My quest to replicate favorite restaurant dishes has been, well, let’s just say not always successful. There’s usually some indescribable something missing, a close-but-no-cigar rendering of what my tastebuds crave. But once in a long while, my wing-it kitchen experiments manage to outdo the original. Such is the case with this recipe for Vegan Roasted Butternut Squash Quesadillas with Smoky Chipotle Sauce.

I tasted the original dish at a so-so pub in my area, where I wished I could offer the chef a few tweaks, like Use less cheese and oil! and The sauce is too thick and tangy! The vegetables, especially the squash, also seemed like they may have been frozen instead of fresh, and the spices weren’t especially Mexican, lending a dull, too-mild flavor to what should be a zesty extravaganza of a recipe.

With these critiques in mind, I picked up ingredients at the grocery store and got to work. It took only three tries—all of which I thoroughly enjoyed sampling—before I came up with these better-than-the-original Vegan Roasted Butternut Squash Quesadillas.   

The keys, as it turns out, are not just fresh ingredients, but also the additions of cumin and Mexican oregano, two traditional spices in south-of-the-border dishes. Both add a brilliant contrast to the sweetness of the roasted butternut squash, and give the recipe a bit of non-heat zing.

Make sure to use Mexican oregano for this dish, not the Mediterranean oregano that’s available in the spice section of most grocery stores. The Mexican oregano plant is related to lemon verbena, which gives it an undertone of citrus that really brightens the flavor of anything it’s added to.

Also, if you’ve never had chiles in adobo before, note that they are spicy. And by spicy I mean “runny-nose-and-agita hot”—this is coming from an Italian-American whose family regularly ate spicy pepperoncini and other hot peppers straight out of the jar or saute pan, purely for the fun of watching each other sweat across the dinner table. Chiles in adobo also make sauces hotter the longer they stand, so err on the side of using a smaller amount first and testing as you go.

The filling for these Vegan Roasted Butternut Squash Quesadillas keeps well in the fridge for about a week, so you can make it in advance and then skip to the assembly, baking, and serving when you’re ready for a hearty, filling dinner that’s also not a big calorie-buster.

Vegan Butternut Squash Quesadillas with Smoky Chipotle Sauce

Makes 4 quesadillas

Ingredients

1 large butternut squash

Olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper

1 large onion, sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

1 teaspoon cumin

2 teaspoons Mexican oregano

8 whole wheat or flour burrito-size tortillas

1 cup vegan mozzarella, Cheddar, or Monterey jack cheese

Handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

2–3 tablespoons chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

12 ounces vegan sour cream, store-bought or homemade

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or silicone liners. Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise, then cut each side in half to create 4 pieces. Place them cut side up on the baking sheet, and drizzle or brush with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, until the flesh is tender when poked with a fork. Set aside to cool. Lower the oven to 350°F.
3. In a saute pan, heat about 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until just starting to brown. Add the onions and garlic, season with the cumin, Mexican oregano, and salt and pepper to taste, and cook until golden.
4. Scoop out the flesh of the cooled squash and place in a bowl. Break up any large chunks with a fork. Add the mushrooms and onions and mix. Taste, and adjust seasonings if needed.
5. Place two tortillas side by side on the baking sheet. Top each with 1/4 of the filling and smooth out to within 1/2 inch of the edges of the tortilla. Sprinkle with 1/4 of the vegan cheese and cilantro, and top with a tortilla; press it down gently. Repeat on a second baking sheet, if making all quesadillas at the same time. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the top tortilla begins to turn golden.
6. While the quesadillas are baking, make the sauce by removing the chiles in adobo from their can; reserve any liquid that comes with them. Chop the chiles finely, then stir them and the reserved liquid into the sour cream. Taste, and adjust heat level by adding more chiles, if desired.
7. Place 1 quesadilla on each plate. Using a pizza cutter, cut into 6 to 8 slices apiece. Serve with sauce spread over the top, or in a bowl for dipping.