‘The Pioneer Woman’: Ree Drummond Uses an Easy Trick for Her Lime Chicken Quesadillas

Ree Drummond makes tasty lime chicken quesadillas that can feed a crowd — and it’s all because of one easy trick. The Pioneer Woman star shared the steps for making the quesadillas, which she baked in the oven.

Ree Drummond considers quesadillas a favorite comfort food

Drummond professed her love for quesadillas on an episode of The Pioneer Woman dedicated to comfort foods. “I love comfort food. There is just nothing like it,” she said. “Now, comfort food means different things to different people. To me, comfort food is feel-good food, dishes I’ve eaten throughout my life. Things my grandma used to make for me, things I’ve eaten at significant times throughout my life. I just love it.”

She continued, “Most comfort food is something you’ve eaten since you were a child, something you remember eating throughout your life. But every now and then you stumble upon a new comfort food that you love.”

Drummond added, “Quesadillas are definitely in that category for me. I love quesadillas. I cannot get enough of them. I’ll eat them any time of day. And the thing that’s great about them is you can eat them plain and they’re delicious or you can fill them with all sorts of different ingredients.”

On the episode, she said her “absolute favorite is a quesadilla with shrimp and peppers.”

“I never met a quesadilla I didn’t like,” Drummond said.

Ree Drummond’s lime chicken quesadillas are so easy to make

Drummond’s recipe for lime chicken quesadillas was featured on The Pioneer Woman website in 2020. She pointed out her easy “trick” that works for making the delicious dish for a crowd or large family. “There’s a trick to making lots of quesadillas at once: Bake them in the oven!” she wrote.

The Food Network host places chicken breasts in a medium saucepan with broth and water to cover the chicken 1 inch. She brings it to a boil, reduces the heat, and cooks the chicken for 20 to 30 minutes.

Drummond places the chicken on a cutting board and shreds it when it’s cool enough to handle.

In a blender, Drummond adds lime juice, cilantro, garlic, jalapenos, and salt, then pulses the ingredients. While the blender runs, she drizzles in olive oil.

In a bowl, she combines chicken and half of the cilantro mixture, as well as cheddar cheese and chopped green chiles.

‘The Pioneer Woman’ star assembles the quesadillas and bakes them

The Pioneer Woman star preheats the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit, puts butter on 2 sheet pans, then places them in the oven to melt the butter.

Drummond assembles the quesadillas. First, she spreads butter on 6 tortillas, then tops the unbuttered tortillas with the chicken mixture and places the other tortilla, buttered-side up, on top.

She spreads the melted butter out on the sheet pan, then places each quesadilla, buttered-side up, on the baking sheet, and bakes them for 4 minutes. Drummond flips the quesadillas and cooks them for another 2 minutes. When done, she removes the quesadillas from the oven, and cuts them into wedges, and serves them with the remaining cilantro mixture.