Healthy butter chicken is a delicious Indian dish with tender chicken pieces swimming in an amazing, creamy tomato curry sauce that's packed with spices and flavor. This easy recipe is ready in 30 minutes!
You guys know I love my curry dishes, especially when they're quick, easy and on the healthier side.
I've shared my quick chicken curry, 20-minute coconut chicken curry and my quick and easy vegetarian curry.
Today, I'm so excited to share one of my favorite easy Indian recipes: healthy butter chicken!
I'm so in love with this dish. The aroma, the spices, the sauce, the simmering deliciousness that bubbles away and has you drooling as you wait to dive in.
It's a classic for a reason!
First things first though.
What is butter chicken?
- Butter chicken is an Indian dish of chicken in a mildly spiced tomato sauce.
- It's also called murgh makhani or chicken makhani.
Funny enough, it's not uncommon to not actually use butter in the sauce for this butter chicken recipe.
And it's not needed. My version uses no butter, is made without any cream and you don't miss it one bit. (The creaminess comes from the Greek yogurt.)
It's got such a rich, creamy tomato sauce that's begging to be spooned greedily over all of the chicken and rice on your plate.
And once you smell it and taste it, you'll know just what I mean. Seriously scrumptious!
Plus, it's really easy to make and takes just 30 minutes! (Plus some time for marinating the chicken, if you can swing it. See the notes below.)
I've also got this Instant Pot butter chicken recipe if you want to check out that version. Or try slow cooker butter chicken for a hands-off meal.
OK, let's get cooking.
I've got a few notes and substitutions below. Feel free to scroll on down to the recipe card if you'd rather.
Recipe Notes:
Marinade time: I think this tastes best when you let the chicken marinate for at least 45 minutes to an hour. If you've only got 30 minutes, that's good too. If you don't have time to marinate it at all, just mix it all together first and then start cooking. It'll still taste great!
Garam masala is a tasty blend of ground spices often used in Indian cooking. If you don't have any, you can substitute curry powder.
Greek yogurt: I use a nonfat or 2% Greek yogurt to stir into this dish at the end. You could try substituting half and half or heavy cream, but I've not tested it that way.
Like it spicy? You can increase the amount of cayenne up to ½ teaspoon.
Oh, and I never have an issue with curdling, but milk and yogurt can curdle if it heats too quickly, or if it comes to a boil.
You may want to lower your heat or briefly remove the pan from the stove when you add the Greek yogurt in this recipe to help prevent curdling.
As for serving, we love this over steamed brown or basmati rice. You could also use cauliflower rice for a low-carb option.
I love this with peas and sometimes mix them right in with the chicken and sauce to warm them and get them all coated in the sauce. So yummy!
You could also use steamed broccoli or asparagus as a veggie side to round out this meal.
There you have it! You can make butter chicken at home any time you like. And I think you'll fall in love.
Enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
P.S. Check out all of my other 30-minute chicken recipes for more quick and easy dinner inspiration.
Easy, Healthy Butter Chicken
Ingredients
For the marinated chicken:
- 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons garam masala (see notes)
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¾ teaspoons black pepper
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
For cooking:
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- Place the cut pieces of chicken in a bowl or tiptop plastic bag. Combine all of the marinate ingredients in a bowl and stir well. (It will be very thick.) Pour the marinate ingredients over the chicken and stir to coat all of the chicken. Let marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to 8 hours (see notes).
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add canola oil.
- Add onion and cook for 2-3 minutes, until softened. Add garlic and cook for an additional minute.
- Add the marinated chicken (along with all of the marinade) to the pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the yogurt and water, reduce the heat to medium or medium-low, enough to maintain a steady simmer. Let cook for 8-10 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and sauce is thickened.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper (it may not need any).
- Serve the chicken hot with extra sauce spooned over top.
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Denise Tarbox says
This was fantastic! I love butter chicken but usually buy the premade sauce. I was intimidated to make this from scratch, but it was easy and delicious. Definitely a do-over.
Kathryn Doherty says
Oh I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed it Denise! Thanks so much for sharing! 😊
Kim says
Hi! Really loved this and will make again. One question - mine turned out a bit more yellow than red. Has this ever happened to you and any advice? I checked carefully that I had added enough tomato paste...
Kathryn Doherty says
The color can vary depending on the spices you use (some brands are darker than others, as well as how fresh they are changing the color slightly) and the Greek yogurt can dilute the colors a bit, so those factors may have been the reason for a lighter color. Hope that helps!
Rachelle says
Hi can I substitute yogurt with sour cream and I haven’t got turmeric does that matter?
Kathryn Doherty says
Hi Rachelle! Yes, you can definitely use sour cream instead of Greek yogurt. And while the turmeric adds some flavor, I'm sure it'll be fine without it if you don't have any. Would love to hear if you try it!
Rachelle says
Tried it with sour cream and it was really lovely I managed to add turmeric so worked out well can recommend it as a substitute for yoghurt
Matt says
First time cooking butter chicken from scratch and this was the best most flavoursome butter chicken I've ever eatten.
