Easy Indian Butter Chicken Recipe
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This easy Indian butter chicken recipe is rich, creamy, and full of warm, fragrant spices. Tender pieces of chicken simmer in a smooth tomato-based sauce with coconut milk, heavy cream, garlic, ginger, and garam masala until everything is cozy and flavorful.
Recipe Overview: Easy Indian Butter Chicken Recipe
- ⏱ Prep Time: 15 minutes
- 👩🏻🍳 Cook Time: 25 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 40 minutes
- 🍞 Serving: 6
- ⚡ Calories: 280 calories per serving (not including rice and naan)
- 🍂 Flavor Profile: Rich, creamy, and mildly spiced chicken in a buttery tomato sauce with warm, aromatic Indian spices.
- 👌 Difficulty: Easy — perfect for home cooks looking to make a rich, flavorful butter chicken without complicated techniques.
SUMMARIZE & SAVE THIS RECIPE ON
This easy butter chicken is a creamy, Indian inspired chicken dinner made in one pan with simple ingredients. The sauce is warm and flavorful without being too spicy, and it comes together with coconut milk, heavy cream, tomato paste, butter, garlic, ginger, and a blend of spices.
Serve it over rice with my homemade naan for a simple weeknight dinner that still feels special. If you love cozy chicken dinners, you may also like my one pot chicken tikka masala with rice or easy one pan Marry Me chicken and orzo.
Jump to:
Why You'll Love This Butter Chicken
- Rich, creamy sauce: Coconut milk, heavy cream, tomato paste, butter, garlic, ginger, and warm spices simmer together into a smooth sauce.
- Family-friendly flavor: It has plenty of flavor from garam masala, cumin, turmeric, and curry powder without being too spicy.
- One-pan dinner: Everything cooks in one skillet, so cleanup stays reasonable.
- Perfect with rice and naan: Serve it over warm rice with sourdough garlic naan for soaking up the sauce.
- Great for leftovers: The sauce thickens and gets even better after sitting, making it an easy lunch the next day.
- Other Indian inspired dinner to try: If you like this recipe, try my one pot chicken tikka masala with rice for an even easier yummy Indian dish!
Key Ingredients
Chicken: Boneless skinless chicken breasts cook quickly and work well in this creamy sauce. You can also use chicken thighs for a richer, more tender result.
Butter: Butter gives the sauce a richer flavor and helps round out the warm spices.
Garlic and ginger: Garlic and ginger add depth and brightness to the sauce.
Tomato paste: Tomato paste adds concentrated tomato flavor without making the sauce watery. It also helps balance the cream and coconut milk.
Coconut milk: Full-fat canned coconut milk gives the sauce body and creaminess.
Heavy cream: Heavy cream makes the sauce smooth and rich. It also helps mellow the spices if the flavor feels too strong.
Garam masala: This warm spice blend is one of the main flavors in butter chicken.
Turmeric, cumin, and curry powder: These spices add warmth, color, and depth to the sauce without making it overly spicy.
Honey: A little honey balances the tomato paste and spices. It should not make the sauce sweet, just smoother.
How to Make Indian Butter Chicken Step by Step
Step 1: Cook the chicken and onion in a large skillet over medium heat until the chicken is mostly cooked through and the onion has softened.
Step 2: Add the butter, garlic, and ginger. Stir and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until the butter is melted and the garlic and ginger are fragrant.
Step 3: Add the garam masala, curry powder, cumin, turmeric, and salt. Stir until the chicken is evenly coated in the spices
Step 4: Stir in the tomato paste, then pour in the coconut milk, heavy cream, water, and honey. Mix until the sauce is smooth and combined.
Step 5: Simmer over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked and the sauce has thickened. Taste and adjust with more salt, cream, coconut milk, or honey if needed.
Step 6: Top with fresh cilantro and serve warm over rice with naan.
Expert Tips
- Simmer Gently: Simmer the sauce on low heat to allow the flavors to meld together. Avoid boiling, as it can cause the cream to separate.
- Consistency: Adjust the sauce’s consistency with water or chicken stock as needed. It should be thick enough to coat the chicken but not too runny.
- Finishing Touches: Add fresh cilantro leaves for a burst of color and fresh flavor just before serving.
- Taste and Adjust: Always taste and adjust the seasoning before serving. Add more salt, spices, or a squeeze of lemon juice to enhance the flavors if it tastes bland.
Easy Indian Butter Chicken Recipe FAQs
Garam masala is a warm spice blend commonly used in Indian cooking. It usually includes spices like cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, coriander, black pepper, and nutmeg, though blends can vary by brand or region.
Traditional butter chicken often uses a yogurt marinade, but in this version, the chicken simmers directly in a flavorful sauce. The slow cooking helps it absorb flavor and stay tender, so marinating isn’t necessary. It also keeps the recipe simpler and more beginner-friendly.
Butter chicken is typically mild and creamy. You can easily adjust the heat by adding chili powder to suit your taste.
It pairs well with basmati rice, sourdough naan, or other Indian flatbreads for scooping up the sauce. A simple side salad also works well to balance the richness of the dish.
More Easy Dinner Recipes You’ll Love
Looking for more chicken dinner inspiration? Try one of these next!
If you tried this Easy Indian Butter Chicken or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
Easy Indian Butter Chicken
Equipment
- 1 large pan
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts cubed
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 4 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 2 teaspoon curry powder
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 can full-fat coconut milk
- 2 tablespoon honey start with 1
- ½ cup tomato paste
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the cubed chicken and diced onion. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is mostly cooked through and the onion has softened.
- Add the butter, minced garlic, and grated ginger. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until fragrant.
- Stir in the garam masala, curry powder, cumin, turmeric, and salt. Cook for 30 seconds to toast the spices.
- Add the tomato paste and stir until the chicken is coated.
- Pour in the coconut milk, heavy cream, water, and honey. Stir well, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the sauce thickens and the chicken is fully cooked.
- Taste and adjust salt, honey, or spice as needed. Top with fresh cilantro and serve over rice with naan.
Notes
- If the sauce gets too thick, add a splash of water or cream until it reaches your preferred consistency.
- For more heat, add cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, or extra curry powder.
- Serve with rice, and homemade naan.
Everyone in our family loves this dish! We double it every time in hopes that we can eat it for leftovers a few times!
This butter chicken is the perfect combination of creamy and spicy. Not hot spicy, but full of flavors. It’s definitely a comfort food that we will be adding to our regular menu rotation.
I made this a while back. It’s delicious! The flavors/spices are very well balanced, which is not something you find easily with online Indian food recipes. Will definitely make it again. We love it!!