Two Jack-O-Lantern Quesadillas with a brown and white towel behind all on a wooden surface (with logo overlay)

Jack-O-Lantern Quesadillas

Jack-O-Lantern Quesadillas are a perfect quick dinner for Halloween night before taking the kids out or as an appetizer for a party.

Jump to Recipe

For Halloween, most of the time it’s about the spooky, scary, and sometimes gruesome-looking recipes. But when you have young children, it’s good to keep it on the lighter side. For that reason, we decided to make some Jack-O-Lantern Quesadillas for our boys for dinner.

Quesadillas are great because you can adjust your fillings to each individual’s tastes. My boys like simple meals, so we went with refried beans and shredded cheese. We’ve also made quesadillas with chicken before, and quesadillas with spinach artichoke dip inside.

The biggest trick to these is getting the faces cut out and making sure that side of the tortilla shell gets warmed a bit before cooking. Once you cut the Jack-O-Lantern face out, you can’t flip it because your fillings will fall out.

Jack-O-Lantern Quesadillas would be perfect for a Halloween party with kids (or kids-at-heart). Or, they are great for something quick and easy before taking the kids out for some trick-or-treating.

Jack-O-Lantern Quesadillas Step by Step

Ingredients

  • 16 oz refried beans
  • 2 cups Mexican cheese, shredded
  • 20 flour tortillas

Preparation

Use a small, sharp knife to cut your Jack-O-Lantern faces out of half of the tortillas. If you have small cookie cutters in the correct shape, that will work too. Cut one at a time. I tried stacking mine and they moved as I cut so I had to start over at one point.

Jack-O-Lantern face cut in a tortilla shell on a wooden surface
Jack-O-Lantern face cut in a tortilla shell on a wooden surface
Jack-O-Lantern face cut in a tortilla shell on a wooden surface

Place each face tortilla in a medium pan over medium heat for about 3-5 minutes, just enough to slightly cook the tortilla.

Tortilla shell with Jack-O-Lantern face in a skillet over a gas stovetop

Meanwhile, spread out about 1 tbsp of refried beans on the uncut tortillas.

Refried beans on a tortilla shell on a wooden surface

Top the refried beans with shredded cheese.

Refried beans topped with cheese on a tortilla shell on a wooden surface

Place a cooked face tortilla on top of the cheese.

Cooked Jack-O-Lantern face tortilla shell on top of tortilla shell with refried beans and cheese all on a wooden surface

Set the full quesadilla into the pan and cook for another 3-5 minutes. The tortilla should start to brown and the cheese will start to melt. DO NOT FLIP THE QUESADILLA! If you do, all of your fillings will come out. That’s why we pre-cook the top half.

Serve warm with your choice of salsa, sour cream, or other dipping sauce.

Two Jack-O-Lantern Quesadillas with a brown and white towel behind all on a wooden surface (vertical)

Leftovers

You can stack any remaining Jack-O-Lantern Quesadillas with parchment paper between them in a leftover container. Refrigerate for up to 2-3 days. Reheat in the oven at 350F for about 5-10 minutes or on a pan over medium heat. Just remember, if you do it in the pan, you won’t be able to flip to cook both sides.

Recipe

Originally Published On: September 29, 2021

Two Jack-O-Lantern Quesadillas with a brown and white towel behind all on a wooden surface

Jack-O-Lantern Quesadillas

Jack-O-Lantern Quesadillas are a perfect quick dinner for Halloween night before taking the kids out or as an appetizer for a party.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course:
Appetizer
|
Main Dish
Cuisine:
American
Diet
Vegetarian
Keyword:
halloween
|
holidays
|
quesadilla
|
refried beans
Dietary Needs:
Egg-Free
|
Nut-Free
Cooking Method:
One-Pan Meals
Servings: 10 quesadillas
5 from 8 votes

Ingredients

  • 16 oz refried beans
  • 2 cups Mexican cheese (shredded)
  • 20 flour tortillas

Recommended Equipment

Instructions

  • Use a small, sharp knife to cut your Jack-O-Lantern faces out of half of the tortillas
  • Place each face tortilla in a medium pan over medium heat for about 3-5 minutes, just enough to slightly cook the tortilla
  • Meanwhile, spread out about 1 tbsp of refried beans on the uncut tortillas
  • Top the refried beans with shredded cheese
  • Place a cooked face tortilla on top of the cheese
  • Set the full quesadilla into the pan and cook for another 3-5 minutes until the tortilla starts to brown on the bottom and the cheese melts (DO NOT FLIP)
  • Serve warm with your choice of salsa, sour cream, or other dipping sauce
Click the buttons below to share and print this recipe
Pin Recipe Print Recipe
Nutrition Facts
Jack-O-Lantern Quesadillas
Amount Per Serving (1 quesadilla)
Calories 291 Calories from Fat 90
% Daily Value*
Fat 10g15%
Saturated Fat 5g25%
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 4g
Cholesterol 21mg7%
Sodium 828mg35%
Potassium 111mg3%
Carbohydrates 36g12%
Fiber 3g12%
Sugar 4g4%
Protein 12g24%
Vitamin A 185IU4%
Calcium 226mg23%
Iron 3mg17%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.

Other Halloween Recipes

19 thoughts on “Jack-O-Lantern Quesadillas”

  1. Pinned this for when my granddaughter comes to visit this weekend. I’m excited to make these for her because I know they’re going to make her giggle.

  2. 5 stars
    This is very unique and creative too.. I often see pies and other desserts to be associated with Halloween but not Quesadilla which happens to be my favorite snack too haha.. My niece will surely love this idea

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating