How to Reheat Quesadillas – I Test 6 Methods [Pics]

There’s nothing I love more than a freshly fried quesadilla. But a close runner-up is a leftover quesadilla (if you reheat it in the right way).

I’ve experimented with several different quesadilla reheating techniques, to find the one that delivers the gooiest cheese and a perfect level of crunch.

Here’s the short answer:

The best way to reheat quesadillas is in a skillet. Heat a dry skillet on medium heat and add the quesadilla when it’s hot to the touch. Heat the quesadilla on each side for around a minute, being careful as you flip it to avoid spillage! You can add extra cheese if you need more ‘glue’.

Ready? Let’s jump right in.

A note on my experiment

I bought a bunch of fresh quesadillas and kept them in the fridge overnight. 

The following day I experimented with six different ways of reheating them.

Here are the methods I tested and my verdicts:

Pro tip: to refresh the quesadillas flavor, open it up and add some extra cheese or chopped up herbs before you reheat it. Extra cheese will also make sure the quesadilla doesn’t fall apart!

Related: what to serve with quesadillas

How to reheat quesadillas in a skillet

1. Heat a skillet on medium heat (high heat will burn the quesadillas).
2. OPTIONAL: lightly coat the skillet with some oil.
3. Add the quesadilla and heat it for 1-2 minutes.
4. Flip the quesadilla and heat the other side for a further 1-2 minutes.
5. Serve immediately.

Lift the quesadilla up with a spatula every so often, just to make sure the lower surface isn’t browning too much. 

If it looks like it’s burning, turn the heat down and flip the quesadilla. 

I don’t use any oil because flour tortillas are very absorbent and soak it all up. But you can use a very light coating if you’re worried about sticking.

Frying the quesadillas makes them quite crunchy. If you want a softer quesadilla, put a lid on the skillet to ‘steam’ the tortillas. 

Pros: the tortilla crisped up and developed a slight bite that was missing in the other methods. The cheese melted nicely and the chicken remained moist.
Cons: you need to flip the quesadilla which can end up messy.

How to reheat quesadillas in an oven (or toaster oven)

1. Preheat your oven to 350ºF (180ºC) (if you’re using a baking tray, then preheat that too).
2. Lay the quesadilla directly onto a wire rack or a preheated baking tray.
3. Heat the quesadilla for about 5 minutes (a toaster oven will be quicker and produce a crispier quesadilla).

If you prefer a softer tortilla, I suggest covering the quesadilla with foil. This will trap some steam and help keep the tortillas moist. 

I like using a wire rack because this allows air to circulate the quesadilla and crisp the bottom and the top evenly.

A cold baking tray will leave you with a soggy bottom!

A hot baking tray is slightly better but still not as good as a wire rack.

Pros: it’s good way to heat large amounts of quesadillas but is quite time-consuming for a quick meal option.
Cons: it was a little drier than the fresh ones, but you can fix this with some sauce.

How to reheat quesadillas in an air fryer

1. Preheat the air fryer to 350ºF (180ºC).
2. Lay the quesadilla flat in your air fryer basket. Don’t stack the slices, or they won’t crisp up evenly. 
3. Heat the quesadilla for about 3 to 5 minutes, or until the quesadillas are hot and the cheese has all melted.

Take care that the quesadillas don’t burn, as they will heat quickly in the air fryer.

If the tortillas are dry, you can spritz them with water before you heat them. This will help reintroduce a little moisture.

Pros: the air fryer produced the crunchiest tortilla, especially around the edges, and it was speedy.
Cons: if you leave it too long it’s easy burn or overcook the quesadilla.

How to reheat quesadillas in a microwave

1. Place the quesadilla on a microwave-safe plate.
2. Cover it with a damp paper towel.
3. Put the quesadilla in the microwave and set it to heat for 30 seconds. 
4. Check the quesadilla after 30 seconds.
5. If it needs longer, continue to heat it in 10-second intervals until the filling is piping hot.
6. Let the quesadilla rest for 30 seconds before heating to allow the cheese to cool down slightly (it will be very hot).

Make sure you eat the quesadilla as soon as you can after microwaving it because the tortilla will dry out quickly and turn to cardboard.

Only cover the quesadilla in the damp paper towel rather than wrapping it. 

If you wrap the quesadilla, the bottom will come out pretty wet. 

Pros: this method is speedy and convenient, it’s great when you’re on the run and need a quick lunch.
Cons: the tortilla gets quite soggy, and this will be worse is the quesadilla contains ‘wet’ ingredients (like veggies).

