My easy butter chicken recipe is full of flavour with just the right amount of mild curry spice, making it a favourite for the whole family (even little ones). Making butter chicken at home from scratch is easy and budget-friendly!
Once you make my "oh so easy butter chicken" from scratch, you won't buy the jar or prepackaged stuff again. It's also freezer friendly and reheats perfectly! A little tip - double the recipe and freeze the other half.
Ingredients
- chicken thighs
- butter
- onion, diced
- ginger, grated or minced
- garlic, minced
- cumin
- garam masala
- ground coriander
- turmeric
- cinnamon stick
- salt
- chicken stock
- tomato passata (tomato puree)
- sugar
- thickened cream
- chilli powder - optional if you want a little spice (leave out for little ones)
Chicken Marinade
- lemon juice
- garam masala
- cumin
- plain greek yogurt
To Serve
- white rice
- naan bread
- fresh coriander
See the recipe card below for quantities.
Spices that are needed to create this easy mild butter chicken recipe.
All the spices used are easily available at the supermarket; you may even have them already in your pantry. You will use cumin, garam masala, ground coriander seeds, turmeric, cinnamon stick, sugar, salt and optional chilli powder. If you have little ones and want a mild butter chicken recipe, leave out the chilli powder or reduce it in half. Once you purchase the spices needed to make the butter chicken, you will have enough to make this around ten times, so don't be put off purchasing them.
Instructions
Mix all of the marinade ingredients together in a bowl.
Marinate the chicken thigh in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (overnight if you can).
Remove the chicken from the marinade.
Using a frypan on a medium heat, add olive oil and brown the chicken for around 6 minutes on each side. Remove from frypan and cut into chunks (you can do this prior to marinating, but I find the chicken is better cooked whole and cut up once cooked).
Melt the butter over medium heat in the same frypan (rinse and wipe out if needed). Cook the onion, garlic and ginger for 3 minutes until tender. Add all the spices to the pan and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
Add the chicken stock, browned diced chicken, tomato passata and sugar. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the cream and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick and discard
Top with fresh coriander and serve over white rice with a side of naan bread.
Can you freeze this butter chicken?
Yes, you can! It freezes perfectly for up to 6 months. Butter chicken is a great meal to make ahead of time, and if you double the recipe when cooking, you can freeze half of it and save time. To defrost frozen butter chicken, it's best to allow it to defrost in the fridge for 24 hours before reheating. Once defrosted, you can reheat it in the microwave, oven or stovetop.
Easy Butter Chicken Recipe
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Ingredients
- 800 grams chicken thighs
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 onion diced
- 1 tablespoon ginger grated or minced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 cinnamon stick
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup chicken stock
- 1 cup tomato passata (tomato puree)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 cup thickened cream
- ¼ teaspoon chilli powder optional - leave out for a mild butter chicken
Chicken Marinade
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 cup plain greek yoghurt
To Serve
- white rice
- fresh corriander
- naan bread
Instructions
Marinade
- Mix all of the marinade ingredients together in a bowl.
- Marinate the chicken thigh in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (overnight if you can).
Butter Chicken
- Remove the chicken from the marinade.
- Using a large frypan on a medium heat, add olive oil and brown the chicken for around 6 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken from the frypan and dice it (you can dice it prior to marinating, but I find the chicken is better cooked whole and cut up once cooked).
- Rinse the frypan. Melt the butter over medium heat and add the onion, garlic and ginger for 3 minutes until tender. Add all the spices to the pan and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add the chicken stock, browned diced chicken, tomato passata and sugar. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the cream and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick and discard.
- Top with fresh coriander and serve over white rice with a side of naan bread.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is computer generated and is only an estimate. This data is provided as a courtesy for informational purposes only.
Dinner Ideas?
Here are some of my other favourite dinner recipes.
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