Quesadillas are the perfect party food - you don’t need plates as they’re easy to grab with your hands, plus you can make them in advance and just warm them up in the oven when you’re ready to eat. Any leftovers make an awesome speedy dinner, served up with a simple salad. Don’t forget to make the quick guacamole to dip them into, as it really does complement these quesadillas really well.
Veganising this classic Mexican dish turns it from a grease-laden snack into an incredibly healthy, nutrient-packed meal. Using the sweet potato and white bean mash as the filling instead of cheese, plus using whole wheat tortillas and serving with a fresh avocado dip, means they’re high in protein, packed with fibre and antioxidants, but with a fraction of the saturated fat. And they have ALL the flavour you want - the chipotle paste, maple syrup, paprika and nutritional yeast provide the perfect blend of smokiness, heat and sweetness.
QUICK VEGAN SWEET POTATO QUESADILLAS RECIPE
Ingredients (makes 24 slices - serves 10 as a snack or 5 as a main):
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 medium-sized sweet potatoes
3 Tbsp maple syrup
3 tsp chipotle paste
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp turmeric
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
Salt and pepper (to taste)
2 x 400g tin of cannellini beans, drained
8 whole wheat tortillas
2 avocados
1 lime
1 handful fresh coriander
Method:
Firstly peel and grate the sweet potatoes. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over a medium-high heat, and add the grated sweet potato, maple syrup, paprika, turmeric, and nutritional yeast. Stir frequently and cook for 7-8 minutes until the sweet potato has softened, then season with salt and pepper to taste.
Transfer to a mixing bowl and add the beans. Use a potato masher to smash the mixture together. It’s fine to leave some bits of un-mashed sweet potato but the mixture should now be ‘spoonable’.
Now heat a frying pan and lay a tortilla flat in the pan. Spoon two heaped tablespoons of the mixture on to one half of it and spread out over half the tortilla, then fold the other half over and press down with a spatula. Dry fry on one side for about a minute or until it turns golden brown and beginning to char. Then flip over and repeat for the other side.
Keep the quesadillas warm in the oven while you cook the remaining tortillas in the same way. When ready to serve, cut each of the tortillas into three slices. Quickly mash the avocados using the back of a spoon with the lime juice and coriander, and serve with the warm quesadillas.
Nutrition (per 5 slices):
Protein: 18.8g (Women: 37.6% / Men: 34.2%)
Iron: 7.4mg (Women: 50.0% / Men: 85.1%)
Calories: 540 (Women: 27.0% / Men: 21.6%)
Sugar: 12.3g (Women: 13.7% / Men: 12.3%)
Total Fats: 12.4g (Women: 17.7% / Men: 13.1%)
Saturated Fats: 3.7g (Women: 18.5% / Men: 12.3%)
Salt: 1.2g (Women: 20.0% / Men: 20.0%)
Fibre: 15.0g (Women: 50.0% / Men: 50.0%)
See the Nutrition Info page for more details on % of Dietary Reference Values for men and women.