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
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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!
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
More Vegan Enchiladas
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Butter Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
For the butter chicken sauce:
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup (236.59 ml) 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 ½ teaspoon oregano instead.
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
For the filling:
- 1 teaspoon oil
- ½ cup (80 g) chopped or sliced onion
- 1 cup (149 g) chopped or sliced bell pepper I use a mix of red and green.
- 2 ounces (56.7 g) sliced mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste (or 2 cloves garlic mince, ½ inch ginger minced)
- 15 ounce (425.24 g) can chickpeas drained or 1 ½ cups cooked
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- 4 to 6 medium size 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
- Preheat the oven to 400° F (205° C)
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 ⅓ 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.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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.
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.
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.
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 ⅓ of the remaining sauce into a large baking dish that will fit at least 4 to 5 rolled tortillas and spread it 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.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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!
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.
Adrienne
These were delicious! I doubled the sauce (made the perfect amount!) and used tofu instead of chickpeas. I put little pats of vegan butter on top of the dish before planning on the oven for a decadent restaurant flavor. Will make these again for sure!
Vegan Richa Support
Awesome!
Stephanie
I’m allergic to mushrooms , what is a good substitute
Richa
Use other veggies like peppers zucchini etc or add more chickpeas
Nikki
OMG!! This was amazing! So flavorful! I did use soy curls soaked in veggie broth instead of mushrooms because I’m not a fan of them. And I added in a chopped jalapeño to the filling because we love spice. So easy and quick too!
Vegan Richa Support
Yay!
Marnie
I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! I made the sauce with cashew nuts. Doubled the sauce as we it like saucy – used 2/3 cups cashews with 2 cups water and worked beautifully. The only change to the sauce I made – I added some hot chilli powder for a bit of kick. I subbed the chickpeas with pressure cooked kidney beans that I smashed a bit. I even added leftover cooked diced pumpkin that I had in the fridge. Added more mushrooms too. It seems you can put whatever cooked veg – doesn’t matter cause it’s all about the sauce!! Will be making it again and again in the coming winter months. Thank you for all your wonderful recipes. From Melbourne, Australia.
Vegan Richa Support
All the way from Australia! Welcome
Emma
Holy moly! This was awesome! Wasn’t sure about the combo, but it’s delicious. Non vegan partner also devoured it and asked for it to be on the regular rotation. I didn’t have mushroom and capsicum, so I used a diced sweet potato 👌
Vegan Richa Support
yay! glad you enjoyed!
Pennie Schwartz
I am allergic to coconut. Do you think it would work if I replaced it with cashew milk? I just love all your recipes. I’ve made so many of them and they always have been a big hit! Thank you so much for all you do.
Richa
Yes it will!
Margaret
I made these over the weekend and they were SO good! Such a creative idea and they came together pretty quickly. Thanks for another delicious recipe Richa!
Richa
Awesome !!
Racheal
I was a bit skeptical on this one, seems like an unlikely combination but as usual Richa did not disappoint! This comes together pretty quickly and the whole family enjoyed! Thanks again for our delicious dinner!
Vegan Richa Support
yay! 🙂
Reni L.
Our whole family loved this and it was easy to make as well. Next time I would double the sauce as we wanted it a bit more saucy. I did use more mushrooms, and that turned out just fine. What a great recipe!
Richa
Awesome! Yes just double the sauce!
Manuela
Dear Richa,
I will be trying today, sounds delicious!
Could you please include the European measurements?
Thank you so much!!
Kind regards, Manuela 🥰
Richa
Updated!