This super flavorful Butter Chicken couldn't be easier to make! It's especially delicious served with a warm piece of naan!
Butter chicken is one of the best chicken recipes I’ve made to date. It’s right up there with Chicken Parm Meatballs and Chicken Tawook!
At it's core, it's cut up chicken thighs marinated in a lemon juice, yogurt (Stonyfield Grassfed Greek Quarts to be exact) and a spice mixture and then simmers in a savory sauce made of butter, onion, garlic, ginger, tomatoes and some cream. It’s slowly cooked until the chicken is almost falling apart, majorly tender, and packed full of flavor. (side note - if you're looking for incredible and AUTHENTIC spices - check out Diaspora Co. They are the best of the best)
Any of the Greek Stonyfield (non-flavored) products would work for this recipe. But we’ve been buying the Grass-fed recently and we’re obsessed. Like all Stonyfield products, 100% Grassfed Greek is organic, non-GMO, and made without the use of artificial hormones.
Butter chicken is reminiscent to chicken tikka masala but the difference is that while Tikka Masala is a bit more complex and this tastes more buttery with a delicious tomato based Indian yogurt based gravy.
There are all sorts of delicious juices that come with this recipe so you absolutely MUST eat it with a few pieces of homemade naan!
Some frequently asked questions coming your way:
What does Butter Chicken taste like?
It's slightly adjacent to chicken tikka masala but the difference is that while Tikka Masala is a bit more complex and this tastes more buttery with a delicious Indian gravy. It originated in back in the 1950's in India when some leftover chicken was tossed into a tomato based gravy sauce and it's been popular ever since!
Why is it called Butter Chicken?
Because of the butter in the gravy of course!! If you're hesitant about the butter, don't be! It's honestly so delicious in this recipe. You could also use Ghee if you have it on hand - will be just as delish!
What do you serve with Butter Chicken?
I like to serve a warmed piece of homemade naan with it. It's also great over rice, quinoa, farro or any other grain.
What spices go in Butter Chicken?
Turmeric, garam masala and cumin are the traditional spices you'll want to have on hand! I add in a pinch of cayenne for a little heat. If I'm making this for my daughter, I omit the cayenne and she gobbles it right up.
Can you freeze Butter Chicken?
You sure can! I freeze smaller portions of this all the time, once it's fully cooked. In order to reheat it, I just remove it from the freezer, let it come to temp in the fridge and then transfer the mixture to a non-stick skillet and re-heat over medium heat. It's a great dish to freeze because it re-heats so nicely!
Ok... away we go!
Butter Chicken
Ingredients
For the Marinade
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 cup Stonyfield Grassfed Greek Quarts
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 ½ tablespoons ground turmeric
- 2 tablespoons garam masala
- 2 tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
For the remaining part of the recipe:
- ½ cup butter
- 1 onion, roughly diced
- 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
- 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
- ½ cup chicken stock
- 2 cups heavy cream OR coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons salt
- Lemon juice to taste
- Cilantro to garnish
- Naan bread to serve
Instructions
- Combine the chicken, greek yogurt, lemon juice, and spices in a bowl. Marinate for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
- In a large pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in onion and cook slowly until the onion and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes more.
- Add the tomatoes to the skillet and cook for 5 minutes. Add the chicken and its marinade to the pan and cook for 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock and bring the mixture to a boil - then lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream, tomato paste and salt and continue to simmer until the chicken has cooked through, about 15 minutes, and the sauce is thick.
- Taste, adjust seasoning as needed, add lemon juice for a bit of acid. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve alongside warmed naan.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Photo by Matt Armendariz / Food Styling by Adam Pearson / Recipe from What’s Gaby Cooking
Hi. Love your recipes. My son is on super restrictive diet - any non-dairy substitute recommendations for the Heavy cream?
Thanks!
you could use an almond milk creamer
Thank you!
Amazing!!!! My first time ever making butter chicken and it came out perfectly. Now I’m having to stop myself for going back for thirds...notice I didn’t say seconds...yea that already happened.
story of my LIFE
My sister has requested butter chicken this week and I would love to use this recipe but she doesn't like tomatoes do you think I could leave them out?
you sure could!
Absolutely love this dish and the spices........definitely WAY too runny and I did everything right. Kept cooking and it barely thickened. Had to put in cornstarch twice to get it a bit thicker. 3 cups of heavy cream seems too much. 2 cups maybe? Love to have Gaby's input! Tasted wonderful!
This recipe was so delicious! I did find that my sauce was a little grainy, likely from the spices. I simmered the full time (maybe a smidge longer). Any recommendations for next time? Other than that, so yummy!
Just made this tonight and it was delicious! One question though: i found my sauce had kind of a grainy texture from the spices. Any thoughts on how i can avoid that in the future? I simmered it for as long as you mentioned (maybe a touch longer). But overall still really yummy!
Oh my - this sounds like the best way ever to eat chicken!!
Another great recipe by Gaby! I will say I had never heard of butter chicken, but I sort of think the name is deceiving. It is certainly more of an Indian/middle eastern dish than a “butter” dish. Still delicious 🙂
What can i sunstitute the yogurt and heavy cream with?
Love this recipe, could it be made ahead at all?
totally!
Do you think the heavy cream could be substituted for coconut milk?
absolutely
Made this last night. it was very tasty and approved by all. I found it to be a little heavy in liquid. I thickened it up slightly at the end with a little flour/water and but still fished out the content with slotted spoon and served in a bowl with less of the sauce. Also put 1/3 of heavy cream. Added 1/2 c. of frozen peas. Spice/heat was perfect. with 1/2 tsp of cayenne. Would reduce sauce longer next time.
Made this tonight and it was great! However three cups of heavy cream plus the chicken stock seemed like it would be way too much liquid so I only added about 1/3 cup cream (and stock as written, and it turned out perfectly!
Has anyone ever tried it without marinating chicken overnight?
you can marinate for 2 hours and still be good to go
How do I get it to thicken up if it is too runny at the end?
Thank you!!
continue to simmer until thick!!