It’s been nearly two decades since the taco began its star-studded journey across menus, categories and cuisines. No longer restricted to Mexican and Tex-Mex-leaning concepts, the now ubiquitous carrier is as seamlessly filled with bulgogi or tikka masala as it is with carnitas or al pastor. By contrast, the taco-adjacent quesadilla has remained on the fringe in terms of innovation, beloved and craveable as it may be.

But now, quesadillas are finding themselves in the spotlight, with operators welcoming a host of flavors, ingredients and presentations inside the fold. Even brands within the Mexican category that have long served quesadillas are catching the current wave of enthusiasm. “Quesadillas are having a moment, and it’s easy to see why. They’re versatile, handheld and familiar—yet there’s still plenty of room to surprise and delight,” says Brad Bergaus, corporate chef and director of menu innovation at Taco John’s. The menu had once included a Quesadilla Taco, featuring a pepper-Jack quesadilla “shell” filled with grilled chicken, shredded lettuce, housemade pico de gallo and chipotle-lime sauce. After it was retired, “the requests to bring it back never stopped,” he explains.

When the time came to reimagine the legacy offering as an LTO, Bergaus had a specific goal—plus a proviso. He wanted to approach the dish through a modern lens, ratcheting up the boldness and cheesiness. The catch? The build had to use existing SKUs, meaning innovation wouldn’t come through new ingredients but rather carefully calibrated prep and fresh flavor combinations. The resulting OMCheese Quesadilla Taco, which ran earlier this year, was similar in many ways to the Quesadilla Taco: grilled chicken, lettuce and pico de gallo with a Fiesta Sauce in place of the original chipotle-lime. But, the pièce de résistance lay in between the two stacked, crispy quesadilla shells, where a melty quartet of cheddar, asadero, Monterey Jack and queso blanco tapped into the current cheese-pull craze.

“One of the biggest R&D wins was perfecting the cheese ratio: enough for that dramatic pull without overwhelming the dish. We knew the cheese pull would be a showstopper, and it absolutely delivered. It’s stretchy, dramatic and made for sharing—perfect for social media,” Bergaus says. “But beyond that, the OMCheese Quesadilla hits several trend sweet spots: It’s a mash-up, it’s indulgent, it’s portable and it taps into that nostalgic comfort food vibe with a fresh twist. It’s the kind of item that practically markets itself.”

The LTO’s popularity has led to another quesadilla special for summer. While not a taco hybrid, the Fiesta Cheese Quesadilla  features the same winning flavor profile plus guacamole for extra indulgence. “It’s a natural evolution of the trend,” he explains.

Credit: PINCHO

After the wildly successful 12-year run of the Quesadilla Burger (left), PINCHO flipped the script on its May LTO, introducing the new Smashdilla (right), which showcases burger flavors in a quesadilla format.

Miami-based PINCHO might specialize in kebabs and burgers, but it’s been playing in the quesadilla category for 12 years with a recurring LTO that capitalizes on National Burger Month and Cinco de Mayo. Every May from 2013 to 2024, PINCHO served a Quesadilla Burger, featuring the brand’s signature patty topped with queso fresco, pico de gallo and Central American-style crema between two “buns” of cheddar cheese quesadillas. Given the hybrid nature of the item, it required a bit of fine-tuning, says Adrian Sanchez, director or culinary. “The flavor could still be better and the pico kept falling off the burger. I was working on a guacamole recipe to serve as a side and decided to add it on the burger,” he recalls. “It ended up acting like a mortar for the pico, and the flavor of the burger just became next level.”

With its one-of-a-kind build, the Quesadilla Burger became the longest-running Chalkboard Special. But last year, PINCHO decided to break with its own tradition and build an entirely new quesadilla LTO—one inspired in part by the brand’s expansion into Houston, where Sanchez and his team experienced quesadillas at local legend Pappasito’s Cantina. PINCHO’s new May special, the Smashdilla, moves away from the 4-inch tortilla “buns” of the Quesadilla Burger, opting instead for 12-inch tortillas that completely engulf the patty and cheese, the latter also changed from queso fresco to a combo of Chihuahua and cheddar cheeses.

“We stepped back from those Mexican-forward flavors and focused more on a traditional burger flavor with a traditional quesadilla experience. We added pickles and green onions to pair with a double smash patty and voila, the Smashdilla was born,” Sanchez recounts. Despite the high bar, the Smashdilla surpassed the Quesadilla Burger’s sales—“not to mention it was a lot of fun shooting videos of its ooey-gooey cheesiness,” he adds.

This success also proves that quesadillas needn’t stick to the Mexican cuisine. Over the years, Friendly’s has applied northern flavors and ingredients to the quesadilla, including the recent New England Fisherman’s Quesadilla, featuring crispy tortillas filled with golden-brown cod fillets, melted cheese, sautéed onions and tomatoes. “We leaned into the craveability of New England seafood with the  familiar quesadilla format, balancing traditional spices with coastal flavors to create an approachable, indulgent fusion our guests could get excited about,” says Roberto De Angelis, the brand’s chief experience officer. The aim was to honor the region’s seafood roots while providing a playful twist.

Although the Fisherman’s Quesadilla completed its run in early June, it set the stage for a summertime successor, the Lobster & Shrimp Quesadilla, which has graced the seasonal menu in years past. “Quesadillas are trending for their versatility and comfort-food appeal, making them the perfect canvas for creative flavor combinations like our coastal-inspired twists,” De Angelis says.

Credit: Friendly's

New England seafood might not be an intuitive filling for a quesadilla, but Friendly’s seasonal specials like the Fisherman’s Quesadilla demonstrate the format’s versatility.

Counterintuitive as it may be, venturing outside the typical domain of quesadillas can offer operators a platform to double-down on signature products. Such is the case with Zaxbys’ Giant Quesadillas, which ran from late April to early June. “It’s safe to say our quesadillas aren’t traditional. We set out to put a craveworthy twist on an already popular item while staying true to ourselves as leaders in Chicken Fingerz and sauces,” says Gregg Brickman, chef and senior director of menu innovation. “We took a classic, cranked up the flavor and added the sauce—literally and metaphorically.”

Indeed, sauces play a prominent role in the two Giant Quesadillas, serving as flavor modulators as well as points of differentiation within the broader quesadilla category. Featuring three hand-breaded Chicken Fingerz, the Chicken Bacon Ranch Quesadilla is drizzled with ranch dressing and the Chicken Fajita Quesadilla with a Southwest ranch. Each comes with a side of sauce, too. “Incorporating an extra side of sauce, even though there’s already sauce in the Quesadilla, was a no brainer. We’re obsessed with sauce,” Brickman says. And true to their name, the Giant Quesadillas were positioned as standalone meals rather than snacks or shareables. “When crafting these recipes, we wanted to ensure our ’dillas weren’t just delicious, but would satisfy our guests’ hunger, which is where the giant size came in,” he adds.

Although many of the creative quesadilla builds are gracing menus as limited-time offers, the recent spate of specials hints at a longer runway ahead. It might not become as omnipresent as tacos, but its inherent craveability, cheese-pull potential and ability to anchor a variety of ingredients open the door to compelling dishes that are primed for menu success. For Taco John’s, the OMCheese Quesadilla raised the bar, revealing there’s more to mine in the simple quesadilla. “It proved how much innovation is possible within our existing pantry, and how something as simple as cheese can still spark excitement,” Bergaus says. “We’re always chasing those moments where flavor, form and fun collide.”