Easy Butter Chicken (Coconut Milk or Cream)
A rich, flavor-packed butter chicken made with pantry ingredients, warm spices. and easily adapted to dairy-free. Yields about 6 cups, so 4-6 main dish servings.
Servings (1 cup Servings)
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2½-3 pounds Boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon Garam masala
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- 1 tablespoon Oil Olive, or Avocado
- 4-6 cloves Garlic, pressed or finely minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated or minced ginger OR 1 teaspoon ground ginger
Additional Spices
- 2 teaspoons Garam masala
- 1½ teaspoons Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
- ½ teaspoon Curry powder
- ½ teaspoon Black pepper
Sauce and Finish
- 15 oz Can tomato sauce
- ⅔ cup Heavy cream OR one 15oz can full fat coconut milk
- 1 cup Water
- 1½ tablespoons Brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Lime juice
- 2 tablespoons Butter
For Serving
- White Rice, cooked 2½ - 3 cups dry rice is a good amount for this recipe.
Instructions
Prepare and Cook Chicken
- Pat chicken completely dry with paper towels. Trim off any excessive fat (kitchen shears are my favorite tool for this task) and cut into 1" pieces. Place in a bowl and add 1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt, 1 teaspoon garam masala, and 1 teaspoon paprika. Mix until completely coated.
- Heat a large pan to medium/medium high. I like to use an enamel coated dutch oven. A skillet will work if it is extra large, like 14". Once pan is hot, add 1 tablespoon oil and swirl to coat bottom of pan. Add chicken, spread out into an even layer and do not disturb for a couple minutes while it sears.
- Once chicken has a nice sear, stir occasionally and cook about 6-8 minutes until mostly cooked through and lightly browned in some spots. I suggest cooking at as high of a temperature as you can without it burning or splattering. For me this is medium-high to high. This helps quickly evaporate extra liquid that can water down your sauce. While your chicken is cooking, measure out your spices for the next step and place in a small bowl.After 6-8 minutes, lower heat to medium and add garlic and ginger. Stir constantly for about 30 seconds.
Bloom Spices
- Push chicken to one side of the pan. You should have some fat and juices in the bottom of the pan, add to it the spices you measured out: 2 teaspoons garam masala, 1 ½ teaspoons paprika, 1 teaspoon cumin, ½ teaspoon curry, and ½ teaspoon black pepper.Stir the spices around in the fat/juices for about one minute. It's okay if some of the chicken is mixed in there too. After a minute, stir everything in the pan together.
Sauce and Finish
- Add 15oz can of tomato sauce and stir for 2-3 minutes, scraping up browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
- Add your creamy base. Either one 15oz can full fat coconut milk OR ⅔ cup heavy cream + 1 cup water. Tip: if you want it more cream-heavy, feel free to add more cream and less water, it's flexible.
- Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 8-10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in 1 ½ tablespoons brown sugar, 1 tablespoon lime juice, and 2 tablespoons butter. Add additional salt to taste, if needed.
- If for any reason your sauce is too thin for your liking, simply combine 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1 tablespoon cold water and whisk in during the final minutes to thicken. If your sauce is too thick, just add a little water or additional cream/coconut milk. Serve over hot white rice.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cup chicken mixture (without rice), Calories: 451kcal, Carbohydrates: 9g, Protein: 46g, Fat: 26g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 8g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 255mg, Sodium: 1064mg, Potassium: 829mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 1285IU, Vitamin C: 6mg, Calcium: 60mg, Iron: 3mg
Calories: 451kcal
Cost: $18
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