Are Quesadillas Healthy? (5 Tips For Weight Loss) 

One of many popular Mexican dishes is Quesadillas. And if you love them as much as I do, this article is designed for you. Find out what goes into making this popular Mexican dish and see whether, or not Quesadillas can fit into your lifestyle.

Quesadillas are a classic Mexican dish, made with either a corn- or a flour tortilla and stuffed with Mexican cheese. It is then fried on a griddle or in a pan. This dish has originated in colonial Mexico and has evolved over the years, as people from different regions and countries have experimented to make different versions of the original Quesadillas. 

Although Quesadillas are quite delicious, are they actually healthy?

Quesadillas is a healthy dish, as it offers a balance of all three macronutrients, which translates to a suitable range of calories.

Here are five steps that explain the calorie amount in one serving of Quesadillas and the ingredients that go into making Quesadillas the traditional way, and how to stay in shape while eating this classic Mexican dish. 

1. What Goes Into Making Quesadillas?

2. How Many Calories Are in One Serving of Quesadillas?

3. How to Make a Healthier Version of Quesadillas at Home

4. How to Stay in Shape Eating Quesadillas

5. How To Increase Your Activity Level When Eating Quesadillas

Now that we know our five steps, let’s get into the details that will help you stay in shape while enjoying some delicious Quesadillas.

Tip 1. What Goes Into Making Quesadillas?

The traditional way of making Quesadillas is by stuffing either large corn- or flour tortillas with Mexican cheeses, such as queso Oaxaca. Quesadillas can be available as a full version, which is made with two tortillas with a layer of cheese in the middle, or a half version, which is a single tortilla filled with cheese and folded in half. It is then fried or grilled on a griddle or pan. Quesadillas are usually served with either green or red salsa and guacamole. 

Quesadillas is a simple, yet flavorful and satisfying dish since it gives you fats, proteins, and carbs. 

It is also versatile and easy to be customized to your liking or diet restrictions. For example, you can add spices or meats to the Quesadillas, for more flavor. You can also use different ingredients to make this dish leaner, which we will further discuss in this article.  

Since it’s a classic dish in Mexican cuisine, you can find it in many authentic Mexican restaurants all over Los Angeles and Southern California.

Now that we know what Quesadillas are, let’s take a look at the nutrition facts and see how many calories go inside one serving of Quesadillas.

Tip 2. How Many Calories Are in One Serving of Quesadillas?

If you live an active and healthy lifestyle, it’s important to understand how many calories you need to consume on a daily basis. 

Let’s take a look at the nutrition facts. As you can see, one serving of Quesadillas has 360 calories with a macronutrient ratio of 15 grams of carbs, 26 grams of protein, and 21 grams of fat. 

This dish has a good ratio of all three macronutrients. And it consists of only 15 grams of carbs, which isn’t too bad. 

If you burn more calories than you consume, then you will find yourself in a “caloric deficit” which is the only way fat loss can occur. 

Staying healthy and fit is all about calorie or energy balance, which means that you can still eat your fats and carbs, and stay in shape. The calories are actually not too bad in this dish and can be easily incorporated into your daily calorie intake, as long as you are not over-eating and are working out. 

A good rule of thumb for dieting is keeping a nice balance of macronutrients. A great ratio is sticking to 30% carbs, 40% protein, and 30% fats. 

The key aspect is to understand how many calories you need to eat in a day and to make sure not to overeat on your total accounted calories for the day. 

This is why we recommend you try to make this dish at home and substitute certain ingredients to make an even healthier version of Quesadillas.

In the next section of this article, we will show you how to make a healthier version of Quesadillas, when you prepare it at home.

Tip 3. Try to Make a Healthier Version of Quesadillas at Home

Quesadillas are easy to make, are budget-friendly, and don’t require many ingredients.

Here we show you, how to make a healthier version of Quesadillas.

Instead of using corn- or flour tortillas, you can use whole wheat tortillas, fill it with black beans or other veggies, and a moderate amount of cheese. You can also either bake it or air-fry it, therefore no oil is needed. 

Now that we know a little bit more about the nutrition facts of traditional Quesadillas, let’s take a look at how you can eat Quesadillas, stay in shape, and lose weight.

