This Air Fryer Chicken Tikka Wrap is a delicious change up to boring sandwiches. Chicken tikka kebabs are infused with a flavorful marinade and then quickly cooked in the air fryer, keeping them tender and juicy.
Chicken tikka masala is traditionally marinated chicken that is put on skewers and cooked in a tandoor, a wood- or charcoal-fired clay oven. The high heat of the oven chars the meat, giving it an earthy aroma and a hint of smoke.
Cooking chicken tikka masala in an air fryer creates similar flavors without a tandoor. The chicken pieces are marinated in a mix of yogurt and spices. The marinade tenderizes the meat and infuses it with flavor.
If you don’t want to use the air fryer, you could also cook this chicken on a grill or in a grill pan on the stove.
Air Fryer Chicken Tikka Wraps are folded in a soft flour tortilla (or better yet, homemade roti, naan bread, or other flatbread), along with chutney and crunchy veggies, chicken tikka makes a super satisfying meal.
What is an Air fryer chicken tikka wrap?
Traditional Chicken Tikka is chicken that has been marinated in yogurt and spices and then skewered and cooked in a clay oven. For this wrap, I’ve cooked the chicken in the airf fryer.
This Air Fryer Chicken Tikka Wrap combines that scrumptious chicken with veggies and chutney in an easy-to-eat wrap. I have used tortillas here because they are widely available, but homemade Garlic Naan, roti, or another type of flat bread would be even better. You could even use pita bread if that is what you have.
Why this recipe works so well
Chicken Tikka is usually marinated chicken pieces that are skewered and cooked in a tandoor or on a grill.
In this recipe, the marinated chicken is cooked in the air fryer instead. You still get super tender and juicy chicken, but it’s quicker and easier.
Marinating the chicken in the yogurt sauce infuses the chicken deeply with flavor and also tenderizes the chicken, making it super tender.
Making it into a tandoori chicken tikka wrap makes it easy to eat and even easy to pack in a lunch box or enjoy on the go. Chicken tikka wraps also make a great quick weeknight dinner.
If you’re wanting a low-carb meal, you can ditch the wrap altogether and serve the chicken tikka over salad.
What ingredients do you need to make this tandoori chicken tikka wrap?
The ingredient list for these chicken wraps may seem long, but it’s mostly spices that you may already have in your pantry. Here’s what you need:
- Boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into cubes.
- Greek yogurt
- Ginger-garlic paste
- Garam masala
- Salt
- Lime juice or lemon juice
- Kasuri methi or dried fenugreek leaves
- Ground corianderÂ
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Red chili powder
- Gram flour or chickpea flour
- Mustard oil
- Onion
- Mayonnaise
- Cilantro Mint Chutney or Mint chutney
- Butter for brushing
- Tortillas or roti
- Lettuce
- Tomatoes, cucumber, cilantro, or other garnishes (optional)
What is kasuri methi?
Kasuri mehti, also called kasoori methi, are dried fenugreek leaves. Their flavor has been compared to a combination of celery and fennel. You can buy kasuri methi online or in Indian markets. If you can’t find it, substitute chopped fresh celery leaves or simply omit it.
How do you make this wrap?
This wrap is really easy to make. Here’s how:
- First, make the marinade for the tandoori chicken tikka. Start by heating the mustard oil in a saucepan over a medium flame. Add the gram flour and let it cook until it becomes fragrant, just a few seconds.
- In a large bowl, stir together the ginger-garlic paste, garam masala, chili powder, kasuri methi, coriander, salt, pepper, and lime juice or lemon juice.
- Add the prepared mustard oil and gram flour mixture and mix well.
- Add in the chicken pieces, bell peppers, and onion and toss to coat well.
- Cover the bowl, refrigerate and let marinate for about 1 hour.
- When you’re ready to cook, brush the air fryer basket with a little butter or spritz it with oil. Arrange the chicken pieces in the basket in a single layer (depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to cook in more than 1 batch). Spritz the chicken pieces on top with oil or brush them with butter.
- Cook at 350°F for 4 minutes or until dark golden brown. Repeat until all of the chicken is cooked. Remove the chicken from the air fryer to a plate.
