This Butter Chicken Recipe is so easy and so delicious. It’s the perfect weeknight meal. Better than take out, you’ll love making this Indian Butter Chicken at home!
I am so proud to be an ambassador for Gold’n Plump® this year.
You guys, the hustle and bustle of the holiday season is a real thing, like a super real thing, and I keep thinking about all these great holiday recipes I want to make for you. But for real, we need some regular go-to dinner recipes still. We can’t just have sugar cookies for dinner every night … right?
“This recipe has become a go to for my family! My husband loves requesting it. It’s super easy to make and delicious so thank you!”
We are such huge fans of Indian cooking around here, the flavors and spices are always so perfect. Nathan and I love getting chicken dishes, especially the ones that come with a lot of sauce that we can eat with rice and warm pieces of naan. The saucier the recipe, the better.
The biggest problem is that our favorite Indian restaurant is super far away and a hassle to get take out from. So, an easy butter chicken recipe I can make at home is pretty much essential.
Like every other chicken recipe I make at home, I used Gold’n Plump Chicken. Their chicken is always my go-to. I find it stays moist and tender and doesn’t dry out. I also love that their chickens are raised on family farms in the Midwest and they never use antibiotics – ever. As expected, their boneless skinless chicken breast fillets worked perfectly in this butter chicken.
How to Make Butter Chicken
- One of the keys to this recipe is to really let the onions cook down first before you add anything else. Allowing them to cook by themselves keeps the chicken from over cooking and keeps the ginger and garlic from burning.
- After you cook the onions, add your butter, ginger, garlic and Gold’n Plump chicken breasts.
- From there, you add in the garam masala, chili powder, salt and black pepper.
- After that, you stir in tomato puree, tomato paste, lemon juice, yogurt and half and half. You let the sauce cook down, but it will still be nice and saucy at the end, giving you lots of great sauce to eat with your chicken, rice and naan.
Butter Chicken Without Cream
A lot of Butter Chicken recipes call for cream, but I opted out in this version. Instead I used yogurt and half and half, which give you the nice creaminess you are looking for without the heavy cream.
What is Half and Half?
Half and half is a product sold in the United States that is literally just half heavy cream and half whole milk. If you are making this outside of the U.S. you can substitute the 1 cup half and half with 1/2 a cup heavy cream and 1/2 a cup whole milk.
What is Garam Masala?
Garam masala is a spice blend that is used in a lot of traditional Indian cooking. It gives the recipe a little bit of a kick and a delicious signature flavor that really can’t be found using anything else.
What Can I Use Instead of Garam Masala?
I would really encourage you to go out and buy some Garam Masala for this recipe. Without it, the dish won’t have the same flavor. If you can’t find it at your grocery store, you can certainly look for a recipe that will help you make just a small amount.
But to really enjoy this creamy butter chicken recipe, throw in some garam masala!
Is Butter Chicken Spicy?
I didn’t think this dish was spicy, but my kids thought it had a little bit of a kick to it. It is the black pepper in this recipe that gives it the slight kick. If you are making this for picky eaters, I would suggest only adding a pinch of pepper instead of the whole amount.
Othere Weeknight Chicken Recipes
Because I know you guys are like me and you are constantly on the hunt for other great chicken recipes, I can’t just leave you with this Butter Chicken Recipe and sugar cookies to live on until Christmas. (We agreed sugar cookies for dinner isn’t a thing … right?)
- This Bourbon Chicken is another tasty, easy dinner that family will love.
- These Slow Cooker Honey BBQ Chicken Drumsticks are perfect for the holiday season because they only require a few ingredients AND are made in the slow cooker!
- This Chicken Noodle Casserole is always a classic, and my version can be made the night before!
- These Baked Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs are AMAZING! My family loves them.
If you make any of these great chicken recipes, leave me a comment and let me know what you think!
Butter Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion diced small
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 pound Gold’n Plump Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Fillets diced into bit sized pieces
- 1 tablespoon garam masala read about garam masala here
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt
- 1 cup half and half read about half and half here
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat extra virgin olive oil. Add diced onions and stir regularly, cooking until the onions are translucent – about four minutes.
- Add the butter and allow it to melt completely. Then stir in the ginger and garlic, cooking for about 30 seconds to a minute or until fragrant. Be careful not to burn it.
- Add the chicken and cook, stirring often until the chicken is no longer pink on the outside, about 2 minutes. No need to cook it all the way through as it will continue cooking as you add the rest of the ingredients and simmer the recipe.
- Now stir in the garam masala, chili powder, salt and black pepper. Then pour in the tomato sauce, tomato paste, lemon juice, yogurt and half and half. Stir to combine fully. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes to allow the sauce to reduce.
- The sauce will reduce but still be quite saucy. Serve with rice and naan.
Video
Andrea says
Made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious. I will definitely be making this again. Thanks for the recipe.
I’m so happy you liked it!
Jane says
It amazing!! Very tasty!!
So glad you liked it Jane!
Nicole says
Has anyone tried in pressure cooker? I’m wondering how I can convert it to that?
Jennifer says
Is it possible to make this into a marinade? Want to make the chicken as tenderas possible!
I haven’t tried that, if you do be sure to let me know how it goes!
Alyssa says
I’ve used the yogurt with spices as a chicken marinade, makes it very tender. I’ll add more of the spices to taste as I make the sauce too.
Aws says
Pre-soak the chicken in buttermilk. (Even better make your own using lemon). Soak overnight or for as little as an hour if you dice it up first. 😊
Katharina says
What is 1 pot Half and Half?
8 ounces of half and half. If that doesn’t answer your question, please do reach out again so I can help figure it out with you.
Celeste Duncan says
It says cup now.
Sue says
Might sound thick but I am in the UK and not sue what half and half is.
Is it milk?
Thank you
Sue, I actually get this question enough that I’m going to start adding a note in my recipes every time I use it. It is something sold in the dairy section in the U.S. that is essentially half whole milk and half cream. So you could replace it with 1/2 a cup whole milk and 1/2 a cup heavy cream.
Neel says
8 ounces of tomato sauce!! Is’nt it too much?
This is a very saucy recipe to be sure, but that’s how my family loves it. Perfect for soaking rice. Delicious!
Fiona says
I suspect that if you’re not American, this translates to passata or tomato puree, not ketchup. A can of finely chopped tomatoes will substitute well.
Shelly says
What kind of tomato puree do you use?
It’s just a small can of tomato paste. If you can’t find it, you can leave it out of the recipe and you will still enjoy it.
Germaine says
Love the sauce – is it possible to double it when making the recipe – I generally use boneless skinless thighs as I find the breast on the dry side..
You absolutely could double it. But I wouldn’t! My husband likes the sauce more than the meat in Indian dishes, so this recipe is heavy on the sauce as it is!
Tiffany says
Wow!!! Made this recipe and we loved it! My husband said it’s a keeper. So I will definitely be making this again! Thank you so much, I really love your recipes!
So happy you liked it Tiffany!
LaVonne says
This dish is easy to prepare and healthy! My husband loves it and his idea of international recipes is pizza and pasta. I’m planning on preparing it again next week.
Hahahaha!! Thanks for the laugh, LaVonne, I love it. And thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know!
Amy Knight says
Have you ever substituted potatoes for the chicken? If so, how did you do it?
I haven’t, but that sounds really good. If you are looking to make it vegetarian, I would consider half potatoes and half cauliflower!
Amy Knight says
Thank you for reminding me about cauliflower! I looked at another site and it suggested sautéing the potatoes and then adding in the sauce. I’m giving it a try tomorrow night!
Let me know how it goes!