Butter Chicken Ravioli

This ravioli is filled with charred chicken tikka and smothered in a creamy butter chicken sauce! A perfect combination of Italian and Indian flavors! These tender ravioli are filled up with a spicy charred chicken and the char flavor is unique for what you would expect inside a ravioli! I added extra buttery goodness inside and outside the pasta to make for a super comforting and totally cravable dinner!

The inspiration for this recipe

This idea for butter chicken ravioli popped into my head the other day and I dropped everything to make it immediately. I was hanging out with people when I thought of it and got home pretty late, but still managed to throw the chicken in some yogurt. When you think about it, this recipe is super obvious and I can’t believe I haven’t thought of it before. The sauce on butter chicken is tomato based and similar to a pink pasta sauce, like vodka sauce for example, so it really makes sense.

Marinate and cook the chicken

I have never thought to put grilled things into a ravioli, but what a revelation.  You can really taste the char flavor as you eat these! I “grilled” mine in the broiler this time, but I have definitely done it on the actual grill too. The idea is you want a high heat to mimic the tandoor oven this would traditionally be cooked in.

After grilling the chicken, traditionally you would then toss it in the butter sauce, but we are going to put it into ravioli first! In addition to the tender chopped chicken, I also added a little melted butter and mozzarella cheese. I have done this with paneer cheese as well, but mozzarella works better in my opinion because it gets more melty in the cooked ravioli.

Make the ravioli

The pasta dough is just flour, eggs, olive oil, and salt. Roll it out to the third thinnest setting on the pasta machine.

Then form the butter chicken ravioli! Put the filling down first. Wet your finger in a water bowl, and rub it around the filling to help the dough stick later. Cover with the remaining dough, pressing it down to remove excess air and stick the pasta together tightly. Then cut it and repeat!

Start the butter chicken sauce

Onions and butter in the pan first, then jalapenos. Next a ton of garlic, ginger, and tomato paste. Traditionally, you would use actual tomatoes in butter chicken sauce, but I wanted to bring some of the italian influence into the sauce and not just the ravioli part.

All the spices go in next, and then some stock and cream. I like to blend the butter sauce smooth so it clings to the chicken ravioli better, but that is optional.

Serve the butter chicken ravioli

Boil the chicken ravioli, then add them immediately to the pan with the butter sauce. Then load them up on the plates!

I like to garnish with a drizzle of cream and some fresh cilantro.

Having the chicken inside the ravioli and the butter sauce outside, helps you really taste the differences between the chicken and the sauce instead of just eating it all together. The pasta creates a totally new twist to the classic dish!

Twists on butter chicken ravioli

To make this butter chicken ravioli little easier, you could just do this with ground chicken. You could spice it up with a similar spice profile as it cooks, and maybe add some yogurt along with the melted butter and mozzarella. I also have made this dairy free, just using store bought vegan versions of butter, yogurt, cream, and mozzarella. You can barely notice the difference.

I always use this recipe as a guide when I am making butter chicken.

For more twists on butter chicken, check out my fried butter chicken and garlic waffles, or this butter chicken tomato soup mashup with naan grilled cheese!