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Overhead view of a homemade butter chicken in a cast iron skillet.
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4.77 from 13 votes

Butter Chicken

This homemade Butter Chicken recipe is rich, creamy, mild, and full of warm spices. Perfect for an easy weeknight dinner for the whole family!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Marinate Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 35 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Total Cost: $10.91 recipe / $2.72 serving
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 468kcal
Author: Marsha McDougal

Equipment

  • Large Bowl
  • Large Cast Iron Skillet

Ingredients

Marinade

  • 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1.5 lb.) $6.25*
  • ½ cup Greek yogurt $0.74
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice $0.58
  • 1 tsp fresh ginger grated, $0.10
  • 2 garlic cloves pressed, $0.08
  • 2 tsp garam masala $0.20
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika $0.05
  • ½ tsp turmeric powder $0.05
  • ¾ tsp salt $0.03

Butter Chicken

  • 2 Tbsp cooking oil $0.08
  • 3 Tbsp butter $0.37
  • 1 yellow onion finely diced, $0.48
  • 2 garlic cloves minced, $0.08
  • 1 tsp fresh ginger grated, $0.10
  • 2 tsp garam masala $0.20
  • ½ tsp ground cumin $0.05
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika $0.05
  • ½ tsp salt $0.02
  • ¼ tsp turmeric powder $0.05
  • 1 15 oz. tomato sauce one can, $1.00**
  • ¼ cup water $0.00
  • ⅓ cup heavy cream room temperature, $0.35

Instructions

  • Cut the chicken breasts up into small ½ inch pieces. Then, in a large bowl, combine the marinade ingredients (Greek yogurt, lemon juice, grated ginger, garlic, garam masala, smoked paprika, turmeric, and salt). Mix the marinade ingredients together until well combined.
  • Add the cut chicken pieces to the marinade and mix, making sure all of the chicken is coated evenly. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or overnight. Remove the marinated chicken from the refrigerator 10 minutes before you are ready to cook.
  • Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat and add the cooking oil. Add the chicken and cook until lightly browned on all sides and cooked through. It may be difficult to see the brown color due to the marinade, but it should only take approximately 8-10 minutes to cook the chicken on all sides.
  • Once the chicken is fully cooked, remove it from the skillet to a separate plate. Cover with foil and set aside.
  • Reduce the heat to medium, then in the same skillet, add the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the diced onion. Sauté the onion for about 4 minutes.
  • Now add in the minced garlic, grated ginger, and the rest of the spices (garam masala, ground cumin, smoked paprika, salt, and turmeric powder). Stir together and cook for 1 minute.
  • Next, add in the tomato sauce and water. Stir and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer the sauce for 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Once the tomato sauce has simmered, add the room temperature heavy cream to the sauce and stir to combine.
  • Add the cooked chicken back to the skillet and stir to combine with the sauce. Simmer the sauce and chicken for 2-3 minutes. Finally, garnish with chopped cilantro, serve hot with cooked rice or naan bread (all optional), and enjoy!

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Video

Notes

*You can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
**Tomato sauce in the US is just cooked and pureed tomatoes with minimal added seasonings. The closest alternative would be passata in other countries. You can also swap the tomato sauce for canned diced tomatoes. If you're using diced tomatoes instead of tomato sauce, you will need to blend the tomatoes and spices in a blender or food processor to get a smooth consistency for your sauce. The blender step is not needed if you are simply using tomato sauce.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 468kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 42g | Fat: 28g | Sodium: 1515mg | Fiber: 3g