Amazing Butter Chicken Nachos — crispy chips loaded with quick stovetop shredded butter chicken and gooey melted cheese. Your new favorite way to chicken nachos! The butter chicken is crazy delicious and absolutely perfect with naan!
Best Butter Chicken Nachos
Instead of traditional Mexican-style shredded chicken, I make an easy stovetop butter chicken and use it to top the tortilla chips. You won’t believe how delicious this butter chicken is—you’ll even want to enjoy it with naan!
This chicken nachos recipe is outrageously tasty—perfect for dinner, entertaining, parties, or game day.
I absolutely love butter chicken and always enjoy coming up with creative variations, like butter chicken pasta or Indian butter shrimp.
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Notes on Key Ingredients
- Chicken: You’ll need one pound of boneless, skinless chicken, and you can use breasts, thighs, or even tenders depending on your preference.
- Ginger & Garlic: I use freshly grated ginger and garlic, but you can substitute with about 2 tablespoons of premade ginger-garlic paste if you like.
- Spices: Use basic Indian butter chicken spices such as kasoori methi, coriander powder, cayenne, Kashmiri chili powder for color, and garam masala; if you don’t have Kashmiri chili powder, just skip it—the butter chicken will be slightly less red but still delicious.
- Tomato: Instead of blanching and pureeing fresh tomatoes like in traditional butter chicken, canned tomato sauce offers a convenient shortcut while giving a rich, smooth, and slightly sweet tomato base that blends perfectly with the cream and spices, but avoid marinara or other jarred sauces.
- Cream: Adding cream gives the dish the signature richness and smooth, velvety texture of traditional butter chicken.
- Cheese: Cheese is essential for nachos, and my favorites for these Indian-style nachos are Monterey Jack or mozzarella because they melt well and does not alter the flavor.
- Chips: I prefer restaurant-style tortilla chips, but any favorite tortilla chips will work, whether triangular or round.
- Toppings: For these Indian nachos, I like using jalapeños, onions, and cilantro, and chopped avocado or sour cream also make tasty additions, while I avoid black beans or salsas because they can overpower the butter chicken flavor.
How to make butter chicken nachos
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Tips for Success
- Make Ahead: Butter chicken can be prepared in advance and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, so you can assemble the nachos with chicken whenever you’re ready.
- Keep the Flavors Authentic: Avoid adding beans, salsa, or pico de gallo, as they can overpower the Indian butter chicken flavor.
- Ginger-Garlic Shortcut: If you prefer, use 2 tablespoons of ginge garlic paste instead of fresh grated ginger and garlic.
- Serve Immediately: Nachos are best enjoyed right out of the oven for perfect texture and flavor; leftover nachos may become soggy and lose their crispiness.
More Indian-ish Appetizers
Butter Chicken Nachos
Amazing Butter Chicken Nachos — crispy chips loaded with quick stovetop shredded butter chicken and gooey melted cheese. Your new favorite way to chicken nachos! The butter chicken is crazy delicious and absolutely perfect with naan!
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Servings: 6 Servings
Calories: 486kcal
Ingredients
For The Butter Chicken
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ teaspoons cumin seeds
- ½ medium onion thinly sliced
- ¾ teaspoon salt divided
- 2 cloves garlic grated
- 2 teaspoons grated ginger (or use 2 tablespoons ginger garlic paste instead of ginger and garlic)
- 1 tablespoon kasoori methi optional
- 2 teaspoons coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper powder (use more to make it spicy)
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder optional
- ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
- 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce or use passata
- 1 pound chicken breast, thighs or tenders (450 gms) (boneless, skinless)
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon honey
To Assemble The Nachos
- 8 ounces tortilla chips
- 2 cups shredded monterrey jack or mozzarella (approximate)
- sliced jalapeno peppers as needed
- thinly sliced onion as needed
- chopped avocado optional
- sour cream optional
Instructions
Make Butter Chicken
- Saute onion. Place a medium pan over medium heat and melt the butter. Add the cumin seeds and let them toast for a few seconds. Stir in the onion and a pinch of salt, and cook for 4–5 minutes until the onions turn golden.
- Cook ginger, garlic & spices. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes. Stir in the spices (kasoori methi, coriander, cayenne, Kashmiri chili, and garam masala) and about 2 tablespoons of water, then cook for 3–4 minutes until the water evaporates and the spices become fragrant and glossy.
- Cook chicken. Add the tomato sauce, ¾ cup water, and the remaining salt. Stir and mix in the chicken. Cover and cook over low–medium heat for 15–20 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked and tender.
- Shred chicken. Turn off the heat. Remove only the cooked chicken to a plate. Let it cool for a few minutes, then shred it into small pieces using two forks.
- Finish. Add the shredded chicken back to the pan along with the cream and honey. Turn the heat back on and stir well. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens into a saucy consistency. Remove from the heat and let it cool; you can refrigerate it at this stage for 2-3 days.
Assemble Nachos
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C). Spread the tortilla chips evenly over a half-size sheet pan—it's fine if they overlap, just make sure they're in an even layer.👉 If you’re using refrigerated butter chicken, stir in a splash of water to loosen the sauce before assembling the nachos, since it tends to thicken as it chills.
- Bake. Layer the chips with the butter chicken, cheese, onion, and jalapeños, in that order. Bake for 9–14 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. 👉 Bake the nachos right before serving— the texture is best hot!
- Serve. Sprinkle on the cilantro and any other toppings you’re using—like chopped avocado or sour cream—and enjoy!
Notes
Make Ahead: Butter chicken can be prepared in advance and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, so you can assemble the nachos with chicken whenever you’re ready.
Keep the Flavors Authentic: Avoid adding beans, salsa, or pico de gallo, as they can overpower the Indian butter chicken flavor.
Ginger-Garlic Paste: If you prefer, use 2 tablespoons of ginge garlic paste instead of fresh grated ginger and garlic.
Serve Immediately: Nachos are best enjoyed right out of the oven for perfect texture and flavor; leftover nachos may become soggy and lose their crispiness.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 Serving | Calories: 486kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 99mg | Sodium: 1278mg | Potassium: 746mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1100IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 264mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutritional information, based on third-party calculations, should be seen as estimates, not guarantees, as various factors like product types, brands, processing methods, and more can alter the nutritional content in recipes.
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