Easy Butter Chicken Enchiladas (under 1 hour!)

Butter chicken enchiladas are an incredible fusion of an enchilada casserole using Indian butter chicken sauce in place of enchilada sauce. They are packed with flavor with a quick mushroom chickpea filling and the delicious 1 bowl butter sauce! 4 steps! Nutfree Soyfree

butter chicken enchiladas in the baking pan

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I mean, why not use that amazing butter chicken sauce in every possible way and every possible format? That’s what is going on with all of these these butter chicken-inspired dishes that I’ve been coming up with. There’s the butter chicken lasagna bake, butter chicken ramen, Butter chickpeas, and butter chicken bao.

And now I’ve created this butter chicken enchilada. It has a hearty mushroom, pepper, and chickpea filling with a quick version of butter chicken sauce made by simply mixing together the ingredients in a bowl.

Add half of the sauce to the filling, and cook it, then fill up the tortillas. Use the rest of the sauce over the tops of the rolled tortillas along with some cheese and hot sauce and bake. 4 steps!

That’s it!

butter chicken enchiladas on the plate next to the baking pan

This recipe basically came about because I would make different varieties of enchiladas to use up our leftovers. And sometimes there are a lot of leftovers, because I’ll cook several dishes on the same day. When I do that, hubbs ends up eating smaller portions each of the dishes, leaving leftovers of everything.

Eating the same dish more than a couple of times can be difficult. So, I get creative and combine dishes to create formats so we finish all the food. That’s how this butter chicken enchilada recipe was born! I fill up the tortillas with leftovers and make the quick sauce to brush all over, bake and serve.

Why You’ll Love Butter Chicken Enchiladas

hearty enchiladas in creamy, Indian butter chicken sauce
ready in under an hour
amazing mix of flavors and textures!
nut-free and soy-free with easy gluten-free and oil-free options

close-up of butter chicken enchiladas on the plate

More Vegan Enchiladas

Recipe Card

Print Recipe

Butter Chicken Enchiladas

Prep Time15 minutes

Cook Time42 minutes

Total Time57 minutes

Course: Main

Cuisine: Indian Fusion

Keyword: butter chicken enchiladas

Servings: 4

Author: Vegan Richa

Ingredients

For the butter chicken sauce:

2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup full fat coconut milk
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves, kasuri methi. You can also use 1/2 teaspoon oregano instead.
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

For the filling:

1 teaspoon oil
1/2 cup chopped or sliced onion
1 cup chopped or sliced bell pepper I use a mix of red and green.
2 ounces sliced mushrooms
1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
15 ounce can chickpeas drained or 1 1/2 cups cooked
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon lime juice
4 to 6 large flour tortillas

For finishing the enchiladas:

hot sauce
vegan cheese shreds of choice such as mozzarella

For garnish:

chopped red onion cilantro, more hot sauce, if needed

Instructions

Make the sauce.

In a shallow bowl, add all of the sauce ingredients and mix really well. Press and mix, so the tomato paste fully dissolves into the coconut milk mixture. Set this aside.

Make the filling.

Heat the oil in a medium to large skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion, peppers, mushrooms, ginger-garlic paste, and a good pinch of salt and mix well. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, then mix in the chickpeas, salt, black pepper, and lime juice. Then, mix in half of the butter chicken sauce. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until the sauce is thickened a little bit. Taste and adjust salt and flavor.
Once the filling is cooked down to preference, then take it off of the heat.

Assemble the enchiladas.

To the remaining sauce, add 1 to 2 teaspoons of hot sauce(optional). Thin it out with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water.
Pour about 1/3 of the remaining sauce into a large baking dish (I use 8 by 11) inch) that will fit at least 4 to 5 rolled tortillas , spread the sauce out.
Take one tortilla at a time and fill it with the filling. Roll it up in an overlapping fashion, and place it seam-side-down in the baking dish. Repeat for all of the tortillas. I use a 6-inch wheat tortilla, but if you’re using larger tortillas, you will get 3 or 4 enchiladas. For smaller tortillas, you can get about 6 to 8.
Once all the tortillas are filled and placed in the baking dish, drizzle the remaining butter chicken sauce all over the tortillas to coat well. You can brush it all over, as well. Then, top it with the vegan cheese and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling really well and some of the edges of the tortillas are starting to turn golden.
Remove the baking dish from the oven, and top with chopped onions, cilantro, and more hot sauce, if you like. Serve immediately.

