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Crispy Butter Chicken Tacos Recipe

This Crispy Butter Chicken Tacos Recipe is jam packed with a nice blend of creamy, savory and cheesy flavors that leaves you wanting more!
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients

Chicken Marinade

  • 1 pound chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bite size pieces
  • 1/4 cup whole milk yogurt
  • 1 tablespoon avocado or preferred oil, plus more for cooking
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon paprika or kashmiri chili powder
  • 2 garlic cloves, grated
  • 1 teaspoon grated ginger or ginger paste
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon fine kosher salt, adjust to preference
  • 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Butter Chicken Sauce

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
  • 1/2 tablespoon avocado or preferred oil
  • 1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, grated or minced
  • 1 teaspoon grated ginger or ginger paste
  • 1 cup tomato sauce or passata
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon sugar or honey, optional but recommended
  • 1 teaspoon paprika or kashmiri chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon fine kosher salt, adjust to preference
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 cup water or unsalted chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream

Seasoned Onion Topping (optional)

  • 1/2 cup red onions, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lime or lemon juice
  • 1 heaping tablespoon fresh cilantro, finely chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  • salt and black pepper, to taste

Taco Assembly 

  • 6 taco sized flour tortillas
  • 1 1/2 to 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  • fresh cilantro, finely chopped
  • avocado or preferred oil, for frying

Instructions

Chicken Marinade 

  • In a large mixing bowl, add the chicken, yogurt, lemon juice, oil, grated garlic, grated ginger and seasonings (paprika, cumin, coriander, garam masala, turmeric, salt and black pepper). Give the ingredients a thorough mix.
  • Cover the bowl and let the chicken marinate for 20 to 30 minutes. For a longer marinade, transfer the covered bowl to fridge and let the chicken marinate for 1 to 2 hours or overnight.
  • When ready to cook the chicken, bring to room temperature (about 15 to 20 minutes) before proceeding to the next steps.

Butter Chicken 

  • Heat up some oil (about 1 to 2 tablespoons) in a large saucepan pan under medium high heat.
  • Add in the marinaded chicken and cook while stirring intermittently until the chicken is mostly cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the chicken into a large bowl. Set aside.
  • In the same pan used to cook the chicken under medium heat, add 1 tablespoon butter and 1/2 tablespoon oil.
  • Once the butter is fully melted, add in the onions, garlic and ginger. Cook the onion mixture while stirring until the onions start to soften, about 1 to 2 minutes.
  • Mix in the seasonings (paprika, garam masala powder, cumin, coriander, salt and black pepper), sugar and then the tomato paste. Cook the mixture while stirring to develop its flavors, about 1 to 2 minutes.
  • Next, mix in the tomato sauce and water (or broth). Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes or until it starts thicken. Cover the pan with a lid if the sauce starts to splatter.
  • Mix in the heavy cream and then add the cooked chicken and its juices into sauce. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for an additional 6 to 8 or until the chicken is fully cooked and the sauce has thickened.
  • Mix in the remaining butter until it is fully melted and incorporated into the sauce. Remove the pan from the heat. In a small dish or dip bowl, spoon in enough of the sauce (without the chicken) to fill. Set aside. With the remaining butter chicken, set the pan aside to cool, about 10-12 minutes, before assembling the tacos.
  • As the butter chicken cools, make the seasoned onion topping (optional). Add the onions, finely chopped cilantro, lime juice, onion powder, salt and black pepper into small bowl. Mix to combine and set aside.

Taco Assembly and Frying 

  • On a clean cutting board or kitchen counter, place down a tortilla. On the top half of the tortilla, sprinkle over some mozzarella cheese (about 2 tablespoons). Next, spoon over a portion of the cooled butter chicken mixture. Try to get mostly the chicken without too much of the sauce to avoid ending up with soggy tacos. Sprinkle over some more cheese over the butter chicken (about 2 tablespoons).
  • On the bottom half of the taco, spread a thin layer of the butter chicken sauce. This will help keep the shaped taco closed. Fold over the bottom half of the tortilla over the filling pressing down slightly to form a closed taco.
  • Transfer the taco to a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat process with remaining butter chicken and ingredients for a total of 6 tacos.
  • Heat up some oil (about 1/4 cup) in a large skillet over medium low heat. In batches of 1 to 2 tacos, pan fry the tacos, about 45 to 60 seconds per side, or until golden brown. Transfer fried tacos to a wire cooling rack placed over a baking sheet. If needed, add a little more oil in between frying the batches of tacos to ensure that you get nicely golden brown and crispy tacos.

Serving 

  • Garnish tacos with finely chopped fresh cilantro (optional) and serve immediately while still hot and crispy with the reserved butter chicken sauce (see notes on how to reheat or store sauce for later use) and seasoned onions.
  • I served the butter chicken tacos with a side of my cilantro yogurt sauce recipe (see notes). Enjoy!

Notes

  • I used this Cilantro Yogurt Sauce Recipe to serve with the butter chicken tacos. 
  • For a larger serving of the seasoned onions topping, double the recipe.
  • To reheat leftover butter chicken sauce, add the sauce into a small pan. Under medium heat, warm up the sauce while stirring until hot. The sauce would have thickened up as it cooled so whisk in a few splashes of water or broth to thin out to desired consistency. Once the sauce is heated through, transfer into a small dish or dip bowl and finish off with a sprinkling of fresh chopped cilantro (optional) before serving with tacos.
  • To store leftover butter chicken sauce, transfer into an airtight container and keep in the freezer for 3 to 4 weeks. When ready to use, defrost in the fridge overnight or on the kitchen counter for 1 to 2 hours. Reheat the sauce in a pan under medium heat, while stirring, adding a few splashes of water or broth to thin out to desired consistency.