One of the most well-known Indian dishes in the world is butter chicken. The tender chicken pieces in the rich, creamy tomato-based sauce are hard to resist! If you want to make this restaurant-style dish at home, all you need are the right ingredients and to follow a few easy steps. Today, we’ll talk about everything you need to know to make your own delicious butter chicken.
Ingredients for Butter Chicken
Here are the main ingredients you’ll need:
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Boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts – Chicken thighs work really well but you can use breasts too. Cut them into 1-2 inch pieces.
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Plain yogurt – This adds a tangy flavor and tenderizes the chicken Use about 1/2 cup
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Grated fresh ginger and garlic add a lot of flavor to ginger-garlic paste. You’ll need about 1 tablespoon each.
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Spice powders – Garam masala, cumin, coriander, turmeric, chili powder, paprika. These make the dish taste authentically Indian.
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Chopped onion and tomato – Sautéed onion and pureed tomato forms the base of the sauce. Use 1 medium onion and 2 medium tomatoes.
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Butter and cream – Adds richness and velvety texture. Use 2-3 tablespoons each.
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Fresh cilantro – Essential for garnish! Also squeezing a lime adds brightness.
Steps to Make Butter Chicken
Follow these easy steps for foolproof butter chicken:
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Marinate chicken – Combine chicken with yogurt, ginger-garlic paste and spices. Chill for 30 mins – overnight.
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Sear chicken – Heat oil in a pan. Add chicken and cook until browned but not fully cooked. Set aside.
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Sauté aromatics: Put onion, garlic, and ginger in the same pan and sauté them. Add tomatoes and cook until softened.
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Simmer sauce – Add spice powders and tomato puree to pan. Simmer until oil separates.
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Finish with cream – Stir in butter and cream. Add chicken and simmer until cooked through.
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Adjust seasoning – Add salt, pepper, more spices to taste. Garnish with cilantro and serve!
Tips for Best Homemade Butter Chicken
Follow these tips for restaurant-worthy butter chicken:
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Use bone-in chicken thighs for more flavor and moisture. Debone and cut after cooking if desired.
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Chill chicken properly after marinating for flavors to permeate.
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Use full fat dairy – don’t skimp on butter and cream!
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Simmer the sauce well to achieve right consistency – not too thin or thick.
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Adjust spices according to taste – add more garam masala and chili for spiciness.
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Finish with squeeze of lime juice and loads of chopped cilantro.
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Serve with steamed rice or naan for the complete experience!
FAQs
Can I use chicken breasts instead of thighs?
Yes, boneless skinless breasts will also work but thighs are more moist and flavorful.
What if I don’t have garam masala powder?
You can use a mix of cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cloves instead.
Is butter chicken spicy?
It has a mild spice level usually. Add more chili powder or cayenne if you want it spicier.
Do I need to marinate the chicken overnight?
You can marinate for just 30 mins if short on time but longer is better for flavor.
Can I make butter chicken without cream?
You can but the cream gives it a luscious texture. Substitute with coconut milk if needed.
So there you have it – with the right ingredients and techniques, you can make restaurant-worthy butter chicken at home anytime the craving strikes! What are you waiting for? Head to the grocery store to stock up on supplies and get cooking. Let us know how your homemade butter chicken turns out!
What To Serve With Creamy Tuscan Chicken
I love this dish served with bread, but you can also serve it over rice or pasta, or with creamy mashed potatoes. Whatever you do, I highly recommend serving this alongside something to sop up all of that incredible Tuscan sauce—let’s be honest, it’s the real star of the show here.
Feel free to store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. The Tuscan sauce can also be batched ahead of time and frozen in the freezer for up to 3 months before use. Advertisement – Continue Reading Below.
- 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 3 Tbsp. butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
- Lemon wedges, for serving
- Step 1 In a skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Add chicken and season with salt, pepper, and oregano. If you stick an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the breast and read 165°, the chicken is done. This should take 8 minutes per side. Remove from skillet and set aside. Step 2: Melt the butter in the same pan over medium heat. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add cherry tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Add the spinach and cook until it starts to wilt. Cook until the tomatoes start to burst. 3: Add heavy cream and parmesan cheese, then bring the whole thing to a simmer. Lower the heat and let the sauce simmer for about three minutes, or until it has thinned out a bit. Add the chicken back to the pan and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until it’s fully heated through. Step 4 Serve with lemon wedges.
How To Make Creamy Tuscan Chicken
- There are no bones or skin on these chicken breasts. For this recipe, I use them, but you can use chicken thighs instead if you’d like. It’s better to use chicken breasts in this recipe because they are leaner and thicker than chicken thighs. If you don’t want chicken, try our Tuscan salmon or shrimp instead.
- Oregano: The earthy, aromatic flavor of oregano helps to round out the flavors of a dish and adds a nice bitterness.
- Butter: There is a reason everyone loves butter. This is how I use it to give the sauce an extra layer of creaminess. To get rid of some of the brown bits stuck on the pan from the chicken, this will help. These bits are great because they hold so much flavor.
- Garlic: Strong-smelling, warm, and a little spicy, garlic makes any dish taste better and is a traditional Tuscan ingredient.
- Tomatoes with cherry In either case, it’s important to use bright, fresh vegetables to get a real Tuscan taste.
- Heavy Cream: Heavy cream is what gives this simple sauce its rich, silky base for your chicken.
- Parmesan: This recipe calls for two types of Parmesan. The rich and nutty Parmesan adds flavor and texture to the sauce. It fills in the gaps between the chicken pieces and helps the sauce stick to them.
- For the Lemon Wedges, add some acidity that balances out the dish really well. If you don’t like lemon, feel free to leave it out!
To begin this recipe, I heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat until it looks smooth and starts to move around in the pan. Once the oil is ready, I add my chicken breast, spacing properly to fit all four in the skillet at once, and season with salt, pepper, and oregano. We can season the chicken beforehand, but seasoning in the skillet allows for any extra seasoning that doesn’t immediately stick to be mixed back into the chicken and sauce. Cook the chicken for about 8 minutes on each side. Your chicken is done when it has a golden crust on both sides and is no longer pink inside. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside, covered, until ready to reintroduce.
Next, I add my butter to the same skillet and stir it as it melts, making sure to scrape any stuck-on chicken and seasoning bits back into the mix. Then I stir in my garlic and cook it until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Then, I add in my cherry tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Cook the tomatoes until the skin begins to burst, then add in the spinach and cook until it begins to wilt.
When the spinach starts to wilt, I add the heavy cream and parmesan and stir everything together until it starts to simmer.
Then I reduce the heat to low and allow the sauce to continue to simmer until it is slightly reduced and thickened. This should take about 3 minutes.
When the sauce has reached our desired consistency, return the cooked chicken to the skillet and allow it to cook in the sauce until heated through completely, about another 5 to 7 minutes.
Plate, serve with lemon wedges, and enjoy the fruits of your labor.
Full list of ingredients and directions can be found in the recipe below.