quesadilla
Americannoun
-
quesadillas
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of quesadilla
First recorded in 1940–45; from Mexican Spanish; Spanish: “a pastry or cake made with cheese,” equivalent to quesada ( queso “cheese,” from Latin cāseus; cf. cheese 1 + -ada noun suffix) + -illa diminutive suffix; see -ade 1
Explanation
Next time you go to a Mexican restaurant, you might want to order a quesadilla, a grilled tortilla filled with melty cheese. Quesadillas come on flour or corn tortillas, which are loaded with cheese and sometimes vegetables or meat, and cooked over high heat. In Mexico, a quesadilla is traditionally made with Oaxaca cheese inside a folded corn tortilla, which is grilled without oil and served with salsa. There are many variations of this popular dish. Quesadilla comes from the Spanish queso, "cheese."
Vocabulary lists containing quesadilla
World Cuisine - Introductory
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World Cuisine - Middle School and High School
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Cheesy Goodness
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“When they say everything in America is big, I understand it. Why the hell is this quesadilla the size of my head?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
Lee, 31, exclaimed, and the pair, mere moments after meeting, snapped a selfie as Gonzalez, 28, presented his Korean bulgogi beef quesadilla to the camera with a grin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
Roasted red peppers, meanwhile, find their calling in a smoky, charred quesadilla, melted into gooey cheese with a dash of chipotle and a squeeze of lime.
From Salon ● Mar. 17, 2025
"We then made a kind of quesadilla or panini where the bismuth is the cheesy filling and the tortillas are the atomically flat surfaces," said Wu.
From Science Daily ● May 21, 2024
I made myself comfortable and was about to make myself a quesadilla when Charlie Escobedo came knocking on my door and asked me, “’Sup?”
From "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe" by Benjamin Alire Saenz
They were all seated in coach and paid $20 each for the breakfast quesadillas and omelets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 27, 2025
Melanie is a loyal devotee, using one chicken to anchor several nights of easy, low-cook meals: sandwiches, salads, grain bowls, quesadillas.
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2025
Or head to the Kitchen for dishes like breakfast quesadillas, sandwiches, pizza and burgers.
From New York Times ● Jul. 24, 2023
I stop in every once in awhile, not just to conjure up Proustian memories but because the no-frills menu — tacos, burritos, sopes, quesadillas, with menudo on Sundays — is still delicious.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2023
The other day he brought home a brick of Chihuahua cheese and a stack of tortillas, so we ate quesadillas for several days, but we’ve run out now.
From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
