Quick 20-minute butter chicken is creamy and packed full of flavor. It’s simplified and cooked all in one pan and goes great with a side of rice or naan! 

20 Minute Butter Chicken

Ever since moving to Alexandria, Virginia we’ve been in luck with all the Indian, Pakistani, and Aghani restaurants around us. We love the cuisine because it’s loaded with flavor and spice and is great for cold nights. One dish we keep going back for is the butter chicken. The spicy creaminess is unforgettable and always makes us go back for more!

I’ve been experimenting with my own version of home-made butter chicken over the past few weeks and I’ve finally found the perfect one. This simple no-fuss one pan butter chicken is just perfect. It’s simplified and does not require a whole bunch of ingredients, yet it’s packed with just the right amount of spice.

 

4.78 from 343 votes

Easy 20 Minute Butter Chicken

By: Layla
Quick 20-minute butter chicken is creamy and packed full of flavor. It's simplified and cooked all in one pan and goes great with a side of rice or naan! 
Prep5 minutes
Cook15 minutes
Total20 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients 

  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely minced or grated (or use paste)
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced or crushed
  • 1 ½ pounds about 2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into ¾-inch chunks
  • 4 tablespoons tomato paste, or 8 oz can of tomato sauce
  • 1 tablespoon garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder, or paprika, adjust to taste
  • 1 teaspoon Fenugreek, I use powder, but seeds or mustard seeds can be used too, optional*
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1 cup heavy cream, sub for half & half or yogurt for low fat
  • Hot cooked rice and naan for serving

Instructions 

  • Heat a large skillet or medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the oil, butter, and onions and cook onions down until lightly golden, about 3-4 minutes. Add ginger and garlic and let cook for 30 seconds, stirring so it doesn’t burn.

  • Add the chicken, tomato paste, and spices. Cook for 5-6 minutes or until everything is cooked through.

  • Add the heavy cream and simmer for 8-10 minutes stirring occasionally. Serve over Basmati rice or with naan.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 491kcal, Carbohydrates: 9g, Protein: 39g, Fat: 33g, Saturated Fat: 17g, Cholesterol: 198mg, Sodium: 963mg, Potassium: 895mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 1405IU, Vitamin C: 8mg, Calcium: 67mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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340 Comments

  1. Made this today, my husband just ate it, he loves Indian food..but despite using half and half of chilli powder and paprika, he found this still too spicy for him…. also, I had run out of cream, so used greek yoghurt, and it cuddled! I like the ease of this recipe, will try it again, and skip the chilli powder and use cream instead of greek yoghurt. Because hubby is vegetarian and I used canned mock duck for his chicken, I only made the sauce – I skipped adding the meat until the end as we eat different “meats,” however, I can’t stand cuddled- grainy looking sauce, so I will pass on this one, and find me some left overs for lunch- sadly I made hubby the “guinea pig” on this one, LOL. Will definitely try this again!

  2. absolutely gorgeous thankyou .. I would highly recommend 🙂 my first attempt and it was amazing (no more jars for me as it was so quick and easy to make and so much tastier ) if i can do it anyone can haha! recon i could win master chief with this recipe 😉

  3. I have Ground (minced) Chicken , is there any way i can use that instead of the chicken breast pieces?:)

    1. Yes, you can use the recipe as instructed but the dish will be more like a creamy minced chicken dish.

  4. This recipe is a winner!! Loved it so muchh great balance of flavours!! ♥️

  5. This sounds delicious. Can I use diced tomatoes instead of paste? If so, how many? Thx.

    1. Yes, you can but the color and flavor will slightly differ. I would use 1 large.

  6. Haven’t tried it yet but chicken looks white and gross, probably better to brown it first and yogurt curdled and now looks grain! Hmmm…hope it tastes better then it looks.

    1. Your comment is gross.

      Unless you’re using chunked Tandoor cooked chicken breast, it’s not “authentic” anyway, and you’ve got a moot point about how the chicken is cooked. For what it is, this is an amazingly delicious, yet simple recipe meant to get people out of the same old (jar) comfort zone. Perhaps, you might perfect and then share your recipe to compare?

  7. Mixed all the ingredients in my food processor and marinated the chicken for 6 hours. Put in the crock pot for 6 hours. So good!!!!! Family wants me to make more. Just wish I could find naan bread.

    1. I Also loved this recipe even though I tweaked the spices a bit. I made it in combo with another recipe for homemade Naan bread and it was amazing!!

      Here’s the Naan bread recipe I used if you are looking for one

      Homemade Naan

  8. Just tried this recipe and it was amazing. I really enjoyed it. Perfect amount of seasoning. I will be cooking it again very soon.

  9. Loved it! Just the right amount of spice. However, I used yogurt and it curdled slightly, Any hints on how to prevent curdles.

    1. Try taking 2-3 spoonful of sauce out, mixing the yogurt with that sauce to warm the yogurt. Then mix this into the hot curry.

