Easy Butter Chicken
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This Easy Butter Chicken recipe (murgh makhani) can be on your dinner table in just 30 minutes. The sauce is deliciously rich and creamy, just like butter chicken from your favorite Indian restaurant.
Butter chicken is best served with a side of steamed basmati rice (or cauliflower rice for a healthier version). If you love butter chicken, make sure to check out this chicken tikka masala recipe. You'll love it, too.
Hello, friends. I've made a big pot of easy butter chicken, and I'm here to share it with you. Food is always so much better when we share it with friends, isn't it?
This easy butter chicken recipe is one I've been making for YEARS. I feel like I owe you a big apology for holding out on you for so long. Do you know those recipes that you make without using a recipe? The kind that you don't think to share because it's just part of your repertoire that you've grown so accustomed to making? That's this recipe for me.
The sauce is thick and rich, creamy, and full of warm Indian spices. I like that it's not as sweet as butter chicken that you get at some westernized Indian restaurants; it tastes more like the real thing.
And since it's made in only 4 easy steps there's really no reason not to treat yourself to curry tonight!
And if you love using your slow cooker, make sure to check out our crockpot butter chicken!
How to make butter chicken an easy recipe?
We've been making versions of this recipe for many years so we have had plenty of opportunities to tweak the method. Our butter chicken recipe is very easy to make but still every bit as delicious as what you'll find at your favorite restaurant. We simplify the traditional recipe in 2 ways:
- Cook the chicken in the sauce. Rather than marinating the chicken (unnecessary with such a flavorful sauce) and cooking it separately, we cook it right in the sauce. This lets the chicken poach gently so that it stays very tender.
- Simmer the sauce. Since we cook the sauce and chicken together we get to skip the time most recipes take to simmer the sauce by itself. Two birds, one stone, same result.
How to make butter chicken
Over the many years of making this recipe we've refined the method so that it is very simple to make. Here's what to do:
- Cook the onions, garlic, and ginger until deliciously caramelized.
- Add the spices and tomatoes then blend the sauce until smooth.
- Now cook the chicken in the sauce so that it's flavorful and tender.
That's it! You've just made your favorite Indian curry!
Tips for making easy butter chicken
- Brown the onions well. They add the most amazing flavor and contribute to the sweetness of the curry.
- When the onions are browning, add all the spices to a small bowl. This will make it quick and easy for you to add the spices once the onions are brown.
- If you're serving this with rice, you can start the rice first. It will finish cooking before the butter chicken is ready, but you can remove it from the heat and set it aside until everything else is done.
Do I need to use all those spices?
Yes, and no. Each of the spices adds a layer of flavor and leaving one out will change the taste of this recipe. But sometimes we all run out of spices or don't want to buy one because we don't think we'll use it often. I get it! If you're craving butter chicken and don't have any cumin on hand, don't sweat it, the curry will still taste great.
Garam masala is the most important spice here. It is a mix of different spices and adds the most flavor to the recipe. You could substitute curry powder, but I like garam masala better.
Is butter chicken healthy?
It can be! Most restaurant butter chicken recipes use copious amounts of butter, cream, and sugar. We reduce the amount of butter, have options for the cream (whipped cream, yogurt, or coconut milk – your choice!), and use just enough sweetener.
Does this easy butter chicken freeze well?
Yes! We often make a double batch and put leftovers in the freezer. It's better and easier than takeout. We love these big reusable Stasher Bags for freezing leftovers.
Easy Butter Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
The Curry
- 2 tablespoons butter or cooking oil
- 2 yellow onions (roughly chopped)
- 3 tablespoons chopped ginger
- 6 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 28 ounce can of crushed or diced tomatoes
- 1 lb chicken breasts or thighs (cut into bite-sized pieces)
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup whipping cream, plain yogurt, or coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons almond butter
- 2-4 tablespoons coconut sugar (can sub brown sugar)
- Sea salt (to taste (I like about 2 teaspoons))
The Spices
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 4 cardamom pods (seeds only – discard the pods)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large-sized frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, ginger, and garlic and cook for about 8 minutes, until well-browned, reducing the heat if necessary. While the onion cooks, place the spices in a small bowl.2 tablespoons butter or cooking oil, 2 yellow onions, 3 tablespoons chopped ginger, 6 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon garam masala, 1 teaspoon ground turmeric, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 4 cardamom pods
- Add the spices to the pan and cook for 1 minute to remove their raw flavor. Pour the can of tomatoes into the pan and scrape the bottom to remove any bits that are stuck to the pan. Transfer to a blender and blend on high until smooth. Return the sauce to the pan.28 ounce can of crushed or diced tomatoes
- Add the chicken and water and bring the sauce to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan, and let the chicken cook through, about 10 minutes.1 lb chicken breasts or thighs, 1 cup water
- Stir in the cream, yogurt, or coconut milk, the almond butter, and the coconut sugar. Season to taste with sea salt.¼ cup whipping cream, plain yogurt, or coconut milk, 2 tablespoons almond butter, 2-4 tablespoons coconut sugar, Sea salt
Video
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
For more inspiration, check out all of our curry recipes!
