This is the easiest Butter Chicken recipe you'll find. With incredible flavors, it's easy to make and will rival any restaurant. Cooks in just 30 minutes!
What Is Butter Chicken
Butter Chicken is a popular Indian curry made with chicken in a rich spiced tomato sauce. It is traditionally known as murgh makhani and is similar to Chicken Tikka Masala.
This single serving Butter Chicken recipe is one of the best you'll find. Aromatic golden pieces of chicken simmer in a rich and creamy curry sauce which we love serving over rice. I think you'll love how easy this meal comes together in the comfort of your own kitchen!
Why This Recipe Works
- Quick and easy: After a long day at work, picking up takeout on the way home can seem like the perfect plan. But if you've got a little time and the desire to enjoy a home-cooked meal, you can enjoy this better-than-takeout Butter Chicken that cooks in just 30 minutes.
- Rich and creamy: The flavors in our Butter Chicken are vibrant and complex. We achieve this by softening chopped onions and garlic in butter followed by aromatic spices such as cumin, ginger, and cinnamon. Before we cook the chicken, we marinate it in sour cream or yogurt along with garam masala, cumin, turmeric, and lemon juice. Marinating chicken helps tenderize the chicken and give it flavor. We simmer the chicken in tomato sauce and stir in ¼ cup of cream at the end.
- Made with easy-to-find ingredients: This Butter Chicken recipe is not 100 percent authentic and I won't pretend it is, but it does deliver a quick, easy, and deliciously spiced chicken dinner without a long intimidating list of spices and ingredients needed.
- Recipe doubles well: The ingredients in this single serving Butter Chicken recipe can be doubled to serve two.
RELATED: Comfort Food Recipes For One
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
See below for ways to use leftover ingredients, including spices.
MARINADE INGREDIENTS
- Chicken: I use one (4 to 6-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breast but chicken thighs work here too. You can also use leftover grilled or baked chicken in this dish too.
- Sour cream: You can use greek yogurt instead.
- Lemon juice: For the best flavor, I like to use freshly squeezed lemon juice but you can use bottled instead.
- Spices: The spices that go in Butter Chicken are turmeric, ground cumin, and Garam masala (homemade or store-bought). Garam Masala can be found in many supermarkets in the spice aisle.
BUTTER CHICKEN SAUCE INGREDIENTS
- Butter: Use salted butter. We cook the onions and garlic in butter and we also cook the marinated chicken in butter too.
- Vegetables: Chopped onions and garlic.
- Spices and seasonings: Key spices found in Butter Chicken are ground cumin, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, and salt.
- Tomato sauce: Use your favorite jarred brand of tomato sauce or use homemade.
- Heavy cream or heavy whipping cream: This ingredient delivers a wonderful richness to the sauce.
Serve Butter Chicken with cooked rice.
See below for ways to use leftover ingredients.
How To Make Butter Chicken For One
- Make the marinade: Mix together the sour cream, lemon juice, turmeric, garam masala, and cumin together in a medium-sized bowl. Chop the chicken breast into 1-inch cubes. Add the chicken to the bowl and stir so that all of the chicken pieces are completely covered. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Make the butter chicken: Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions to the pan and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the garlic, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, and salt and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato sauce, reduce heat to low, and simmer.
- While the sauce is simmering, melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in another medium-sized skillet set to medium-high heat. Add the pieces of chicken to the pan and cook for 5 minutes per side until browned.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and add to the pan with the sauce. Simmer another 5-10 minutes. Stir in the cream and cook, stirring for 1 minute.
- Serve with rice.
Expert Tips
- Can't find garam masala, make your own: This Butter Chicken recipe calls for using garam masala, a spice commonly found in the spice aisle in many grocery stores. You can also make your own by using our homemade garam masala recipe.
- Cream substitutions: You can use full-fat coconut milk or half & half instead of cream if you prefer.
- Make-Ahead: You can make the sauce ahead of time if you want to. Allow the sauce to cool completely, store it in an airtight container or glass jar, and refrigerate for up to 2 days. The flavors will have plenty of time to develop before adding your chicken.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, this version of Butter Chicken is not spicy. Feel free to add a pinch of cayenne pepper or finely chopped jalapeños to your version if you'd prefer more heat.
Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove.
When making this single serving recipe, I use a 10-inch skillet. For best results, use a pan of a similar size.
For more information on the baking dishes I use in our “recipes for one”, please visit our FAQ page.
For examples of the dishes used at One Dish Kitchen, please visit our Store page.
Although both dishes feature chicken in a tomato-based, cream sauce, they are very different.
Butter Chicken (murgh makhani) was created in the late 1940s by Chef Kundan Lal Gujral as a way to use tandoori chicken. It is a Northern Indian dish originating in a region well-known for its use of rich, dairy-based sauces. Butter Chicken is generally more spiced, with a richer buttery flavor than Chicken Tikka Masala.
