Easy Vegan Breakfasts: Recipe | Kale & Sweet Potato Quesadillas

There are two things you should know about this recipe:

1. The name is a lie. There’s no queso in these quesadillas. But calling them “dillas” makes them sound like something cutesy off of a children’s menu, doesn’t it?

2. Yes, if it sounds familiar, it’s because I made these with leftovers from my Sweet Potato & Kale Wraps. I decided to save the recipe for a rainy day and its day has finally come!

So yeah, about #2. We had tortillas and fillings leftover after making those wraps. But, as you saw, I am no burrito wrapper, so the second night around, I made these Kale & Sweet Potato Quesadillas for dinner. Instead of binding everything together with cheese like in a traditional quesadillas, I used mashed sweet potatoes. Is this weird? Okay, fine, maybe it sounds weird, but sweet potatoes and kale go really well together (this is one of my most popular posts, after all!) and so do sweet potatoes and black beans.

Oh, and one note about the chorizo: if you can purchase Field Roast locally, use their Mexican Chipotle sausage. Their sausage is made with real vegetables, grains, and spices and it’s minimally processed. (Yes, I’m talking up Field Roast again.)

Kale & Sweet Potato Quesadillas

Vegan quesadillas with kale, caramelized onions, smoky black beans, and sweet potatoes.

Prep Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Yield: 4

Ingredients

1 small sweet potato, pierced with fork
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion
1 1/2 cups kale, chopped
1 vegetarian chorizo sausage, crumbled (optional)
salt & pepper, to taste
1/2 cup black beans, cooked or canned (rinse well if using canned)
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
olive oil cooking spray or mister
4 whole wheat tortillas
salsa for serving

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Place sweet potato on a small baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bake for 35–45 minutes, or until tender. Cool slightly, then remove skin, transfer to a small bowl, and mash with a fork or potato masher until smooth.
While potato is cooking, heat oil in a large skillet on low heat. Add onion and cook until just starting to caramelize, about 45–60 minutes. Add chorizo (if using) and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in kale and continue to cook until wilted. Season with salt and pepper.
Combine black beans and paprika in a small bowl.
Divide sweet potatoes, caramelized onion mixture, and beans evenly onto one half of each tortilla, leaving about 1/2 inch of space along the edges. Fold empty half onto the half with filling.
At this point, you can cook your quesadillas however you prefer. I like to cook mine on a grill sprayed with olive oil and heated at medium. You can also use a quesadilla maker if you have one or cook them in a skillet on medium-high heat, flipping over after tortilla begins to brown.
Cut into wedges and serve with salsa.

Notes

Prep time includes time spent baking the sweet potato and caramelizing the onion. Yes, it takes a long time for both, but it’s worth it! For a quicker dinner, caramelize the onions and roast the sweet potato the night before.