I’ve made this Butter Chicken recipe twice now. So delicious and easy to make. Thank you Endless Meal.
That is so wonderful to hear! Thank you for coming back to let us know!
so quick and easy and absolutely delish!!!
Thanks, Mary!
Wonderful recipe! My husband declared it to be his new favorite. Tastes just like restaurant quality, you won’t be disappointed.
That is so great to hear! Really happy that you and your husband loved the recipe!!
Hi,
Why is there almond butter in your butter chicken recipe? Is this for flavour or texture? I want to make this tonight but don’t have almond butter. I have another recipe for butter chicken (which I failed) but there was no nut of any kind in the recipe. Thanks, Terri
The almond butter helps to thicken the curry and make it extra creamy. If you need to omit it, only add the water if you think it needs it. 🙂
Easy to make and tasted good .. I made it a day ahead …
My only issue was mine was a bit runny. .. so I added a few potatoes and it thickened a bit more
Had over Basmati rice …
Thank you very much .. I really enjoy these recipes
You are very welcome!
Great recipe! As good as we get in Indian restaurants. Delicious!
Thank you so much!
I made this delicious butter chicken. I only had boneless chicken thighs on hand. It was delicious. Used the spices I had, added a bIt of curry powder and some mild Korma sauce. I have lots of sauce left over and will freeze it. All I have to do is add a couple of chicken breasts, cooked, and my next butter chicken meal is ready!
I love it when there is extra, too! Makes the next meal so easy!
hi, have made this a few times and it is the best buttered chicken and easy to follow recipe, but tonight i made it vegan and used seitan instead of chicken, still turned out great,thanks for sharing
I’m so happy to hear that you like this recipe! I sometimes make it vegan too by adding soft tofu, which tastes quite a bit like paneer in this recipe. It’s great that way, too!
I had some cashew cream sitting in the fridge and was looking for ways to use it, this was fantastic! Will definitely make again.
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that!
I followed the recipe down to the exact grain of spice. My goodness, it was FANTASTIC. I used coconut milk (75%) instead of dairy and the almond butter was perfect in there!, It is so refreshing to see a butter chicken recipe not using 4 tables spoons of butter and allowing a substitution for dairy. My partner said it was better than the restaurant we go to for Indian!..
But we seriously, seriously LOVED IT.
Thank you so much for the great comment! I’m so happy to hear it was a hit!
The quantities in the recipe seem like there will be a lot of sauce in relation to the amount of chicken. I am short on some of the ingredients, could the quantity of sauce be reduced? Also I minced the ginger, would this affect the quantity? Can’t wait to make it. Thanks.
It’s meant to be saucy! You want lots to pour over rice or dip naan into. ANd minced ginger will work fine. 🙂
Thank you for this recipe! I love curry but never cook it at home. This was even better than ordering in. Next time I’ll double the recipe so there are more leftovers.
I’m happy to hear it was a hit!
This recipe was bland and very weak in taste. We threw it out and was a waste of money and time. I will not be taking any more recipe’s from this site because I cannot trust it to give 5 stars as a real actual outcome. This Butter chicken recipe was the worst recipe of Butter chicken I have ever eaten.
I’m really sorry to hear you didn’t like the recipe. Since you found the recipe bland even with all the spices I would really check your spices to see if they need to be replaced. Spices lose their flavor after a while and it sounds like maybe it’s time for some new ones. 🙂
I am going make this tonight for my family, I want to use yoghurt….do I have to worry about the yoghurt splitting with heat? Or does the blending take care of that? Anybody else use yogurt?
Hopefully I hear back before I make it!
As long as you add the yogurt at the end (like in the recipe) then it won’t split. If you leave it to cook for a while that is when you’ll run the risk of it splitting. 🙂
I make a really time consuming butter chicken that Involves many spices and caramelizing the tomatoes (I guess that’s why you add the sugar), it’s delicious but it takes me about 4-5 hrs to make, can’t wait to try this recipe, just one question the cardamom is it green or black?
Thank you and I’ll let you know when I make it
Green cardamom! I’d love to hear if you think this recipe is good enough for a time saving butter chicken!
I tried this recipe today and I am in love! I adore this dish and never thought I could replicate it at home! You have single-handedly boosted my confidence as a cook, added a delicious recipe to my life and now made me a subscriber to your site. I will have to check out what other treasures you have in your backlog <3
That makes me so happy to hear!! Hooray!!