Last Updated on May 20, 2025 by clubtraderjoes
When your schedule is packed tighter than a Trader Joe’s parking lot on Sunday afternoon, but your taste buds are staging a rebellion against another night take out for dinner, you might find yourself eyeing those Southwest Style Chicken Quesadillas in the freezer aisle. These flour tortilla pouches filled with Monterey jack, pepper jack, vegetables, and white chicken meat promise a fiesta in minutes, and for less than the cost of that delivery app surcharge! Are they worth the precious real estate in your freezer? Can they satisfy that Tex-Mex craving when you’re juggling soccer practice, deadlines, and that persistent voice in your head reminding you about meal prep Sunday? Stay tuned as we unwrap this convenient contender that claims to bring restaurant flavor to your microwave.
I think at this point that pretty much everyone in the United States knows what a Quesadilla is, but just in case you don’t know, it’s simply a large tortilla, burrito sized, folded over with cheese, veggies and meat pressed between the two halves of the tortilla.
I made so many cheese and chicken tortillas for my kids when they were little that sometimes I wondered if they would ever eat anything except quesadillas and chicken nuggets again. Thankfully they grew up and have a very diverse diet. But it left a lasting impression on both of them my kids as they are in college and one of their easy go to meals is a cheese quesadilla.
Preparation
You get two Quesadillas in the box and they are normal sized, not shrunken down or anything like you would think. They are about 400 calories each so if you are a small person you could make a lunch out of one. Maybe with some salsa, sour cream or guacamole to put on them.
You could put these in the microwave for a few minutes and I can tell you in those days when I had hungry kids roaming around the kitchen all day, we would’ve done that if we had these. Literally one minute to plate.
But, if you want the best possible outcome, you want to heat these up in a pan, preferably a non-stick skillet. They are dead simple to make, just put them in the skillet and gently heat them up. Trader Joe’s recommends a lid to heat them through. It takes about five minutes a side. If you want to speed it up, you could thaw them in the microwave and then heat them in a pan.
Heating them in a pan also makes the cheese ooze out and get crunchy when it cooks around the edges on the pan. This is why you need a nonstick otherwise it will be a mess.
Upgrades
Spice Up Your Freezer Quesadillas: The Busy Person’s Upgrade Guide
Cilantro-lime rice side – Microwave frozen rice, toss with lime juice and cilantro for a restaurant-style meal in minutes.
Trader Joe’s Green Dragon Sauce – This zippy jalapeño sauce adds the kick these quesadillas are secretly begging for. One bottle lasts forever (or until your teenagers discover it).
Two-minute avocado mash – Smash half an avocado with lime juice, salt, and a spoon of salsa. Instant guacamole for the win! (Pro tip: Those mini avocados are portion-perfect for this).
Greek yogurt + taco seasoning – Mix for a protein-packed, tangy “sour cream” that doesn’t require a special trip to the store.
Quick-pickle your onions – Slice red onion into a bowl, cover with lime juice and a pinch of salt. By dinner time: instant gourmet topping that makes you look fancy.
Jarred roasted red peppers – Chop these pantry heroes for instant color and smoky flavor without turning on your stove.
Trader Joe’s Corn and Chile Tomato-less Salsa – Gluten-free and absolutely delicious with these quesadillas.
Crispy upgrade – After microwaving, give them 2 minutes in a hot skillet for a crispy exterior that tricks everyone into thinking you made them from scratch.
Final Thoughts
After preparing them, they looked really yummy. I pulled one open to have a peek, but didn’t see any chicken bits. I did see a lot of cheesy goodness and lots of veggies, especially corn.
Tasting them was quite enjoyable. The crispy exterior and especially the crispy cheese edges I really liked. They had a little bit of a kick but I would hardly call them hot by Mexican standards. I especially enjoyed the corn, red peppers, beans, spinach and jalapenos scattered around in the cheese. They were great, but what I didn’t like was the lack of apparent chicken. I know it’s in there but maybe it’s buried in the cheese somewhere. It’s hard to see and I couldn’t really taste it.
At the end of the day, I really liked these. They are quick and easy to make and are packed with flavor from all the vegetables and cheese. If you serve them with some spanish rice and other additions (mentioned above) you’d have two full meals. For $4.49 for two that isn’t too bad!
I am going to give them 8 out of 10 stars!
Ingredients
TORTILLA (UNBLEACHED ENRICHED FLOUR [WHEAT FLOUR, MALTED BARLEY, FERROUS SULFATE, NIACIN, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID], WATER, SOYBEAN OIL, CULTURED WHEAT FLOUR, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES OF FATTY ACIDS, LEAVENING AGENT [SODIUM ACID PYROPHOSPHATE, SODIUM BICARBONATE], RICE FLOUR, FUMARIC ACID, SALT, GUAR GUM, ENZYMES, L-CYSTEINE HYDROCHLORIDE [DOUGH CONDITIONER]), MONTEREY JACK CHEESE (PASTEURIZED MILK, CHEESE CULTURES, SALT, ENZYMES), CHICKEN (CHICKEN BREAST MEAT, ONION POWDER, SEA SALT, GRANULATED GARLIC, CORNSTARCH), PEPPER JACK CHEESE (PASTEURIZED MILK, CHEESE CULTURES, JALAPENO PEPPERS, SALT, ENZYMES, POWDERED CELLULOSE [ANTI-CAKING AGENT]), COOKED BLACK BEANS (WATER, BLACK BEANS), CORN, SPINACH, RED BELL PEPPERS, JALAPENO PEPPERS, CILANTRO, GARLIC, ONION POWDER, GARLIC POWDER, PAPRIKA, CUMIN.
- CONTAINS MILK, SOY, WHEAT.
