Spicy Sausage Muhammara Quesadillas

These spicy sausage muhammara quesadillas combine spicy sausage, kale, olives, cheese, and a flavourful roasted red pepper walnut sauce. They are different, fun, and oh so flavourful!

I was hesitant to post this recipe because I am not thrilled with how the photos turned out. But I love these spicy sausage muhammara quesadillas too darn much not to share them with you! They are so full of flavour and colour. You’ll love ’em!

THE DETAILS

The star of these quesadillas is the muhammara. I don’t know if you have ever heard of or made muhammara. I remember making it for the first time way back in 2016 as part of a Middle Eastern feast I was preparing for my family. Muhammara is a smoky, spicy, and ever so slightly sweet roasted red pepper dip of Syrian origin.

My inspired take is decidedly non-traditional, but made with ingredients that are readily accessible in most North American grocery stores. For instance, I swapped out the pomegranate molasses that is traditionally used in muhammara with maple syrup or honey and a touch of lemon juice to provide the tartness found in pomegranate molasses. I also omitted the bread crumbs and Aleppo pepper commonly used in muhammara dip, opting instead to use more readily available hot red pepper flakes.

In addition to the muhammara, these quesadillas are filled with spicy sausage, herbs, spices, kale, olives, and cheese. For cheeses, I used a combination of feta, provolone, and brie, which was delicious! You can also feel free to use a combination of mozzarella and feta.

You’ll also want to serve these with some kind of salsa. I made a quick one with pomegranate, avocado, cilantro, and lemon. It pairs beautifully with these quesadillas!

WHAT’S IN THESE SPICY SAUSAGE MUHAMMARA QUESADILLAS?

Here are the ingredients you’ll need for these quesadillas. You will find exact amounts of each ingredient in the recipe card further down.

• For the spicy sausage and kale: Extra-virgin olive oil, onion, garlic, spicy sausage, sea salt, pepper, dried oregano, cumin, kale, and Kalamata olives.
• For the muhammara: Roasted red peppers, extra-virgin olive oil, lemon, maple syrup or honey, sea salt, pepper, toasted walnuts, cumin, smoked paprika, and hot red pepper flakes.
• For assembling the quesadillas: Flour tortillas and cheese. I used a combination of feta, provolone, and brie, but you may just use feta and mozzarella if you prefer.
• For the pomegranate salsa: Pomegranate, avocado, cilantro or parsley, sea salt, and lemon juice.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS

Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When it shimmers, add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for five minutes. Add the sausage and use a fork to crumble it into smaller pieces as it cooks. Continue to cook until the sausage is cooked through, about eight more minutes. Add sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste, oregano, and cumin. Stir in the kale and olives and cook just until the kale is bright green. Remove from the heat.

Next, make the muhammara: In a food processor fitted with the ‘S’ blade, blend together the roasted red peppers, oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, maple syrup, salt, pepper, walnuts, cumin, smoked paprika, and hot red pepper flakes. Process until smooth.

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Lightly grease two large, rimmed baking sheets with olive oil. Arrange the tortillas on them. Evenly divide the sausage and kale mixture between the tortillas. (Only place it on half of each tortilla so that you can fold them over.) Top the sausage with a couple spoonfuls of muhammara, followed by ¼ cup of cheese per quesadilla. Fold over. Brush each quesadilla with a bit of olive oil (this helps make them crispy in the oven) and bake for 12-15 minutes, flipping once halfway through baking.

Meanwhile, make the salsa: In a bowl, combine the pomegranate, avocado, parsley or cilantro, salt, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Stir and serve over top of the quesadillas.

INGREDIENT SWAPS AND SUBSTITUTIONS FOR VEGANS AND VEGETARIANS

Vegans and vegetarians can replace the sausage with 2-3 cups of cooked chickpeas or lentils. Vegans can also replace the cheese with vegan “cheese” of choice, be it homemade soft cashew “cheese” or store-bought varieties.

MORE QUESADILLA RECIPES

Don’t love the photos on any of these, but the recipes themselves are good!

• Caribbean Kidney Bean Quesadillas with Mango Aioli
• Apple Cheddar Breakfast Quesadillas
• White Bean and Butternut Squash Quesadillas

I hope that you love these spicy sausage muhammara quesadillas! If you make them, let me know how you enjoyed them by leaving a comment and rating below the post.

Finally, if you want more wholesome and feel good recipes to help fuel your active lifestyle, follow Up Beet Kitchen on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.

Enjoy!!

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