Truly the best Butter Chicken recipe. It’s a creamy and perfectly spiced Indian curry recipe with tender chicken and lots of sauce to mop up with warm naan.
Butter Chicken is one of the recipes most frequently requested of me.
This restaurant favourite is creamy, flavourful and mild on the spectrum of Indian curries. My version is simplified (read: doesn’t require a plethora of spices that you’ll buy and only need one-eighth of a teaspoon of) but doesn’t suffer in the flavour department. This is definitely a lick-your-plate dinner.
Most butter chicken recipes require cooking the chicken separately first, then simmering in the sauce.
I don’t think this extra cooking step is necessarily crucial, especially for the sake of an easy weeknight dinner. The marinade, however, is important because the chicken breasts don’t take long to cook, so they won’t absorb much of the flavour from the sauce. If you are a planner, marinate the chicken overnight for maximum benefit (but even a half-hour to mingle with the spices will make a difference). And if you are a planner AND a perfectionist, then feel free to add an extra step and char the chicken cubes a bit on a grill/grill pan, or under a broiler for a few minutes before tossing them in the sauce.
Update: I turned the leftovers into this deliciously addictive Homemade Butter Chicken Pizza – you have to try it!
One thing you don’t want to rush is the caramelizing of the onions – it’s a really important layer of flavour in any Indian curry, and especially in a sweeter one like this.
More Must-Try Indian Recipes
Best Butter Chicken
Ingredients
For chicken and marinade:
- 2.2 lbs (1 kg) boneless, skinless chicken breast cut in 1″ – 2″ cubes
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tsp kosher salt
For sauce:
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 ½ cups chopped onion about 2 medium-large
- 2 tbsp coarsely chopped garlic
- 2 tbsp garam masala
- 2 tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp kosher salt or to taste
- 2 cups diced no-salt-added canned tomatoes
- ¾ cup heavy 35% or whipping cream
- 2 tbsp butter
- Chopped cilantro to garnish (optional)
Instructions
- For marinade:Combine all ingredients in a zip-top bag or shallow baking dish, massaging the marinade into the chicken. Let stand at room temperature while you prepare the sauce, or marinate in the fridge overnight.
For sauce:
- Heat oil over medium heat in a large saucepan or dutch oven. Add onions and slowly cook until golden, about 20 minutes, reducing heat if they are getting crispy or browning quickly.
- Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in garam masala, paprika, cinnamon and salt; cook 1 minute more. Add tomatoes; cook 2 minutes, then add cream and carefully puree using an immersion blender (or standing blender, but do it in batches or the steam will blow the top off).
- Return sauce to saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove chicken from marinade and it to the sauce (discarding remaining marinade). Cover, and simmer over medium-low heat until cooked through, about 12 minutes (remove a couple of pieces to make sure they are no longer pink inside). A gentle simmer is required to gently cook the breasts so they don’t become tough, and you don’t want to overcook them.
- Stir in butter, taste and add more salt to taste. Serve sprinkled with cilantro, if desired.
I’m pretty sure “undefined” was 1 cup plain Greek yogurt.
There is no yogurt in this recipe. I have cooked it hundreds of times. It’s gorgeous!
Hello,
This is my go to butter chicken recipe but the instructions have disappeared and one of the ingredients now says “undefined”. I’m hoping you can post the recipe again. Thanks!
Here’s the list of ingredients, again…
This is awesome recipe. Just made it tonight and it’s delicious. I just ignored the “undefined”
I’m pretty sure “undefined” was 1 cup plain Greek yogurt.
There is no yogurt in this recipe. I have cooked it hundreds of times. It’s gorgeous!
Hello,
This is my go to butter chicken recipe but the instructions have disappeared and one of the ingredients now says “undefined”. I’m hoping you can post the recipe again. Thanks!
This is awesome recipe. Just made it tonight and it’s delicious. I just ignored the “undefined”
This is awesome recipe. Just made it tonight and it’s delicious. I just ignored the “undefined”
Hello,
This is my go to butter chicken recipe but the instructions have disappeared and one of the ingredients now says “undefined”. I’m hoping you can post the recipe again. Thanks!
There is no yogurt in this recipe. I have cooked it hundreds of times. It’s gorgeous!
Hello,
This is my go to butter chicken recipe but the instructions have disappeared and one of the ingredients now says “undefined”. I’m hoping you can post the recipe again. Thanks!
