Air Fryer Chicken Breast & Quesadilla

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Say goodbye to dry, boring chicken! This Juicy Air Fryer Chicken Breast is tender, flavorful, and incredibly easy to make. With just a few simple ingredients and less than 20 minutes, you can have perfectly cooked chicken breasts with a deliciously seasoned outside and juicy, tender center.

(Tap the ‘jump to recipe’ button to get to the air fryer chicken breast recipe quick!)

Whether you are looking for new ideas for healthy meals, quick eats, or to add more protein in to your diet, this chicken quesadilla is the perfect recipe for you.

It starts with a low carb flour tortilla, filled with juicy, flavorful chicken breast, cheddar cheese, fiber rich black beans, and cilantro. Then it’s topped with a Greek yogurt based avocado crema to dip; all made perfectly in your air fryer.

Why you’ll love this chicken quesadilla

• This recipe makes enough chicken to have leftovers for lunch all week, so it’s the perfect make ahead meal.
• The quesadilla is ready in 3 minutes.
• This recipe is high in protein and in flavor.
• Easily customizable to your taste.
• It contains easy to find ingredients.

Ok, but let’s talk about the chicken. Because it’s incredible!

To make the chicken

You will love this chicken! This recipe makes way more chicken than you’ll need for one quesadilla, so it’s perfect for meal prepping your lunches all week. The chicken is delicious on it’s own with a side of veggies for a full meal, or to top a salad, to add to a sandwich, or in a wrap.

This is my go-to recipe for quick and easy chicken breast to add on a salad, wrap or alongside dinner.

The full recipe is at the bottom of this post, but here’s how to make the chicken:

1. Toss 2 lbs of chicken breast with olive oil, paprika, black pepper, salt, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, and onion powder.
2. Air fry at 360° F for 15-17 minutes, flipping once. The only way to ensure perfect chicken is by using a meat thermometer. Once the chicken is 165° F in the thickest part, it’s done.
3. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before shredding or slicing. Perfection!

I like cooking the chicken in these Air Fryer Silicone Liners if I’m cooking something else immediately after the chicken so I’m not washing the air fryer basket twice.

Avocado Crema

While the chicken is cooking, prepare the avocado crema. This easy dipping sauce makes a lot and will keep in the fridge up to 5 days.

To a blender or food processor add a ripe avocado, Greek yogurt, lime juice, cilantro, garlic, salt, pepper, and a little olive oil or water and blend until smooth and creamy.

Put it all together

After the chicken rests and is shredded, let’s put the quesadilla together.

In to the air fryer basket add a low carb tortilla, the shredded chicken, shredded cheddar (or your favorite) cheese, cilantro, a squeeze of lime juice, and black beans. Pop it back into the air fryer at 375 degrees for 3 minutes. I love that with this air fryer you don’t need any additional oil for the quesadilla to be crispy!

Top with the avocado crema, more cilantro leaves, diced tomatoes, a squeeze of lime, or your favorite toppings, and enjoy!

You might also like Healthy Air Fryer Chicken Strips. Kids love these!

More Air Fryer Recipes

• Parmesan Crusted Chicken Caesar Salad
• Air Fryer Kielbasa with Peppers over Rice
• Chili Lime Shrimp
• Zucchini Fries
• Buffalo Wings
• Mexican Street Corn on the Cob
• Air Fryer Chicken with Veggies
• Homemade Chicken Strips
• Rueben Eggrolls
• Hoisin Salmon

Air Fryer Chicken Breast & Quesadilla

Steph Gigliotti

If you are looking for super simple, super flavorful, healthy and high protein meal ideas, look no further than this air fried High Protein Chicken Quesadilla.

5 from 4 votes

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Course Dinner, Lunch, Snack

Servings 4 servings

Calories 503 kcal

Equipment

• Air Fryer
• Meat Thermometer
• Silicone liners optional

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

For the chicken:

• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast (2-4 chicken breasts)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder

For the Avocado Crema:

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp cilantro
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper
• Juice of 1/2 lime
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil or water

For the quesadilla:

• 4 low carb tortilla
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup canned black beans drained and rinsed

Instructions

 

• Prepare the chicken: toss the chicken breasts in the oil and seasonings. Air fry at 360° F for 10 minutes, flip and cook another 7 minutes, until the internal temperature just reaches 165° F. Let rest 5 minutes and shred the chicken, or use in another recipe.
• Prepare the avocado crema: while the chicken is cooking prepare the crema. To a blender add the avocado, Greek yogurt, salt and pepper, cilantro, garlic, lime and oil or water. Blend until smooth. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
• Assemble the quesadilla. Add 1 tortilla to the air fryer basket. On half of tortilla Top with about 1/4 cup of shredded chicken, cheese, black beans, cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice. (Optional, spray tortilla with nonstick spray) Air fry at 375° for 3 minutes. Top quesadilla with the avocado creams, extra cilantro, diced tomatoes and enjoy immediately.

Notes

2 pounds of chicken breast will make 4-6 quesadillas. The nutrition calculation is for 1 serving size (1 full quesadilla) from a total of 4 quesadillas and will vary based on ingredients used and serving size.

 

Nutrition

Serving: 4gCalories: 503kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 57gFat: 25gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 0.03gCholesterol: 149mgSodium: 1181mgPotassium: 1243mgFiber: 6gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 680IUVitamin C: 9mgCalcium: 124mgIron: 2mg

Keyword air fryer recipes, chicken quesadilla, high protein

Tried this recipe?Post a pic and mention @StephGigliotti, I’d love to see it!