These Simple Sweet Potato Quesadillas are quick and easy with smoky sautéed sweet potato and melted cheese folded between crispy tortillas. Vegetarian, optionally vegan and ready in just about 15 minutes, these quesadillas are perfect for a snack or appetizer but also filling enough to be a main meal.

How to Make Sweet Potato Quesadillas

These simple sweet potato quesadillas are one of my favorite lunch options. They’re quick, pretty healthy, but also packed with flavor. You’ll need only seven ingredients for this recipe, including oil for the pan!

To make the filling for these sweet potato quesadillas, start by getting out a box grater. Grating the raw sweet potato allows it to cook in just about 5 minutes. I like to peel the sweet potato first, but go ahead and leave the skin on if you don’t mind a little extra texture.

Once the sweet potato is grated, heat a non-stick skillet over the stove with a drizzle of olive oil. Add the sweet potato, along with some maple syrup, smoked paprika and a pinch of salt. It should take about 5-8 minutes to soften depending on the cut of your grater. You want to aim for tender, but not mushy. Also— don’t skimp on the salt in this step. It helps draw out the moisture and keeps the sweet potato from becoming watery.

Now let’s make some quesadillas! Wipe out that nonstick pan and add another drizzle of oil. You could skip this step and just use a fry skillet, but I like to fry my tortillas a little for that extra crunch.

Place a tortilla in the pan and spread half of the sweet potato mixture on one side followed by a sprinkle of cheese. Fold it in half and cook until both sides are golden brown and crispy.

These are best served right out of the pan with some ripe avocado and a pinch of flaky sea salt. Enjoy!

Tips and Substitutions

• To make these sweet potato quesadillas vegan, use a dairy free brand of cheese. I used a vegan pepper jack and it was delicious. You could also omit the cheese entirely, but the quesadilla may not stick together as well.
• It’s important to use a non-stock pan to prevent sticking and a difficult cleanup. If you don’t have one, you may need to increase the amount of oil in the written recipe so the raw sweet potato doesn’t cake on the bottom and burn.
• To make these sweet potato quesadillas more of a main meal, serve alongside some ripe avocado with a light salad or cabbage slaw tossed with lime juice. For added protein, mix canned black beans or white beans in with the sweet potato mixture.

More Recipes to Try:

• Fig and Farro Grain Bowls
• Chimichurri Black Bean Breakfast Tacos
• Smoky Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries
• Honey Sesame Chickpea Lettuce Wraps
• Vegan black bean quesadillas

Made these sweet potato quesadillas? Tag @wandering_chickpea on Instagram and follow along on Pinterest for more delicious recipes!