Many of the butter chicken recipes I have come across are pretty complex. They require multiple ingredients and long marinating times; some even require ingredients to be blitzed in a food processor. This Easy Butter Chicken is made with the simplest ingredients, and I can have dinner on the table within 15 minutes. Bite-sized pieces of chicken are perfectly cooked in a creamy sauce, seasoned with just a few carefully chosen aromatic spices to create delicious and intense flavour. Serve with steamed rice, a dollop of yoghurt, and a few fresh ingredients such as cucumber and coriander for a fast and easy dinner.
Can you make Easy Butter Chicken ahead of time?
Butter Chicken can be cooked and refrigerated for up to 3 days. It can also be frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating. Freezing may change the texture and cause the cream to separate, but the flavour will still be amazing.
Is Easy Butter Chicken suitable for leftovers?
Yes, refrigerate Easy Butter Chicken for up to 3 days. You can also freeze it for up to 2 months.
Print Easy Butter Chicken
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp ginger, minced
- 500 g (1 lb) chicken thigh fillets, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup (240 ml) pure cream (or thickened/heavy cream)
To serve
- 2 tbsp yoghurt
- Coriander/cilantro sprigs
- 1 cucumber, finely sliced
- ½ red onion, finely sliced
- 1 fresh chilli (optional)
- Steamed basmati rice, topped with fried shallots (optional)
Instructions
- Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet on medium heat.
- Add onions, garlic and ginger. Cook, stirring for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add chicken, garam masala, cumin, yellow mustard seeds, turmeric, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring for 3-4 minutes until the chicken is slightly browned.
- Add tomato paste and cream and stir to combine. Cook for 8 minutes more.
- Serve with plain yoghurt, cilantro, cucumber, red onion and chilli, if using, with steamed basmati rice topped with fried shallots if you like.
Notes
MAKE AHEAD
Cook and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating. Freezing may change the texture and cause the cream to separate, but the flavour will still be amazing.
LEFTOVERS
Cook and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating. Freezing may change the texture and cause the cream to separate, but the flavour will still be amazing.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: chicken, indian
- Method: pan
- Cuisine: Indian
Maria says:
So easy and so good!
Allison Stanley says:
I just made this curry and wow! What an amazing meal, I thought I was in a restaurant. Thank you so much for sharing💝💝💝
Nadine says:
Love this recipe. Have made it many times and often double it and freeze the leftovers. Takes me longer to cook than stated, but its worth it. Thank you for such a delicious recipe!
Bel Bennett says:
I made this butter chicken and it’s got to be the best version I’ve tasted. The sauce was insanely delicious and whilst I didn’t know how onion and cucumber would work it seriously did with all the suggested sides. I could not get enough of it! Will definitely be cooking this on rotation in our house hold.
Sonia says:
So much better than packet versions, and so simple and easy to make.
I served mine with some frozen mixed steamed veg and some ready-to-eat pappadams and couldn’t be happier with the result with the amount of time and effort put in. Tasted even better heated up the next day!
Karen says:
Tried this tonight with my ‘violently opposed to anything new’ smalls (5, 3 & 1.5)…and they loved it!! Served with cucumber, julienned carrot and homemade naan. Delicious!
Going into the rotation for sure!
katekempthorne says:
Love it, so does the family.
kymlazaridis says:
My daughter and I made this tonight. Absolutely delicious. Made it with fresh Naan bread.
dea says:
So easy to make and has become a meal that we will have regularly. My husband and 3yr old son LOVE it!!
Nadia Hordern says:
Absolutely delicious! I’ve made this a few times and everyone in the family loves it! For my large family I double the recipe – during winter I’ve started popping it in the slow cooker – whole chicken breasts for 4 hours on low – perfection!
bridgetbrasser says:
So good! Another family fave!
hailz_k90 says:
This was absolutely delish and was super easy to make! Will be a regular in our household
vanessaclark says:
Best Butter chicken I’ve made. My family said it tasted better than the restaurant. Yay! Win/win 👍🏽❤️
kirstenthompson says:
This was really good!! Thank you
Hubby said “One of your best babe!”
I also threw in some frozen beans & red capsicum
Great depth of flavours definitely won’t be using the packets anymore.
Love your page x
bonniemackintosh says:
So crazy that this is so yummy with how easy it is! Iv been making butter chicken for years with a million different ingredients and what feels like 200 steps, to then make this which is equally as delicious and so simple with minimal ingredients. On regular repeat here
biancasaker says:
Incredible! Full of flavour and so so easy! my husband thought it was just as good if not better than you get at a restaurant!
Nicole says:
I have the same thoughts but am thrilled you feel the same way too! Thank you SO much for taking the time to write, means so much to me! x
angelapowell says:
This was amazing and even better the next day. Very tasty recipe and the great thing was I had majority of the ingredients in the pantry. We also added broccoli to it as that needed to be used up
Nicole says:
Love the addition of broccoli making it a one pot meal! Thank you so much, so glad you love it as much as we do! x
laurenbell says:
This is one of our favourite meals! It is so easy and delicious. I just add whatever veg I have (capsicum, carrot, spinach, green beans) and some natural yogurt to serve. So much yummier than a take away curry or jar sauce.
Nicole says:
Isn’t it so crazy that a few simple ingredients can taste so good! 🙌🏻 Love the addition of veg – Thank you so much for taking the time to write, means more to me than I can tell you! x
oliviafraker says:
I think I have made butter chicken using every possible supermarket recipe base and also some “from scratch” time consuming recipes. Never with any success.
This recipe though! OMG!!!! Next level. So so easy, absolutely delicious. I’ve made it numerous times now and it never disappoints.
Nicole says:
Ahhh! This makes me so happy to read! I feel exactly the same way about this recipe. So glad you enjoy it as much as we do! 😍