Butter Chicken
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If you love Indian food, this easy butter chicken recipe is a great one to have in your back pocket for weeknight dinners.
Photo by Johnny Miller (Clarkson Potter, 2021)
You’ll find butter chicken, or Murgh Makhani, on countless Indian restaurant menus, and for good reason: the combination of tender chicken and a rich, creamy, warmly spiced tomato sauce is hard to resist. Traditionally, the chicken is marinated and cooked in a tandoor, or clay oven. For this easy butter chicken recipe, I simplify things by skipping the marinating and sautéing the seasoned chicken in a skillet before finishing it in the sauce. The chicken turns out incredibly tender—in fact, one reader said it must be called “butter chicken” because the chicken is so tender, it’s like “buttah!”
Similar to chicken tikka masala, butter chicken is a great introduction to Indian food for kids because it’s relatively mild. Serve it with basmati rice or naan, and consider a little mango chutney on the side; its gingery sweetness is a nice counterpoint to the savory sauce.
“If I could give you ten stars for this recipe, I would…As good as any take-out Indian food I have ever eaten. A definite winner!”
What You’ll Need To Make Butter Chicken
- Chicken Tenderloins: Naturally tender and quick-cooking, they’re ideal for this recipe. Trim off the tough white tendon with kitchen shears before cooking. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts will also work too, but they’re easier to overcook and dry out.
- All-Purpose Flour: A light coating helps the chicken brown nicely and also thickens the sauce a bit.
- Unsalted Butter & Vegetable Oil: Used together to brown the chicken. The butter brings the taste you want in butter chicken, while the oil helps keep it from burning over the higher heat—a handy stand-in for traditional ghee.
- Onion: Cooks down until soft and gives the sauce a savory, lightly sweet base.
- Fresh Ginger: Brings a warm, peppery bite that’s especially good with the tomatoes and spices.
- Garam Masala, Coriander, Cumin & Cayenne Pepper: Garam masala is a fragrant Indian spice blend, typically made with warming spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves. Along with coriander and cumin, it gives the sauce its warm, aromatic flavor; the cayenne adds the heat, so you can adjust it depending on how spicy you like it.
- Canned Tomato Sauce: Forms the tomato base of the sauce and brings just enough acidity to balance the butter and cream.
- Heavy Cream: Makes the sauce smooth and creamy and mellows the tomatoes and spices. Full-fat coconut milk works as a dairy-free alternative.
- Cilantro: A fresh finishing touch that cuts through the creamy sauce and adds a little color.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How to Make Butter Chicken
Season and brown the chicken: Toss the chicken with the seasonings and flour, then brown it in a single layer in the hot skillet. Be sure not to crowd the pan, or the chicken will steam instead of brown. Flip the chicken and cook just until cooked through, then transfer it to a plate. Keep the skillet as is—the browned bits left behind will become part of the sauce.
Cook the aromatics and spices: In the same skillet, cook the onion and ginger until the onion is soft and translucent, scraping up the browned bits from the chicken as you go. You’re not looking for color on the onion; once it has softened and lost its raw bite, stir in the spices and cook briefly to bloom their flavor.
Make the sauce: Add the remaining sauce ingredients and bring to a gentle boil, then simmer uncovered until slightly thickened. It doesn’t need to get very thick at this point; it will continue to come together once the chicken goes back in.
Finish the butter chicken: Return the chicken and any juices to the sauce and give everything a few minutes to come together over gentle heat. Taste before serving and adjust the seasoning if needed, then scatter cilantro over the top, if you like. Leftovers keep well for 3 to 4 days; just reheat them gently, adding a splash of water if the sauce needs loosening.
Butter Chicken Video Tutorial
More Easy Chicken Recipes You’ll Love
Easy Butter Chicken
Ingredients
- 1½ lb chicken tenderloins, tendons trimmed, or boneless skinless breasts, cut into 1½-inch (4-cm) pieces (see note)
- 1¼ teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- 1½ tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger, from a 2-inch (5-cm) knob
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1¾ teaspoons ground cumin
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¾ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons water
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
For Serving (optional)
- Basmati rice
- Mango chutney, such as Major Grey's
Instructions
- Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel. In a medium bowl, sprinkle the chicken pieces evenly with ¾ teaspoon of the salt and 1 teaspoon of the garam masala; toss to coat evenly. Add the flour and toss again, making sure the chicken is well coated.
