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. We eat a lot of curry around here, but this is one of the recipes I come back to again and again. It has a rich, creamy sauce, tender chicken, and all the warm spices that make butter chicken so irresistible. Whenever I serve it to friends, they’re quick to ask for the recipe.
One of my favorite tricks is blending the sauce. Not only does it create that silky, restaurant-style texture, but it also means you don’t have to spend time finely dicing onions and garlic. A rough chop is all you need before everything gets blended into a smooth, velvety masala.
The flavor starts with onions, garlic, ginger, and tomatoes, then a generous blend of spices, including garam masala, cumin, coriander, turmeric, cardamom, and chili powder. Chicken simmers in the sauce until tender, while cream and almond butter add richness and body. A touch of sugar rounds everything out, creating a curry that’s creamy, balanced, and packed with flavor.
And if you love using your slow cooker, make sure to check out my crockpot butter chicken!
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 simplified 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 spend simmering the sauce on its own: two birds, one stone, same result.
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 well, making it a great 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 Used
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
Can I make this recipe without chilli or pepper as I have allergy for chilli & pepper
Definitely! It will still be very tasty.
This is a great recipe. I’ve made it about four or five times now. It’s always a hit with the family. But I have some concerns.
1/4 cup of coconut milk is not enough to justify opening a whole can. I used 1/2 cup then made the recipe again to use the rest.
Secondly, the chicken will not cook in 10 minutes. I ate raw chicken, which was really great. The chicken needs 30 minutes.
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe. If you are using full chicken breasts (which I’m assuming you are) then yes, they will need much longer to cook. But if you cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces (as per the recipe) then they cook very quickly in the simmering sauce.
Just what I needed. Easy and tasty!
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!