Vegan Sheet Pan Quesadilla

Fun and delicious, this vegan sheet pan quesadilla is easy to assemble in less than 10 minutes, and then bakes in the oven making it an easy and mostly hands-off dinner! Use your favorite fillings and enjoy with friends, family, or by yourself because the leftovers are delicious too.

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Hey Internet, sometimes you just gotta make something, even if the idea seems a little crazy.

I LOVE quesadillas--and while mine may not be authentic, it is really delicious.

Of course, I used my homemade melty stretchy nut-free vegan cheddar, and it’s great because it acts like a glue so I can have a ton of fillings. That being said it will work with shredded store-bought vegan cheese.

So what the heck is a sheet pan quesadilla?

It’s essentially a dish in which you take an 8-pack of extra large tortillas (think burrito size) and lay 7 of them out on a half-sheet pan so they’re overlapping all the edges and covering the bottom, add a layer of cheese, pack it full of other goodies, add more cheese, and then cover it with the last tortilla and wrap all the other sides up and bake it!

It’s kind like a tortilla hack, but not the one where you’re folding up an individual tortilla. I still have yet to try that one…

So anyway, I hope you love this recipe--it’s really great for a big family dinner, having friends over, an appetizer for movie or game watching, a cookout, a sleepover, or you and your spouse eating way too much for a photoshoot. Nevermind about that last one…

My vegan sheet pan quesadilla is also super kid-friendly, making it a delicious meal to serve the family. Check out my list of vegan kid-friendly recipes or my list of 50+ vegan snacks for kids!

What You’ll Need

• Tortillas: The bigger, the better for this, though you can use smaller tortillas (like 8-10 inches), but you may need two packs. The most important thing is that everything overlaps by enough that the cheese can seal it together so it won’t fall apart. There are burrito size gluten-free tortillas out there but they can be hard to find. I’ve seen (and eaten, they’re really good) some by the brand Siete, and I’ve seen them at Whole Foods, local health food stores, and occasionally I can find them at my regional chain grocery store.
• Vegan Cheese: I love to use my 2 batches of my vegan cheddar sauce--it’s not just a regular cheese sauce, it’s cooked with tapioca starch to make it stretchy, melty, and therefore it will hold together our quesadilla well. It’s also inexpensive and only takes a few minutes to make. A regular vegan cheese sauce might get soggy or just spill out and your quesadilla will be kinda mushy. Store-bought vegan cheese will work, but you’ll need quite a bit of it, about a pound or a little more.
• Vegan Shredded Chicken: I used my easy jackfruit shredded chicken but with some taco-ish spices (I used chipotle powder, garlic powder, cumin, paprika, and sea salt) for a vegan chicken quesadilla flair, but it’s not necessary. You could swap store-bought vegan chicken (or any other meat alternative), soy curls, beans or just omit this.
• Onions: Also not necessary but a nice crunch. I recommend a harder onion like yellow, red, sweet, or white, as a green onion might wilt in the heat of the oven. You can add green onions on top before you serve, though if you’d like!
• Fire Roasted Corn: While regular corn will also work, fire roasted corn is especially delicious. You could also grill corn on the cop and shave it with a knife.
• Pico de Gallo: More onions, lol. Actually pico de gallo typically has tomatoes, onions, serrano peppers (or some people use jalapenos), salt, lime juice, and sometimes cilantro. You can make it yourself or buy it from a store. Just make sure to strain out the excess liquid so your quesadilla doesn’t get soggy. You could use chopped tomatoes instead, but I’d use a less juicy tomato like grape tomatoes, and quarter them before I put them in this. You could alternatively use a chunky salsa, again straining out some of the excess liquid.
• Black Olives: I guess these are more of a nacho topping, but I love them so I stick them in here. Feel free to leave out if you’re not a fan.
• Dipping Sauces: We made guacamole and used a store-bought salsa - I LOVE Frontera salsas, and this Frontera Roasted Tomato Salsa is the bomb. Not sponsored, but if they want to sponsor me that’d be chill. You could also make my vegan sour cream or use one you bought from the store if you prefer.

How to Make a Vegan Sheet Pan Quesadilla

First, let’s talk about equipment. You don’t need much, but let’s talk about it anyway.

For the cheese, you just need a blender and a medium pot for tor the stove.

For the quesadillas themselves, you need at least one half sheet pan but I’m going to recommend you use two, preferably the same brand (but not necessarily).

It seems a little strange, but the quesadilla is more successful & browns on top easier when it has an even weight on it.

