas?
Would you like to enjoy your quesadillas with guacamole or salsa? Then you might be wondering if you can freeze them too? yeah, you can freeze them, it’s safe and alright. But it’s better you avoid that because it may alter the appealing properties of salsa and guac. In this case, fresh is always better in every aspect.
Final thoughts
After reading so far, now you got the answers to your questions. Quesadilla is an easy dish for you to make at home. Enjoy combining different components to your quesdailla to inspire your taste buds more. Use the above tips and steps to keep them for a longer period and enjoy quesadillas to the fullest whenever you can!.