Chicken Tikka Masala is believed to have been created by a Bangladeshi chef in Scotland in the 1970s and is very popular in Great Britain.
What To Do With Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this single serving Butter Chicken recipe, you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes.
- Sour cream: Beef Stroganoff, Twice Baked Potato, Blue Cheese Dressing, Salisbury Steak
- Turmeric: Healing Turmeric Tea, Saag Paneer, Roasted Butternut Squash, Chicken and Golden Rice
- Cumin: Curried Carrot Soup, Baba Ganoush, Slow Cooker Chicken Burrito Bowl, Black Bean Soup
- Ground ginger: Soft Ginger Cookies, Pork Stir Fry, Green Curry, Saag Paneer
- Tomato sauce: Giant Italian Meatball, Eggplant Parmesan, Baked Ziti, Stuffed Peppers
- Cream: Vanilla Ice Cream, Icebox Cake, Strawberry Shortcake, Alfredo Sauce
- Chicken: Baked Chicken Caprese, Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup, Cashew Chicken, Lemon Chicken
Variations
- Vegetarian Masala: Use cubed tofu, garbanzo beans or chickpeas, or kidney beans instead of chicken.
- Dairy-Free Chicken Masala: To make dairy-free Butter Chicken, use canned coconut milk instead of heavy cream and use a vegan butter substitute instead of butter.
- Low Carb Butter Chicken: Serve the chicken and sauce over cauliflower rice for a low-carb version.
Serving Suggestions
RELATED: 15 Easy Single Serving Dessert Recipes
If you’ve tried this easy Butter Chicken recipe or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
If you take a picture please tag us on Instagram (@onedishkitchen) we’d love to see it!
Butter Chicken For One
See the post above for expert tips,
FAQs and ways to use leftover ingredients.
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
For the marinade
- 1 (4 to 6-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breast , cut into 1-inch pieces
- ½ cup sour cream , (or Greek yogurt)
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ tablespoon turmeric
- ½ tablespoon Garam masala *see notes
- ½ tablespoon ground cumin
For the butter chicken
- 2 tablespoons salted butter , divided
- ½ cup chopped onions
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup cooked rice
Instructions
Make the marinade
- Mix together the sour cream, lemon juice, turmeric, garam masala, and cumin together in a medium-sized bowl. Add the chicken to the bowl and stir so that all of the chicken pieces are completely covered. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Make the butter chicken
- Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions to the pan and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the garlic, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, and salt and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato sauce, reduce heat to low, and simmer.
- While the sauce is simmering, melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in another medium-sized skillet set to medium-high heat. Add the pieces of chicken to the pan and cook for 5 minutes per side until browned.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and add to the pan with the sauce. Simmer another 5-10 minutes. Stir in the cream and cook, stirring for 1 minute.
- Serve with rice.
Notes
- Can't find garam masala, make your own: This Butter Chicken recipe calls for using garam masala, a spice commonly found in the spice aisle in many grocery stores. You can also make your own by using our homemade garam masala recipe.
- Cream substitutions: You can use full-fat coconut milk or half & half instead of cream if you prefer.
- Make-Ahead: You can make the sauce the day before and store it in the refrigerator.
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Patricia A Potts says
Chicken was beautifully tender but would have preferred more spice and less of the tomato flavour so when making again would up the spice and make it with 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce and I am sure there would still be plenty of sauce to cover the chicken. Thank you.
Carolyn Ramsay says
I am so happy I found you. September 1st I'm going to buy the recommended pans and casserole dishes and start cooking once or twice a week. I made this promise to myself. Many thanks. Xxxx
J. Hegyi says
Great recipe.
Ally says
I see that the recipe says to marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes. Do you know if marinating it all day, or maybe even over night, would be too long and make the chicken texture wrong? I'd like to have it ready to cook for 30 minutes when I get home instead of having to wait for 30 minutes before starting to cook.
Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Joanie Zisk says
I wouldn't marinate the chicken for longer than 8 hours. The acid from the marinade ingredients can make the texture of the meat stringy and mushy.
J. Hegyi says
Great recipe.
Brenda A says
If I use the Garam Masala recipe from your site, which contains cumin, do I then use the additional cumin in this recipe?
Joanie Zisk says
The homemade garam masala recipe will yield about 1/4 cup and cumin is one of several ingredients in this spice blend. Yes, add the amount of cumin recommended in this recipe.
Mattie says
I am so happy I found this recipe. I love Indian food, and finding a way to make this dish so easily is wonderful.
BEBE MENDOZA says
Mostly one chicken breast in your country is how many grams... As im from the philippines... Our chicken here is smaller in size... Thanks
Joanie Zisk says
170 grams.