Spinach and ricotta stuffed shells
Pasta shells filled with spinach and ricotta beneath a tomato sauce.
About 55 min · 540 kcal · 30 g protein per serving
Vegetarian
Sweet potato and black bean quesadillas
Crisp folded tortillas with sweet potato, black beans and cheese.
By The foodose editorial team. Nutrition calculated from USDA FoodData Central. Checked on paper on 12 September 2026; not yet cooked in a test kitchen or photographed, so the times and yield are estimates. How we develop our recipes
What still needs a real kitchen
- Confirm the filling heats through in 3 to 4 minutes a side
- Photograph the finished quesadillas
- Time
- About 1 hr 10 min
- estimated
- Serves
- 2
- see below
- Energy
- 465 kcal
- per serving
- Protein
- 19 g
- per serving
Ingredients for 2 servings
Check off ingredients as you go.
Contains gluten, milk. Check the labels on packaged ingredients:
- black beans. The record is for a reduced-salt tin. Standard tins carry more sodium; rinsing removes some of it.
- tortillas. Wheat tortillas often contain soya and sometimes milk; check the label.
- cheddar. Some cheddar is made with animal rennet; check the label if you are vegetarian.
Cooking steps
Heat the oven to 200°C / 400°F (180°C fan) and bake the sweet potato for 40 to 45 minutes, until soft. Scoop out the flesh and mash it.
Mash the black beans roughly into the sweet potato with the cumin, leaving some beans whole.
Spread the mixture over half of each tortilla, scatter the cheddar on and fold the other half over.
Brush a frying pan with the oil and cook each quesadilla over moderate heat for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until crisp outside and the filling is steaming hot right through.
Cooked when: 74°C / 165°F, steaming hot throughout. A food thermometer is the reliable way to tell.
Cut into wedges and serve with the yoghurt.
The useful detail
Use moderate heat so the filling warms before the tortilla darkens. On a fierce pan the outside is nearly black while the middle is still cold.
Make it work for you
One serving is One folded quesadilla with 40 g of yoghurt. You can switch to a smaller portion in the ingredients above; it is three quarters of this, and it contains correspondingly less energy and protein. It is an option, not a goal.
White beans instead of black
Creamier and milder.
Per serving: about 20 kcal more, about 1 g more protein, about the same fat.
Corn tortillas
Smaller and more brittle; warm them well before folding.
Per serving: about 40 kcal less, about 1 g less protein, about 3 g less fat.
Allergens: Removes gluten if the pack says so.
Potato instead of sweet potato
Less sweet and drier; add a spoonful of the yoghurt to the filling.
Per serving: about 10 kcal less, about the same protein, about the same fat.
Estimated nutrition
Per standard serving, calculated from the ingredients above. Nutrition changes with substitutions, brands and how much oil stays in the pan.
A vegetarian quesadilla with beans doing the work meat would. Most of the fat is the cheddar, which is weighed rather than handfuls.
| Energy | 465 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 19 g |
| Fat | 15 g |
| of which saturates | 6 g |
| Carbohydrate | 64 g |
| of which sugars | 9 g |
| Fibre | 10 g |
| Sodium | 740 mg |
Show calculation notes
Each ingredient’s weight is multiplied by its USDA FoodData Central values per 100 g. The whole recipe is added up and divided by 2. Raw weights are used for meat, fish and vegetables; beans and lentils are drained weights. All of the oil is counted as eaten. Added salt is not included; sodium from stock, bread, cheese and tinned food is.
| Ingredient | Weight used | Source | Energy | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| sweet potatoes | 200 g | FDC 168482Sweet potato, raw, unprepared (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program) | 172 kcal | 3.1 g |
| black beans | 180 g | FDC 175238Beans, black, mature seeds, canned, low sodium | 164 kcal | 10.9 g |
| ground cumin | 1 g | FDC 170923Spices, cumin seedFoodData Central records cumin seed; ground cumin is the same seed, milled. | 4 kcal | 0.2 g |
| tortillas | 100 g | FDC 167535Tortillas, ready-to-bake or -fry, flour, shelf stable | 297 kcal | 8.0 g |
| cheddar | 50 g | FDC 173414Cheese, cheddar (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program) | 202 kcal | 11.4 g |
| rapeseed or other neutral oil | 4.5 g | FDC 172336Oil, canola | 41 kcal | 0.0 g |
| plain yoghurt | 80 g | FDC 170886Yogurt, plain, low fat | 50 kcal | 4.2 g |
| Whole recipe | Divided by 2 | 929 kcal | 37.8 g |
Per serving the energy is rounded to the nearest 5 kcal, grams to the nearest whole gram and sodium to the nearest 10 mg. Calculation method 1.0, September 2026. How the calculation works.
Storage and reheating
- In the fridge
- Cool, cover and refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking. Eat within 3 to 4 days. The filling keeps for 3 to 4 days; cook the quesadillas fresh.
- In the freezer
- Freezing keeps food safe indefinitely; the texture is best if it is eaten sooner rather than later.
- Reheating
- Reheat until it reaches 74°C / 165°F, steaming hot throughout.
Checked against US Food and Drug Administration, Refrigerator and Freezer Storage Chart, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, Leftovers and Food Safety, FoodSafety.gov, Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures and FoodSafety.gov, Cold Food Storage Chart. UK guidance from the Food Standards Agency is shorter, at two days for most leftovers.
Try another recipe
Mushroom and lentil cottage pie
A savoury mushroom-lentil filling with a soft potato topping.
About 1 hr · 360 kcal · 20 g protein per serving
Vegetarian