Sausage, peppers, and onions with a twist: Kielbasa Quesadillas are the perfect recipe mashup! Simple, savory, and satisfying — what more can you ask for, really?
I have a habit of throwing any old leftovers into quesadillas for a quick & easy dinner. So, I recently made some leftover sausage, peppers, & onions into a quick lunch quesadilla — and that turned out so well that I thought, let’s do this on purpose. Boom: Kielbasa Quesadillas for all!
Kielbasa quesadillas are kind of a mashup between two earlier recipe favorites: keema inspired ground beef quesadillas, and sausage, peppers, & onions (plus artichoke!) naan pizza. A pack of Polska kielbasa lends its smoky, savory flavor to so many recipes; it’s an affordable base for multiple meals.
You just need a few simple ingredients for these smoked sausage quesadillas, most of the flavor here comes from the Polska kielbasa itself. This easy weeknight dinner recipe comes together in just 35 minutes.
Kielbasa Quesadillas
Ingredients
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium sweet bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
1/2 of a medium yellow onion, sliced
14 oz Polska kielbasa or smoked sausage, sliced into thin coins
2 tsp minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
8 oz shredded mozzarella
12 medium flour tortillas
Directions
To cook up the sausage, peppers, & onions:
Slice up your pepper and onion.
Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the pepper and onion to the pan and saute for three minutes, stirring occasionally.
While the pepper and onion are sauteing, slice the sausage into coins and mince garlic (if not using jarred).
Stir the sausage, garlic, and crushed red pepper into the skillet with the bell pepper and onion. Continue to saute over medium heat for another ten minutes, stirring occasionally.
While the sausage is cooking, shred the mozzarella.
Once the sausage and peppers are done, turn off the heat under the pan and proceed to making the quesadillas.
To make the quesadillas:
Make quesadillas three at a time in a 12″ cast iron skillet. To do so:
Sprinkle shredded mozzarella across half of each tortilla. Top that with the sausage, peppers, & onions mixture, and fold each tortilla in half over the filling.
Brown the quesadillas in your skillet, three at a time over medium heat, until tortillas are nicely browned and cheese is melted.
Assemble the next round while the first batch is cooking, and repeat the process until you’ve finished all the quesadillas.
Enjoy as is, or with sour cream!
Note: To help make the sausage mixture come out even, just use your spoon to divide it into quarters in the pan. Use a fourth of it for each set of three quesadillas.
Such a savory twist on quesadillas
The leftover quesadillas were even better today for lunch, I think, although they do lose any bit of crispness when reheated. All the flavor you want from traditional sausage, pepper, and onions — wrapped up in a bunch of melty cheese and browned tortillas? Yes, please.
Kielbasa Quesadillas, printable recipe
Kielbasa Quesadillas
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium sweet bell pepper sliced into thin strips
- 1/2 of a medium yellow onion sliced
- 14 oz Polska kielbasa or smoked sausage sliced into thin coins
- 2 tsp minced garlic about 4 cloves
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper optional
- 8 oz shredded mozzarella
- 12 medium flour tortillas
Instructions
- To cook up the sausage, peppers, & onions:
- Slice up your pepper and onion.
- Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the pepper and onion to the pan and saute for three minutes, stirring occasionally.
- While the pepper and onion are sauteing, slice the sausage into coins and mince garlic (if not using jarred).
- Stir the sausage, garlic, and crushed red pepper into the skillet with the bell pepper and onion. Continue to saute over medium heat for another ten minutes, stirring occasionally.
- While the sausage is cooking, shred the mozzarella.
- Once the sausage and peppers are done, turn off the heat under the pan and proceed to making the quesadillas.
- To make the quesadillas:
- Make quesadillas three at a time in a 12″ cast iron skillet. To do so:
- Sprinkle shredded mozzarella across half of each tortilla. Top that with the sausage, peppers, & onions mixture, and fold each tortilla in half over the filling.
- Brown the quesadillas in your skillet, three at a time over medium heat, until tortillas are nicely browned and cheese is melted.
- Assemble the next round while the first batch is cooking, and repeat the process until you’ve finished all the quesadillas.
- Enjoy as is, or with sour cream!
Notes
More quesadilla recipe ideas?
It’s fun to mix it up and experiment with your own quesadilla fillings: Start with tortillas and cheese, then play with the rest. Here are a few more quesadilla recipe ideas to get you started, though.
- Easy shrimp & mushroom quesadillas
- Keema inspired ground beef quesadillas
- Chipotle quesadillas with pan-roasted veggies
- Oven baked leftover ham quesadillas
What’s your own favorite quesadilla filling twist?
Recipes in the real world
Be sure not to miss the free ALDI meal plans, which show you how to use these easy family recipes to meal plan affordably and realistically for your family. Or, find more recipe ideas with the Recipe Search!
Be sure not to miss the free ALDI meal plans, which show you how to use these easy family recipes to meal plan affordably and realistically for your family. Or, find more recipe ideas with the Recipe Search!
