Butter Chicken is a delicious Indian dish featuring tender charbroiled chicken simmered in a rich, creamy tomato-based sauce. It's aromatic, lightly spiced, and perfect served with fluffy basmati rice or warm naan.
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What is butter chicken?
Butter chicken, also known as murgh makhani, is a rich and flavorful Indian dish featuring tender chicken simmered in a creamy, spiced tomato-based sauce.
It's known for its rich, smooth texture and balanced blend of creamy and mildly sweet flavor.
Butter chicken is often served with naan or basmati rice, making it a comforting and delicious meal.
What's the difference between butter chicken and chicken tikka masala?
Butter chicken and chicken tikka masala both use yogurt to marinate the chicken, and are tomato-based dishes flavored with a mixture of spices.
Butter chicken has a velvety, richer, creamier and slightly sweeter sauce that often includes butter, heavy cream, or even cashews.
Whereas, the sauce for chicken tikka masala tends to be more spicier, tangier, and less creamy/smooth/silky compared to butter chicken.
Why you’ll love this recipe
Restaurant-quality at home: the flavor of butter chicken at home, made simply with pantry-staple spices.
Rich and comforting: the buttery, velvety sauce is super flavorful and satisfying.
Customizable: adjust the heat level and creaminess to your preference.
Delicious: marinating the chicken in yogurt not only tenderizes it, but adds additional flavor.
Make ahead of time: this recipe is great for meal prepping since it will taste even better the longer it sits. And if you have extra butter chicken, try it with naan on a Butter Chicken Pizza... yum!
Ingredients you'll need
For the chicken marinade:
- boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs: cut into bite-sized pieces
- plain yogurt: you can also use thick Greek yogurt
- lemon juice: helps tenderize the chicken
- ginger: grated or minced
- garlic: grated or minced
- spices: ground cumin, ground coriander, garam masala, turmeric powder, Kashmiri chili powder (OR paprika for mild heat/cayenne powder for more heat)
- sea salt: to season the chicken
For the butter chicken sauce:
- ghee or unsalted butter: ghee is clarified butter
- neutral vegetable oil
- medium onion: finely chopped
- garlic: grated
- ginger: grated
- crushed tomatoes: or passata (pureed tomato)
- spices: ground cumin, ground coriander, garam masala, turmeric powder, Kashmiri chili powder
- granulated sugar: to balance the acidity in the tomato sauce
- heavy cream
- sea salt: to your taste
Where to find?
You can find these ingredients at large grocery stores with an International aisle or Indian grocery stores.
How to make butter chicken at home
Marinate the chicken:
Combine yogurt, oil, lemon juice, ginger, garlic, spices and seasonings in a large bowl.
Add in the chicken breast, and coat with the yogurt marinade.
Cover with a lid/plastic wrap and place into the fridge to marinate at least 3 hours or overnight.
Cook the chicken:
Arrange a rack under the oven broiler.
Preheat oven broiler to 500F.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Add the marinated chicken to the baking sheet.
Broil chicken for 3-6 minutes per side, flipping halfway.
Remove the chicken (it will not be fully cooked), and cut into cubes. Set aside.
Make the butter chicken sauce:
In a large pot over medium high heat, add in the ghee and oil.
Sauté the onions until soft and translucent.
Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Stir in the cumin, coriander, garam masala, turmeric, Kashmiri chili powder, paprika, and sauté until fragrant, a few minutes.
Add in crushed tomatoes and sugar.
Use an immersion blender to blend the mixture or transfer to a high-powered blender to blend until smooth.
Return blended sauce to the pot and simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and deepens in color.
Return the chicken to the sauce and simmer for another 10 minutes until fully cooked.
Stir in the heavy cream and season with salt to taste.
Remove from heat and garnish with extra cream and chopped cilantro.
How to serve
Serve Butter Chicken with steamed basmati rice, naan, chapati, or roti.
Try pairing it with other dishes such as chicken tikka kabobs, dry spiced potatoes (aloo sabzi), samosas, curry puffs, or potatoes & cauliflower (aloo gobi).
How to store
Store the homemade butter chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freeze the butter chicken in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Defrost in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Expert tips
Kashmiri chili powder gives the dish its signature red color without too much heat; substitute with Hungarian paprika if you can't find it.
Marinating the chicken overnight will enhance the flavors even more.
Add the cream towards the end of the cooking time to prevent it from curdling.
Other delicious Indian-style recipes you may like
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Butter Chicken
For accuracy and precision in baking recipes, use weight (metric) measurements when available.
Ingredients
For the chicken marinade:
- 1 lb (2 large) boneless skinless chicken breasts (or 4-6 chicken thighs)
- ½ C Greek yogurt or plain yogurt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon grated garlic
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder or paprika for mild heat/cayenne for more heat
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
For the butter chicken sauce:
- 2 tablespoon ghee or unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic grated
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 2 C crushed tomatoes or passata pureed tomato
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ½ C heavy cream
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt or to taste
To serve:
- extra heavy cream for drizzling optional
- fresh cilantro chopped
- cooked basmati rice
- naan
Instructions
Marinate the chicken:
- Combine yogurt, oil, lemon juice, ginger, garlic, spices and seasonings in a large bowl.
- Add in the chicken breast, and coat with the yogurt marinade.
- Cover with a lid/plastic wrap and place into the fridge to marinate at least 3 hours or overnight.
Cook the chicken:
- Arrange a rack under the oven broiler.
- Preheat oven broiler to 500°F/260°C.
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- Add the marinated chicken to the baking sheet.
- Broil chicken for 3-6 minutes per side, flipping halfway.
- Remove the chicken (it will not be fully cooked), and cut into cubes. Set aside.
Make the butter chicken sauce:
- In a large pot over medium high heat, add in the ghee and oil.
- Sauté the onions until soft and translucent.
- Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in the cumin, coriander, garam masala, turmeric, Kashmiri chili powder, paprika, and sauté until fragrant, a few minutes.
- Add in crushed tomatoes and sugar.
- Use an immersion blender to blend the mixture or transfer to a high-powered blender to blend until smooth.
- Return blended sauce to the pot and simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and deepens in color.
- Return the chicken to the sauce and simmer for another 10 minutes until fully cooked.
- Stir in the heavy cream and season with salt to taste.
- Remove from heat and garnish with extra cream and chopped cilantro.
- Serve hot with steamed rice, naan, or roti.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided should be considered as approximate and is not guaranteed. Please use your best judgment to ensure food is safely prepared and/or a good fit for your diet.
Ben | Havocinthekitchen
Indian cuisine isn't my favourite, but I love butter chicken. And this bowl looks absolutely incredible and inviting.
Michelle
Butter chicken can win over anyone 😉 Hehe! Thanks Ben!
Healthy World Cuisine
Cozy and perfect for these rainy in between cooler spring days. Love all the delicious warming spices. I did not know you also had Indian recipes on your site too- have to check them all out.
Michelle
Thanks Bobbi! It's one of my hubby's favorite cuisines, so I've got a few Indian recipes on the site. 🙂