Kale and Cheese Quesadillas

We loved these Kale and Cheese Quesadillas, and if you use low-carb tortillas the Kale Quesadillas will be perfect for an easy low-carb lunch. Be sure to serve them with Sriracha-Ranch Dipping Sauce if you like that spicy flavor.

PIN Kale and Cheese Quesadillas to try later!

Some of you guys who haven’t joined the Baby Kale Fan Club might think I’ve gone a little too far with this recipe for Kale and Cheese Quesadillas, but we loved them with the Sriracha-Ranch Dipping Sauce! This was just an idea that popped into my head when baby kale had been on sale and I had an abundance of it in my fridge.

And when Jake and I were making the first quesadilla I wasn’t sure it was going to be anything special. But oh my, the kale quesadillas were so amazingly good. I don’t know if this is something you could get a green-veggie phobic kid to eat, but it would certainly be easy enough to make a plain cheese quesadilla for the kids if you made this for a family dinner.

And if the adults in the family like leafy greens, I promise these cheesy quesadillas with baby kale are going to be a hit! And I do think these Kale Quesadillas are a perfect meatless dish for a quick lunch or easy dinner. Hope you will try them if your a baby kale fan!

What ingredients do you need?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

• Baby kale
• Olive Oil (affiliate link)
• Mission Carb Balance Whole Wheat Tortillas (affiliate link)
• grated cheese
• Ranch dressing; I would use my BYU Creamery Ranch Copycat Recipe
• Sriracha Sauce (affiliate link)

Which Low-Carb Tortillas Did I Use for the Kale Quesadillas?

We used my favorite low-carb whole wheat tortillas for this recipe. If you don’t find these Mission Carb Balance Whole Wheat Tortillas (affiliate link), there are lots of good low-carb tortilla options. 

Why are Kale and Cheese Quesadillas a healthy recipe?

Each of the 2 quesadillas we made had 2.5 ounces of wilted kale, so this is a good way to get a nice serving of nutritionally dense kale in a dish where you’re not expecting it. And if you do the math, they come out to about 10 net carbs each, for a pretty low-carb lunch idea.

How to Make Kale and Cheese Quesadillas:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. Before you make the quesadillas, mix together BYU Creamery Ranch Copycat Recipe or other Ranch dressing and Sriracha to make the dipping sauce. Yes, I was lazy and mixed it with the measuring spoon.
2. Heat a heavy nonstick pan, brush with a tiny amount of olive oil and add the chopped kale or baby kale all at once. Turn the kale over as it wilts, and when all the kale has wilted slightly like this, turn off the heat.  (This will only take a minute or so for baby kale and slightly longer for chopped kale leaves.)
3. I used a slightly bigger size of Mission Carb Balance Whole Wheat Tortillas (affiliate link) than shown here but they were still really low in net carbs. If you don’t care about low-carb, use any tortillas you’d like!
4. Once you’ve wilted the kale, heat a non-stick pan over medium heat, lay a tortilla in the pan and barely cover the surface with grated mozzarella. (You’re putting more cheese on the second side, so go easy on it here.
5. Spread half the wilted kale over the cheese and top it with another scant layer of grated cheese.
6. Then put your second tortilla on top of the cheese. (Yes, I could have found a tortilla that was a little closer in size, but it worked.)
7. Use the turner to press down on the top of the quesadilla as soon as the cheese starts to melt, and when it’s melted enough that the tortillas are stuck together, turn to the second side. 
8. Cooking time will depend on how hot your stove gets on medium, but for us it it was about 4 minutes total cooking time, turning the quesadilla a couple of times.
9. When both sides are nicely browned and the cheese is all melted, remove from pan and use a long knife to cut the quesadilla into four sections.
10. Serve Kale and Cheese Quesadillas hot, with Sriracha-Ranch Dipping Sauce or your favorite dip!

More Tasty Lunches with Tortillas:

• Egg Salad Breakfast Quesadillas
• Easy Low-Carb Guacamole Tostadas
• Middle Eastern Tostada with Hummus and Feta
• Seven Layer Dip Tostadas
• Chicken Shawarma Wrap

Continue to Content

Print

Yield: 2 quesadillas

Kale and Cheese Quesadillas

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

These Kale and Cheese Quesadillas with Sriracha-Ranch Dipping Sauce are perfect for a low-carb lunch or light dinner. And if Kale Quesadillas aren't going to be a winner for some family members, it's easy enough to make cheese quesadillas for those people.

Ingredients

• 5 oz. package Baby kale (see notes)
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 4 Mission Carb Balance whole wheat tortillas (see notes)
• 3/4 cup grated cheese (see notes)
• 1/4 cup Ranch dressing
• 1 tsp. Sriracha sauce (more or less to taste)

Instructions

1. Before you make the quesadillas, mix together the Ranch Dressing and Sriracha Sauce to taste to make the dipping sauce.
2. Brush a large nonstick pan with the olive heat, heat the pan, and add the kale all at once.
3. Turn kale until it’s all wilted and the turn off the heat.  (This only takes about a minute for baby kale and a few minutes for chopped kale.)
4. Turn the heat to medium under a second non-stick pan, lay a tortilla in the pan, and sprinkle on barely enough cheese to sparsely cover the surface of the tortilla. (You’re adding more cheese, so don’t over-do it.)
5. Spread half the wilted kale over the cheese and sprinkle another sparse layer of cheese over the kale.
6. Lay the second tortilla on top of the cheese.
7. Use a large turner to press down on the quesadilla until the cheese starts to melt and sticks the tortillas together.
8. Then turn the quesadilla and continue to cook until it’s nicely browned on both sides and the cheese is all melted.  (I usually turn it a couple of times so I can see how both sides are browning.)
9. Total cooking time for me was about 4 minutes, but it will depend on how hot your stove gets on medium.
10. When the quesadilla is done, remove from the pan, use a long knife to cut it into fourths, and serve hot with the Sriracha-Ranch dipping sauce.

Notes

I used my favorite Baby Kale and my favorite low-carb tortillas for this recipe, but any baby kale and low-carb tortillas can be used. If you don't have baby kale, use 5-6 oz. chopped kale leaves. We used Mozzarella, but use any good melting cheese you prefer.

Nutritional information is calculated using Mission Carb Balance Tortillas with 4 net carbs per tortilla.

This recipe created by Kalyn.

Nutrition Information

Yield

2

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 433Total Fat 35gSaturated Fat 12gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 20.5gCholesterol 50mgSodium 952mgCarbohydrates 26.7gFiber 16.5gSugar 3gProtein 16g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
If you use low-carb whole wheat tortillas, these Kale Quesadillas would be a nice lunch option or light dinner for low-carb eating plans, although obviously they won’t work for gluten-free diets. With lower-fat cheese they will also work for phase 2 or 3 of the original South Beach Diet.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Tortilla Recipes or Lunches to find more recipes like this one! Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for This Recipe:
This Kale Quesadilla recipe was first posted June 2012, the recipe was updated and improved in 2020 and more information was added in 2024. And I’m still a fan of kale and I’d love this for lunch.

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