- In a large (12-inch/30-cm) nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the butter and the oil over medium-high heat. When the fat is hot and shimmering, add the chicken in a single layer and cook, without stirring, until the chicken is lightly golden on the underside, about 3 minutes. Using tongs, turn the chicken pieces over and cook until just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes more. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside while you make the sauce (you’ll use the skillet in the next step—there’s no need to wash it).
- Melt the remaining tablespoon butter in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and ginger and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. If the onion starts to brown, reduce the heat. Add the coriander, cumin, cayenne (if using), and remaining teaspoon of garam masala; stir and cook 1 minute more. Add the tomato sauce, cream, sugar, pepper, water, and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes.
- Add the chicken, along with any accumulated juices, to the sauce and simmer just a few minutes until the chicken is warmed through. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Sprinkle with the cilantro, if using, and serve with basmati rice and mango chutney. (Note that the sauce will thicken as it sits; thin with a bit of water if necessary.)
Notes
- Chicken tenderloins are ideal for this dish as they are ultra-tender and cook quick quickly. Boneless, skinless breasts work well too, but they are less forgiving and can become dry if overcooked. The tenderloins typically have a white tendon attached to them. They can be a little tough to chew, so I like to remove them with kitchen shears before cooking. Just pinch the tip of the tendon with your finger and snip where the tendon meets the chicken.
- This dish is traditionally cooked with ghee, a type of clarified and fermented Indian butter that has a higher smoke point than plain butter. Since I don’t have ghee on hand in my kitchen and butter burns over high heat, I use a combination of butter and oil to get a similar effect (oil raises the smoke point of the fat and prevents the milk solids in the butter from burning).
- Check out easy guidance for how to peel, grate, and chop fresh ginger.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: Prepare the dish as instructed, allow it to cool, and then store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Reheat gently on the stove over low heat, adding a little water if the sauce has thickened too much during storage.
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I followed the recipe (I have it in your cookbook) it turned out SO good!! Like I’m already planning for a meal repeat. It is so flavorful! The chicken is so tender.
We even put on some Indian music while we had dinner ✔️
Absolutely delicious! Followed the recipe exactly and ate it with the homemade naan – it was outstanding.
It came out too pale I think too much cream though I did follow your recipe correctly I’m Pakistani and we are used to the deep orange color can you advise on how to fix ?
Hi Asra, as you mentioned, it may be lighter than you’re accustomed to. There’s no real way to make it darker without changing the recipe by adding more tomatoes or spices. This dish does tend to darken as it sits, so you could consider making it ahead and refrigerating it for a few days.
I love this recipe! It is so wonderful and easy to make. It’s one of my family’s favorite.
Loved this recipe! My husband who is very simple in his tastes even enjoyed it.
Question – is it possible to freeze it?
So glad it was a hit! Because of the cream, I’m not sure how it would freeze and reheat, but if you have leftovers that you don’t want to go to waste, it’s certainly worth a try. Please report back if you try it!
I’m having a hard time deciding between this recipe and the chicken tikka masala on your website. Is one milder or more kid friendly? We will probably make it a few days ahead of eating it
You really can go either way here. The butter chicken has 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper that you can omit if you’d like. Both reheat nicely, so it’s truly a matter of personal preference. While they’re both excellent, many more readers have made the chicken tikka masala if that makes you lean in that direction.
Thanks! We made the chicken tikka masala and it was excellent!
So glad you enjoyed it! This one can be next on your list. 😊
A new fave. Doubled the recipe and used coconut milk. Excellent recipe.
It says see note about ginger but I see no note about ginger 🫤
Sorry about that (and thanks for pointing it out)! It’s a link that provides some guidance on how to prep fresh ginger. Hope you enjoy the chicken if you make it!
This was fabulous! My husband who has a limited palette liked it! I loved the slow burn spiciness (I might have upped the cayenne a little. I also made the naan as well – but I need more practice with that – lol.
Your recipes never disappoint!
This recipe is fantastic! Didn’t take long to make.