- Next arrange the marinated peppers and onion in the basket and cook at 350°F for 3 · Heat the tortillas or other flatbread in a skillet over medium heat.
- In a small bowl, stir the mayonnaise and chutney together.
- To assemble the wraps, spread some of the mayo-chutney mixture on a tortilla or flatbread. Top it with some chicken pieces and some of the vegetables. Top with the lettuce, as well as the tomatoes, cucumber, cilantro, or any other garnishes you are using.
- Wrap the tortilla or flatbread around the filling and serve your air fryer chicken wrap immediately.
Tips for Success
- Don’t skip marinating the chicken. The yogurt-based marinade is what makes chicken tikka so delicious. The yogurt contains enzymes that break down the chicken, making it super tender and also encouraging the flavors of all the seasonings to infuse deep into the meat. Ideally, you’ll marinate it for an hour. Beyond that, the meat can start to become mushy.
- Use the best quality spices you can and make sure they are fresh. Spices lose their pungency over time, so if you’re using seasonings that are more than about 6 months old, it might be time for a pantry refresh.
- You can use flour tortillas or any flatbread you like to make these wraps. If you have time to make your own homemade roti or can buy them from an Indian market, that’s even better.
- For the sauce on the wrap, you can use mayonnaise or substitute Greek yogurt.
My favorite air fryers
There are numerous great air fryers on the marke these days. These are my two favorites, one basket style and one oven style.
COSORI MAX XL AIR FRYER
NINJA FOODI DIGITAL AIR FRY 13-IN-1 AIR FRYER COUNTERTOP OVEN
Either one will work well with this recipe.
What to serve with chicken tikka wraps
I like to serve these chicken wraps for lunch or dinner. They are a full meal in and of themselves, but I often serve Dal soup, Cilantro Mint Chutney, and Cucumber Raita alongside.
If you’d like to serve more Indian dishes alongside, try my Palak Paneer or Instant Pot Palak Paneer.
Air Fryer Chicken Tikka Wrap
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into cubes.
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon Kasuri methi
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper powder
- 2 teaspoons red chili powder
- 2 tablespoons gram flour
- 2 tablespoons mustard oil If available otherwise you can use any other oil
- 1 green bell pepper cut into cubes
- 1 red bell pepper cut into cubes
- 1 yellow bell pepper cut into cubes
- 1 onion cut into cubes
- Butter for brushing
For the wraps
- 6 tortillas or roti
- 1 red bell pepper julienned
- 1 yellow bell pepper julienned
- 1 green bell pepper julienned
- 1 onion thinly julienned
- 1 ½ cups shredded lettuce
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons mint chutney
Instructions
- In a saucepan over medium heat, heat the mustard oil. Add the gram flour and cook until it becomes fragrant, just a few seconds.
- In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, ginger garlic paste, garam masala, chili powder, kasuri methi, coriander, salt, pepper, and lime juice and stir to mix.
- Add mustard oil mixture to the marinade and mix well.
- Add in the chicken pieces and vegetables and toss to coat everything in the marinade. Cover, refrigerate, and let marinate for about 1 hour.
- Preheat the air fryer for 5 minutes at 350°F.Â
- Brush the basket with little butter or sprits with a little oil and arrange the marinated chicken pieces in it in a single layer (you’ll likely have to cook in batches). Brush a little butter or spritz a little oil on top. Cook at 350°F for 4 minutes on one side. Flip the chicken pieces over and cook for 4 minutes more, until the chicken is dark golden brown. Repeat with the remaining pieces of chicken. Transfer the cooked chicken pieces to a plate.
- Next put the marinated vegetables in the basket and cook for 3 minutes and transfer them to the plate along with the chicken.
- Â Warm the tortillas or roti in a skillet over medium heat.
- In a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise and mint chutney.
- Spread a bit of the mayo mixture in the middle of a tortilla, top it with chicken tikka pieces, air-fried bell peppers and onions, and the julienned raw bell peppers, onions, and lettuce. Add any additional garnishes as desired.
- Roll the wrap up and serve immediately.
Nutrition
These turned out so well! Love the way all these flavors came together.