If you want to make a delicious curry at home, this easy Indian butter chicken recipe is for you! Start with a perfectly-spiced yogurt marinade, then cook up juicy chicken in a creamy, buttery, tomato sauce in just 30 minutes! The sweet, buttery chicken melts in your mouth, and the sauce is pretty mild, so your entire family will be able to enjoy it.
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What’s in this Easy Butter Chicken Recipe
Gather your ingredients and make this Indian Butter Chicken in just one pan. The chicken will need some time to marinate, but cooking time is less than 30 minutes!
- Chicken: Chicken thighs work best for this recipe because they stay super tender, juicy, and flavorful. Use boneless, skinless thighs, and cut into bite-sized cubes. You can substitute chicken breast if you like.
- Yogurt: A full-fat plain yogurt creates the base for the yogurt marinade. Greek yogurt works great!
- Butter: You’ll need about 3 tablespoons of butter to cook the chicken in. You can use Ghee as a substitute. If you want a richer sauce, stir in more butter at the end.
- Spices: There are so many delicious spices in butter chicken, including a garam masala blend, turmeric, cumin, and cayenne pepper.
- Tomato Sauce & Paste: Use both for the base of the tomato curry sauce.
- Heavy Cream: This adds a creaminess to the sauce. You can use half and half instead of heavy cream.
Make this Butter Chicken Ahead of Time
This simple Indian butter chicken needs at least 3 hours to marinate in the fridge, but you can let it marinate longer (up to 24 hours). So the easiest way to prep this dish ahead of time is to make the marinade (step 1) and let it sit overnight. That way it’s ready to cook at dinner time!
You can also freeze it for up to a month. When ready to cook, allow it to thaw and reheat it in a saucepan over medium-low heat for best results.
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Butter chicken, also known as murgh makhani, is an Indian dish made from chunks of chicken cooked in a spiced tomato and butter sauce.
Butter chicken and chicken tikka masala are very similar. However, tikka masala tends to be a bit spicier and juicier, whereas butter chicken tends to be more mild and creamy.
Nope! Butter chicken is a very mild, yet flavorful dish! There is a little bit of cayenne pepper, but you can leave that out if you’re concerned about it being too spicy!
Garam masala is an Indian spice blend that includes cinnamon, peppercorns, cardamom, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, cloves, mace, and nutmeg. You can find it in the spice aisle of most grocery stores.
How to Store and Reheat
Store leftover Indian butter chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in the microwave or on the stovetop.
How to Freeze Butter Chicken
Freeze leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
What to Serve with Indian Butter Chicken
Tender chunks of chicken is the most delicious, creamy butter sauce is a great way to start a meal. It’s best served with rice to soak up the curry sauce, and some fresh naan to scoop it up.
If you want to add some veggies, make cauliflower fried rice, mashed sweet potatoes, or crispy Air Fryer broccoli.
If you make this recipe be sure to upload a photo in the comment section below or leave a rating. Enjoy! You can also jump to recipe.
Indian Butter Chicken Recipe
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Ingredients
- ¾ cup full-fat plain yogurt
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice from ½ lemon
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon Garam Masala Indian spice
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper or more to taste
- 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into 1-inch pieces
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (⅜ stick)
- 8 ounces tomato sauce (1 can)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ tablespoon granulated sugar
- Fresh cilantro optional, for serving
Instructions
- Add the yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, ginger, garam masala, turmeric, cumin, salt, and peppers in a large Ziplock bag. Gently smush the spices into the yogurt to combine, then add the chicken pieces to the bag, massaging to coat it in the spiced yogurt.¾ cup full-fat plain yogurt, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger, 1 tablespoon Garam Masala Indian spice, 1 teaspoon ground turmeric, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- Seal the Ziplock bag and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or overnight.
- In a large skillet, melt the butter (or ghee) over medium-high heat. Working in batches, cook the coated chicken pieces in the skillet for 2-4 minutes, flipping once, until the outside of the chicken is a light golden brown.3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Add the tomato sauce, cream, tomato paste, and sugar to the skillet, then stir until well combined. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.8 ounces tomato sauce, 1 cup heavy cream, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, ½ tablespoon granulated sugar
- Serve garnished with cilantro.Fresh cilantro
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Becky’s tips
- You can use full-fat Greek yogurt in place of regular yogurt.
- If you don’t have fresh ginger, you can use ¼ teaspoon of ground ginger instead.
- Feel free to leave the cayenne pepper out if you don’t like a little spice.
- You can use boneless, skinless chicken breasts in place of thighs.
- You can use ghee in place of the butter.
- You can use half-and-half in place of the heavy cream.
- Let the chicken marinade for at least 3 hours or up to overnight.
- If you’d like a richer sauce, feel free to stir in some more butter or ghee at the end.
- Serve with basmati rice or naan bread!
- Nutritional information does not include optional ingredients.
Nutrition Information
I’ve lost count of the times I’ve made this recipe (maybe 8?) and I have to say this is my favorite meal of all time! I love to make garlic naan to go with it and I am stuffed! Sometimes I’ll roast a bell pepper to add to it. I’d like to try adding some cauliflower soon! Thank you for this recipe!
I have made this recipe several times and just love it!!! My family does too! Thanks so much for sharing this!
Ok so the first time I tried the recipe I didn’t read the instructions in time to marinade the chicken, it came out ok. Tonight, however, I did a 3 hour marinade as suggested and it’s literally the best Ive had in YEARS!!!! Thank you!!
Really REALLY tasty. Cilantro is not optional. I served with broccoli and brown rice and loved every bite!!
Do you use the marinade in with sauce?
Add the marinade to the pan when you cook the chicken.
This was extremely delicious! I did use chicken breast because my husband doesn’t like chicken thighs. I also added some golden raisins in the sauce. The cayenne pepper added a nice kick. Will definitely make again.
Was delicious! I did roast two onions and two bulbs of garlic in the air fryer then blended and added to sauce for a more rich taste! But I didn’t have heavy crème or half and half just coconut milk so I had to improvise. Will def make again! Thank you!
Thanks so much for sharing what worked for you, Jac!
This was delicious, and very easy to make! I used chicken thighs, but would probably try chicken breasts the next time I make it (just easier for me to cut into somewhat uniform pieces). Other than that, I wouldn’t change a thing!