I love Indian food, and surprise-surprise butter chicken is one of my favorite dishes! So cook up this silky butter chicken recipe stat– you’ll be happy you did.
Butter Chicken ingredients:
1 cup yogurt (optional, to marinate chicken prior to cooking, strain and discard yogurt)
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
¼ teaspoon cayenne (use 1/8 tsp or less for mild heat)
2 tablespoons honey or simple syrup
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh garlic, chopped
¼-½ teaspoon salt (to taste)
8 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 (14 ½-ounce) can tomato sauce (like this)
1 (14 ½-ounce) whole peeled tomatoes (like this)
1 pound chicken breast or thighs, chopped
Rice (optional)
- 1 cup jasmine rice (like this)
- 1 cup chicken bone broth or chicken stock
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon butter
Process:
- Marinate chopped chicken in yogurt for 1-12 hours to tenderize. Strain yogurt and discard (optional).
- Combine spices: 1 tablespoon garam masala, 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
and ¼ teaspoon cayenne in a small bowl. Set aside. - Over medium low heat, saute onion in butter for about 10 minutes. Add fresh ginger and garlic. Cook for an additional 5 minutes or until tender.
- Add spice blend stirring frequently for 30-60 seconds, careful to not burn the spices.
- Add tomato sauce, whole peeled tomatoes, and paste. Let simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
- Transfer sauce to bender (or immersion blender) and process until smooth. I prefer the smooth texture from a Vitamix blender.
- Pour butter chicken sauce back into pan. Add salt and sugar to taste.
- In a separate pan, cook chicken for about 8-10 minutes or until done.
- Add chicken to sauce, simmer briefly.
- Serve with rice (if desired). Enjoy this nutrient dense butter chicken!
Do you have a favorite Indian recipe other than butter chicken? Please tell me about it in the comments!
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As a nutritional therapist, my passion is education. My goal is to help guide you to improve your nutrition through strategic eating (not dieting) and without expensive supplements! Because when you know better, you can feel better! 
This looks amazing! I’ve been looking for a good recipe for butter chicken, from scratch. I love real, traditional foods from around the world. Thanks for an amazing recipe!
This is a wonderful recipe. I make it similarly except that I add in some cumin with the ginger/garlic and stir in some cream in the end.
Sounds absolutely delicious and I’m dying to try it! Do you happen to know the calorie count per serving? Thanks!!
Hi April, I’m sorry I don’t have any calorie information for any of my recipes.
Who CARES about how many calories are in it. When it tastes this good, you eat to your hearts content. It’s NOT like you pig out on it every single day!!!
Wow. I made this last night and ate it tonight. DIVINE. I LOVE Indian food, especially during the summer. My brain (and the rest of my body) is extremely satisfied now.
THANK YOU!
This recipe is fantastic! I have made it several times. It is one of my boyfriends’ favorite dishes! It keeps really well, and tastes even better the next day. Perfect amount of heat and divine flavor. Thanks!!
Thanks Sarah!
I’m glad you’re enjoying it as much as I do 😉
Catherine
This looks amazing. My little toddler is starting to reject all her old favourites, so I think I will give this a try. The only problem is that we don’t seem to have canned tomato sauce available in Australia – tomato sauce is what we put on hot chips (aka French fries). Can I just whizz up another can of whole tomatoes, or is there another substitute you would recommend?
This is absolutely one of my favorite dishes ever. Truly comfort food. I add fenugreek leaves to mine and it adds a bit of pungent (just a hint) and is also quite yummy.
I have made this five times now and it is so good! I just had to thank you. Thank you! 🙂
I tried making the same dish before but it turned out not so good,
This butter chicken is my all time Indian favorite dish.
Thanks for sharing how you make yours.
I have made this recipe so many times and it’s AMAZING and even my toddler girl loves it. I add full-fat coconut milk to make it more rich, and just play with the spice blend a bit to compensate. My question is, how would you make this in a slow cooker, while still pureeing the ingredients? i wonder if you can… Help!
Good question — I’m not sure because I’ve never tried it!
Let me know if you have success.
I just found this recipe, and made it tonight. I think it is the best chicken dish I have ever made! Absolutely perfect!
Can I just say a HUGE thank you for this recipe! It has become a family favourite and somehow my 1 year old, 5 year old, and 7 year old all devour it. They get excited when they hear that it’s for dinner!