Tip 4. How to Stay in Shape Eating Quesadillas

You can easily over-eat unhealthy, processed foods that are high in fats and carbs, especially when something is as delicious as Quesadillas. Overeating is usually the quickest way to get out of shape. 

As we have mentioned in section two of this article, it’s important to understand how many calories you need to eat in order to lose weight and stay in shape. 

To stay healthy and in shape, we need to first go over your daily caloric needs and figure out how many calories you need in a day, as well as figure out how much of each macronutrient you should be consuming.

Eating Quesadillas, which is customizable and filled with whole, fresh ingredients, is a great dish if you are looking to stay in shape. However, if you are ordering this dish at a restaurant, ask for flour tortillas or whole wheat if the restaurant offers that option, instead of corn tortillas, and ask for the quesadilla to be light on the cheese. If there’s an option to add veggies, such as beans and squash, definitely go for it. 

There are a few factors that determine your daily calorie intake. Such as weight management, weight loss, or weight gain. Other factors that play a big role, are your gender and your height. 

So, how do you know how many calories you should be eating in a day?

The answer is through trial and error and finding a calorie range that allows you to lose 1-2 pounds of fat per week. 

However, a good place to start is to multiply your body weight by 12 or to use an online TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) calculator.

Your TDEE relies heavily on how active you are and how much movement you see in your day.

Within your TDEE lies a subsection, which is called TEPA (Thermic Effect of Physical Activity) which accounts for 15-30% of your entire day’s worth of calories.

This means, you are in control of 15-30% of how much you can eat, which is a huge portion of calories.

If you’re someone who loves to eat a lot while staying fit, then the activity is the key to a balanced lifestyle that allows you to eat whatever you like, such as Quesadillas, and stay in shape. 

Once you know your calorie intake based on your weight and height, you can then decide how much you want to decrease it. If you want to lose 1 to 2 pounds per week, we suggest you start with 100 calories less than what you are currently consuming and see if you notice a difference within a week. 

If you don’t see any changes in your weight, decrease your calorie intake by another 100 calories and see how that works. 

However, it is suggested, however, to not decrease the calorie intake below 1,200 per day for women, or below 1,500 calories per day for men.

So, how do you stay in shape or even lose weight eating Quesadillas?

As mentioned before in section two one serving of Quesadillas has only 360 kcals with macros, with 15 grams of carbs, 26 grams of protein, and 21 grams of fat. You can just add this into your day and subtract this from your total daily calorie intake.

The key here is to find foods that keep you full longer and still deliver a balanced amount of macronutrients. 

You don’t want all of your calories simply coming from carbs or fats, you want there to be a balance coming from carbs, protein, and fats.

If the 30% carbs, 40% protein, 30% fat ratio is not working for you, and you live an active lifestyle, you can increase the carbs intake to 40% and decrease the fat intake to 20%. 

So, just calculate whatever calorie range you find, and split up your calories by following those macro guidelines. 

5. How To Increase Your Activity Level When Eating Quesadillas

After you’ve figured out how many calories you need to consume daily, you need to make sure that you exercise regularly and build muscle throughout every week. 

Building muscle allows you to burn calories at rest, which means you can eat more and still lose fat.

This is really the goal of working out and is what keeps you healthy as your metabolism increases.

So if you love eating Quesadillas the traditional way, with a lot of queso Oaxaca, you have to make sure your activity level is high, especially if you want to lose weight. 

We talked about the importance of understanding how many calories you need to eat in a day but now it’s time to shift the focus on why calories and building muscle go hand in hand. 

Keep in mind that weight loss is really the concept of calories in vs. calories out.

If you live a sedentary lifestyle, then it’ll be much more difficult to lose weight and you’ll start to see that the number of calories you need to eat daily in order to shed fat is very low.

That’s why it’s important to increase your activity level at least 3 - 4 times a week if your goal is to get lean. 

The other factor that you can control is how much muscle you currently carry.

Building muscle allows us to burn calories at rest which means we can burn more calories by just living life.

Although working out and building muscle takes priority, having a consistent cardio schedule can help with expediting the fat loss process as it raises the energy expended throughout your week.

The fastest and most efficient way to build muscle is to learn how to do some resistance training.

You need to use weights and build muscle by doing a variety of workouts that isolate each muscle group specifically. 

