This 30 minute weeknight dinner recipe shortcut uses jarred tikka masala sauce, letting you change things up from basic chicken with these deliciously easy Chicken Tikka Masala Grilled Cheese Wraps!
Let’s mash up a couple of family faves tonight, in these Chicken Tikka Masala Grilled Cheese Wraps! Tender chicken, flavorful tikka masala sauce, and mellow mozzarella come together in a simple 30 minute weeknight dinner recipe, which is a fun twist on your basic grilled cheese. Making these on flatbread wraps also lets that tasty tikka masala flavor shine through, without being too heavy.
What inspired this one? A while back, one of my local grocery stores put out a 50% off prepared foods coupon in their local circular. Hungry at lunchtime one day, I used that coupon to try out their pre-made chicken tikka masala & cheese wrap, which was served on a thicker flatbread (midway between the thinner wrap I used today and naan). While not bad reheated, that pre-made wrap turned out to be fairly soggy from sitting around in the refrigerated section of the store.
So I thought to myself, why not try to make one fresh? Since then I’ve thrown together these types of sandwiches on naan a couple of times, and I’ve made them on wraps a couple of times. Either way, they are just so darn tasty that today I made them again — just to share the idea with you. Hope you enjoy these grilled cheese wraps as much as my family does!
Chicken Tikka Masala Grilled Cheese Wraps
Butter, not pictured… because I forgot
Ingredients
1.25-1.5 lbs chicken tenderloin (or chicken breast sliced thinly), chopped into bite-sized pieces
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp olive oil
15 oz jar tikka masala simmer sauce
4 flatbread wraps
8 oz mozzarella, shredded
2 Tbsp butter, softened
Directions
Use kitchen shears to trim and cut up the chicken. Season to taste with sea salt & pepper.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken pieces for about two minutes, stirring often. At this point the chicken will be browned slightly, but not cooked through; it’ll cook the rest of the way in the sauce.
Reduce heat to medium-low, and pour the jar of tikka masala sauce into the skillet.
Cover the pan and simmer, letting it bubble gently for 10-12 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
Meanwhile, shred the mozzarella.
Once the chicken is cooked, remove it to a separate bowl. Rinse and wipe out the skillet, then return it to the stove.
Spoon some chicken, some sauce, and 1/4 of the shredded mozzarella onto one side of each flatbread wrap. Fold each wrap over the chicken & cheese filling to make a sandwich. *** Do these two at a time, because you’ll need to cook them in two batches.
After folding over the wraps, butter one side of each wrap sandwich, then put it butter-side down into the skillet. Then, butter the top side of each grilled cheese wrap after adding it to the pan.
Once the first set of sandwiches is in the pan, assemble the second set and get them ready to go.
Cook your sandwiches over medium-high heat for about 90 seconds, then flip and cook the other side for 90 seconds, or until both sides are nicely browned and the cheese has melted. (Note: I always use a pancake turner to flip grilled cheese, which helps the filling stay in. If you prefer yours a little less browned, cook them for slightly longer over medium instead of medium-high.)
Slice each sandwich in half, and serve immediately. These grilled cheese wraps are deliciously crispy hot out of the pan, but will get soggy if you let them sit too long.
Note: I’ve also made chicken tikka masala grilled cheese with naan, but lightened things up this time with flatbread wraps. If you’d like a little more flavor punch, you can also spice up the jarred sauce as desired with a bit of ginger, cayenne, and garlic. The milder pre-made sauce, though, plays nicely along with the mild cheese in sandwich form.
The chicken, it’s spilling out for effect
Since these aren’t the prettiest sandwiches, I thought I’d show you how the filling turns out. Pretty to the eye or no, however, they’re pretty darn delicious. If you like grilled cheese, and you like chicken tikka masala, you’ll definitely like these.
Not familiar with chicken tikka masala? The pre-made jarred sauce tends to be more mild than what you’d get in a restaurant, never fear. Just a very little heat and a nice tang from the sauce plays beautifully off of the mozzarella and crisped up wrap.
The only issue with this chicken tikka grilled cheese is the cost of pre-made jarred sauce, which has gone up by about 75% over the last year or so. Hopefully this will settle back down eventually, though — and making the sandwiches on wraps rather than on naan helps keep the meal more affordable either way.
Chicken Tikka Masala Grilled Cheese Wraps, printable recipe
Chicken Tikka Masala Grilled Cheese Wraps
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1.25-1.5 lbs chicken tenderloin (or chicken breast sliced thinly) chopped into bite-sized pieces
- Sea salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 15 oz jar tikka masala simmer sauce
- 4 flatbread wraps
- 8 oz mozzarella shredded
- 2 Tbsp butter softened
Instructions
- Use kitchen shears to trim and cut up the chicken. Season to taste with sea salt & pepper.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken pieces for about two minutes, stirring often. At this point the chicken will be browned slightly, but not cooked through; it’ll cook the rest of the way in the sauce.
- Reduce heat to medium-low, and pour the jar of tikka masala sauce into the skillet.
- Cover the pan and simmer, letting it bubble gently for 10-12 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Meanwhile, shred the mozzarella.
- Once the chicken is cooked, remove it to a separate bowl. Rinse and wipe out the skillet, then return it to the stove.
- Spoon some chicken, some sauce, and 1/4 of the shredded mozzarella onto one side of each flatbread wrap. Fold each wrap over the chicken & cheese filling to make a sandwich. *** Do these two at a time, because you’ll need to cook them in two batches.
- After folding over the wraps, butter one side of each wrap sandwich, then put it butter-side down into the skillet. Then, butter the top side of each grilled cheese wrap after adding it to the pan.
- Once the first set of sandwiches is in the pan, assemble the second set and get them ready to go.
- Cook your sandwiches over medium-high heat for about 90 seconds, then flip and cook the other side for 90 seconds, or until both sides are nicely browned and the cheese has melted. (Note: I always use a pancake turner to flip grilled cheese, which helps the filling stay in. If you prefer yours a little less browned, cook them for slightly longer over medium instead of medium-high.)
- Slice each sandwich in half, and serve immediately. These grilled cheese wraps are deliciously crispy hot out of the pan, but will get soggy if you let them sit too long.
Notes
Recipes in the real world
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