I did change up the bulk ingredients a little. Only used half the amount of chicken and made up the bulk with eggplant and sweet potato
Kathryn Doherty says
I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed it Matt! And I love the addition of the veggies - yum! Thanks for sharing 😊
jessica wallrapp says
This was delicious! I made it in the crock pot only because I needed to prep everything in the morning. About an hour before we ate I grilled the onions and then added those and the sauce to the chicken mixture. It was perfect and super easy. I think it will become a staple around here.
Kathryn Doherty says
I'm so happy to hear you all loved it Jessica! And great to know it worked so well in the crock pot. Thanks so much for sharing! 😊
Joyce says
When simmering I left my lid on and it produced more liquid was I not supposed to be the lid on?
Kathryn Doherty says
Hi Joyce! Yes, this wasn't meant to be covered with a lid. That would have kept the steam in and added extra liquid, instead of having it cook off a bit and thicken. Hope that helps!
Hanna says
Hey ! Thanks for the recipe, I am really not familiar with cup measurement 🙁
Could you please tell me more or less how much a cup measures in grams? Thanks a lot
Kathryn Doherty says
Hi Hanna! I just Googled and found this article, which might be helpful for you: https://www.allrecipes.com/article/cup-to-gram-conversions/
Stephanie Bower says
I made this recipe exactly as it is listed and it was way way too sweet for us so I added one cup of chicken broth, doubled the yogurt, double of the lime ( we didn’t have lemon so. Used lime) double the tomato paste,double the cayenne, and added 1/2 an avacado cubed and it was amazing! However I would recommend 1/2 the brown sugar or 1/4 the brown sugar with the recipe as written. Also I served it with white rice made in the rice cooker - very very good- we love Indian food but are trying to eat healthier and loved this recipe Except 1/4 the brown sugar
Kathryn Doherty says
I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed this Stephanie! 😊 The recipe only calls for 2 tablespoons of brown sugar total (for 2 pounds of chicken) but you can certainly reduce that if needed.
Francesca says
Hi - I'd really love to try this but am unfamiliar with some of the terminology i.e. 'yield'. Can I just double check how many people this recipe serves? Thank you ☺
Kathryn Doherty says
Hi! So the yield is 6 servings, which means that it serves 6 people. Hope that helps and hope you enjoy it! 😊
Siva says
Can I leave the chicken to marinate overnight? up to 24 hours? Thanks!
Kathryn Doherty says
Hi there! Yes, I think overnight and up to 24 hours would be OK if you leave the chicken breasts whole to marinate and cut them afterwards. That's the upper limit of marinade time. (It's closer to 8-12 hours for smaller cut pieces of chicken.) Hope that helps!
Jeanne says
Why is it not recommended to cut and marinate the chicken for 24 hours?
Kathryn Doherty says
The acidity in the marinade, mainly from the lemon juice, could start to act on and cook the smaller pieces of chicken and break down the proteins, which leads to mushy meat.
Z says
Thank you so much for this recipe, and especially for the extra little notes! I’m just learning how to cook and cooking causes me a lot of anxiety and I always avoid it, but your instructions made it really easy for me (especially with the way you gave a heads up about things that could go wrong - not many people do that). I can’t thank you enough and I‘m so glad I found your website! 🙂
Also the recipe came out perfect. I left out some of the spices, used fresh tomato instead of sauce and made it very chilli though 😛
Kathryn Doherty says
Oh, I'm so happy to hear it was helpful - I do try hard to make sure my recipes are approachable for the home cook, which is exactly what I am myself! And I'm glad that you loved this recipe! 😊
Laura says
I have tried so many butter chicken recipes. This by far the stand out. The Depth of flavour yum yum!
I substituted sour cream & chicken thighs, and let the whole lot marinade for the afternoon before tea. Thank you for this recipe definately one i want to cook fir famiky & friends.
Kathryn Doherty says
Oh I'm so happy to hear you loved it Laura! Thanks so much for sharing! 😊
Danielle says
Hi! I’ve been looking for a high protein, low fat, low carb recipe and this is exactly what I need! The only thing I can’t really use is added sugar. Is that sweetness crucial to the balance of flavors? I don’t use any artificial sweeteners, I really try to avoid any sugar beyond what I naturally eat in fruit. Any suggestions? Or do you think it would be okay without the added sugar?
Kathryn Doherty says
Hi Danielle! I think you would be fine to skip the sugar. It helps balance the acidity from the lemon juice and tomato paste, but I'm sure this would be fine without it. Would love to hear what you think!
Jill says
I will be cooking this recipe for a client tomorrow and will minimise the sugar as I never add sugar to my butter chicken. I always reduce or eliminate any type of sugar from my cooking. This recipe will be amazing without the sugar.
Jen says
What about adding some carrot for sweetness?
Pawan says
Hi there, I have made this before and it turned out great, but I was wondering what I would need to do to have more sauce? say double but not lose any of the flavor itself?
