If you are looking for a super easy and super fast dinner that you can whip together in a flash, these Vegan Quesadillas de Rajas have your back! With less than ten ingredients you will have dinner ready in under than 45 minutes!
I love poblano peppers. Rajas are just sliced poblano peppers often cooked with other ingredients. They add great flavor to many dishes while not being too spicy for my liking. Before going vegan I loved quesadillas. Are you noticing a trend, before going vegan I LOVED cheese. Actually, to say I loved cheese is probably an understatement. I had cheese with almost every meal, and when I was in college mac and cheese and cheese pizza were my comfort go-to’s, and if I was at grandmas house I would always ask her to make me quesadillas.
Cheese is often a number one reason why many people don’t want to or feel like they can’t make the complete transition to veganism. It was the reason why I remained a vegetarian for so long, and couldn’t quite take that step towards full veganism. When I was a vegetarian, I tried all kinds of vegan cheeses and they were nowhere near the real thing in flavor or texture. These days vegan cheese alternatives have come a VERY LONG way. They provide great flavor and can melt now! Dare I say I now crave these cheesy flavors over their dairy counterparts!
When it comes to most Mexican-inspired dishes I make that include vegan cheese, I will stick with my favorite, and that is vegan queso fresco or some kind of Mexican-style blend. The flavor of these vegan alternatives pair well with Mexican flavors and adds a great melty element, making it a perfect alternative for vegan quesadillas. Use what you like and what’s most accessible to you! Vegan mozzarella or jack cheese is also great!
My grandmother’s recipes are what inspire most of my Mexican dishes. The main flavor profiles that I grew up eating in her meals, and hence have translated into many of my recipes, include tomato, garlic, and cumin. You’ll find these flavors in my Mexican-style Rice that pairs great with this recipe for a quick Mexican dinner. What I love the most about these ingredients is how accessible and easy they are to find at your grocery store. On top of that, they are budget friendly, with those three ingredients typically coming in under $5, and they are great flavor starters for many Mexican inspired dishes.
I decided to take just a few of these flavors and use them to sauté rajas and onions as a great filling for quesadillas. This filling is light and delicious, and the vegan queso fresco adds that perfect comfort element of traditional melty quesadillas!
Do I have to use Poblano Peppers in these Vegan Quesadillas?
Poblano Peppers add great flavor to these quesadillas but if you are looking for a little more spice feel free to swap the poblano peppers for fresh jalapeños. You can even add jarred nacho style jalapeños for a little kick of acidity. Just add these when you are assembling the cheese in the tortilla, no need to sauté the jarred peppers.
Crazy Easy Vegan Quesadillas de Rajas
Ingredients
- 1 Package Flour Tortillas (about 12 tortillas)
- 2 Poblano Peppers (cut into thin slices)
- 1 White or Yellow Onion (cut into thin slices)
- 2 Packages Vegan Queso Fresco (or vegan cheese of choice such as mozzarella, jack, Mexican-style blend)
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil or Avocado oil
- 1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
Instructions
Rajas Mixture
- Wash and rinse poblano peppers.
- Cut poblano peppers and onion into strips.
- Sauté peppers in oil for about 5 minutes until they start to become soft, and then add the onions to the pan. Continue to sauté for another 5-7 minutes until onions are translucent and soft and peppers tender.
- When peppers and onions are soft add the ground cumin and mix.
- Remove pan from heat and set rajas mixture aside.
- Warm a pan or griddle and place tortillas down to warm.
- Add a about a tablespoon full of the rajas mixture to one half of the tortilla and top with some vegan cheese.
- Fold tortilla in half and grill both sides until the cheese inside is melted.
- Serve with a side of vegan sour cream and vegan oil-free refried beans and Mexican-style rice!
What can I pair these Vegan Quesadillas de Rajas with?
For a complete Mexican meal I highly recommend paring these Vegan Quesadillas with my Mexican-style rice and vegan oil-free refried beans!