  10. Absolutely delicious recipe, full of flavour and creaminess. I use only 1/4 tsp chilli powder, 1 cup thickened cream, all other ingredients used. Small amount of chopped parsley. Both kids and grown ups love this dish! Have made a few times now. Thank you so much for sharing your lovely recipe! This is definitely my go to recipe for a great meal.

    1. Those tips sound perfect! glad you enjoyed it 🙂

  11. No one ever say’s you can use coconut milk? Can you?

    1. You can easily swap out the cream for coconut milk if you’d like 🙂

    2. I make it with full fat coconut milk and it turns out just wonderfully!

  12. ?What is the best way to incorporate the tomato paste? I always find it awkwardly sticks until I put in the yogurt

    1. You can try adding 1/4th cup of water after adding the tomato paste. It helps with mixing it through and won’t dilute the flavor!

  13. Love the recipe it’s delicious! You’re looks prettier…What is the green garnish in the picture?

  14. I cherished the formula unquestionably. I will must endeavor it at my home. Much obliged to you for such conventional sharing. Just in 20 minutes, its amazing.

  15. Never tried cooking butter chicken but it’s my favorite dish when I’m ordering Indian food but I will definitely try this recipe thank you !!

  16. Better than the restaurant! I made this for my boyfriend who loves Indian food, and he loved it! So quick and easy. Definitely making again.

  17. Do you need to cook the chicken separately first, or does it cook on the skillet with the sauce?

    1. Nope! Everything is cooked together in the same pan 🙂

  18. This is truly delicious and pretty dang foolproof. Highly recommend.

  19. This is the best butter chicken recipe I’ve found online. My whole family loves it. I omit the ginger (don’t like it) and fenugreek (can’t get it), but it is still delicious. Last time I made it with thigh fillets, which my husband preferred.

    1. So glad the recipe is a family favorite of yours too, Julia 🙂

    2. Love this so much. I add red and yellow peppers which i char (to try and simulate cooking in a tandoor) in the pan and remove before cooking the chicken. Then I add them back before simmering. I found fenugreek and garam masala on Amazon.

  20. I never write reviews but this one was a super hit and. Plus the refrain from writing. Actually even faster coz I had litely sautéd left over chicken which I used . Couldn’t tell the difference!
    A few other variations
    Also added a pinch or two of sugar to get that sweet tangy flavor and avoided garam masala ( to avoid heartburn issues)
    Added crushed fires fenugreek leaves instead of powder .
    Despite these variations turned out very good and

    1. Thanks for taking the time to leave a review, Nameera!! <3

    1. I used cumin powder that I powdered myself from fresh cumin seeds.

  21. Just delicious. I used chicken tenders and onlly had 3/4 cup of half and half. Used a little sour cream and 2% milk to make up the difference. ( I really didn’t want to go to the store.). And my family is not wacky about plain rice, so I made Garlic Butter rice from spendwithpennies.com. Add a salad and so happy I didn’t have to heat the oven. Yum!

  22. So easy and really good. I’m saving this one, thank you for sharing this!!!

  23. For years I’ve been making a way more complicated version of butter chicken (9 ingredients just for the marinade alone) and it was very good. But today I felt like making this dish, but had no time to marinate (nor did I have the yogurt needed for the marinade). I searched for a quick Butter Chicken recipe and found yours. Well, it was just as good as the recipe I’d been using with much less work, and less expensive because I don’t need the marinade ingredients. I did go the extra step of slicing the breasts in half and pounding it, so that could account for the tender chicken. Thanks got this delicious but easy recipe

  24. I am my family absolutely love this. Had a great amount of flavor and was very easy and quick to make. I did however deviate from the recipe by adding some thurick and blending it to make a more delicate consistency.

  25. I never write reviews but this was so amazing I want to shout it from the rooftop! I’ve already shared it with many friends and family. It really tasted restaurant quality and the leftovers were even better! Thank you so much for this mealtime staple in my house!

    Note: I used half and half. I took the suggestion of a reviewer and used 1.5T garam masala, and 1T turmeric.

  26. The taste is lovely but I find the texture very grainy I didn’t follow the recipe exactly because I added the chicken and spice cooked for a bit before adding the tomatoe sauce instead of adding them altogether any ideas why this could be?

    1. If I intend to reproduce this plate for 9 people do I triple the values?

      1. Yes, you can just triple everything or even double as it would serve 8 and possibly 9 if served with rice.

  27. Quick and delicious! This is a life saver recipe!

  28. Very delicious and rapid recipe just add little sugar and cashew with raisin to garnish

  29. Love this recipe! I add a little extra butter and garam masala, a teaspoon of paprika, a tablespoon of turmeric, and a tablespoon of sugar. Hubby is from India and tells me it tastes better than his mom’s, but don’t tell HER that. 😉

    1. Thanks for much for the compliment, Christina!! <3