the Best Air Fryer Quesadilla

square image of overhead of complete quesadilla on a white plate with a bowl of pico de gallo and limes on top. lime wedges in the corner and a spoon of pico de gallo on the side.

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Quick, melty, perfectly cooked air fryer quesadilla. These quesadillas made in the air fryer are easy, taking only 3-minutes each with little-to-no clean up! Sprinkle with homemade chili lime seasoning on top for the best quesadilla!

Prep Time5

Cook Time3

Total Time8

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Mexican

Keyword: air fryer, air fryer quesadilla, gluten free, quesadilla

Servings: quesadilla

Calories: 281kcal

Author: Elise Shivamber

Equipment

Air Fryer
3-4 Toothpicks
Air Fryer

Ingredients

4 Corn Tortillas (or flour if not gluten free)
1 Cup Shredded Cheese

Chili Lime Seasoning

½ teaspoon Chili Powder
¼ teaspoon Salt
1 Lime zested

Instructions

Preheat your air fryer for 3-minutes at 350ºF.
Spray neutral oil on one side of the tortilla. Place that tortilla oil side down in the air fryer.
Add the cheese on top of the tortilla.
Spray neutral oil on one side of the second corn tortilla. Place that tortilla oil side up on top of the cheese.
Skewer the toothpicks evenly around the tortilla towards the edge. The toothpicks should go halfway through the tortillas so they stick out a little. (This will be what holds the quesadilla together.)
Add the air fryer rack upside down on top of the quesadilla.
For a Soft Quesadilla: Air fry the quesadilla for 3-minutes on 350ºF. Remove with tongs and cut in half and eat immediately.
For a Crispy Quesadilla: Air fry the quesadilla for 3-minutes at 350ºF. Remove the basket, flip the quesadilla, place the air fryer basket on top, and air fry an additional 3-minutes at 350ºF. Remove immediately with tongs, cut in half and eat immediately.
Repeat steps 2-7 for the second quesadilla.

Notes

Substitute homemade chili lime seasoning with Tajín or Chili Lime Seasoning.

Make sure to preheat the air fryer to allow for the crispiest quesadillas! My Ninja Air Fryer suggests 3 minutes of preheating so that is what I typically do.

Don’t overcrowd the air fryer. Do it in batches rather than overcrowd your air fryer.

For a crunchier quesadilla, it’s best to flip halfway through the frying time. This helps make sure all sides are evenly crisped. You can use tongs or a spatula.

Don’t skip out on the toothpicks or the air fryer rack. The toothpicks hold the cheese inside the two tortillas, and the rack helps prevent the quesadilla from flying around inside the air fryer.

Nutrition