How many calories are in a chicken cheese quesadilla?
A full 140 g chicken cheese quesadilla, one folded tortilla with chicken and melted cheese inside, carries 402 calories. Per 100 g it runs 287 calories. Cut it into four wedges and each one is 100. The cheese does most of the damage here: 7.1 g of saturated fat, 35% of a day's limit.
You'd need to walk about 80 minutes to burn the 402 calories in one full circle (140 g).
How long does it take to burn off 402 kcal of chicken quesadilla?
One full circle (140 g) is 402 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 402 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 1 hr 20 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 50 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 57 min |
| Jogging | 47 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 1 hr 29 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 (140 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- Chicken quesadilla quick facts
- US servings from one wedge to the whole circle
- Cheese only vegetable and beef quesadillas
- Sodium is the row that runs out first
- How does a chicken quesadilla compare
- Most popular chicken cheese quesadilla brands
- Chicken quesadilla FAQs
Chicken quesadilla quick facts
The row behind every number on this page is FNDDS 2708593, "Quesadilla, chicken", from the 2021-2023 survey release. It describes the finished, griddled thing: flour tortilla, cooked chicken, melted cheese. That matters, because the two closest survey rows sit right next to it and neither is what most people are holding. "Cheese only" drops the chicken and leans harder on the cheese, and "chicken, with vegetables" thins the same filling with peppers and onions.
The household portions attached to this record are the ones a real plate uses: a full circle, a half, a triangular piece. So the arithmetic below never asks you to weigh anything you would not already recognize.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per 1 full circle (140 g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 287 | 402 | 20% |
| Total fat | 12.99 g | 18.2 g | 23% |
| Saturated fat | 5.06 g | 7.1 g | 35% |
| Carbohydrate | 27.32 g | 38.2 g | 14% |
| Dietary fiber | 1.9 g | 2.7 g | 10% |
| Total sugars | 2.15 g | 3.0 g | — |
| Protein | 14.45 g | 20.2 g | 40% |
| Sodium | 601 mg | 841 mg | 37% |
% 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 label rows are missing on purpose. Added sugars and trans fat are not published in this FNDDS edition for mixed dishes, so there is nothing honest to print in those cells. Cholesterol and potassium are published: a full circle carries 60 mg of cholesterol, 20% of the Daily Value, and 214 mg of potassium, only 5%. The FDA's Daily Value reference is the source for every percentage in that column.
US servings from one wedge to the whole circle
| Serving | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz | 28 g | 81 kcal |
| 1 triangular piece | 35 g | 100 kcal |
| 1 half circle | 70 g | 201 kcal |
| 1 cup, cut up | 95 g | 273 kcal |
| 1 full circle | 140 g | 402 kcal |
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 287 kcal |
The full circle, the half, the wedge and the cup are all USDA household measures for this record. The ounce is our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure, not a USDA serving, and it is there for anyone logging leftovers on a kitchen scale.
The cup is the row worth staring at. A cup of cut-up quesadilla weighs 95 g and delivers 273 calories, which is more than two wedges but less than a whole circle. Volume measures behave badly with folded food: how tightly the pieces pack changes what fits, so the same cup can hide a 40-calorie swing. If you have the choice, count wedges instead. Four of them make the circle, and each is a flat 100.
Restaurant quesadillas are a different animal. Chain versions are routinely two to three times the size of this 140 g circle, often cut from a 12-inch tortilla, so a sit-down order can land closer to 900 or 1,200 calories than to 402. Use this page for the homemade or frozen version, and read the chain's own menu numbers for theirs.
Cheese only vegetable and beef quesadillas
| Version | Per 100 g | Typical piece | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken quesadilla | 287 kcal | 1 full circle (140 g) | 402 kcal |
| Cheese quesadilla, no meat | 316 kcal | 1 full circle (120 g) | 379 kcal |
| Chicken quesadilla with vegetables | 270 kcal | 1 full circle (160 g) | 432 kcal |
| Beef or pork quesadilla | 305 kcal | 1 full circle (140 g) | 427 kcal |
| Half a chicken quesadilla | 287 kcal | 1 half circle (70 g) | 201 kcal |
| Chicken chimichanga | 304 kcal | 1 item, any size (190 g) | 578 kcal |
| Chicken taquito | 269 kcal | 1 small or regular taquito (70 g) | 188 kcal |
Here is the part almost every calorie page gets backwards. The cheese-only quesadilla is the densest of the four full-circle quesadillas at 316 calories per 100 g, higher than the chicken version's 287. But its circle weighs 120 g rather than 140 g, so the plate in front of you is 379 calories, the lightest of those four full circles. Density lost to weight.
The vegetable version does the same trick in reverse. At 270 calories per 100 g it is the leanest per gram of the four, yet its circle weighs 160 g and lands at 432 calories, the highest of those four full circles. Peppers and onions add water and bulk, not savings, unless you keep the tortilla the same size and eat less of it.
Beef or pork sits where you would expect: 305 per 100 g and 427 per 140 g circle, about 25 calories over the chicken for the same weight, almost entirely from fattier meat. Step outside the quesadilla family and the gaps widen. A chicken chimichanga is fried rather than griddled and runs 578 calories for one item, and a chicken taquito, rolled small and light on cheese, is 188.
Frozen supermarket quesadillas are a category of their own. Across six US brands the labeled density runs 204 to 247 calories per 100 g, all of them below the FNDDS 287, because factory versions use less cheese per square inch than a home griddle does. A single-serve frozen chicken quesadilla of 113 g lands between 231 and 270 calories, and a three-piece mini pack of 85 g is about 210.
