A member requested this recipe and I had never had it before (I’m a saag paneer girl!), so it was a great excuse to get some Indian food and try something new.
Butter chicken is a North Indian dish where chicken gets cooked in a creamy spiced tomato sauce. It’s like a much richer and creamier version of Tikka Masala – another classic Indian dish. The sauce is typically made creamy using a combination of lots of butter and heavy cream. For this version, we’re keeping the butter for that silky texture, but subbing in cashews for the heavy cream to get that creaminess.
The sauce gets its flavor from lots of spices and an aromatic base of ginger, garlic, and onion. The chicken or tofu gets marinated in a simple spiced yogurt to infuse some extra flavor. Then it all gets simmered together until the flavors are all happily married! Serve it topped with plenty of cilantro and a drizzle of cream or coconut milk for some extra richness.
P.S. There are a lot of components here to get ready, so it helps a lot if you marinate the chicken and cook your rice (or use flatbread) ahead.
Ingredient highilight
Cashews! These versatile nuts originate from Brazil and have become popular for using to replace dairy because of it’s super creamy texture when blended. Similar to other nuts, cashews are rich in healthy fats, fiber, minerals, and protein. They are especially high in copper, a mineral important for bone health, the immune system, nervous system, and cardiovascular system. They’ll also give you a good dose of fiber, zinc, and magnesium.
Servings 4
Prep Time 20 minutes 
Cook Time 25 minutes Ingredients
For the protein:
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp garam masala*
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ¼-½ tsp red pepper flakes (optional, for spice)
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric (optional)
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts or 1 (14-16 oz) block tofu, pressed and cut or torn into bite-sized pieces (~2.5 cups)
For the sauce:
- 3-4 cloves garlic
- 2- inch knob (about 1 oz) ginger, quartered
- ½ yellow onion, quartered
- 4 tbsp butter, divided
- 1 tsp kosher salt, divided
- 2 tsp garam masala*
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 (14 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes
- ⅓ cup raw cashews**
To serve:
- Cooked rice or use a flatbread like naan, roti, or pita
- Chopped cilantro
- Coconut milk or cream (optional)
- *Can’t find garam masala? Substitute it in the marinade and sauce with 1 tsp ground cumin + ¼ tsp ground cinnamon + ¼ tsp ground allspice. You could also leave it out and just add in extra cumin and a little cinnamon.
- **If you want to use heavy cream instead of cashews, stir ½-1 cup heavy cream into the skillet with the blended tomato sauce.
Instructions
- To marinate the chicken: in a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, lemon, spices, and salt. Add the chicken and toss to coat well. Let the chicken marinate for 30 minutes or overnight if you have the time (if not, a few minutes will be fine).
- To make the sauce: in a high-speed blender, add the garlic and ginger and blend until roughly chopped. Add the onion and blend again until roughly chopped. Alternatively, you can roughly chop it all by hand.
- In a large skillet over medium or medium-low heat, add 3 tablespoons butter. Once the butter is melted, add the onion mixture along with ½ teaspoon salt. Stir it to mix, then cook for 3-5 minutes or until softened and fragrant, stirring occasionally.
- Reduce the heat to low, add the garam masala, coriander, and cumin and stir for 30 seconds to bloom the spices. Immediately add in the tomatoes, cashews, ½ cup water, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Break the tomatoes open with the back of your spoon or spatula to release the juices. Stir everything to combine, then cover with a lid and simmer over low or medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
- Scoop the contents from the pan into a high-speed blender (I just use a measuring cup), then pour in the liquid, scraping out every last bit with a rubber spatula. Blend on high until smooth (make sure you allow the steam to escape).
- To the same skillet over medium-high heat, add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Once melted and hot, add the tofu or chicken, spread it out into an even layer and cook for 2-3 minutes, then give the pan a stir and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Turn the heat to low and pour the sauce into the pan (be careful of splatter if the pan is really hot). If the mixture looks too thick or is splattering way too much, stir in ¼-½ cup water. Scrape up anything stuck to the bottom of the pan, then cover with a lid and simmer gently over very low heat for 5 more minutes.
- Serve over warm rice and top with cilantro and a drizzle of cream or coconut milk, if you’d like.
Items you can prep ahead (optional)
- Cook rice (2 cups will be more than enough)
- Cut 1 lb chicken breast into bite-sized pieces
- Marinate the chicken
- Blend or chop the aromatics (garlic, ginger, onion)
- Make the sauce
- Make the whole recipe in advance (it heats up very well)
Substitutions:
- To make vegan, use a vegan butter or substitute with olive oil. Replace yogurt with a vegan yogurt or just leave the yogurt out and replace with 1 tbsp olive oil.
- To make nut-free, use heavy cream in place of cashews (see recipe note).
- If you don’t have garam masala, you can easily sub with other spices (see recipe note).
Storage:
- Store leftovers in an airtight container:
- Chicken: up to 4 days in the fridge
- Tofu: up to 5 days in the fridge
- Rice: up to 4 days in the fridge
Leftovers + Repurposing:
- Warm up leftover rice and butter chicken/tofu in the microwave until warmed through. I prefer to heat them up separately, then combine.
- Top with lots of cilantro.
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