May is Mediterranean Food Month, and I love making these vegetarian Mediterranean Quesadillas. I’ve been sooo bad about getting recipes up for y’all! I was hoping to get two recipes out this month, but I’m doing good to get this one up. I’ll probably still post the other recipe, even if it’s late.
We’ve talked before about the health benefits of the Mediterranean Diet pattern. I’m a big fan. In a future post, I’ll discuss how to adapt the Mediterranean Diet when you’re a vegetarian or vegan.
Meal Planning & Sneaky Vegetables
I try to plan meals in advance and focus on ideas that I can make quickly and that I can sneak as many vegetables into as possible.
Spaghetti sauce can hide lots of things from picky kids (grate some zucchini into your pasta sauce next time, no will ever notice). Avocado can be mixed in with beans and served on tacos. Spinach is better accepted in a smoothie or a quesadilla than mixed into scrambled eggs.
This little discovery, courtesy of my kindergartener, is what led to these Mediterranean-style quesadillas. And any excuse to make tzatziki is welcome.
When we make these at home, I usually make Roman’s quesadilla a little differently, removing his filling before adding more vegetables and spices to the remaining mixture for Erik and me. Or I’ll make him a cheese and avocado quesadilla instead; it’s just as easy.
Mediterranean Quesadillas
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups Baby Spinach Fresh
- 4 oz Cremini Mushrooms Sliced
- 2 Whole Grain Pita Pockets Cut open
- ½ cup Shredded Mozzarella
- 3 Tbsp Crumbled Feta
- 3 Tbsp Sun Dried Tomatoes diced/julienne
- 1 Tbsp Black Olives sliced
- 1 cup Greek Yogurt Plain
- 1 small Cucumber shredded
- 1 tsp Dill
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- ½ clove Garlic minced
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- S&P to taste
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F
- Heat olive oil in a saute pan. Add mushrooms and fresh spinach and saute until mushroom are tender and spinach is wilted.
- To build quesadilla: lay 1/2 pita on cookie sheet. Add 2 Tbsp shredded mozzarella
- Add half of spinach/mushroom mixture
- Add olives, sundried tomatoes, and feta.
- Top with another 2 Tbsp of mozzarella, then cover with second half of the pita.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- For the tzatziki sauce:Combine the Greek yogurt, garlic powdered, minced garlic, fresh dill, shredded cucumber, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a bowl. You can alter the measurements to your taste. I usually end up adding more dill after a quick taste.
Notes
Nutrition
Customize your Mediterranean Quesadillas
The best thing about this recipe is it is so easy to customize it to each individual. I made it with olives and didn’t particularly like that, but my husband loved it.
Next time, I’ll add more to his and leave them out on mine. I think I’ll add roasted red peppers and fresh basil too. Add as many different veggies as you want!
The possibilities here are endless. Add strips of zucchini or eggplant. A vegan could potentially swap the cheese for hummus, although I guess we couldn’t call it a quesadilla anymore.
I served these quesadillas with another Mediterranean favorite, tabbouleh. I bought this at the store, but it would be easy enough to make yourself as well.
Jennifer Hanes MS, RDN, LD is a registered dietitian, mom, wife, and vegetarian in North Texas. She has dedicated Dietitian Jenn to be a source of information, ideas, and inspiration for people like her, vegetarians that live with people with different dietary beliefs and/or needs in a multivore household.