Lighter Butter Chicken (30 Minutes)

This post was previously published on Robust Recipes. It has been updated for a better user experience.

this recipe

Behold butter chicken. One of the best meals you will ever taste!

In. Your. Life!!!

Not joking.

I truly love all the food I make and share with you on the blog, but any Indian dishes, especially this butter chicken is next level good!

I had shared this recipe back in the early days and was excited how I was able to re-create one of my favorite dishes that I order at our local Indian place. But as with anything we are new at, it was a little rough around the edges. The photos weren’t my best work and the instructions for the recipe were jumbled and confusing.

A good recipe for butter chicken is not one to be glazed over. An update was needed.

I re-tested the recipe several times to make it even better and easier to make. Instead of using two pans (one to cook the chicken, and one to cook the sauce) I remove the chicken once it’s done cooking and use that same pan to cook the sauce in. The least amount of large dishes to hand wash is always my goal.

I also narrowed down the ingredients a bit, cutting out excess ingredients that were in the marinade. Because when prepping meat to marinate a few hours before a recipe it needs to be fast and simple, amiright?!

And yes, marinating the chicken is 100% necessary. It’s marinated in some Greek yogurt with a little lemon juice and spices. The yogurt marinate really makes the chicken melt-in-your-mouth tender without any added fat directly to the chicken. In other words, the marinate allows us to use a lean cut of chicken, like chicken breast rather than a fattier type of chicken and still have it be tender and juicy.

Good news is that the yogurt marinade does it’s magic even if you only let it marinate for 10 minutes. But as with any marinade, the longer the better.

Do your magical thing yogurt marinade!

As for the butter chicken sauce we’ve got some sauteed onions, Serrano pepper, ginger, and garlic. Along with some garam masala and paprika that are toasted for maximum flavor.

Garam masala is a spice blend that’s often used in Indian cooking. The secret to getting the most flavor out of spices is to saute them in a little butter along with the onion for just a minute. Bonus, it makes your house smell amazing for a few days.

The sauteed onions, garlic, ginger, and spices are blended into creamy heaven with tomato paste, tomato sauce, a touch of honey, a few cashews, and cashew milk. The cashews help to add creaminess to the sauce, also it’s a traditional ingredient.

Usually there is heavy cream in butter chicken sauce to make things indulgent. I wanted to lighten things up a bit so I used unflavored, unsweetened cashew milk instead. It’s still got a creamy texture to it without being so rich and heavy.

But then we do add in some butter last minute, because it’s butter chicken after all.

only 3 tablespoons though.

And seriously, don’t skip the butter, it’s what really helps to give the sauce that iconic butter chicken flavor. Well that and the garam masala and tomato paste.

The result of butter chicken is a velvety smooth sauce that’s creamy, slightly rich but still light, a little tomato-y, a little sweet, and bursting with that exotic warming garam masala spice blend. Oh yes, and the tender pieces of chicken with each bite of that sauce. Melt-in-your-mouth, lick-the-bowl delicious!

I like to serve my butter chicken with a quick cooking brown rice for both convenience and to bump up the fiber and nutrition, however, it is often served with basmati rice. Really, any rice will do. The star is the saucy butter chicken.

Did I Mention that this updated version of my original butter chicken recipe now only takes 30 minutes to make, one pan, and I think is even better than the first recipe?

It’s time my friends for you to go make this butter chicken and fall in love. Make it while there is still a chill in the air because it is comforting and satisfying and easy enough for a busy weeknight, yet special enough for a date night in.

Butter chicken, you are my everything!

Butter Chicken

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 1 review

• Author: Emily Koch
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Total Time: 30 mins
• Yield: 3 to 4 1x
• Category: Entree, chicken, 1 pan, 30 minutes
• Cuisine: Gluten Free

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Description

Butter Chicken is flavorful Indian dish with tender chicken and a velvety smooth sauce. This recipe uses simple, easy to find ingredients, and is easy to make.

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• yogurt marinade and chicken:
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (I used fat free)
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika (plain, not smoked)
• Optional: Pinch of saffron threads
• 2 pounds chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes
• sauce:
• 3 to 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1/2 large onion, chopped
• optional :1 Serrano peppers, minced (can remove seeds for a mild heat)
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika (regular, not smoked)
• 2 inches fresh ginger, grated
• 5 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 cup canned tomato sauce (sugar free)
• 2 to 4 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons raw cashews
• 1 cup unsweetened and unflavored cashew milk
• 1/4 cup filtered water
• salt to taste
• For serving
• cilantro leaves, for garnish
• rice (see notes)

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Instructions

1. Marinade the chicken: Start marinating the chicken at least 10 minutes before you make the meal. Mix the yogurt, lemon juice, and spices together in a small bowl. Add the cut up chicken pieces and toss until the chicken is well coated in the yogurt marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes or up to 6 hours – the longer the chicken marinates the more tender it will be but if you only have 10 minutes than it will still help to make it tender.
2. Cook the rice: (see notes for tips on rice) Just before you start making your meal get your rice cooking (depending on how long your rice takes to make). If it gets done early you can always set it aside and keep warm until ready,
3. Cook the chicken: Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the marinated chicken pieces to the pan and cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side (it’s okay if the chicken isn’t fully cooked because it will continue to cook in the sauce at the end) remove the chicken to a dish and set aside.
4. Saute the aromatics: To the same pan reduce the heat to medium low and melt a little more butter if the pan is dry. Saute the onion, and Serrano pepper, if using, until the onion is tender – about 3 minutes. Add the garam masala, paprika, ginger, and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute – remove the pan from the heat.
5. Blend the sauce: Transfer the sauteed onions, Serrano pepper, and spices to a blender. Add the tomato paste, tomato sauce, honey, cashew milk, raw cashes, and water – blend until everything is really smooth.
6. Simmer the sauce and chicken: Transfer the sauce back to the skillet and add the chicken back into the sauce. Allow the sauce to come to a simmer and simmer for 3 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened a little and the chicken pieces are fully cooked. Stir in 2 to 3 tablespoons of butter, until melted (hence butter chicken). At this time add salt to taste and adjust any other seasonings or flavors as desired.
7. Serve: Spoon some rice and the chicken and sauce into a bowl. Garnish with fresh cilantro and enjoy immediately.

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Notes

Garam masala: is a spice blend that is used in Indian cooking. It is essential for flavoring this dish. I can usually find it in the Asian section of my local grocery store.

Rice: Traditionally Indian dishes are often served with basmati rice, you could certainly go with basmati rice if you would like. However I like to opt for a brown rice for more fiber, and better nutrition. I like to use a quick cooking brown rice for convenience (10 minutes to make). If you want to add even more flavor to your rice saute a teaspoon of cumin seeds in a little butter in the pot before cooking your rice. This is optional, but those cumin seeds are often added to rice for Indian food.

Prep time does not include the inactive time needed for marinating the chicken. Be sure to add on anywhere from 10 minutes to 6 hours for hands off marinating time.

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