The 5-Minute Meal Chef Samin Nosrat Makes When She’s Too Tired To Cook (It’s My Go-To, Too)

Years ago, after I'd gone through a hard breakup, moved back into my own apartment, and started a new job that had me commuting and getting home after dark, I felt like I was just surviving. Most nights, I'd stand in my tiny kitchen—coat still on, bag on the floor, starving—and make the same thing: a quesadilla. Peppers, onions, and cheese were non-negotiables, and sometimes beans or leftover chicken.

It was satisfying, easy, and felt like the only meal I could muster to care for myself. I didn't realize at the time that I was practicing a form of survival cooking that even the most celebrated chefs rely on.

When our associate editor, Haley Scarpino, interviewed Samin Nosrat about her new cookbook Good Things, Samin revealed that her favorite meal after an exhausting day when she's too tired to cook is an open-faced quesadilla: just cheese, a good tortilla, and heat. I immediately understood.

Because when you're depleted, overwhelmed, or simply too tired to think, a quesadilla asks almost nothing of you while giving you warmth, comfort, and the quiet satisfaction of feeding yourself well. It's the edible equivalent of a deep exhale.

What Makes a Quesadilla So Comforting?

For me, the combination of melted cheese and some carb has always represented uncomplicated, childhood joy. They're also remarkably democratic. My nine-year-old can make them, college students survive on them, and acclaimed culinary influencers like Samin choose them. It's pretty rare for a food to span that entire spectrum. Part of this universal appeal comes from their affordability—tortillas and cheese are among the least expensive pantry staples.

They might even be nostalgic, too, carrying little life stories in their folds. Maybe it was your after-school snack, your late-night college staple, or the meal you now make for your own kids. Quesadillas are home cooking at its best: simple ingredients, applied with intention, becoming so much more than the sum of their parts.

How To Make Samin's Brilliant Open-Faced Quesadilla

Samin's quesadillas are different from the traditional fold-over method. She starts by heating a skillet over high heat and giving it a light coat of nonstick spray. Then, she places the cheese directly on the pan. She prefers queso Oaxaca, a gorgeous Mexican string cheese, but I only had standard mozzarella. The cheese begins to melt and bubble immediately.

After a minute or so, the cheese will have melted and browned, forming beautiful bubbles of crispy, caramelized cheese along the edges for incredible texture. Flip the tortilla, give it another quick minute to brown, and slide it onto a plate. Finish with a squeeze of lime, a dollop of salsa, or a splash of hot sauce, and eat it immediately while it's still hot.

A Blank Canvas for Dinner

While the ultimate comfort is the simplest cheese version, the beauty of the quesadilla is its endless adaptability. It can be a canvas for whatever you have on hand, and the canvas itself can even play a starring role.

Samin shared her love for Caramelo Sonoran-Style Flour Tortillas, "a splurge she orders by mail," Haley told me. These tortillas are thin, delicate, and only par-cooked, which means you finish them at home for the absolute freshest taste. If you can't splurge on mail-order tortillas, the principle is the same: buy the best, freshest, most pliable tortillas you can find.

​​While Samin loves the simple cheese version, don't be afraid to load yours up. I still love adding sautéed peppers, poblano chiles, onions, and leftover grilled chicken or refried beans. For a different experience, swap out the Mexican cheese for feta and spinach, or even ham and cheddar. There's comfort in having one thing you can count on at the end of a chaotic day, and for many of us, this is still it.