How many calories are in a cheese quesadilla?
One 8-10 inch cheese quesadilla weighs 194 g and carries 714 calories. Per 100 g the same tortilla-and-cheese fold runs 368 calories, which puts it above most fried restaurant appetizers. Shrink it to a 5-6 inch round and you are down to 342 calories, less than half the plate.
You'd need to walk about 2.5 hours to burn the 714 calories in one 8-10 inch quesadilla (194 g).
How long does it take to burn off 714 kcal of cheese quesadilla?
One 8-10 inch quesadilla (194 g) is 714 kcal. Enter your weight and the amount you ate to see how long it takes you to burn that off:
lb
| Activity | Time to burn 714 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 2 hr 23 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 1 hr 29 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 1 hr 42 min |
| Jogging | 1 hr 24 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 2 hr 39 min |
Times are for a 155 lb adult at a steady pace; change the weight to see yours. The amount is set to the portion in the text (194 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- Cheese quesadilla quick facts
- US servings, from one ounce to a plate of three
- Small, chicken, bean and frozen quesadillas
- Saturated fat and sodium are the rows to watch
- How does a cheese quesadilla compare?
- Most popular cheese quesadilla brands
- FAQ
Cheese quesadilla quick facts
The record behind every number on this page is SR Legacy 169035, "Restaurant, Mexican, cheese quesadilla". It is the plain version most people mean and most people make: a flour tortilla, melted cheese, a hot pan. No rice, no beans, no sour cream on the side. USDA carries two other rows under the same name, and neither is the food you are holding — one is a specific restaurant chain's recipe, the other is a Salvadoran sweet cheese bread that shares the word and nothing else.
The serving USDA lists first is a single quesadilla of 8-10 inch diameter, 194 g. That is a full dinner-plate fold, the size a restaurant brings out, and the size a 10-inch flour tortilla makes at home.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per 1 quesadilla, 8-10 inch (194 g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 368 | 714 | — |
| Total fat | 23.08 g | 44.8 g | 57% |
| Saturated fat | 11.56 g | 22.4 g | 112% |
| Carbohydrate | 24.11 g | 46.8 g | 17% |
| Dietary fiber | 1.7 g | 3.3 g | 12% |
| Total sugars | 2.21 g | 4.3 g | — |
| Protein | 15.93 g | 30.9 g | 62% |
| Sodium | 701 mg | 1360 mg | 59% |
% Daily Value is based on a 2,000-calorie diet.
Verified nutrition data
Numbers on this page come from USDA FoodData Central, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food composition database, and from manufacturer labels where a branded product is named. Last verified September 2026. How we verify our data →
Two rows you will not find above: added sugars and trans fat. USDA does not publish added sugars for this SR Legacy record, so putting a number there would be a guess, and the same is true for trans fat. Cholesterol and potassium do have figures — 101 mg of cholesterol in the 194 g quesadilla, which is 34% of the Daily Value, and only 198 mg of potassium, a thin 4%. For a dish built on dairy, the potassium is unremarkable.
US servings, from one ounce to a plate of three
| Serving | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz | 28 g | 103 kcal |
| One quesadilla, 5-6 inch | 93 g | 342 kcal |
| One quesadilla, 8-10 inch | 194 g | 714 kcal |
| One restaurant serving | 205 g | 754 kcal |
| Three quesadillas, 5-6 inch | 279 g | 1027 kcal |
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 368 kcal |
Three of those weights come straight from USDA's own household measures: the 194 g full-size quesadilla, the 205 g restaurant serving that varies with diameter and count, and the plate of three small ones at 279 g. The 1 oz row and the single 5-6 inch quesadilla at 93 g are our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure, not USDA servings — we took the 279 g plate and divided by three.
That last division is the useful one. A 5-6 inch quesadilla is 342 calories; the 8-10 inch is 714. Same recipe, same cheese, same pan. The only variable is how wide the tortilla was, and it moves the number by 372 calories. If you log quesadillas by the piece without noting the size, you are guessing within a range that is wider than most people's afternoon snack.
The plate of three small ones is the trap in the other direction. It looks modest — three little folds — and lands at 1,027 calories, more than the single full-size version by a clear margin.
