Easy Butter Chicken (30 minute recipe!)
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Since making this easy butter chicken recipe, I’ve stopped ordering takeout. My family likes this better than the murgh makhani we used to order, and dinner is on the table in only 30 minutes!
This easy butter chicken recipe has been my go-to for years. My family asks me to make it regularly, and when I serve it to friends, they always ask for the recipe.
My trick for making the smoothest, creamiest sauce is to pull out the blender. Bonus: you can roughly chop the onions and garlic rather than spending ages finely mincing them.
And if you love using your slow cooker, make sure to check out our crockpot butter chicken!
Key ingredients for butter chicken
- Onions, ginger, and garlic – This dynamic trio is the base of the masala.
- Tomatoes – Reach for a can of tomatoes unless it’s tomato season.
- Chicken – You can use breasts or thighs.
- Cream – Whipping cream will give you the most authentic taste, but yogurt and coconut milk make good substitutes.
- Almond butter – This thickens the curry and adds a wonderful flavor.
- Sugar—Butter chicken needs some sweetness, and I like to use coconut sugar as it has a slightly malty flavor that goes well with reicpe. You could use brown or granulated sugar instead if you’d like.
- Spices – I like garam masala, turmeric, coriander, cumin, chili powder, and cardamom. If you’re missing one, don’t fret; the curry will still taste delicious.
You’ll also want to put on a pot of basmati rice!
What makes this recipe easy?
I’ve been making versions of this recipe for many years, so I’ve had ample opportunities to refine the method. My butter chicken recipe is straightforward to make, but still every bit as delicious as what you’ll find at your favorite restaurant. I simplify the traditional recipe in two ways:
- Cook the chicken in the sauce. Rather than marinating and then sauteeing the chicken (which is unnecessary with such a flavorful sauce), I cook it right in the sauce. This allows the chicken to poach gently, keeping it very tender.
- Simmer the sauce. Since I cook the sauce and chicken together, you 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 years, I’ve refined the method for making this recipe to make it very simple. Here’s what to do:
- Cook the onions, garlic, and ginger until deliciously caramelized. You’re going for a dark brown and ultra-flavorful here.
- Add the spices and tomatoes, and let them cook for a moment to release their flavors. Then, blend the sauce until smooth.
- Now, cook the chicken in the sauce so it’s flavorful and tender.
That’s it! You’ve just made your favorite Indian curry!
Tips for making this easy butter chicken recipe
- 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.
Store, freeze, and reheat
Store: Leftovers taste amazing, so you may want to make a double batch. Let them cool, then store them in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Freeze: Butter chicken freezes excellently, making it an excellent option for a freezer meal. I often make a double batch and put leftovers in the freezer. It’s better and easier than takeout. I love these big reusable Stasher Bags for freezing leftovers. It will keep for at least 3 months in the freezer.
Reheat: I like to reheat curry in a pot over medium-low heat, but you can also reheat it in the microwave.
Easy Butter Chicken (30 minute recipe!)
Ingredients
The Curry
- 2 tablespoons butter (see notes)
- 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
- ½ cup whipping cream (plain yogurt or coconut milk)
- 2 tablespoons almond butter (see notes)
- 2-4 tablespoons coconut sugar (can sub brown sugar)
- Sea salt (to taste – I like about 2 teaspoons)
- Cilantro (to serve)
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 butter in a large-sized frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, ginger, and garlic and cook for about 8-10 minutes, until well-browned, reducing the heat if necessary.2 tablespoons butter, 2 yellow onions, 3 tablespoons chopped ginger, 6 cloves garlic
- While the onion cooks, place the spices in a small bowl.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.28 ounce can of crushed or diced tomatoes
- Transfer the sauce to a blender and blend on high until smooth.
- Return the sauce to the pan, 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 for 10 minutes, until it is fully cooked.1 lb chicken breasts or thighs, 1 cup water
- Stir in the cream, almond butter, and coconut sugar. Season to taste with sea salt.½ cup whipping cream, 2 tablespoons almond butter, 2-4 tablespoons coconut sugar, Sea salt
- Serve with rice (and if you have it, naan) with some cilantro on top.Cilantro
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
I’ve made this a bunch of times now. The author is serious about cooking off the rawness of the spices. This is critical. Don’t stick your face over the pot while you do this either….whew! I’m a fairly lazy cook and don’t blend the ingredients because the tomatoes I get are already pretty smooth and I like the extra texture of the onions. Everything else is as written. Its on rotation in my house and yes, its better the next day. You can easily add more chicken because the sauce is plentiful. Enjoy!
I’m getting ready to make this and noticed that when adjusting the number of servings, the amount of cardamom doesn’t adjust. Don’t know if that is something you can fix or not, but would love to see how much ground cardamom powder would be used for various serving sizes.
Thank you for pointing that out! I’ve worded it in a different way now so our calculator can adjust that ingredient. Google says that 1 cardamom pod = 1/6 teaspoon of ground cardamom.I hope that helps!
Best butter chicken recipe !
Myself and my family all love this,
Lost count of the amount of times I’ve made this, always pleases.
its was so tasty and i loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove this website
I love this recipe! I love butter chicken and this the first time I made it using the blender method. It was amazing. I know a bit about butter chicken & if you want your sauce to thicken up, u just have to leave it on low for a bit till it thickens. The longer butter chicken simmers the better it taste 💜✨
Love this recipe my kids asked for butter chicken after I made coconut curry and this was the one I made it was a total hit so I have added it to my go to chicken dinner meal list.
I really liked this recipe thank you for sharing it 🙂
This turned out great. Only problem is that I wish I had doubled the recipe. There’s not a bit of it left for leftovers.
Sorry I forgot to rate the recipe before sending the comment. It is 5* for me 😀
So tasty! My kid has some allergies so I had to skip the cumin and garam masala. I used oats yoghurt instead and I think oats brought some sweetness, so I didn’t feel it needed sugar. I’m sure that with garam masala would be really nice too, but without it is also delicious. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Honestly, it was extremely bitter. I tried adding more sugar to combat it and it turned it sweet, but not in a good way.
Wowowowowowww!! Wow! This recipe is to die for. When I put away some extra sauce for the freezer I actually wrote “amazing butter chicken sauce”. I don’t eat chicken, so I did this recipe with tofu. I fried it separately and then added it in at the end. I also am not a big onion fan.. so to make things easier on my self I cooked the minced garlic and ginger in butter for a few minutes and then added a regular sized can of tomato sauce so I didn’t have to blend anything. I used chicken broth instead of water (for chicken flavour – I’m Canadian, pardon the u in flavour), and I didn’t have any coriander or cardamom so I didn’t add any. I used 3 tbsps of brown sugar and the rest I followed to a tee. It was as I said.. AMAZING. Thanks for the great recipe, I can’t wait to make it again!
Good flavor! I used chicken bone broth instead of water and added a cornstarch slurry at the end to try and thicken it up. It was quite thin. I like my curry to be thick. Also didn’t add sugar as I don’t feel it needs any!
This turned out fabulous.
Absolutely easy and more importantly delicious!!!
Thank you, love your recipe’s instructions. Very well explained. I am really excited to make this one with my sister.