Notes

This recipe is nut-free and soy-free. It can be easily made gluten-free using gluten-free tortillas.
Oil-free, use broth to sauté the filling.
To make this without coconut milk, use cashew milk instead.
Alternate protein options: you can use about 8 to 10 ounces of cubed tofu instead of the chickpeas. Or you can use 3 ounces of soy curls soaked in broth and then drained and then added in along with the mushrooms.

veggies, beans, tortillas, and other butter chicken enchiladas ingredients in bowls on a kitchen counter

Ingredients and Substitutions

tomato paste and coconut milk – This is the base for your quick butter chicken sauce. Make sure that you use full fat coconut milk for the best flavor and texture!
ground spices – Paprika, garam masala, coriander, fenugreek, garlic, and salt season the butter chicken sauce.
aromatics – Onion and bell pepper are the veggies in the enchilada filling.
mushrooms – Adds a meaty texture and more flavor to the filling.
ginger-garlic paste – Seasons the filling even more!
chickpeas – Adds protein and hearty texture to the butter chicken enchilada filling.
salt, pepper, and lime juice – Finish seasoning the filling.
tortillas – Use medium size flour tortillas for these enchiladas, gluten-free if needed. I use a six-inch wheat tortilla, but if you’re using larger tortillas, you will get three or four enchiladas. For smaller tortillas, you can get about six to eight.
hot sauce and vegan cheese shreds – These will top the enchiladas before baking.
garnishes – Just before serving, garnish with chopped red onion, cilantro, and more hot sauce.

Tips

Make sure to mix the sauce well, so all of the tomato paste dissolves into the coconut milk mixture.
Spread the sauce well onto the bottom of the pan to prevent the enchiladas from sticking.

How to Make Butter Chicken Enchiladas

In a shallow bowl, add all of the butter sauce ingredients and mix really well. Press and mix, so the tomato paste fully dissolves into the coconut milk mixture. Set the sauce aside.

spices added to a bowl with coconut milk and tomato paste

quick butter chicken sauce, after mixing together

Now, make the filling.

Heat the oil in a medium to large skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion, peppers, mushrooms, ginger-garlic paste, and a good pinch of salt and mix well.

Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, then mix in the chickpeas, salt, black pepper, and lime juice.

adding chickpeas to the pan of cooked aromatics

Then, mix in half of the butter chicken sauce. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until the sauce is thickened a little bit. Taste and adjust salt and flavor.

adding remaining filling ingredients to the pan with the chickpeas

Once the filling is cooked down to preference, then take it off of the heat.

Then, it’s time to assemble and bake the enchiladas.

To the remaining sauce, you can add some hot sauce, if you like. I usually add 1 to 2 teaspoons of hot sauce to the remaining enchiladas sauce and also thin it out with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water.

Pour about 1/3 of the remaining sauce into a large baking dish that will fit at least 4 to 5 rolled tortillas and spread it out.

butter chicken sauce spread onto the bottom of a large baking dish

Take one tortilla at a time and fill it with the filling. Roll it up in an overlapping fashion, and place it seam-side-down in the baking dish. Repeat for all of the tortillas. I use a 6-inch wheat tortilla, but if you’re using larger tortillas, you will get 3 or 4 enchiladas. For smaller tortillas, you can get about 6 to 8.

Once all the tortillas are filled and placed in the baking dish, drizzle the remaining butter chicken sauce all over the tortillas to coat well. You can brush it all over, as well. Then, top it with the vegan cheese.

rolled enchiladas in the pan, toped with butter chicken sauce

butter chicken enchiladas in the baking pan topped with vegan cheese, before baking

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling really well and some of the edges of the tortillas are starting to turn golden.

butter chicken enchiladas in the baking pan, after baking

Remove the baking dish from the oven, and top with chopped onions, cilantro, and more hot sauce, if you like. Serve immediately.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is butter chicken sauce?

Butter chicken sauce is an Indian sauce made with tomato, cream but we use coconut milk for dairyfree, and spices. It’s normally simmered on the stovetop with chicken, but here we are making a quick, no-cook version of the sauce and using it as enchilada sauce!

Is this recipe allergy friendly?

This recipe is nut-free and soy-free. It can be easily made gluten-free using gluten-free tortillas. To make it oil-free, use broth to sauté the filling. To make this without coconut milk, use cashew milk instead.