Classic Butter Chicken Recipe

Classic Butter Chicken is the dish that made creamy tomato curry famous outside of India, silky, lightly spiced, and rich enough to make you forget rice and naan exist for a second. It was born at Moti Mahal in Delhi back in the 1950s, when leftover tandoori chicken got simmered in a buttery tomato gravy so it wouldn’t dry out.

That happy accident became one of the most-ordered dishes on the planet, and this version sticks close to the original logic: marinated, seared chicken finished in a sauce built from butter, tomatoes, and cream.

It looks like restaurant food, but it’s genuinely simple to pull together on a weeknight once the chicken has had time to marinate.

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What Makes This Version Worth Making at Home

Searing the chicken separately before it goes into the sauce keeps the texture right, you get char on the outside instead of boiled, pale chicken sitting in gravy.

Blending the sauce smooth before adding the cream is the step that gives it that glossy, restaurant-style finish instead of a chunky tomato sauce with spices in it.

• Prep Time: 20 minutes, plus at least 30 minutes to marinate the chicken
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 50 minutes active time
• Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients for the Marinade and Sauce

• Boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces: 1.5 lbs (680g)
• Plain whole-milk yogurt: 1/2 cup (120g)
• Lemon juice: 1 tablespoon
• Garlic, minced: 5 cloves total, divided
• Fresh ginger, grated: 2 tablespoons total, divided
• Ground turmeric: 1/2 teaspoon
• Ground cumin: 1 1/2 teaspoons, divided
• Garam masala: 2 teaspoons, divided
• Kashmiri red chili powder (or paprika): 1 1/2 teaspoons, divided
• Salt: 1 teaspoon, plus more to taste
• Unsalted butter: 4 tablespoons (56g), divided
• Yellow onion, finely chopped: 1 medium
• Tomato paste: 2 tablespoons
• Crushed tomatoes: 1 can (14 oz / 400g)
• Granulated sugar: 1 teaspoon
• Heavy cream: 1/2 cup (120ml)
• Dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi), crushed: 1 teaspoon (optional, but classic)
• Fresh cilantro, chopped: for garnish

How to Build It, Step by Step

1. Combine the chicken with the yogurt, lemon juice, 2 cloves of the garlic, 1 tablespoon of the ginger, turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon garam masala, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, and the 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl.
2. Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight for deeper flavor.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, then add the marinated chicken, shaking off excess marinade first.
4. Sear the chicken for 6 to 8 minutes, turning occasionally, until browned on the outside and mostly cooked through, then remove it from the pan and set aside.
5. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in the same skillet over medium heat, then add the chopped onion and cook for 5 minutes until soft and translucent.
6. Stir in the remaining garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
7. Add the tomato paste and stir constantly for 1 to 2 minutes to deepen its flavor.
8. Pour in the crushed tomatoes, remaining cumin, remaining garam masala, remaining chili powder, and sugar, then simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly.
9. Blend the sauce until smooth using an immersion blender, or carefully transfer it to a blender and back to the pan.
10. Stir in the heavy cream and crushed kasuri methi, then simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.
11. Return the seared chicken to the sauce and simmer for 5 minutes until fully cooked through and coated.
12. Taste and adjust salt, then garnish with fresh cilantro and a swirl of extra cream before serving.

Need the perfect scoop for that sauce? Try our Vegan No-Yeast Naan Bread — it’s ready in under 40 minutes and made for exactly this kind of curry.

Swaps If You’re Missing Something

No heavy cream on hand? Full-fat coconut milk works as a substitute, it’ll shift the flavor slightly sweeter but keeps the sauce just as rich.

Chicken breast can replace thighs if that’s what you have, just watch the cook time closely since breast meat dries out faster than thigh meat.

If you can’t find kasuri methi, you can leave it out entirely, the dish will taste slightly less traditional but still good.

Tips That Make a Real Difference Here

Don’t skip the marinating step even if you’re short on time, even 30 minutes with the yogurt and spices noticeably tenderizes the chicken and lets the flavors sink in.

Searing the chicken in batches instead of crowding the pan gives you better browning, crowded chicken steams instead of sears and won’t develop the same flavor. If you want to go deeper on why yogurt-based marinades work this way on meat, America’s Test Kitchen has solid technique breakdowns on marinating science.

Crush the kasuri methi between your palms right before adding it, this releases more of its aroma than adding it whole.

A Few Directions to Take This Recipe

For a vegetarian version with the same comforting spice profile, our Creamy Halloumi Tikka Masala uses a similar sauce base built around grilled halloumi instead of chicken.

Add a handful of frozen peas in the last few minutes of cooking for extra texture and color without changing the flavor much.

If you like the rich, paprika-forward style of this sauce, our Hungarian Paprika Chicken in Creamy Tomato Sauce is a fun cross-cultural comparison to make on a different night.

Nutritional Information

Nutrient	Amount Per Serving
Calories	620 kcal
Protein	46 g
Carbohydrates	11 g
Fats	40 g

These values are estimates based on standard ingredient data for the dish alone, not including rice or naan served alongside, and will shift depending on the exact cuts and brands you use.

Where This Dish Usually Goes Wrong

Skipping the blending step is the biggest one, an unblended sauce tastes like chunky tomato curry instead of the smooth, glossy butter chicken you’re going for.

Adding the cream over high heat can cause it to separate or curdle, drop the heat to medium-low before stirring it in.

Using low-fat yogurt in the marinade gives a thinner, less effective tenderizing effect, full-fat yogurt does a noticeably better job here.