A Second Pan Is The Key To The Crispiest Sheet-Pan Quesadillas

When you have picky eaters coming over, want a tasty recipe to feed a crowd, or need to get dinner on the table quickly for your family, sheet-pan quesadillas are the answer. You can make a huge batch in under an hour, and most of that time is spent kicking back and relaxing while your food cooks. It's easy to adjust your fillings so you can cater to everyone's taste buds without making separate meals, plus the whole thing only requires one baking dish ... or does it?

There's a reason quesadilla presses exist. Unlike fajitas and tacos, this dish squeezes its toppings in between two layers of tortillas, making it that much easier to shovel into your mouth. When you use a quesadilla press, you can easily smush down your layers while browning and crisping the top tortillas in the same breath. Since this function doesn't exist with a sheet pan, you'll need to replicate it — with another sheet pan. When you stack a second pan on top of your quesadillas right before they go in the oven, you end up with the same satisfying crispiness that you would otherwise achieve with a press.

To assemble your sheet-pan quesadillas, first grease your pan by brushing olive oil or melted butter around the entire thing, since this is what will help the bottom layer get crispy in the oven. Next up you'll arrange six tortillas around the baking sheet so that half of each one hangs over the lip of your pan. Then plop down one or two more so that the center of the sheet is completely covered. From there, pile on your toppings in an even layer; just avoid drenching your tortillas in too much liquid. We love proteins like chicken, ground beef, and bacon along with fillings like cheese, beans, corn, bell peppers, jalapeño, and onion. Or switch it up and make tasty breakfast quesadillas with breakfast sausage, scrambled eggs, and cheese.

Now it's time for the second pan. Fold your tortillas over so they're not hanging off the edges and add a few more so the filling layer is covered. Then either grease your second sheet pan or brush a layer of oil on top of your tortillas, and lightly press the pan on top of your quesadillas. A little over halfway through baking, once the quesadillas are pretty much set, you can remove the second sheet. As an alternative, keep it on the whole time and remove it just to broil your dish for a few extra minutes to get an extra crispy finish.