Sweet Potato Breakfast Quesadilla
A folded half-moon quesadilla filled with spiced mashed sweet potato, soft scrambled egg, spinach, and melted Monterey Jack, served with lime avocado crema.
Servings 4 quesadillas
Ingredients
For the Quesadillas
- 1 medium sweet potato about 12 ounces, peeled and cubed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 large eggs beaten
- 1 tablespoon butter for the eggs
- 4 flour tortillas 8 inch
- 1 ½ cups Monterey Jack shredded from a block
- ½ cup sharp cheddar shredded from a block
- 1 cup baby spinach
For the Avocado Crema
- 1 ripe avocado
- ¼ cup whole milk Greek yogurt
- ½ lime juiced
- 2 tablespoons cilantro chopped
- 1 small clove garlic grated
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tablespoon water or more, to thin
Instructions
Roast and Mash
- Heat the oven to 425F. Toss the cubed sweet potato with the olive oil, cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, and salt.
- Spread on a sheet pan and roast 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges brown and a fork goes through easily.
- Tip into a bowl and mash with a fork into a thick spreadable paste, leaving a little texture.
- Blend the avocado, yogurt, lime juice, cilantro, garlic, and salt, adding water a tablespoon at a time until it ribbons off a spoon.
Scramble and Fill
- Melt the butter in a nonstick pan over medium-low heat, add the beaten eggs, and stir slowly into soft folds. Pull them off while still slightly wet.
- Lay a tortilla flat and fill one half only: a scatter of Jack, the mashed sweet potato spread to the edge, the scrambled egg, a few spinach leaves, then the remaining Jack and the cheddar.
- Keep the filling ½ inch back from the curved edge, then fold the empty half over the filled half.
Griddle and Serve
- Set the folded quesadilla in a dry skillet over medium heat and press flat with a spatula for a few seconds.
- Cook 3 minutes per side, until both faces are golden with brown blistered spots and the cheese has melted.
- Rest 1 minute, then cut each half-moon into 3 wedges and serve with the avocado crema.
Notes
- Fold, do not stack: one tortilla folded into a half-moon holds the filling in and flips without sliding apart.
- Mash, do not dice: diced cubes roll out of the fold. Mashed sweet potato acts as the glue.
- Cheese choice: Monterey Jack melts smooth and holds the fold. Parmesan, feta, and cotija will not melt and the quesadilla opens.
- Grate your own: pre-shredded cheese is starch-coated and melts greasy.
- Make ahead: the spiced mash keeps 4 days, and cooked quesadillas freeze 2 months. Reheat in a dry skillet, never the microwave.