This delicious Blooming Quesadilla Ring is easy to make and sure to impress your guests. Turn your next Taco Tuesday into a fun and festive fiesta with this blooming quesadilla ring!
For a few other party appetizers, look at our Hedgehog Cheese Ball, Traditional Pork Lumpia Rolls, Italian Charcuterie Board, and Spanish Potato & Onion Tortilla.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
Looking for a festive and easy-to-make Mexican dish to celebrate Cinco de mayo or Feliz Navidad? Look no further than this blooming quesadilla ring recipe.
It's made with store-bought rotisserie chicken, gooey cheese, and vibrant red and green bell peppers, making it the perfect dish to share with friends and family. Plus, you can prepare this quesadilla recipe in no time.
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Ingredients
Start with the breast meat of a rotisserie chicken, or cook up two half chicken breasts for the meat. You can also use any left over meats you have on hand. Store bought flour tortillas or make our Handmade Whole Wheat Tortillas recipe for a healthier alternative.
- Flour Tortillas, store bought or our homemade Whole Wheat Tortillas
- Rotisserie chicken breast meat, or cooked chicken breast
- Red Onion
- Green Onions
- Yellow, Green Bell pepper, or a type of chili pepper you like (Hatch, Anaheim, etc).
- Red Bell pepper
- Ripe Tomato, diced
- Cilantro, chopped
- Salsa, or Pico de Gallo
- Grated Cheddar or Pepper Jack cheese
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to Make a Blooming Quesadilla Ring
You have a lot of flexibility when making this quesadilla ring. Meats and cheeses can be whatever you currently have on hand. Left over turkey, make quesadillas with it! Odds & ends in the cheese drawer, use them instead. No red onion, no problem, use a yellow onion or all green onion.
Make the Quesadilla Filling
Using a food processor or cut by hand, mince up the red onion, green onion, tomato, some cilantro (if desired), and bell peppers. Dice up the chicken. Add it all to a bowl. Add a small portion of the salsa or pico de gallo and mix up the quesadilla filling.
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Make the Quesadillas
Cut all the tortillas in half. Place a couple spoonfuls of the filling on one end of the tortilla. Add some of the grated cheese. Roll up into a cone shape and place on the place with the pointed end of the cone in the center of the plate.
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Arrange the Quesadilla Ring
Repeat filling and rolling into cones with all the tortillas. As you go around the outside of the plate, you will see the blooming flower effect. Gently fit as many of the quesadilla cones in place so they are firmly in place.
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Spread Cheese on Top & Bake
Spread grated cheese on the top of the quesadilla ring. Bake in the oven at 200 F for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the quesadilla ring is heated up. Garnish with some chopped cilantro, if desired.
After baking, place a small condiment bowl in the middle to hold the quesadilla ring in place. Fill the bowl with Pico de Gallo, Salsa, Mexican White Sauce, or even Guacamole.
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this beautiful blooming quesadilla ring with our 4 Ingredient Guacamole, Easy Pico de Gallo, a dish of Pickled Jalapeno Peppers, Mexican White Sauce, and some additional tortilla chips. Your guests will be simply delighted at this delicious appetizer.
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Substitutions
You can use any meat, not just chicken. Seafood is especially delicious! You can also substitute the flour tortillas for corn, just steam them to soften them first.
Variations
There are so many variations to this quesadilla party platter. Follow the basic blooming quesadilla ring recipe, but make the following variations:
- Birria Quesadilla Ring- Birria is traditionally a barbacoa type stewed goat, however at many restaurants it is also beef. Birria is a slow roasted meat stew that you use tongs to pull out the meat portion for tacos or quesadillas. It's delicious!
- Barbacoa Quesadilla Ring - Barbacoa is a pot roast type of beef that has been marinated first. Just like with Birria, tongs are used to pull out super tender, juicy meat for quesadillas or tacos. Birria is a type of Barbacoa, but Barbacoa is not a Birria. Barbacoa is marinated first and always beef. Birria is goat or mutton (and occasionally beef), and just stewed.
- Turkey Quesadillas - What a GREAT way to use some of the left over turkey, right? Turkey Quesadillas would make a magnificent New Years Eve appetizer!
- Brisket Quesadilla - Save leftover brisket and make quesadillas, they will taste very similar to Barbacoa quesadillas. Did you ever wonder what the difference between brisket and corned beef is? Brisket is the cut of the beef, cooked fresh without being brined. Corned beef is the same brisket cut, but it is first brined before stewing or braising. Corned beef gets it's pink color from the brining.
