These smashed white bean and kale quesadillas served with a creamy BBQ dip are the perfect meatless meal for a light dinner.

I spent last week at my mother in law’s in Florida lamenting the fact that I have to drive 40 minutes to the closest Whole Foods while her kitchen was stocked with delicious fruits, vegetables, sustainable meats and the like from her store 5 minutes down the road.

Then yesterday, I finally made it to the newly opened 40 minute away store by me and pushed my cart around each aisle as 2 little voices carried away on my shoulder.

Voice #1: “Oooh, look! Black spaghetti. How cool!”

white bean and kale quesadillas
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Voice #2: “Um, there’s 8.8oz of that stuff in the package and the price tag says $6.59. Get a grip, Gina.”

white bean and kale quesadillas with creamy BBQ dip

Voice #2 won out for the most part but I did somehow get suckered into some perfect looking red leaf kale, an assortment of pick your own mushrooms, mangos, local organic grass fed skirt steak, the kimchi bar and kombucha…for $71.

Ok, maybe there were a few other small items.

But $71?! There were 2 bags, but I’m pretty sure the cashier just did that to make me feel better because it easily could’ve all fit into 1.

So here’s my question, do people actually shop at Whole Foods regularly?

Like, “oh, we’re out of milk and eggs, let me just pop into Whole Foods real quick!”

Because I’m pretty sure we’d be bankrupt in about 2 months if that were the case.

Kale quesadillas with white beans

So these white bean and kale quesadillas are brought to you by my little ghetto produce store’s tuscan kale ($1.39 vs. whole foods $3.49), a can of non-organic (ah, the horror!) cannellini beans (Goya $0.99), some seriously sharp Cabot cheddar cheese they so graciously sent me (free) and Trader Joe’s whole wheat tortillas ($2.69).

Because I’d rather have money left over for more vacations than eat exorbitantly priced (albeit cool) black spaghetti.

These quesadillas are great when you want to get a full meal out of them. But if you’re looking for something more basic (and kid friendly!) try this air fryer cheese quesadilla. Simplicity never disappoints!

More quesadilla recipes to try:

Love, love, love brisket quesadillas when I have leftover brisket. They’re mouthwateringly good!

Both this summer harvest cheddar quesadilla and this peach burrata bacon quesadilla are great options for the summer when produce is abundant and you’re looking for a quesadilla that’s got a little bit more polish to it.

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4.35 from 40 votes

Smashed White Bean and Kale Quesadillas with Creamy BBQ Dip

Servings: 2 servings
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
These smashed white bean and kale quesadillas served with a creamy BBQ dip are the perfect meatless meal for a light dinner.

Ingredients 

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 shallot, minced
  • 15 ounces canned cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • salt & pepper
  • 5 leaves tuscan kale, stems removed and cut into thin strips
  • 2 cups grated sharp white cheddar cheese
  • 2 whole wheat 10 inch tortillas
  • 1/4 cup plain yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce

Instructions 

  • Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
  • Once hot, add the shallots, beans, salt & pepper and cook for about 5 minutes until the shallots are softened, stirring occasionally. Transfer mixture to a small bowl, mash with a fork or potato masher and set aside.
  • Place the tortillas in a microwave with a damp towel on top and microwave for about 20 seconds to soften.
  • Place one tortillas in the skillet, sprinkle the entire tortilla with cheese then spread the bean mixture on only one half of the tortilla. Top with half the kale, then sprinkle a bit more cheese on top of the kale. Fold the tortilla in half, press down and cook for about 1-2 minutes per side until golden brown.
  • Transfer the tortilla to a cutting board and cut into four pieces.
  • Repeat with the other tortilla and remaining ingredients.
  • To make the dip, combine the yogurt and BBQ sauce in a bowl and stir together.
  • Serve warm with the dip.

Nutrition

Serving: 1SERVINGCalories: 966kcalCarbohydrates: 82gProtein: 48gFat: 51gSaturated Fat: 25gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 117mgSodium: 1246mgPotassium: 1278mgFiber: 15gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 3950IUVitamin C: 27mgCalcium: 1153mgIron: 8mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Appetizers
Cuisine: American
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Founder and Writer at Running to the Kitchen | About

Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.

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55 Comments

  1. These quesadillas look so good! I love a non traditional twist on a ‘dilla any day. And what a fun add in with the beans!!!

    And Whole Foods is scary..b/c I always end up spending a gazillion dollars. And I forget how I did it. I just get completely sucked into the store and wake up once I’m back in the car gasping at the receipt!!

  2. I agree with you. It’s so sad that “good quality” food has to be so crazy expensive. I have some basic principles regarding food shopping… I prefer organic milk; organic, cage free eggs; and organic grass fed beef (which we buy rarely coz of the $)… as for produce, we mostly never eat any veggies raw, so we don’t buy organic produce. As for fruit, I only buy organic if I eat the skin (i.e. apples), everything else, nah.
    I would rather fo for these homemade “ghetto” quesadillas than the Whole Foods food bar.

  3. I’m always looking for a way to use beans more… especially other than just black bean salsa :) Great idea!

  4. These are like the quesadillas of my dreams! And I’m totally intrigued by that DIP!!!

  5. Holy yum! This looks fantastic! So full of goodness too! Perfect runner food, and perfect for when I begin my serious nutritional knuckledown next week! YUm!