Sodium is the row that runs out first
Calories are not the constraint in a quesadilla. Salt is. One full circle carries 841 mg of sodium, 37% of the 2,300 mg Daily Value, while the same circle uses only 20% of a 2,000-calorie day. Sodium is burning through your daily budget nearly twice as fast as calories are. In table-salt terms that is roughly a third of a teaspoon in one folded tortilla, before any salsa touches it.
Saturated fat behaves the same way. Total fat on a full circle is 18.2 g, a reasonable 23% of the Daily Value, but 7.1 g of it is saturated, which is 35% of the 20 g limit. The cheese sets that ceiling, not the tortilla and not the chicken. If you are watching saturated fat, using less cheese moves the number more than swapping any other ingredient.
The row that earns its keep is protein: 20.2 g in one circle, 40% of the Daily Value, which is a genuinely strong showing for a handheld lunch and puts a quesadilla in the same league as a chicken sandwich. MyPlate's protein guidance treats that as a solid contribution toward a day's needs. Fiber is the weak spot at 2.7 g, 10% of the Daily Value, which a side of beans or the vegetable version would fix. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans push in both directions here at once: more fiber, less sodium and saturated fat.
How does a chicken quesadilla compare
| Quesadilla | Per 100 g | US serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 287 kcal | 1 full circle, 140 g | 402 kcal |
| Cheese only | 316 kcal | 1 full circle, 120 g | 379 kcal |
| Beef or pork | 305 kcal | 1 full circle, 140 g | 427 kcal |
| Chicken with vegetables | 270 kcal | 1 full circle, 160 g | 432 kcal |
Our take: for weight loss, half a chicken quesadilla at 201 calories with a salad beats a whole cheese-only one at 379, because you keep the 10 g of protein and lose the fat. For appetite control at a full meal, the chicken version is the pick of the four: it delivers the most protein per calorie of any row here, 14.45 g per 100 g against 11.29 g for the vegetable version. And ignore the per-100-g column when you are choosing at the counter. Only the cheese-only circle is lighter than the chicken one on the plate, and it is the densest food on the table.
Most popular chicken 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) |
|---|---|
| 505 Southwestern Chicken Quesadilla | 239 cal |
| Windsor Mini Quesadillas Chicken & Cheese | 247 cal |
| EVOL Chipotle Chicken Quesadilla | 234 cal |
| Excelline Chicken Quesadillas | 239 cal |
| Tina's Monterey Jack Style & Chicken Quesadillas | 212 cal |
| El Monterey Charbroiled Chicken & Monterey Jack Cheese Quesadillas | 204 cal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Chicken quesadilla FAQs
How many calories are in a chicken cheese quesadilla?
402 calories in one full circle weighing 140 g, which is 287 calories per 100 g. That single quesadilla also brings 20.2 g of protein, 18.2 g of fat and 841 mg of sodium. USDA lists it as a griddled flour tortilla folded over cooked chicken and melted cheese.
How many calories in half a chicken quesadilla?
201 calories for a half circle of 70 g. It carries 10.1 g of protein, 9.1 g of fat and about 421 mg of sodium, which is 18% of the Daily Value. Half a quesadilla with a salad makes a reasonable lunch under 300 calories.
How many calories in one quesadilla wedge?
100 calories for one triangular piece of 35 g, exactly a quarter of the 140 g circle. That is the easiest unit to count, because four wedges rebuild the whole quesadilla and each one is a flat hundred. Two wedges match half the circle at 201 calories.
Is a chicken quesadilla high in protein?
Yes, 20.2 g in one full circle, which is 40% of the Daily Value from a single handheld item. Per 100 g it holds 14.45 g of protein, more than the cheese-only version at 13.36 g and the vegetable version at 11.29 g. Chicken plus cheese does the work.
How much sodium is in a chicken quesadilla?
841 mg in one full circle, 37% of the 2,300 mg Daily Value, or roughly a third of a teaspoon of table salt. Per 100 g the figure is 601 mg. Sodium uses up a day's allowance far faster than the 402 calories use up an energy budget.
Cheese quesadilla vs chicken quesadilla calories?
379 calories for a cheese-only circle against 402 for the chicken one, so the cheese version is lighter on the plate. Per 100 g the order flips: cheese only is 316 and chicken is 287. The cheese circle simply weighs less, 120 g rather than 140 g.
How many carbs are in a chicken quesadilla?
38.2 g of carbohydrate in one full circle, 14% of the Daily Value, of which only 3.0 g is sugars and 2.7 g is fiber. Per 100 g that is 27.32 g. Nearly all of it comes from the flour tortilla, so a smaller tortilla is the lever.
How many calories in a frozen chicken quesadilla?
Between 231 and 270 calories for a typical 113 g single-serve piece, based on US brand labels running 204 to 247 calories per 100 g. A 85 g pack of three minis is about 210. Frozen versions sit below the USDA figure of 287 per 100 g because they use less cheese.
Similar foods
- Wonton wrapper — 23 cal per wonton wrapper
- Cheeseburger — 488 cal per cheeseburger
- Honey — 64 cal per tablespoon
- Maple Syrup — 216 cal for 1/4 cup
- Condensed Milk — 122 cal per 2 tbsp
- Mac And Cheese — 513 cal per cup
Count it without the math
Point the camera at the plate and BodyPal counts the quesadilla for you, wedge by wedge.
