These dairy-free peanut butter quesadillas are made with juicy apples dressed in cinnamon and smothered in gooey melted peanut butter, stuffed in a crispy tortilla.
Just in case you were wondering, there's no queso in these peanut butter quesadillas. Hence the quotes in the title. Queso would be the cheese component of a quesadilla. I had an argument with a friend about this years ago, after he attempted to order a quesadilla with a request to "hold the cheese." I insisted that such was impossible, and what he was eating was a taco or fajita or something, anything other than a quesadilla, because a quesadilla must have, by definition, queso. This was before Wikipidea could answer all such questions. (Apparently I won.)
Here I am, years later, posting a quesadilla that doesn't even contain cheez (muchless cheese). What's the world coming to? Deliciousness. That's what. Who needs cheese when you got peanut butter?
Actually, this recipe was inspired by a panini I made a while back that used almond butter instead of cheese. (Wikipedia is a little more waffly on the definition of "panini.") I actually heard from a reader who made that one with a tortilla in place of bread, so I thought I'd give that a shot here.
As was the case with my panini recipe, I can't really tell you when to eat this, but I'm sure you'll find the right time. I ate it for breakfast. It was perfect.
Sauteed Apple Peanut Butter Quesadillas
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp. coconut oil plus a little extra
- 1 Honeycrisp or Gala apple sliced thin (peeled if desired)
- 1 tbsp. maple syrup
- ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 large 10 inch flour tortilla
- 2 tbsp. peanut butter
Instructions
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Coat a large skillet with coconut oil and place over medium heat.
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Add apple slices in an even layer. Cover.
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Cook until apple slices are tender and lightly browned, about 8 minutes, uncovering and tossing every 2-3 minutes during cooking.
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Uncover and add maple syrup and cinnamon to skillet. Toss to coat apple slices. Cook until syrup becomes very thick and sticky, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.
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Spread peanut butter in an even layer over one side of tortilla. Arrange apple slices over half of tortilla and fold the other half over top.
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Wipe skillet lightly with paper towel to remove any excess syrup (a little remaining syrup won't hurt). Add a dash more oil if needed. Place over medium-high heat. Place tortilla in skillet and cook about 3 minutes, until lightly browned on bottom. Gently flip and cook another 3 minutes, until browned on other side and peanut butter is well melted.
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Slice into triangles with a pizza cutter and serve.
Much more up my street than a regular "queso" quesadilla!
Looks delicious.
We're in total agreement on that! Thanks Emma!