This Pizza Quesadilla has all your favorite pizza toppings sandwiched between two perfectly crispy tortillas! Serve with a side of pizza sauce for dipping!
I love having fun with pizza inspired recipes — air fryer pizza rolls, cheeseburger pizza, pizza dip, pizza soup — you get the idea. Today’s recipe, however, might be my new fave! Enter: the pizza quesadilla!
Ingredients
All of your favorite pizza flavors packed inside a quesadilla? Yeah, this is a recipe I can get behind. 😉
Sausage Filling
- Italian Sausage – a classic pizza topping. You can use sweet or hot depending on your preference.
- Green Bell Pepper and Yellow Onion – gives the filling texture, nutrients, and a slightly sweet flavor.
- Salt and Pepper – brings out flavors and adds a kick of heat.
Pizza Quesadillas
- Tortillas – use fajita sized tortillas; this size is perfect for one serving and it’s easy to flip! You can use bigger or smaller tortillas if preferred but you’ll want to adjust the filling amounts.
- Shredded Cheese – use a blend of mozzarella and provolone cheese for the classic pizza flavor, but other types of cheese such as cheddar will work as well.
- Parmesan Cheese – adds a salty, nutty flavor that really enhances the pizza flavor.
- Pizza Sauce – feel free to use store-bought sauce for easy prep or whip up some homemade pizza sauce instead!
- Pepperoni – another classic pizza topping! Pepperoni adds a slightly smoky flavor, chewy texture, and a little extra spice.
How to make
This delicious, cheesy, kid-friendly snack comes together in a total of 30 minutes!
Sausage Filling
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat then add in sausage, pepper, and onion. Cook until the sausage is no longer pink and the veggies are soft. Set aside.
Pizza Quesadillas
- Lay a tortilla flat on a clean work surface then layer on 1/3 cup shredded cheese, 1/3 cup sausage filling, 1 tablespoon parmesan, 1 tablespoon sauce, 5 pepperonis, and an additional 1/3 cup shredded cheese.
- Place another tortilla on top then transfer to a heated skillet.
- Cook until the tortillas are golden-brown and the cheese has melted, flipping once.
- Repeat with remaining quesadillas then cut and serve with additional pizza sauce for dipping!
What is the best cheese to use for quesadillas?
Any cheese that melts well is the best cheese for a quesadilla: mozzarella, pepper-jack, monterey-jack, american, cheddar, provolone, grueyere, fontina, etc. Freshly shredded cheese will melt better than pre-shredded cheese (which contains an anti-caking agent), but use whatever you have on hand.
Today, we’re using a blend of mozzarella and provolone to compliment the pizza flavors. Provolone has a stronger flavor while mozzarella is more subtle and slightly buttery. Both flavors work really well together and both cheeses melt deliciously in the quesadilla!
If you prefer other cheeses, use those instead! Try cheddar, colby jack, an Italian cheese blend, etc. You really can’t go wrong!
How do you make quesadillas crispy?
The keys to making your quesadillas crispy are to use a non-stick pan, heat the pan first, then cook on medium-low heat. This allows the cheese time to melt and the tortilla to slowly crisp up without burning!
I don’t recommend adding any oil or butter if you can help it. Excess moisture can end up making the tortillas soggy rather than crispy!
Variations
- Play around with other pizza toppings. Try sliced olives, mushrooms, ham, Canadian bacon, artichokes, bacon, chicken, you name it.
- Use a different sauce. Try ranch, bbq sauce, pesto, buffalo sauce, or my taco pizza sauce!
- Use another cheese. Try cheddar, Colby jack, gruyere, etc.
How to store
Leftover pizza quesadillas are best served immediately, but will last in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days or in the freezer for 1-2 months.
To reheat, thaw in the fridge overnight if frozen then microwave or warm on the stove until heated all the way through!
– Jennifer
Love pizza-inspired snacks? Check out my air fryer pizza rolls, air fryer bagel bites, pizza bagels, or pizza dip!
Pizza Quesadillas
Equipment for this recipe
Ingredients
Sausage Filling
- 1 pound Italian sausage
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 1 yellow onion diced
- Salt and pepper to taste
Pizza Quesadillas
- 16 fajita sized tortillas
- 5 1/3 cups shredded mozzarella/provolone cheese blend
- Cooked sausage filling from above
- 8 tablespoons finely grated parmesan cheese
- 8 tablespoons pizza sauce plus more for serving
- 40 slices pepperoni
Recipe Video
Instructions
Sausage Filling
- Heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat.
- Once hot, add in sausage, pepper, and onion.
- Cook, breaking up the meat as you go, until the sausage is no longer pink and the veggies have softened.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Set the filling aside, clean the pan, then proceed with the recipe.
Pizza Quesadillas
- Heat a large non-stick pan over medium-low heat.
- While the pan is heating, assemble one quesadilla.
- Lay a tortilla flat on a clean work surface.
- Top with 1/3 cup shredded cheese, layer on 1/3 cup sausage filling, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon parmesan, drizzle with 1 tablespoon sauce, place on 5 pepperonis, top with 1/3 cup shredded cheese, then place another tortilla on top.
- Cook until the tortillas are golden brown and the cheese has melted, flipping once.
- Repeat to make remaining quesadillas.
- Cut and serve with additional pizza sauce as a dip!
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Nutrition Information
*Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on products used.