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+ servings
Butter chicken recipe
5 from 3 votes

Butter Chicken

We love this version of butter chicken because it is creamy, flavorful, and made with boneless chicken thighs. It makes a great dinner for any time of year. 
Prep 3 hours
Cook 25 minutes
Total 3 hours 25 minutes
Fat 30
Carbs 21
Protein 36
Yield 4

Ingredients

Marinade + Chicken 

  • ½ cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt
  • Zest from one medium lemon
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • ½ large white onion grated
  • 2 teaspoons garam masala
  • 1 cloves garlic peeled and minced
  • 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1.5 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs

Sauce 

  • 3 tablespoons ghee separated
  • ½ large white onion minced
  • 4 cloves garlic peeled and minced
  • 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
  • 15 oz. can tomato sauce
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • ½ cup heavy cream +more if needed

Optional Topping

  • Chopped cilantro

Instructions

  • Add the Greek yogurt, lemon zest, lemon juice, grated onion, garam masala, garlic, ginger, and salt to a bowl and whisk the ingredients together until combined. 
  • Place the chicken thighs into a large gallon sized bag or a glass container. 
  • Pour the marinade over the chicken thighs and make sure all of the chicken thighs are slathered in the yogurt marinade. 
  • Refrigerate chicken for 2 hours.
  • Remove the chicken from the fridge and shake the marinade off of each piece of chicken and set aside. Discard the excess Greek yogurt marinade.
  • Heat a large skillet with sides (or a Dutch oven) over medium/high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of ghee to the pan. 
  • When the ghee is melted and fragrant, add the chicken thighs to the pan. Sear the chicken on each side for 3-4 minutes to brown. Set the chicken aside. 
  • Add the rest of the ghee to the pan. When the ghee has melted, scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. 
  • Add the onion to the pan and sauté for 2-3 minutes. 
  • Next, add the garlic and ginger to the onions and toss. Sauté for an additional 2-3 minutes and until fragrant. 
  • Add tomato sauce, cumin, coriander, chili powder, and paprika to the pan and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer over medium heat. 
  • Turn heat to low and slowly whisk in the heavy cream.
  • Once the heavy cream has been added to the sauce, transfer the sauce to a high speed blender and blend until smooth. 
  • Add the sauce back to the pan and heat over medium heat. 
  • Cut the chicken thighs into bite size pieces and add them to the sauce. Fold the chicken into the sauce until coated. 
  • Turn the heat to medium/high heat and bring the sauce to a gentle boil. 
  • Turn heat to low and let  simmer for 4-5 minutes to finish cooking the chicken. 
  • If the sauce needs to be thinned out add 1-2 more tablespoons of heavy cream to the sauce. 
  • Remove from heat and serve over rice with a garnish of chopped cilantro. 

Tips & Notes

  • We use chicken thighs for this recipe but you can use chicken breasts if you’d like. 
  • After you brown the chicken, if there is a significant amount of brown bits in your pan you can deglaze the pan with chicken broth, scrape the pan, and discard. Sometimes the Greek yogurt marinade can cause burning in the pan. If you shake most of the marinade off the chicken you should be ok. 
  • After you have blended the sauce and added the chicken to the sauce, feel free to add as much heavy cream as you’d like to get the consistency you’d like for the sauce. 

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 484kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 30g | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 12g