Although it can be intimidating to get in shape, as it will be hard to learn and might be discouraging at the beginning, it’s definitely worth it in the long run for both your health and fitness. 

All you really need are some dumbbells, a workout bench, and gym flooring. You can start small by using your body weight, as well as dumbbells that are up to 8 lbs, however, a good start is 2 lbs to 3 lbs dumbbells. Make sure you don’t add too much weight too soon because that could result in injury if you are unfamiliar with the correct body position. It is better to start small and then increase the weight level. 

Here is a workout plan we’ve created, where you can get started if you are someone who hasn’t ever done a resistance training regimen.

There’s a plan for both, men and women, so check it out and learn the workouts online or through a trainer.

MEN:

Day One: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps, Abs (Push Day) : 

• Cable Crunches: 4 sets 15 reps 

• Triceps Rope Push Down: 3 sets 15 reps

• Lateral Raises: 3 sets 15 reps

• Shoulder Press: 3 sets 10 reps

• Dumbbell Press: 4 sets 12 reps

• Bench Press: 3 sets 10 reps

Day Two (Legs & Abs):

• Weighted Toe Touches: 4 sets 25 reps

• Weighted Sit-Ups: 4 sets 25 reps

• Jumping Squats With Resistance Bands: 5 sets 20 reps

• Glute Bridges With Weight: 4 sets 20 reps

• Stiff Leg Deadlift (Romanian Deadlift): 4 sets 15 reps

• Weighted Walking Lunges: 2 sets 20 steps

• Goblet Squats: 4 sets 20 reps

Day Three: Back & Biceps (Pull Day):

• Hammer Curls: 3 sets 10 reps

• Bicep Curls: 3 sets 10 reps

• Seated Cable Rows: 4 sets 15 reps

• Dumbbell Rows: 4 sets 10 reps (Each Side)

• Lat Pulldowns: 4 sets 12 reps

• Assisted Pull-Ups: 3 sets 10 reps

WOMEN

Day One (Full Upper):

• Weighted Crunches: 3x35 

• Lateral Raises: 4x15

• Lat Pulldowns: 4x12

• Knee Push-Ups: 4x20

• Seated Shoulder Press: 4x20 

• Dumbbell Row: 3x10

• Dumbbell Fly: 3x10

Day Two (Back/Hamstrings/Biceps):

• Hammer Curls: 3x10

• Bicep Curls: 3x10

• Hamstring Curl: 4x15

• Stiff Leg Deadlift: 4x15

• Cable Row: 4x15

• Lat Pulldowns: 4x12

• Assisted Pull-Ups: 3x10

Day Three (Legs/Butt/Abs): 

• Leg Lifts: 3x35

• Weighted Crunches: 3x35 

• Jump Squats: 4x20

• Glute Kickbacks: 4x20 each leg

• Glute Bridge: 4x20

• Goblet Squats: 4x20

• Squats: 5x5

We recommend working out at least three times per week in the beginning, since the resting days in between are important to build muscle. 

You can also do a combination of resistance training and LISS (Low-Intensity Steady State) cardio or HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) cardio, to improve your heart health and maximize fat burn. 

LISS is cardio that comes from walking or a brisk walk, you should be able to have a conversation while still building up a sweat.

HIIT cardio is intervals of a very high-intensity movement, such as sprints, battle ropes, or kickboxing movements aiming to quickly raise the heart rate.

The benefit of HIIT is allowing yourself to burn calories in a shorter amount of time. 

We recommend having 80% of cardio coming from LISS while 20% comes from HIIT for optimal fat loss throughout the week. 

LISS is a much more reliable source of consistent movement and does not require rest as it does not shock the Central Nervous System the way HIIT can.

It’s crucial to understand the importance of diet and workout, so you can enjoy foods like Quesadillas. 

If you are new to working out, building muscle will happen relatively fast, so this is great news for anyone looking to get in shape.

Working out allows you to be more flexible in your diet and lifestyle, which is so important if you want to sustain a lean body and stay healthy. 

So, next time you’re wondering how you can lose some weight, remember that you need to build some muscle and track your calories to your specified amount. 

Make sure to stick with it for a long time and understand that fitness is a lifelong journey that takes time to cultivate.

Calories are direct sources of energy that fuel your everyday life, so you need to make sure that you utilize them efficiently throughout your days. 

THERE IT IS!

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