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You only need 5 ingredients, one dish, and 5 minutes of prep for this easy dinner: Dump-and-Bake Italian Chicken Quesadillas! With layers of tortillas, marinara sauce, chicken, and cheese, it’s a quick meal that’s full of protein, packed with flavor, and perfect for your active lifestyle.
This dish is the ultimate kid-friendly comfort food for families on-the-go!
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Tyson Foods, Inc., Circle Foods LLC, and Pinnacle Foods Group LLC. All opinions and text are entirely my own.
Y’all…I think I’ve done it! I’ve managed to combine two of my kids’ favorite dinners into one meal that requires almost ZERO effort on my part! This recipe is a cross between quesadillas and lasagna, and boy is it good.
Since you know that I’m a big fan of dump-and-bake dinners, I’m always dreaming up new ways to keep our meals interesting (and kid-friendly) without a lot of prep work.
By taking advantage of a few shortcuts, I can enjoy all of the flavor of a home-cooked meal without spending hours in the kitchen. There’s no need to boil pasta, cook the meat, or even grate the cheese! You can literally just assemble the quesadillas and go…
Here’s What You Need To Make It
- Grilled Chicken
- Flour Tortillas
- Marinara Sauce
- Italian Dressing
- Italian Blend Cheese
- Optional Toppings: Parsley, Olives, Parmesan
I picked up all of the ingredients for this meal at Walmart, making shopping quick and efficient (always important when I have an impatient 3-year-old in the cart)!
To assemble this 5-minute meal, you first combine Tyson® Grilled & Ready® Chicken with a few tablespoons of Wish-Bone® Italian Dressing. The chicken is a staple in my kitchen because it makes delicious, good-for-us, protein-filled meals easy to prepare — even at the last minute.
The Italian dressing adds a bold, zesty layer of flavor to this dish in a matter of seconds! The dressing is packed full of herbs and seasonings, it doesn’t contain any high fructose corn syrup, it’s gluten free, and it’s an incredibly versatile option to keep in your fridge.
Whether you’re marinating fresh meat, seasoning pasta, or serving a simple salad, there are endless ways to enjoy it!
How To Make Dump And Bake Italian Quesadillas
Once the chicken and the dressing are combined, you then add half of the marinara sauce and half of the cheese. Stir it all together to create the filling for your “quesadillas!”
To assemble the casserole, place 2 TortillaLand® Flour Tortillas in the bottom of a baking dish. These special tortillas are found in the refrigerated section, and they are made from only 5 simple ingredients (and no preservatives).
Top the tortillas with half of the chicken mixture and a little bit more sauce; repeat the layers once more; cover; and bake!
The end result is layers of cheesy, Italian chicken quesadillas baked together in a casserole that will make your family very happy!
I like to serve our dinner with a leafy green salad on the side, finished with the extra Wish-Bone dressing. It’s weeknight perfection!
Best of all, this is a practical, no-stress way to get a homemade dinner on the table for our families — even when we don’t have the time or energy to spend hours in the kitchen.
With a few simple shortcuts and a family-friendly recipe, you can feel good about nourishing your loved ones with wholesome ingredients that taste amazing. You’ll feel like a Mommy Superhero, and nobody will know that it only required 5 minutes of your precious time!
Extra Tips For Making Italian Quesadillas
Serving a Larger Family? Want to Have Some Leftovers? You can easily double the ingredients and prepare the dinner in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Save any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 3 days. It reheats nicely in the microwave or in the oven.
Want to Prep Ahead? This is a freezer-friendly option! Assemble the quesadillas as instructed through Step 4. Cover tightly with foil and freeze for up to 3 months (or keep in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before baking). When ready to use, thaw the casserole in the refrigerator overnight and bake according to instructions above.
More Easy Italian Recipes To Try;
- Italian Baked Turkey Meatballs
- Foil Pack Italian Sausage And Peppers
- Slow Cooker Italian Chicken Soup
- “No Work” Italian Baked Chicken
Dump-and-Bake Italian Chicken Quesadillas
Ingredients
- 11 ounces about 2 cups diced Tyson Grilled & Ready Chicken Breast Strips
- 3 tablespoons Wish-Bone Italian Dressing
- 1 cup marinara sauce
- 1 cup 4 ounces shredded Italian-blend cheese
- 4 TortillaLand Flour Tortillas
- Optional garnish: fresh parsley sliced olives, grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Spray a 2-quart baking dish (or an 8-inch square dish) with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, toss together chicken and Italian dressing. Stir in half of the marinara sauce (about ½ cup) and half of the cheese (about ½ cup).
- Place 2 of the tortillas in the bottom of the prepared dish, tearing them as necessary to cover the bottom (overlapping is fine).
- Top with half of the chicken mixture and drizzle with ¼ cup of remaining marinara sauce. Repeat layers one more time.
- Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with remaining ½ cup of cheese, and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes (until cheese melted and casserole is hot and bubbly).
- Garnish with optional toppings!
Notes
Nutrition
A cross between a quesadilla and lasagna…I LOVE it! I can see why your family devoured this, what a great combination, Blair! I’ve made an enchilada bake with the shells flattened out before, so I’m loving this quesadilla version. So perfect for a weeknight meal. Pinning this beauty!
Oh my gosh…it’s the BEST combo, Gayle! Thanks so much for the pin!
jus wnndering. will the flour tortillas be soggy? if so can you use corn tortillas?
Hi, Gloria! I have made this dish with both the corn and the flour tortillas. They both work great!
When I read the first paragraph and saw tortillas I thought, can’t use this recipe because most flour tortillas on the grocery shelves have not so great ingredients and I don’t have the patience to make my own. Then I wondered if I tried it with the tortillas we buy if it would work. As I continued to read, I realized you are using the same tortillas we buy! I can’t wait to try this recipe. Just curious, why two tortillas on the bottom? And would it be two tortillas for each layer? Thanks so much!!!
Hi, Teena! We LOVE these tortillas! So glad that you use them too. 🙂
I said two tortillas on the bottom because that’s how many it took to cover the bottom of the dish easily (with some overlap). You don’t need a full double layer, but you might have some parts overlapping depending on the size/shape of your dish. Generally, all you need is a single layer, so use as many tortillas as you need to easily cover the dish. Hope that makes sense. 🙂
I made a modified version of this for dinner. We layered refried black beans *Amy’s Organic), taco seasoned shredded chicken and then cheese. We did three layers and cooked it in our cast iron skillet. Now, I have spent a good amount of “dinner time” standing at the stove making quesadilla after quesadilla after quesadilla to the point where I’m too tired to eat after I get done making all of them. We can go through twelve for dinner. We used three wraps for this and had leftovers!!!!! We served it with a side salad (romaine, red onions, tomato, black olives, avocado, salt, pepper and oil). Thanks so much for sharing. I’m looking forward to trying the Italian version soon.
Awesome! I feel your pain, Teena! Flipping a zillion quesadillas can be so tedious! This is a great alternative for busy nights. The Italian version turned out even better than I hoped. We love the dish!
There you go again, making something SOOOOOO easy that I’d never think of myself! Blair, you amaze me! DELISH
Thanks so much, Chrissa! As you know, it has to be easy, or it’s not going to happen with the chaos of little boys running around!
This looks amaaaazing! I never would have thought of pairing tortillas with italian flavours! Best of both worlds!
I’m planning on making this for a meal train. My husband bought the ready grill chicken in the frozen section, is this correct? I’ve seen it both places. Should I thaw the chicken first?
Thanks!
Yep, either the refrigerated or the frozen chicken is fine. If you’re using the frozen chicken, just thaw it first. 🙂 Enjoy!!