This is awesome recipe. Just made it tonight and it’s delicious. I just ignored the “undefined”
We make this all the time in our house – it is our go to curry recipe! We have eaten it with prawns, meat and veggie (as well as chicken). Awesome!
After preparing this recipe the first time I couldn’t find it again! Finally found my print-out and prepared it again. It took me bit longer with the preparations but this gets a full five star rating from me. Even my son who usually doesn’t like Indian food loves this and remarked how soft the meat is! Absolutely the best 🙂
Hello. I’m making the butter chicken now and am not sure if I have to drain the chicken from the marinade or use it. Advice please! Thanks
Use it
Just pull the chicken out of the marinade. You don’t scrape the marinade in or anything.
this recipe sounds good but like who doesn’t like butter chicken in general
That’s your comment and you left a 3 star rating but didn’t try it. Shame on you
Keep dropping that nolij
Can anyone tell me what the ingredient is that makes it (curry) spicy? I love it but my family/friends are very sensitive to hot spices. Thanks.
The garam masala itself can very in spiciness. The curry is not a spicy curry though, it really sweet and creamy with a bit of spice. Small kids love it. If your friends are sensitive to spices, I might go a different route altogether. 🙂
This recipe isn’t spicy at all
I made this dish a couple of years ago in a crockpot with a slightly different recipe. This recipe looks like it may be better. I plan on making it for my mom. Our first taste of Indian food was not enjoyable. My ex husband introduced me to fantastic Indian food at a restaurant in the Cincinnati, Ohio area. I now love a lot of dishes. I’m looking forward to making this dish and others. Also thanks for posting such easy directions for paneer! Looking to putting that in recipes too.
Decent basic starter recipe for murgh makhani.
Am trying to make this recipe tonight but in my country it’s hard to get heavy cream, what can I replace it with.
You could use coconut milk. It’ll be tasty but it wouldn’t be quite the same.
I just made it. Didn’t have heavy cream only canned evaporated milk and it worked. What a wonderful recipe. thank you
Amazing! i love this recipe when its my turn to cook dinner i love doing this. the kids and wife love it. the only advise id give if your making this is head ove to the bulk barn and grab a bag of golden raisins and toss ina few generous handfuls when you add the chicken.
I’m about to make this! One question, Should I drain the diced tomatoes or put it all in? First time making butter chicken because my partner is craving Indian food!
No need to drain, just measure including the tomatoes and some juices.
I’m about to cook this, but I was surprised that even though it’s called a curry dish, it doesn’t actually have any curry in it. Am I missing something?
Best butter chicken recipe. We make it about once a month 🙂
Thanks very much, Geneviève! So glad you enjoy it.
This butter chicken is life changing, it’s so good. I followed the directions exactly. The recipe is perfect.
Soooo tasty!!
[…] Lentils are kind of the Butter Chicken of bean curries, with lentils and kidney beans simmered with aromatics in butter and cream to make […]
Do you have the nutritional information for this recipe? If I missed it I do apologize.
Used this recipe tonight, first time making butter chicken from scratch! AMAZING! Popping the sauce into the blender makes it so creamy and delicious. Thank you for sharing!
10/10 would recommend
Delicious and easy.
Made this several times now. Love it. THANKS
I’ve tried this tonight, only had single cream and forgot to add butter, but cam out so tasty, will be making this again definetekply, so thanks so much for sharing the recipe! Only question, could younkindly suggest a milk / cream free alternative, some relatives have milk intolerance, but would love to cook this for them too. Many thanks!
Hi Tunde, you could use vegan butter and coconut milk (which will add a coconut flavour) or a non-dairy creamer.
I have seen many butter chicken recipes that omit the cream all together & instead add raw cashews into the sauce ingredients. The sauce is simmered, covered for 20 t0 30 minutes , then run through an immersion blender until smooth & creamy.
Another amazing recipe by Jennifer! Just made this for dinner and it was delicious!
Made it more than a dozen times now
This recipe was delicious and definitely a family favorite from now on. I did not have garam masala as I have small children so instead I used a nice mild and flavorful curry and also substituted the cream for coconut cream. Amazing! Thank you for your recipe.
This is the only butter chicken I will make now. I refuse to use the jars or packets- I love it.
How can I add more veggies to this dish? Making for kids
Hi Brenna, you could add a half-head of cauliflower if you like!
It was the best butter chicken ever