Easy, tasty Slow Cooker Butter Chicken recipe. This authentic dinner tastes just like your favorite Indian restaurant, ready in 4 hours in the crockpot! Serve with basmati rice and naan.
Indian food is one of our favorites for takeout, but the prices make me cringe. Here in NYC it’s not uncommon for takeout for 2 people to cost in the $40-$50 range, and that’s just not something we can afford regularly (if ever!), so I set out to my own authentic Butter Chicken!
This Butter Chicken is delicious, filled with flavorful spices, will make your house smell AMAZING (seriously, we could smell it cooking when we got off the elevator onto our floor!), and here’s my favorite part – it’s easy! This is a simple “throw all the ingredients into your slow cooker” and come back later for a delicious dinner waiting for you!
Ingredients
- butter
- vegetable oil
- skinless boneless chicken breasts
- diced onion
- minced garlic
- curry powder
- tandoori masala (see below if you want to make your own)
- garam masala
- salt
- chili powder
- ground cardamom
- curry paste
- tomato paste
- low-fat yogurt
- coconut milk
How to Make Tandoori Masala
If you can’t find tandoori masala in your spice aisle, it’s easy to make with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. I like to make this homemade version below. The recipe only calls for 2 teaspoons of tandoori masala, so place the remaining in a small glass jar to use later on.
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Add ingredients above, mix and ta-da you have homemade tandoori masala!
Step by Step How to Make Slow Cooker Butter Chicken
Add your bite size pieces of chicken breasts to the bottom of the slow cooker, along with butter and vegetable oil.
Chop up a medium onion and 4 cloves of garlic and add them in.
Now add in a entire can of coconut milk.
You’re going to need lots of aromatic spices for this authentic recipe. Add curry powder, tandoori masala, garam masala, salt, chili powder, ground cardamom and curry paste.
Add in your tomato paste.
Guys! This is just gorgeous isn’t it? Look at the vibrant colors!
Finally, add in your low-fat yogurt and give it a mix.
Now let the slow cooker do all the work and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 7 hours. Look at that delicious sauce!
Now my favorite part – time to serve and eat! I like to serve my homemade Butter Chicken alongside basmati rice and naan.
Now time to eat it all up! I hope you enjoy this Slow Cooker Butter Chicken recipe as much as we do!
Tip!
My family loves this meals for leftovers too, so I always try to make extra rice and naan so my husband can take some along with the butter chicken to work for the next couple days!
This Butter Chicken also freezes great, just make sure to freeze in an airtight container (I LOVE these bags). Defrost in the refrigerator overnight and then heat up in the microwave or stove top.
Other Recipes You May Like:
- Easy Indian Basmati Rice
- Cast Iron Chicken with Mint Chutney
- Slow Cooker Whole Chicken
- Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Thighs
- 2 Hour Slow Cooker Bread
Pin for later:
Slow Cooker Butter Chicken
PrintIngredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breasts cut up into bite size pieces
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 2 teaspoons tandoori masala see my post if you want to make your own
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 tablespoon curry paste
- 1 6 ounce can tomato paste
- 1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
- 1 14 ounce can coconut milk
Instructions
- Put all of your ingredients into your slow cooker. Mix so all ingredients are completely combined and chicken is coated in the sauce.
- Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 7 hours.
- Serve in bowls with basmati rice and naan.
Carol says
I sure agree with your thoughts on how expensive these things are to order out! I am really happy to find this recipe and I can just smell it’s wonderfulness already. I love to try to make Indian dishes and I have had some degree of success but I have not made butter chicken so I cannot wait to give this a try.
Pamela says
I hope you give this recipe a shot soon Carol, it really is a family favorite and it makes our home smell soooooooooo good! 🙂 Enjoy!