Kathryn Doherty says
I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed this! I hear ya, the sauce is pretty fantastic so yes to more of that! I'd say you'd probably need to double the marinade ingredients and then also increase the Greek yogurt and water to get more sauce without losing any of that great flavor. I hope that helps and let me know how it goes!
Alex says
This looks great! I love traditional butter chicken and can't wait to try a lightened version. I am thinking of trying this in my new Instant Pot. Do you have any experience with the Instant Pot or recommendations for adapting? I'll check back in and update on how it went!
Kathryn Doherty says
Hi Alex! I haven't made this particular recipe in the Instant Pot, so I'm not sure what the timing would be. I think you'd want to use the saute mode to soften the onions and garlic and then add the chicken and mix everything together. You could then seal the pot and cook on high pressure for maybe 5-6 minutes? You'd need to check and make sure everything got cooked through. You may also need more liquid to ensure there's no burn notice. And I think cooking it that way would probably take longer since you'd have to wait for the pot to come to pressure, cook and then release. Would love to hear if you try it though!
Malenka says
Hi Alex, was wondering the same thing. How did it turn out?
Fi says
While this was a tasty chicken CURRY recipe, it was NOT butter chicken. It was missing something. The tomato paste was too little and proportions off with the spices. Still, was tasty overall
Kim says
Can I use pre cooked chicken... ie a rotisserie from the store?
Kathryn Doherty says
Hi Kim! I don't think that would give you the same flavor, since we're marinating the chicken before cooking it in this recipe and that won't work with the cooked rotisserie chicken. You could certainly try it - just adding the cooked chicken at the end once the sauce is thickened - it just might not be as flavorful.
Mali says
Hello! I am going to make this tonight but just checking if anyone has tried freezing the meal? Thank you 🙂
Kathryn Doherty says
Hi Mali! I hope you enjoyed it! I have a section on freezing any leftovers in the post agove. Here's the info: ... This does freeze well. You can freeze it for up to 5-6 months in a freezer-safe ziptop bag or container.
Also, I think the sauce helps keep the chicken from drying out while reheating. You can reheat it in a pan on the stove or in the microwave.
Hope that helps!
Lizanne says
Oh my!! This was amazing. Trying to learn to make my food from scratch so I can control what is in them. Was nervous to try out Butterchicken but this was so good. Will definitely make this one frequently during those cold winter evenings!
Kathryn Doherty says
Oh I'm so happy to hear you loved it Lizanne! Thanks so much for sharing!
Liz says
Just made this as written and loved it! I think I’ll try chicken thighs next time!
Kathryn Doherty says
I'm so happy to hear you loved it Liz! Thanks for sharing! And yes, it is great with chicken thighs, too 😊
Georgina says
Can you cook the same recipe in a slow cooker?
Kathryn Doherty says
Hi Georgina! I haven't tried it that way, so I'm not sure what adjustments might be needed. Off the top of my head, I'd probably use less water so it doesn't end up too liquidy. Not sure what else might need to be tweaked, but would love to hear if you try it!
Rohan George says
Do you think I could use paneer/quorn chicken instead of the chicken as I am a vegetarian?
Kathryn Doherty says
Hi, I haven't tried that substitution but if the paneer or quorn was able to marinate and take on those flavors, it might work. You may also need to adjust the cooking time. Would love to hear if you try it!
Bob says
I come for the recipes, not the essay on how your day went before you decided yo cook the recipe. Just give us the goddamn recipe!
Kathryn Doherty says
I included a few short paragraphs about "how my day went" and the rest of the post is information all about this recipe, including helpful hints and substitutions. Scrolling to the recipe card, which takes less than 5 seconds total, is always an option. Hope this week treats you better, Bob!
Ko says
Lord, Bob. How do use. Go elsewhere then! No one forced you to come to this page or use the recipe.
Ko says
What I meant to say, Bob, is that your comment was very rude.
V says
Yup. Unfortunately, that’s what these food bloggers do. Usually, there’s a skip to recipe button. If not, I just keep looking for another recipe. I couldn’t care less about their personal crap.
Susannah says
This is a fantastic curry!! Thanks so much for sharing this. One question: do you have any tips to thicken the sauce a bit? I'm wary about extending the cooking time (to reduce the sauce more) in case the chicken gets dried out. Is there something I could add to the sauce instead?
Kathryn Doherty says
I'm so happy you loved it Susannah! Agreed on not extending the cooking time (by too much at least)... I think a cornstarch slurry would help. I'd say mix 1 teaspoon of cornstarch with 2 teaspoons of water in a small bowl then add that to the pan to thicken the sauce. It just needs to cook for a couple of minutes to thicken and to cook the raw cornstarch flavor out so add it before the chicken is done if your sauce isn't thickening enough on its own. Hope that helps!
Anna says
Was living in Nepal before and this is one of their staples! After we left, we craved a lot of their food, lol! Thanks for this recipe, was able to feel being in the Himalayas again! We had it with naan and was super yummy! x
Kathryn Doherty says
I'm so happy to hear you loved this Anna! Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