I’ll explain it in the recipe in more detail, but all you do is put the second sheet pan on top of the wrapped quesadilla, so they fit together perfectly almost as though you were stacking sheet pans. DO NOT turn the pan upside down, that defeats the purpose. Then you just kinda squish it on there and throw it (well, preferably place it) in the oven.

Alright, let’s make this thing.

• If you want to make your own cheese, you can use my recipe for vegan melty cheddar, it’ll take you 5 minutes. If not, proceed to the next step.
• Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit (218 degrees Celsius). And line one of your sheet pans with parchment paper.
• Now, lay out the tortillas, one by one (you’ll use 7 in this first step and we’ll save the 8th for later). You want 2 tortillas overlapping on each long side, and one on each short side. You want the tortillas to be half on the tray, half off. Don’t worry if there’s an empty space in the middle, we’ll use the 7th tortilla to cover that up. You basically just want to cover the whole sheet pan, with a large tortilla border all the way around. Set up the 2 tortillas on each of the long sides first, then 1 tortilla on each short side.
• If using my cheese, use a spoon to place 9-12 LARGE dollops of cheese in even rows on the tortilla-covered sheet pan, then use the back of the spoon or a spatula to spread it, taking care to spread it over seams and along the inside ridge of the pan. Don’t skip corners. Don’t go overboard, but you do want a nice even layer of cheese.
• If using store-bought vegan shredded cheese, spread half of it evenly over the inside of the pan, not skipping corners.
• Next, sprinkle the vegan chicken or beans, then add your other toppings in the same way. If adding tomatoes/pico de gallo/salsa, drain off the excess liquid first so it doesn’t make your quesadilla soggy. If using corn, make sure to thaw or microwave it first. Otherwise the ice will melt and make the quesadilla watery or soggy inside.
• Finally, add dollops of cheese on top, going for about 75-80% coverage (if you do too much you won’t be able to taste any of the fillings!), or if you’re using store-bought vegan cheese just sprinkle it over the top, covering your toppings as much as possible.
• Place the 8th tortilla in the center, pressing down lightly. Then, fold all the rest of the tortillas in, starting with the short ends, where you left off. Tuck in the corners. If you’d like, you can add a bit of neutral flavored oil (like avocado--spray, or brush other oil), but it’s not necessary. If not using oil, add another layer of parchment paper and place the other half sheet pan directly on top of the parchment or oiled quesadilla (do NOT turn it upside down). Fit it in there nicely, and press the pan on top down with a good amount of pressure. This helps seal the quesadilla.
• Place your vegan sheet pan quesadilla in the oven, leaving the 2nd tray on top during the whole baking process. Bake for about 20 minutes, and then remove from the oven. Let it sit for about 10 minutes before carving it up.
• Slice the quesadillas into 8ths, 12ths, or however many squares/triangles/blobby shapes you prefer. I find it easiest to use a pizza cutter for this.
• Garnish with cilantro and lime juice, dunk in guacamole, salsa, or vegan sour cream. Enjoy!
• Refrigerate leftover quesadilla in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days. Reheat in the air-fryer or oven to get the crispy exterior back, or in the microwave if you don’t care.

More Easy Vegan Dinners

Who doesn’t love easy dinners? There’s certainly a time and a place for fancy vegan dinners, but usually I need a quicker dinner since life gets busy/sometimes I’m super lazy.

If you liked my vegan sheet pan quesadilla, I bet you’ll like some of the following easy vegan dinners:

• Tofu Poke Bowl
• Vegan Fish Tacos
• Vegan Hamburger Helper
• Cajun Pasta
• Vegan Ragu
• Vegan Baked Feta Pasta
• Cauliflower Gratin Bake
• Vegan White Cheddar Mac and Cheese Bake with Mushroom Bacon

Anything Else?

As always, I hope you love this recipe–I know I do and so does Mr. Zardyplants. We devoured way more than was an appropriate serving each time we tested this recipe LOL.

This vegan sheet pan quesadilla is:

• Cheesy
• Fun
• Easy
• Delicious
• Zesty
• “Meaty” (hold the cruelty)
• Satisfying
• and great for an entree or snack, whether you’re impressing guests or need an epic food for movie night or the big game.

Let me know in the comments below if you make this recipe or tag me @Zardyplants on Instagram so I can see your beautiful recreations! If you tag me on IG, I will share your post in my stories :)

Also, one quick request: if you love how this recipe looks or tastes, please leave me a 5-star rating and a nice comment–ratings help more people find my recipes which helps me keep providing them! Thank you!

<3 Liz

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