Small, chicken, bean and frozen quesadillas
| Version | Per 100 g | Typical serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheese quesadilla, restaurant or homemade | 368 kcal | one 8-10 inch (194 g) | 714 kcal |
| Small cheese quesadilla | 368 kcal | one 5-6 inch (93 g) | 342 kcal |
| Chicken cheese quesadilla | 212 kcal | one quesadilla (113 g) | 240 kcal |
| Chain restaurant cheese quesadilla | 394 kcal | one quesadilla (203 g) | 800 kcal |
| Bean and cheese quesadilla, frozen | 273 kcal | 7 oz (198 g) | 541 kcal |
| Kids' cheese quesadillas, frozen | 227 kcal | 2 pieces (119 g) | 270 kcal |
| Quesadilla salvadoreña, sweet cheese bread | 374 kcal | one serving (55 g) | 206 kcal |
The chicken version surprises people. At 212 calories per 100 g it is the lightest of the group by density, well under the plain cheese record's 368, because shredded chicken breast is taking up room that would otherwise hold cheese and oil. Ordering chicken in your quesadilla is not a splurge on top of the cheese — in practice it dilutes it.
The chain restaurant row runs the other way. On The Border's cheese quesadilla is 394 calories per 100 g, 26 more than the generic record, and its 203 g serving comes to 800 calories. Nine grams heavier than the USDA generic serving, and 86 calories heavier. More cheese, more butter on the tortilla, and it shows in the saturated fat too, 12.98 g per 100 g against 11.56 g.
Freezer-aisle quesadillas are a different animal entirely. Every retail cheese quesadilla in USDA's Branded database sits below the restaurant record per 100 g — the bean and cheese version at 273, a kids' brand at 227, and several chicken-and-cheese products at 204. That lightest group is a little over half the density of the restaurant fold. Frozen quesadillas are smaller, thinner-filled, and portioned for a box rather than a plate.
The Salvadoran quesadilla is not a quesadilla in the tortilla sense at all. It is a sweet cheese pound-cake bread, 374 calories per 100 g and 47.84 g of carbohydrate against the tortilla version's 24.11 g. If a recipe or a menu gives you 24.9 g of sugar per 100 g, you are looking at the bread, not the fold.
Saturated fat and sodium are the rows to watch
Total fat in a full-size cheese quesadilla is 44.8 g, or 57% of the Daily Value. That sounds like the headline. It isn't. The saturated fat is 22.4 g, which is 112% of the Daily Value — a whole day's worth and then some, from one item. It is unusual for the saturated line to outrun the total-fat line in percentage terms, and it happens here because melted cheese is close to the purest saturated-fat delivery system in a normal American kitchen. The Daily Value framework sets saturated fat at 20 g a day, and the Dietary Guidelines advise keeping it under 10% of calories. One 8-10 inch quesadilla clears both on its own.
Sodium is the second row. At 1,360 mg the full-size quesadilla covers 59% of the 2,300 mg Daily Value, roughly three-fifths of a teaspoon of table salt. Cheese is salted, tortillas are salted, and nothing about the cooking removes any of it.
The credit side is real, though. Thirty-point-nine grams of protein is 62% of the Daily Value, and it arrives without meat, which is genuinely useful if you are building a meatless lunch that still has to hold you until dinner. MyPlate's protein guidance treats dairy protein as a legitimate anchor. The 3.3 g of fiber is modest but not nothing, and it comes from the tortilla rather than the filling.
If you are watching saturated fat, the 5-6 inch quesadilla at 342 calories carries 10.8 g of saturated fat instead of 22.4 g — the same food, just under half the load. That 10.8 g is our own scaling of the USDA 100 g figure (11.56 g per 100 g), not a listed USDA serving.