- Cheese Quesadillas - Perhaps you are vegetarian, well you can still have a great Blooming Quesadilla Ring! Choose a couple varieties of cheese and use one inside the quesadilla cones (petals of the blooming quesadilla), and another on the top before baking.
Equipment
You can use any large round platter, a plate, or even a nacho plate with the attached salsa bowl in the middle. Choose the diameter for however large you want your quesadilla ring to end up being. You may need to double the recipe if using a large circumference platter..
Storage
Wrap leftover quesadillas in aluminum foil and refrigerate. Warm by simply placing in the oven at 200 F for 15 minutes.
Tips for Success
- You can mix the quesadilla filling a day ahead so that the flavors have more time to blend together.
- Cilantro is optional.
Frequently Asked Questions
The fresh tomato, bell peppers, green onion, and cilantro will change after being frozen if uncooked. If you do freeze, bake the blooming quesadilla ring first. Then, cover with foil to freeze. Defrost on the counter for a few hours, and then bake uncovered at 180 F until reheated.
Food Safety
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
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📖 Recipe
Blooming Quesadilla Ring
Equipment
Ingredients
- 20 flour tortillas store or homemade
- 2 chicken breast halves cooked, or use a rotisserie chicken
- 1 red onion chopped
- 6 green onions sliced
- ½ yellow bell pepper or green
- ½ red bell pepper
- ½ large Hatch chili fresh, and optional
- 1 medium tomato diced
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped
- ¼ cup salsa
- 2 cups grated cheese blend, divided in half cheddar or Pepper Jack, half for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200° F. Prepare a round platter at least 13" diameter, or larger.
- Using a food processor or cut by hand, mince up the red onion, green onion, tomato, some cilantro (if desired), and bell peppers. Dice up the chicken. Add it all to a bowl. Add a small portion of the salsa or pico de gallo and mix up the quesadilla filling.1 red onion, 6 green onions, ½ yellow bell pepper, ½ red bell pepper, ½ large Hatch chili, 1 medium tomato, ¼ cup cilantro, ¼ cup salsa, 2 chicken breast halves
- Cut all the tortillas in half. Place a couple spoonfuls of the filling on one end of the tortilla. Add some of the grated cheese. Roll up into a cone shape and place on the place with the pointed end of the cone in the center of the plate.20 flour tortillas, 2 cups grated cheese blend, divided in half
- Repeat filling and rolling into cones with all the tortillas. As you go around the outside of the plate, you will see the blooming flower effect. Gently fit as many of the quesadilla cones in place so they are firmly in place.
- Spread grated cheese on the top of the quesadilla ring. Bake in the oven at 200 F for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the quesadilla ring is heated up. Garnish with some chopped cilantro, if desired.
- After baking, place a small condiment bowl in the middle to hold the quesadilla ring in place. Fill the bowl with Pico de Gallo, Salsa, Mexican White Sauce, or even Guacamole.
Notes
- You can mix the quesadilla filling a day ahead so that the flavors have more time to blend together.
- Cilantro is optional.
- Birria Quesadilla Ring- Birria is traditionally a barbacoa type stewed goat, however at many restaurants it is also beef. Birria is a slow roasted meat stew that you use tongs to pull out the meat portion for tacos or quesadillas. It's delicious!
- Barbacoa Quesadilla Ring - Barbacoa is a pot roast type of beef that has been marinated first. Just like with Birria, tongs are used to pull out super tender, juicy meat for quesadillas or tacos. Birria is a type of Barbacoa, but Barbacoa is not a Birria. Barbacoa is marinated first and always beef. Birria is goat or mutton (and occasionally beef), and just stewed.
- Turkey Quesadillas - What a GREAT way to use some of the left over turkey, right? Turkey Quesadillas would make a magnificent New Years Eve appetizer!
- Brisket Quesadilla - Save leftover brisket and make quesadillas, they will taste very similar to Barbacoa quesadillas. Did you ever wonder what the difference between brisket and corned beef is? Brisket is the cut of the beef, cooked fresh without being brined. Corned beef is the same brisket cut, but it is first brined before stewing or braising. Corned beef gets it's pink color from the brining.
- Cheese Quesadillas - Perhaps you are vegetarian, well you can still have a great Blooming Quesadilla Ring! Choose a couple varieties of cheese and use one inside the quesadilla cones (petals of the blooming quesadilla), and another on the top before baking.
Nutrition
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