I think I have mentioned many times before but I will say it again – Mexican food has always been my favorite cuisine and after starting AIP that’s the one I miss the most! But I am slowly making my AIP versions of my favorite recipes. I posted recently a recipe of Chicken tostadas which taste fabulous btw! Shrimp Quesadillas used to be another favorite dish of mine and although I make shrimp tacos regularly, I had never tried making quesadillas until now. I have been wanting to try making quesadillas ever since I made my ‘nacho cheese dip‘. So glad I finally tried it! It was such a satisfying meal!
Vegetable and Bean quesadillas used to be my most favorite and so I made this quesadilla with broccoli and shrimp. Of course you can replace the broccoli with any other vegetable/s too! I do recommend that you add some vegetable as otherwise this recipe will become very carb dense. I additionally also add some shredded lettuce inside and also like to have it with some fresh salad leaves on the side. That way it becomes more of a balanced meal.
It is quite simple to make these quesadillas. Even though there are many components to it, each of the components can be put together pretty quickly. You grill or cook the shrimp. You make a ‘cheese sauce’. You make homemade cassava tortillas or you can use store bought cassava tortillas(make sure they are AIP compliant!) Then just put them all together! Easy Peasy!
The main ingredient for the cheese sauce is boiled cassava. You can use both fresh cassava or frozen cassava. Just make sure to cook them with a bit of salt until they are really soft. If they are not cooked well, then the texture of the sauce won’t be smooth and creamy! 
- 12 large shrimp, thawed, peeled and deveined
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp cumin powder (Omit for AIP)
- About 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 1 cup boiled and mashed yuca/cassava (remove any strands)
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ cup hot water
- 1-2 tbsp avocado oil
- 8 Homemade Cassava tortillas (or store bought compliant cassava tortillas)
- Shredded lettuce/ salad mix
- In a mixing bowl add the shrimp and salt, oregano,garlic powder, lemon juice and cumin powder (if adding). Mix thoroughly using your hands. Keep this aside for 10-15 mins.
- Heat a skillet and add the oil. When hot, add the shrimp to the skillet and let cook for 3 mins on medium heat. Then flip and cook for 1 more min. Transfer the shrimp to a plate. Keep aside. Leave any juices on the skillet and to the same skillet, add additional oil if needed and add the broccoli florets. Cover and cook for 2 minutes on medium heat. Turn heat off.
- Transfer all the ingredients listed under 'cheese sauce' to a blender or food processor and blend until creamy and until there are no lumps. Keep aside.
- Heat a skillet and brush lightly with oil.
- Place a tortilla on the skillet. Place 3 shrimp and a few of the cooked broccoli on the tortilla. Place some lettuce on top. Using a spoon spread about 2 tbsps of the 'cheese sauce' over the shrimp and broccoli mixture. Place another tortilla on top. Cook for 1 min and press hard on the top tortilla so that it sticks to the 'cheese sauce'. Brush with oil on the top and carefully flip the tortilla using a large spatula and cook on the other side for 1 min. Transfer to a serving dish. Using a pizza cutter, cut into wedges.
- Repeat this process for the rest of the tortillas and shrimp.
- Serve the quesadillas warm with the remaining extra cheese sauce on the side!
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