How does a cheese quesadilla compare?
| Dish | Per 100 g | US serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheese quesadilla | 368 kcal | 1 oz (28 g) | 103 kcal |
| Beef empanada, restaurant | 335 kcal | 1 oz (28 g) | 94 kcal |
| Fried mozzarella sticks | 333 kcal | 1 oz (28 g) | 93 kcal |
| Chicken fingers, kids' menu | 330 kcal | 1 oz (28 g) | 92 kcal |
Our take: the cheese quesadilla is the densest of these four, ounce for ounce, and it is the only one of them that was never dropped in a fryer. Deep-fried mozzarella at 333 calories per 100 g comes in below a pan-toasted tortilla with cheese in it, which is a fair reminder that cooking method matters less than how much cheese and starch are in the thing. Where the quesadilla holds its own is protein — 15.93 g per 100 g, ahead of the empanada's 11.31 g and the mozzarella sticks' 15.82 g. Treat a full 8-10 inch quesadilla as a meal, not a side, because at 714 calories it is priced like one.
Most popular cheese quesadilla brands in the United States
Ranked by how widely each product appears among foods sold in the United States, from the BodyPal food database of over 3.3 million products. Calories are the figures printed on each Nutrition Facts label, checked against USDA FoodData Central.
| Product | Calories (per 100 g) |
|---|---|
| Green Chile Food Company Bean & Cheese Quesadillas | 273 cal |
| Arizona Gold Stuffed Double Cheese Quesadilla | 232 cal |
| Kidfresh Cheese Quesadillas | 227 cal |
| El Monterey Signature Chicken & Monterey Jack Cheese Quesadillas | 204 cal |
| Delimex White Meat Chicken & Cheese Quesadillas | 204 cal |
| Good & Gather Chicken & Cheese Quesadilla Cones | 204 cal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Cheese quesadilla FAQs
How many calories are in a cheese quesadilla?
A standard 8-10 inch cheese quesadilla holds 714 calories at 194 g, or 368 calories per 100 g. That is the USDA restaurant-style record: flour tortilla, melted cheese, nothing else. Add sour cream, guacamole or rice on the side and the plate climbs higher still.
How many calories in a small cheese quesadilla?
A 5-6 inch cheese quesadilla is 342 calories. It weighs about 93 g, and at 368 calories per 100 g that is our own arithmetic from the USDA figure rather than a listed serving. USDA does list three of them together at 279 g and 1,027 calories.
How many calories are in a chicken cheese quesadilla?
A chicken cheese quesadilla is 240 calories for one 113 g piece, or 212 calories per 100 g. Adding chicken lowers the density because lean meat displaces cheese and oil, so per gram it is lighter than the plain cheese version at 368 calories per 100 g.
How much protein is in a cheese quesadilla?
One 8-10 inch cheese quesadilla carries 30.9 g of protein, 62% of the FDA Daily Value of 50 g. That is a lot for a meatless dish, and it comes almost entirely from the melted cheese. The 5-6 inch version gives 14.8 g, still a solid lunch number.
How many carbs are in a cheese quesadilla?
One 8-10 inch cheese quesadilla has 46.8 g of carbohydrate, 17% of the Daily Value, of which 3.3 g is fiber and 4.3 g is sugar. The tortilla is doing all of that work. A 5-6 inch quesadilla drops to 22.4 g of carbohydrate.
How much sodium is in a cheese quesadilla?
One 8-10 inch cheese quesadilla carries 1,360 mg of sodium, 59% of the 2,300 mg Daily Value and roughly three-fifths of a teaspoon of table salt. Cheese and the tortilla are both salted, so there is no low-sodium version short of making it smaller.
Is a cheese quesadilla healthy?
A cheese quesadilla delivers 30.9 g of protein and 3.3 g of fiber, but also 22.4 g of saturated fat, 112% of the Daily Value in one 8-10 inch round. As a small 5-6 inch portion at 342 calories it fits a normal lunch; full size, it is a splurge.
How many calories in half a cheese quesadilla?
Half of an 8-10 inch cheese quesadilla is about 357 calories at 97 g, our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure rather than a listed serving. That is close to a whole 5-6 inch quesadilla at 342 calories, so cutting one in half and boxing the rest works.
Similar foods
- Thousand Island Dressing — 216 cal per dipping-size container
- Gouda cheese — 75 cal per slice
- Cheese — 113 cal per slice
- Oat flour — 105 cal for 1/4 cup
- Condensed Milk — 122 cal per 2 tbsp
- Honey — 64 cal per tablespoon
Count it without the math
Point the camera at the plate and BodyPal counts the quesadilla for you, cheese and all.
