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This easy Crockpot butter chicken recipe features tender chicken thighs in a rich spiced butter sauce. It’s a cozy meal with minimal effort, and making it at home is a great way to save money while satisfying an Indian food craving!
What is Butter Chicken?
Butter chicken (aka murgh makhani) is an Indian recipe from Delhi. Traditionally, it combines tandoori chicken with a creamy, buttery spiced tomato curry sauce.
Authentic tandoori chicken is marinated in a mixture of yogurt, garlic, ginger, lemon juice, and spices, and then grilled in a tandoor, which is a traditional clay oven. However, to make this version in a slow cooker, we cook the chicken along with the sauce. The end result is tender, flavorful chicken in a deliciously spiced buttery curry!
Why This Recipe is a Winner
- It’s easy! If you’re looking for a healthy homemade dinner recipe that requires little effort, you’re in the right place. There are minimal ingredients to chop (just chicken, onion, and butter). And then it’s really just a matter of measuring the other things, stirring everything together in a slow cooker, and then letting it do its thing. We all love a set-it-and-forget-it Crockpot recipe!
- You can customize it to suit your tastes. The beauty of cooking at home is that you can make a dish exactly how you like it. For example, if extra garlicky is your thing, or super spicy, or light on the ginger, you can easily tweak the recipe accordingly.
- You’ll save money by making it at home instead of ordering it at a restaurant. This recipe gives you eight servings for a fraction of what you’d pay for this dish in a restaurant for two people. And it freezes well, so it’s perfect for meal prep!
Ingredients
Breaking It Down
Ingredients Explained
In this section I explain the ingredients and give substitution ideas where applicable. For the full recipe (including the ingredient amounts), see the recipe card below.
- Tomato puree – Tomato puree is cooked, blended, and strained tomatoes; it gives the sauce flavor and body. It’s a bit thicker than tomato sauce, but not as thick as tomato paste.
- Garlic – Garlic adds great depth of flavor. I like my butter chicken on the garlicky side, so if you’re worried it’ll be too garlicky, feel free to use a couple fewer cloves.
- Ginger – Traditional butter chicken contains fresh ginger, so don’t leave it out here.
- Coconut sugar – Coconut sugar adds a touch of sweetness for balance. You can use light brown sugar instead.
- Garam masala – This is a warming Indian spice blend.
- Salt and black pepper – These pantry-staple spices makes sure this dish isn’t bland.
- Smoked sweet paprika and cayenne pepper – These two spices simulate the flavor of Kashmiri chili powder. If you have Kashmiri chili powder on hand, omit these and use 1 1/2 teaspoons of it.
- Ground coriander and cumin – These complement each other beautifully and often go hand-in-hand in Indian cooking. Cumin adds earthy warmth and coriander seed adds subtle floral, citrusy notes.
- Ground fenugreek seeds – Fenugreek (aka methi) is an interesting spice that’s used in traditional Indian cuisine. It lends a complex flavor with notes of sweet and smoky maple, as well as a subtle underlying bitterness. It’s best to add it at the end of the cooking process so its flavor isn’t muted.
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs – Butter chicken made in the slow cooker with chicken thighs yields really tender meat! If you prefer, you can use chicken breasts instead.
- Onion – This adds savory flavor. Be sure to finely dice the onion so it cooks down into the velvety sauce.
- Cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, and bay leaf – If you don’t have all of these whole spices, use what you have and your sauce will still be delicious. However, if you have them, use them because they elevate the flavor from great to amazing.
- Unsalted butter – This brings the butter to butter chicken! Alternatively, use salted butter and reduce the added salt by about 1/8 teaspoon.
- Heavy whipping cream – Adds rich flavor and creamy texture.
- Fresh lemon juice – The tartness brightens up this dish at the end and makes it pop.
How to Make Indian Butter Chicken in the Crockpot
- Add the tomato puree, garlic, ginger, coconut sugar, garam masala, salt, smoked sweet paprika, coriander, cumin, cayenne pepper, and black pepper to a slow cooker, and whisk to combine.
- Add the chicken, onion, cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, and bay leaf, and stir to coat the chicken.
- Spread it out evenly.
- Scatter the butter pieces on top.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours or on LOW for 4 to 5 hours.
- At the end of cooking, stir in the fenugreek, cream, and lemon juice.
Serve garnished with fresh cilantro and lime wedges, along with prepared basmati rice and/or naan if desired.
Storage
Store leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Meal Prep Tip: Use 2-compartment glass meal prep containers to portion this out along with prepared basmati rice (or cauliflower rice), and freeze for up to 3 months. It’s a great freezer meal for quick lunches or dinners!
Expert Tips
- Don’t be tempted to add liquid or your curry will be watery. When you stir this up, it’ll look thick. However, the tomato puree combined with the liquid that the chicken and onion release as they cook will give this sauce the perfect consistency.
- For the paleo version, use ghee (clarified butter) instead of regular butter, and full-fat coconut milk in place of heavy whipping cream. Serve it with cauliflower rice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Similar to curry powder, garam masala is a warming Indian spice blend.
Recipes for garam masala vary by region, but typically contain a combination of the following spices: bay leaves, black peppercorns, black and green cardamom pods, cinnamon, cloves, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, mace, nutmeg, and chili powder. Some versions also use fennel, star anise, and/or white poppy seeds.
Butter chicken is a type of curry; it’s essentially a tomato-based Indian gravy with warm spices and rich buttery flavor. Don’t worry if you’re not a fan of dishes with curry powder; garam masala (the spice blend we use in butter chicken) is completely different!
This dish is great served with prepared basmati rice or naan. You can also add a chopped salad (try Salad Shirazi!).
More Favorite Indian Recipes to Try
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Crockpot Butter Chicken Recipe
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 15 ounce can tomato puree
- 6 to 8 large cloves garlic peeled and crushed
- 1 tablespoon freshly-grated ginger
- 1 1/2 tablespoons coconut sugar or light brown sugar
- 4 teaspoons garam masala
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika see Notes
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper see Notes
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs trimmed of fat and cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 large onion finely diced (about 2 to 2 1/2 cups finely diced)
- 8 cardamom pods cracked open
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into small pieces
- 1/4 teaspoon ground fenugreek optional; see Notes
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Optional Garnish and Serving Suggestions:
- Fresh cilantro leaves for garnish
- Fresh lime wedges for garnish
- Prepared basmati rice
- Naan
Instructions
- Add the tomato puree, garlic, ginger, coconut sugar, garam masala, salt, smoked sweet paprika, coriander, cumin, cayenne pepper, and black pepper to a slow cooker, and whisk to combine. Add the chicken, onion, cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, and bay leaf, and stir to coat the chicken, spreading it out evenly. Scatter the butter pieces on top.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours or on LOW for 4 to 5 hours.
- At the end of cooking, stir in the fenugreek, cream, and lemon juice.
- Serve garnished with fresh cilantro and lime wedges, along with prepared basmati rice and/or naan if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximate.
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I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
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