I’ve got a light and healthy, seasonal recipe to share with you today — Black Bean Butternut Squash Quesadillas with Lazy Girl’s Guacamole. These cheesy, crispy quesadillas are meatless yet satisfying, and full of healthy fats, protein, vitamins and minerals. The definition of feel-good fall food!
What’s Inside
Roasted butternut squash, southwest-seasoned black beans, sweet caramelized onions, and creamy fontina cheese are sandwiched between tortillas then griddled until golden brown and crisp. Served with my “Lazy Girl’s Guacamole” — which takes less than a minute to make — they’ll become a new easy lunch or dinner go-to. Especially because all the components can be made up to several days ahead of time then assembled in the form of a quick quesadilla in minutes. Love that!
Start by caramelizing a jumbo-sized sweet onion. Cut the onion in half then thinly slice each half.
Add the slices to a large skillet with extra virgin olive oil over medium heat then cook, stirring occasionally, until they’re golden brown and very soft, 20-30 minutes. This step can be done up to a couple days ahead of time.
Meanwhile, prep butternut squash for roasting. Creamy and mildly sweet, butternut squash will win over the heart of any squash hater, I can almost guarantee it. These photos show squash that I’d previously chopped then frozen. You don’t even need to thaw the cubes prior to roasting!
Tip: Here’s my easy tutorial for how to cube a butternut squash.
Add the cubes to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil sprayed with nonstick spray then toss with extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread into an even layer then roast for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees, stirring with a spatula halfway through. The squash should be caramelized by not mushy. This step can also be done up to several days ahead of time.
Lastly, whip up the easy black bean filling. That’s just canned black beans that have been drained then rinsed added to a small pan with chili powder, cumin, dried oregano, a pinch of cayenne pepper, plus water then heated over medium heat. Say it with me now — you can do this up to several days ahead of time! You could also purchase a can of seasoned black beans to make this step super quick.
You can’t have quesadillas without a little cheese and I love fontina in these quesadillas because it’s mild-tasting and mets extremely well. Shredded Monterey Jack, gouda, or white cheddar are a few other fantastic options.
Time to cook! Place a tortilla on a Griddler or in a large skillet over medium heat then layer on shredded cheese followed by caramelized onions, roasted butternut squash, and seasoned black beans.
Sprinkle on more cheese then top with another tortilla and cook until golden brown on both sides.
Zip through the quesadillas with a pizza cutter then serve ’em up hot!
I love serving these gorgeous quesadillas with a big scoop of Lazy Girl’s Guacamole for dipping. That’s just very ripe avocados mashed with garlic salt. Easy and delicious.
These black bean butternut squash quesadillas are amazing on their own — slightly sweet, smokey and perfectly cheesy — but the garlicky guacamole really takes them over the edge. However you serve them, enjoy every delicious bite!
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