Hummus Quesadillas!
These quesadillas are made with hummus instead of cheese, and they are absolutely delicious! Hummus quesadillas are a healthy dairy-free and vegan meal.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on October 1, 2024
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Yesterday was not my day. I made a very dumb, very expensive mistake, and I need you to tell me you have made a very dumb and expensive mistake before, too. I hit the side of my car against… a pole. A stationary pole.
To be fair, the turn requires a sharp right past the pole, and there is no curb to protect cars from hitting the pole. Yet, I have driven by this pole 100 times without hitting it before. It happened in broad daylight outside my favorite local health food store, as I was on my way to buy these tortillas.
I called my mom, drove home and put these expensive tortillas to good use. I made quesadillas, with hummus instead of cheese! Did you know that’s an option? I stumbled upon this idea after successfully testing a variation of quesadillas with vegan sour cream instead of shredded cheese for my cookbook.
As a dairy eater, believe me when I say that that vegan sour cream recipe (available in the book) is absolutely delicious. I often prefer it to the usual dairy options because it’s lighter and plant-based, and it has inspired me to find more non-dairy solutions. I wondered later, “Could I make quesadillas with hummus, too?” Yep!
Quesadillas have been my default quick meal since college. Now that my fridge is no longer overflowing with cookbook leftovers, I’ve been whipping them up again. The key is to make each quesadilla with one tortilla, folded down the middle, rather than trying to sandwich everything between two tortillas. The two-tortilla sandwich situation is difficult to flip and liable to lose all of its fillings when sliced. Trust me. You can make two folded tortillas in one skillet, if necessary (see photo, above).
Hummus is made with chickpeas and tahini, so it’s a protein-rich, vegan/dairy-free option. For minimally processed hummus quesadillas, make your own hummus or buy a store-bought option that is free of preservatives. ALDI and Trader Joe’s offer some tasty organic options. Tortillas often contain excess ingredients, too. My favorite brand is Stacey’s Organic. I store them in the freezer when I know I won’t be able to use them up within a week or less.
Feel free to go wild with your flavor of hummus and fillings. For the photos here, I used roasted garlic hummus and picked some Mediterranean flavors to go with it—sun-dried tomatoes, olives and sautéed spinach. Let me know how you stuff yours!
Hummus Quesadillas!
These quesadillas are made with hummus instead of cheese, and they are absolutely delicious! Hummus quesadillas are a healthy dairy-free and vegan meal. Recipe below makes one folded/half-moon quesadilla; multiply as necessary.
Ingredients
Per quesadilla
- One 8-inch whole grain tortilla (or gluten-free tortilla for gluten-free quesadillas)
- ¼ to ⅓ cup hummus of choice (green goddess hummus is my favorite)
- Fillings of your choice (I used a handful of sautéed spinach in olive oil, rinsed oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, and some thinly sliced Kalamata olives)
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing
- Optional, for serving: additional hummus, hot sauce, pesto, etc.
Instructions
- Spread hummus generously over your tortilla. Lightly cover one-half of the tortilla with fillings of your choice. Fold the blank half over to create a half-moon shape. Repeat if you’d like to make more than one quesadilla; you can cook up to two at a time in the same skillet.
- Warm a medium skillet over medium heat. Place the folded quesadilla(s) in the pan. Let the bottom sides warm up for a minute or two, then carefully flip. Brush the warm sides lightly with olive oil and let them cook in the pan for another minute or two. Carefully flip once again, brush the new top side lightly with olive oil, and cook until the bottom is lightly golden and crisp. Carefully flip and cook until that side is lightly golden and crisp.
- Transfer the quesadilla(s) to a cutting board and let them rest for a couple of minutes. Then, use a sharp chef’s knife or pizza cutter to slice each quesadilla into three wedges. Serve immediately. I enjoyed mine as-is, but you might like some additional hummus on the side, or perhaps some hot sauce or a dab of pesto.
Notes
Serving suggestions: This quesadilla would go great with a simple green side salad or almost any of my other salad recipes.
Storage suggestions: These quesadillas are at their crisp best right after making, but they will keep well for about three days in the refrigerator, covered. Gently reheat before serving, if desired.
If you love this recipe: Check out more quesadilla recipes and my favorite hummus sandwich recipe.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
These were great and easy to make. Husband loved it too. I did not cook the spinach first but may do so next time. I was afraid the quesadilla would fall apart when I turned it over but that wasn’t the case because I flipped it over with the wrapped side down and otherwise the hummus held it together. I will definitely make this again! First time I ever heard of using hummus instead of cheese in a quesadilla but it’s a fantastic idea! Thank you!
I know, right?! Hummus is a nice way to change it up for sure. Thank you, Heather for sharing!
Hello!!
I just made your recipe tonight LOVED IT! I used Trader Joe’s sun dried tomato hummus and put spinach, olives, and sun dried tomatoes. Honestly made me wonder why I even ate cheese quesadillas in the first place!
Hooray! It’s so good. Thanks for your comment and review, Katie.
Kate,
I have it on my heart to say thank you for your food blog!!! My son has dairy, wheat, and egg allergies, so I have to be very careful with the meals that I prepare. Your blog has yummy recipes that work with my son’s diet. God bless!! Keep up the good work!!
You’re so welcome, Julia! I’m happy the blog can be a resource for your family. It’s hard to navigate allergies for sure!
I made this recipe. I used different fillings. I sauteed: mushroom, garlic, greeb onion, roasted red pepper, and a little lime and pepper rotel. They were a big hit at my friendsgiving party! Will definitely keep this recipe for my cookbook!!
Sounds like quite the combination! I love the idea to share these at a friendsgiving. I appreciate the review, Destiny!
I made a recipe today! I changed the ingredients. I used roasted red pepper hummus, green onion, mushrooms, and garlic. They were a big hit at my vegan friendsgiving! Thanks for sharing your recipe!
These were SO GOOD. One of the best recipes I’ve made in a while. My husband and my parents kept commenting on them throughout the meal, asking me to please make them again soon. I made the green goddess hummus mentioned in the recipe, and for veggies I used sauteed mushrooms, sauteed (chopped) bell pepper, sliced kalamata olives, and spinach (I defrosted chopped spinach I had in the freezer). With the hummus, they’re totally not traditional quesadillas, but these are pretty and have so much flavor. I served them with a mild green salsa and with a creamy dill sauce (vegan), and both of the dipping sauces were good, but they were also really good even without a sauce.
I’m really happy to hear that, Jamie! All sounds delicious. Thanks so much for the review!
Perfection! I was looking for a way to use up some odds and ends tonight and remembered that I wanted to try this recipe. That melty hummus is sooo good! I made it with olives and wilted spinach.
Thank you, Jamie!
Great recipe!! I made them with a pesto hummus I found and added tomatoes, arugula, chopped spring onions and a sprinkling of vegan grated cheese. I’m going to try them with the chili hummus I found recently too – a really quick and sooooooo tasty recipe :)
Thanks for sharing your experience, Amanda!
I just made this and it was super yummy. Making it I had zero expectations that it would taste good (not sure why as both hummus, tortillas, and all the fillings I used-spinach, Kalamata olives, marinated artichokes-are all delicious in their own right), but ended up being pleasantly surprised! Will definitely being adding this into my repertoire of quick, easy, and tasty dinners :)
Sounds delicious, Allie! Thank you for your review.
will the quesadilla fall apart without the cheese to ‘stick’ it together?
It won’t be as ‘sticky’ without the cheese but still works!
I go to a day program for people with disabilities and I made this recipe in a cooking class and I really enjoyed it.
When you make a recipe it would be very helpful to say what you put in to the actual recipe/dish you made. The definition of a recipe is a set of instructions for preparing a particular dish, including a list of the ingredients required.
So instead of saying use “…fillings of your choice,” it would be much appreciated if you would say what you actually used and then add on “or whatever you would like.”
Great recipe!
I just made this and it was delicious!.
Love the recipe!!!
Very delicious!
Great recipe idea! I make hummus quesadillas- using our newly branded fresh preservative free organic ingredient HUGHMUS. We are located in Sprung Hill TN – our many customers are been declaring for years we make the “Best Hummus Ever”. check is out on Facebook & Instagram: Hughmus Organic . We are currently carried/sold in locations in Spring Hill/ Franklin/ Brentwood TN area. We’d love for you to try it!
Aloha Kate,
I came across this recipe when I was searching “what else to make with a big batch of hummus”. Have you always cooked the spinach first? I was thinking of throwing it in raw washed and dried from the garden.
I love your website and your many delicious recipes.
Mahalo,
Tara
Hi Tara! I like it sautéd here, but you could do it raw if you like. I hope you enjoy it!
This recipe is so delicious. I didn’t have spinach so I used lettuce it was amazing and i had it with salsa verde. I will be definitely making this over and over again.
Sounds delicious! Thank you for your review, Yasameen.
I made these for breakfast this morning and they were delicious. I used Siete tortillas since I am gluten free and they worked out perfectly! Thank you so much for this delicious recipe. I love all your recipes!
That’s great! I’m happy you enjoyed it, Margo. Thank you for your review.
So delicious!! I used roasted red pepper hummus, spinach and thinly sliced carrots.
I’ve made this for dinner 4 nights in a row. I used a sundried tomato wrap with red pepper hummus, fresh spinach, sundried tomatoes and everything but the bagel seasoning. It is so satisfying and comes together quickly. Thank you for the inspiration! I intend to make this a regular in my rotation.
That sound delicious, Kaitlyn! Thank you for your review.
Kate your recipes never let me down. Tonight I’ll make these for the 3rd time with spinach, roasted peppers, California olives, and garlic. Awesome tweak on quesadillas!
Wow, these quesadillas are so simple yet so morish. They are my go to recipe when I have extra hummus in the fridge and don’t know what to do with it.
I didn’t know you can freeze hummus! I actually came here because I have a lot of it. How do you suggest freezing the store bought version? Can you just put the container in the freezer or put it in another container? Do you have to portion it out for single time use? Let me know. Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Hi Samantha, I haven’t froze hummus. But, I would suggest a freezer safe container if you try it.
I’ve just discovered these, and they were so goood! Pefect companion to your southwestern corn chowder :) They were my first-ever quesadillas, but won’t be the last…
I’m excited you enjoyed this recipe, Marion!
Does the hummus not overflow from the sides when eating the quesadilla?
Hi Robbie! I don’t find it does. I hope you enjoy it.
Was the star of the apps show at a Friendsgiving. Friends raved about the quesadillas. Great to have a super yummy, healthy option among all the dips. Thanks Kate!
I love to hear that! Thank you for your review.