Butter Chicken Recipe (2024)

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!

This post was sponsored by Gold’n Plump^®.

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.

This take on Indian Butter Chicken is an absolute favorite in our house. Every single person in my family loves it and it is on the menu at least twice every month. That’s truly saying something for a mom that is regularly developing new recipes for work.

While this recipe may vary a little from traditional butter chicken, I am certain it will become a favorite in your house as well.

How to Make Butter Chicken

1. Sauté the onions in oil. 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 down first prevents the chicken from over cooking and the garlic from burning.
2. Melt in the butter. After the butter is melted, add in the garlic and ginger and cook until just fragrant.
3. Add in the chicken. These bite sized pieces of chicken will only need a minute or two. You want them to just cook on the outside but there is no need to cook them all the way through as they will finish cooking with the sauce.
4. Season the dish. Now add in the garam masala, chili powder, salt and black pepper.
5. Make the sauce. Stir in tomato puree, tomato paste, lemon juice, yogurt and half and half. Allow the sauce to simmer, cooking down for 10 minutes. There will still be lots of sauce left perfect for covering rice and dipping 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.

Other 30 minute Chicken Recipes

• My Cajun Chicken Alfredo will become another favorite. It is full of delicious yet easy flavors.
• Our Chicken Salad is a recipe you should double so you have leftovers to take to work the following day.
• Just like with my butter chicken, these Chicken Lettuce Wraps have the taste of take out in the comfort and ease of your own home.

If you make any of these great chicken recipes, leave me a comment and let me know what you think!