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!
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.
Easy 20 Minute Butter Chicken
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
A family and friends favourite now. Such a good recipe I used Greek yoghurt instead of cream.
Would be nice if there was a print recipe feature here.
lol ever heard of copy and paste, Sheila?
Why are people so rude?
It is there, you just scroll up.
why cant i find the Print button on this site??
If you scroll up, you should see where it says print
Made this tonight and it was yummy and quick to make. Especially when you use rotisserie chicken. That is what I had on hand. Will make it again. I serve it with cauliflower rice to keep the carbs low. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
it was soo good and easy to make
This is the fastest, healthiest and most delicious butter chicken recipe i have tried. I have used 1/2 & 1/2 milk, Greek yogurt and sometimes a mixture of both. And only a small amount of butter.
I’m eating this right now and this recipe is delicious.It is so easy and quick to make. I honestly feel like I’m eating in a good restaurant.This will be a regular for me. I’m so happy I found this. Thank you.
Delicious! I made this for myself and my boyfriend and we loved it, he kept telling me how “tasty” it was. He thinks I’m an amazing cook, but it’s the recipe that’s good!
Hera, the recipe is good, but your boyfriend is right, you’re an amazing cook!
So GOOD!! My picky 4 year old son ate this with rice (I mixed his with yogurt to make it more mild for him). This is perfect!! Thanks so much. 🙂
Made this for the first time. Used Indian Kashmiri chili powder for the “chili powder” and 1/2 of a Vidalia onion, and Ghee instead of regular butter for sauteing the onions. Only adjustment I made was I added about 2 tbps of Kerrygold butter to the pot about 5 minutes before serving. Excellent Butter Chicken recipe!
Thanks for the lovely feedback! So great to hear that you loved it.
tried making again without spices of India butter chicken (thinks its called that maybe taste of India)packet and tasted bland , I would recommend substituting the tomato paste for the packet similar to filipino food always better with the correlating mama Sita spice pack
Bahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
used some calamnti juice on the diced chicken as well , just a bit and mixed in a bowl before adding chicken. almost went to a restaurant to get saved a bundle
Wow , very good , never had before so bought a “passage to India ” butter chicken mix(3.99)@Kroger , didn’t use any paste since that’s it, but got a 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes which I added with the chicken..it’s going to get watery even drained , cast iron skillet helps to drain a few times before adding the mix..about 6 tablespoons of heavy cream and it had the color and tasted different after I added..going to make again , I added red pepper as well in the beginning. All around filling meal. I did the rest of your ingredients (used mustard seed) and a little paprika.. I’m pretty sure I tasted the hype.
Thanks
added some calamanti juice to the diced chicken not much then mixed that before putting into skillet
What is fenugreek and whatever kind of masala it says ?
Fennugreek herb is used; dried fennugreek leaves can be found at Asian groceries or on Amazon.com. Fennugreek seeds have a different flavor. Garam masala spice can be purchased at most grocery spice aisles or at Asian grocers.
How many grams in a serving?
super delicious !!
Thanks for sharing it with us !!
I forgot to get onion at the store so it was a little less flavorful than it should’ve been but still good!
Excellent recipe! I’m always hesitant to try recipes for some of my favorite international dishes, but this one really delivered.
Highly recommend
That is awesome way to do
Chicken breast thank you for
Sharing I will have it for dinner
Today
👍👍⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Brilliant! I just halved the recipe and made it for me and the hubby! I added some water to allow the chicken and sauce to cook a little longer and also used three big boneless chicken thighs to give it a little more flavour – didn’t have mustard seeds so just used a pinch of mustard powder (yes, I’m English).
Honestly a brilliant quick dinner for two – thank you so much xx
Can I use mustard powder?
Watching the 49ers in the play-offs I didn’t have much time to cook and this was perfect. I did add a squeeze of Meyer lemon but otherwise kept to the recipe. Will definitely make again.
calamanti juice added to the diced chicken before cooking seemed better (all I had similar to lemon/lime)
Freakin amazing. My fiancé loved it.
This is a WINNER! I make this allll the time and everybody absolutely loves it. I make a few modifications like using an entire 6oz can of tomato paste and i also get Shan butter chicken mix and season my chicken with it before cooking so it gets even more authentic flavor. Easy and delicious!
How many grams is a serving?
So good and so easy! I prepare this for a chef from a local restaurant and he loved the flavour!
It was easy to prepared, I did add couple more spices to the recipe, I fried my onions & garlic ginger add turmeric, and added ground cloves to the mix of spices.
It was so delicious.
I make this recipe all the time! It’s so delicious. I sub with milk. Yum yum. Thanks!
Second time I tried with chicken breast tenders, doubled the sauce recipe, used dark brown sugar and a mix of regular and low sodium soy sauce, marinated the chicken overnight. This time the sauce did thicken a bit when boiled, but it was quite salty. And, quite watery after baking in the oven.
Nice recipes
I made this last night for my family and turn out great mother original, but Avery delicious and easy dish to make with little time. Thank for this recipe for butter chicken cravers!! 😍👍