What to Make With Tortillas and Cheese: 3 Fast Weeknight Dinners
Tortillas and cheese are the dinner you can cook after the meeting that ran long. A quesadilla is 10 minutes. A cheese crisp is the same idea, left open. A mug-free skillet of nachos uses the broiler and still stays under half an hour. None of these need meat to count. Got more in the fridge? Snap a photo and we'll pick dinner for you. Free.
Quick picks: 3 dinners with tortillas and cheese in 30 minutes or less
Fastest option: a 10-minute dinner
10 min
Cheese quesadillas
Total time, start to plate · One skillet · serves 4 · Kid-friendly
Flour tortillas and shredded cheese, toasted until the cheese pulls.
Ingredients
- 4 flour tortillas
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
- 1 pinch salt
Steps
- Heat a skillet over medium. Add a tortilla.
- Scatter cheese on half, fold, and cook until the bottom is spotted.
- Flip and cook until the cheese is melted and the other side is brown.
- Cut into wedges. Repeat. Don't walk away. They go from pale to burnt in a minute.
Keeps: Eat them now. Cold quesadillas are a snack at best.
One-pan or sheet-pan option
12 min
Skillet cheese crisps
Total time, start to plate · One skillet · serves 4 · Kid-friendly
An open tortilla toasted under cheese until the edges go rigid.
Ingredients
- 4 corn tortillas
- 1 cup shredded cheese
- 1/4 tsp cumin
Steps
- Toast a tortilla in a dry skillet until it stiffens.
- Flip it, cover it with cheese and a pinch of cumin, and cover the skillet for a minute.
- Slide it out when the cheese is melted and the bottom is crisp.
- Cut and eat before you start the next one, or the first one steams on the plate.
Keeps: They go soft as they sit. Eat them as they come out of the pan.
The other dinner
15 min
Sheet-pan tortilla nachos
Total time, start to plate · One sheet pan · serves 4 · Kid-friendly
Tortillas cut into chips, cheese scattered, broiler on. Ten minutes in the oven.
Ingredients
- 6 corn tortillas
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
Steps
- Heat the oven to 400°F. Brush tortillas with oil, stack, and cut into wedges. Salt them.
- Bake 8 minutes, until they are stiff.
- Scatter the cheese and broil until it melts, a minute or two. Watch the pan.
- Eat off the pan. A plate makes them soggy faster.
Keeps: They do not keep. Make what you will eat.
Make it with leftovers
Cheese doesn't really do leftovers in a heroic way. A quesadilla is best hot. If you have leftover chili or beans, they can go inside, but the cards here are complete without them. Stale tortillas revive in a dry skillet. Don't steam them.
Pantry staples you'll need
- Oil
- Salt
- Salsa
- Cumin
No cheese: a tortilla with butter and salt is a snack, not this page. See eggs and tortillas if you have eggs. No tortillas: melt the cheese over baked potatoes or pasta.
Picky-eater and healthy tweaks
This is the picky-eater page. Plain cheese, a tortilla, cut into triangles. Salsa is optional and lives on the side. The nachos are the same foods with more crunch.
Corn tortillas and a modest amount of cheese is a reasonable dinner with an apple or carrot on the side. You don't have to turn it into a loaded platter.
Have something else in the fridge?
Got more in the fridge? Snap a photo and we'll pick dinner for you. Free.
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Questions
What can I make with tortillas and cheese in 20 minutes?
Cheese quesadillas takes 10 minutes, start to plate. Flour tortillas and shredded cheese, toasted until the cheese pulls.
What's the easiest dinner with tortillas and cheese?
Cheese quesadillas is the low-fuss one: one skillet, 10 minutes. Flour tortillas and shredded cheese, toasted until the cheese pulls.
Can I make this with leftover or cooked tortillas?
Cheese doesn't really do leftovers in a heroic way. A quesadilla is best hot. If you have leftover chili or beans, they can go inside, but the cards here are complete without them. Stale tortillas revive in a dry skillet. Don't steam them.
What else can I add to tortillas and cheese for a full meal?
The cards already use flour tortillas, shredded cheese, salt. A piece of fruit or a handful of frozen vegetables is enough if you want more on the plate. Don't make a second shopping trip.
Is tortillas and cheese a healthy dinner?
Corn tortillas and a modest amount of cheese is a reasonable dinner with an apple or carrot on the side. You don't have to turn it into a loaded platter.
How do I make tortillas and cheese kid-friendly?
This is the picky-eater page. Plain cheese, a tortilla, cut into triangles. Salsa is optional and lives on the side. The nachos are the same foods with more crunch.
Can I make tortillas and cheese in one pan or a sheet pan?
Skillet cheese crisps uses one skillet and takes 12 minutes. An open tortilla toasted under cheese until the edges go rigid.
What if I don't have cheese?
No cheese: a tortilla with butter and salt is a snack, not this page. See eggs and tortillas if you have eggs. No tortillas: melt the cheese over baked potatoes or pasta.