How to reheat quesadillas in the toaster

1. Put the quesadilla slice into a toaster pocket and toast as you would bread.
2. If you don’t have any toaster pockets, you can use parchment paper to create one.
3. You just need to make sure the cheese won’t ooze out.

To make a toaster pocket with a piece of parchment paper paper, simply cut a square and fold it in half with the quesadilla in the middle.

Make sure the square is slightly bigger than the quesadilla slice.

Pros: using a toaster worked surprisingly well and was a quick option. The cheese melted completely, and the chicken heated up well. The tortilla was a little soft but not soggy.
Cons: you can only reheat one slice of quesadilla at a time.

How to reheat quesadillas in the deep fryer (or shallow frying)

My thought process behind using a deep fryer was this: you can deep fry a burrito to reheat it.

1. Heat a pan of oil to 350ºF (180ºC).
2. When the oil is hot, carefully lower the quesadilla into the oil with a fryer basket or slotted spoon.
3. Cook the quesadilla for 30-60 seconds.
4. Remove the quesadilla from the oil and drain it on a wire rack or kitchen towel. 

Ideally, you would use a thermometer to measure the oil temperature.

But if you don’t have one, you can put a little piece of bread in the oil and watch it. When it sizzles, the oil is ready.

You must make sure that the oil is hot enough. If it’s too cold, the quesadilla will soak up a lot of oil and become really greasy.

Pros: my partner loved the deep fried quesadillas, so you might too!
Cons: some of the filling fell out. And I thought the final result was overly greasy.

How to store quesadillas

To store quesadillas, cool them to room temperature and then put them in an airtight container. If you want to stack the quesadillas in the container, place a paper towel between each layer. The quesadillas will last for about 3-4 days in the fridge.

Cooling the quesadillas to room temperature is important.

If you don’t, condensation will build up in the container and cause the tortillas to become soggy.

Can you freeze quesadillas?

You can freeze quesadillas, as long as you’re mindful of the filling. Quesadillas with lots of watery vegetables can get soggy, so it’s better if the filling is mainly meat, cheese, or starchy vegetables. The quesadillas will last up to three months in the freezer.

How to freeze quesadillas:

1. Make sure that the quesadillas are completely cool.
2. Separate each quesadilla with parchment paper and then wrap them in plastic wrap.
3. Place the wrapped quesadillas in a freezer bag, or wrap them in a second layer of foil or plastic wrap.
4. Write the date of freezing on the bag and put the quesadillas in the freezer.
5. Keep the quesadillas for up to 3 months. 

Never put hot quesadillas in the freezer because the condensation will turn into ice crystals and ruin the texture of the tortilla.

Separating the quesadillas using parchment paper means they won’t stick together in the freezer, so you’ll be able to take one or two out at a time instead of having to defrost the whole thing.

How to reheat frozen quesadillas

I advise reheating quesadillas straight from frozen instead of thawing them because the thawing process will make them soggy. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and place the frozen quesadilla in. Heat the quesadilla for a few minutes on each side until crispy.

You can also use the microwave or a 350ºF (180ºC) oven. Personally, I avoid the microwave because the tortilla ends up pretty soggy.

How to keep quesadillas warm

To keep quesadillas warm when you’re feeding a crowd, place them in a 300-degree oven on a wire rack. The wire rack will make sure air can circulate, so the bottom won’t get soggy. If you need to layer the quesadillas, separate each later with parchment paper.

300 degrees is warm enough to keep the quesadillas hot. but not so hot that the quesadillas will continue to cook.

The Best Way To Reheat Quesadillas

I experimented with six different ways of reheating quesadillas and this way the best one.

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: how to reheat quesadillas, quesadillas

Prep Time: 1 minute

Cook Time: 4 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Servings: 1 person

Calories: 293kcal

Equipment

• Skillet

Ingredients

• 1 portion quesadilla

Instructions

• Heat a skillet on medium heat (high would burn the quesadillas).
• OPTIONAL: lightly coat the skillet with some oil.
• Add the quesadilla and heat it for 1-2 minutes.
• Flip the quesadilla and heat the other side for a further 1-2 minutes.
• Serve immediately.

Notes

Lift the quesadilla up with a spatula every so often, just to make sure the lower surface isn’t browning too much. 

If this happens, then turn the heat down and flip the quesadilla. 

I don’t use any oil because flour tortillas are very absorbent and soak it all up. But you can use a very light coating if you’re worried about sticking.

Frying the quesadillas makes them quite crunchy.

If you want a softer quesadilla, put a lid over the skillet to ‘steam’ the tortillas. 

Nutrition

Serving: 100g | Calories: 293kcal