You’ve been asking for an Indian recipe, so we decided to give it to you! We are starting with this simple Keto Butter Chicken.
You will honestly be surprised how delicious and exact this recipe is given the minimal seasonings we use. We wanted to create a dish that would be easy to make any night of week, taking no longer than 30 minutes with everything easily found in your kitchen. Watch me make it below!
The Easiest Butter Chicken Recipe
Growing up in an Indian household, I watched my mom cook a lot of Indian food. She was constantly taste testing, tossing in different spices, adding water to loosen up the sauce, and cinnamon sticks and bay leaves were always a must. However, it seemed a bit more complicated than I was ever willing to take on. With that said, I present to you the easiest butter chicken recipe you are ever going to make and want to make. I cut down heavily on the amount of spices used for ease without sacrificing flavor, and it’s keto-friendly!
Incredible Chicken Recipes!
Of course you can use any meat you want in this recipe, lamb is always a favorite or paneer for a vegetarian route, but I love chicken most because of how versatile it is. The simplicity of chicken, regardless of the cut, allows you to transform it into pretty much anything you want. Some of my favorite chicken transformations are our Keto White Chicken Chili, Low Carb Chicken Chili, Keto Orange Chicken, Keto Teriyaki Chicken and Cashew Chicken! We even have another curry based chicken recipe that is a fan favorite – Coconut Curry Chicken.
Keto Butter Chicken
If you’ve never tried your hand at Indian food, this is a great place to start. Eating out can be tricky because a lot of the time sugar is added to the curries and even some non keto-friendly thickening agents. Many beginners even have questions about eating rice on keto.
I can almost guarantee that you will not only find this Butter Chicken recipe easy to make, but you’ll find new love for Indian food! If you do find yourself making this Keto Butter Chicken one night make sure to serve it with some cauliflower rice or with our low carb naan!
​Tip: If you don’t have any turmeric on hand you can replace it with some curry powder!
Keto Butter Chicken
Ingredients:
- 1 lb chicken breast
- 1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 1.5 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/4 medium Onion
- 1.5 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp Pink Himalayan Salt
- 3/4 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions:
- Cut the chicken up into bite sized chunks and generously coat them in the turmeric, ginger, salt, chili powder and cinnamon. Set aside in a bowl.
- Heat a skillet to medium heat and add the butter. As the butter melts dice the onion and garlic and add it to the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the onions are translucent and fragrant.
- Increase the pan heat to medium-high and add the chicken. Cook it almost entirely through – the outside should be white and this will take about 3-5 minutes.
- Once the chicken looks almost fully cooked add in the heavy whipping cream and tomato paste. Using a spatula mix in the tomato paste so it runs smooth through the heavy whipping cream. It should be an orange color at this point. Turn the heat to medium-low and cover with a lid for 5-7 minutes.
- Remove lid and combine. The chicken is fully cooked and you should be able to eat it. However, if you like a thicker curry sauce allow it to reduce with the lid off until it reaches the consistency you like.
- Serve with low carb naan or over cauliflower rice. Enjoy!
- NOTE: You can store the butter chicken in a sealed container for up to 10 days in the fridge and 2 months in the freezer. You can also use chicken thighs instead of breast for a higher fat content.
Video:
Notes
Written by
Megha Barot
Megha has always been a passionate cook, but she took this to a new level after starting her keo journey in 2015. She loves creating new recipes and producing educational content for KetoConnect, which she co-founded in 2016 with Matt. Her passion for healthy eating and personal development continues to thrive. She's the proud mom of two awesome kids.
Can I subcutry powder instead of the spice ingredients? If so, how much?
I would just use curry powder to taste. Try maybe 2 tsp to start.
Oh em gee!! Made this tonight and it is ‘off-the-hook’ good!! My daughter came home with an order of butter chicken from a local Indian restaurant and I just knew it would have flour in it to thicken it so I decided to throw this together for myself because Butter Chicken sounded good. My daughter tried this version and said she preferred it over the restaurant version. I followed it exactly as written with the exception of cutting back the heavy cream to 3/4 of a cup. going to try this again next week with coconut cream and vegan butter since hubby is allergic to dairy.
tried this recipe! It came out so good I cant wait to share it with my friends!
Hi there. Hoping to make this soon, quick question, if I double the chicken, should I double the rest of the ingridients. Thanks!
Ya, just doubling everything should work pretty well!
I made this the other night and it was delicious! I added some more chili powder because I like pretty spicy food. I will definitely make this again!
Good! Next time I’ll use less salt and more spice. This will be a regular meal in my house. Thanks!
Oh My!!!! I just made this for dinner. My husband is raving about it. I did add more heat and some Garamond masala. But it is easy and delicious.
Thank you so much
Thanks for trying it 🙂 SO glad its husband approved! And, garam masala is a great addition
2-Fold Question: If I want to use Garam Masala would you recommend I not adding the cinnamon, ground ginger, and chili powder from your recipe? If so, how much would you add (of Garam Masala) to replace those spices?
Or would I just add Garam Masala in addition (like you’ve stated above), and if so, how much would you add for this recipe?
Ok, final question: I also have a large jar of ginger garlic paste that I’d like to use with this recipe (we are HUGE Butter Chicken fans and have been making it home for years so THANK YOU for this recipe!!). Could I use that (as long as it doesn’t have sugar added, etc.) instead of the ground ginger and garlic cloves? And if I do, I assume I would just add it to the cream sauce instead of the powdered chicken “rub”?
So… another question came to me too: (I’m not Indian so I don’t really know how to use these spices other than what a recipe tells me so I apologize for so many questions!) I also have some Tandoori Masala and Fenugreek Leaves. Would you recommend me using them in this recipe and if so, how much would you add?
Thank you for your time. We LOVE Butter Chicken (including all 4 of our young kids!) so I REALLY want to make this as close to what we are used to at home. 🙂
Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! First of all, I smiled when you mentioned Saag Paneer, because it is probably my favorite edible thing ever. (I’ve even seen recipes for homemade paneer, why haven’t I tried it?!)
But this Butter Chicken. Oh, man. This looks so amazing, so simple, and I have ALL the ingredients. This will be tonight’s dinner…maybe tomorrow I’ll try your recipe for naan with the leftovers. My belly is already happy!
I grew up eating curry, and miss eating Indian food on my diet. I can’t thank you enough for posting my favorite dish at an Indian food restaurant. I had just saved a recipe for Butter Chicken to make as a prize when I was done dieting. I am pleasantly surprised at how low calorie this dish is! I like spicy food, so which spices would your Mom increase? Thanks again, you rock!
You can increase the chili powder and even add in some dried chilis if you want to get crazy!
I was wondering if you could replace the whipping cream with full fat coconut milk?
Wondering this also
I was wondering this too as I have a dairy intolerant friend who I’d love to share this with.
I’ve subbed with coconut cream and it tastes great
I replaced cream w unsweetened full fat coconut milk and it turned out pretty great! I also omitted the chili as we have a super sensitive stomach, and it was a bit sweet (I think from the coconut milk). With the chili I think it would have been fine but since there was no spice to mellow out it was a little on the sweet side. Still great!!
This recipe was delicious! I made this last night for dinner and had no leftovers. My husband had 3 servings and could not stop talking about how good this dish was! I will definitely make this again. Thank you for a great recipe.
Megha, Thank you so much for this recipe. It’s delicious!
This was delicious! My only changes were using 1 tsp turmeric and 1/2 tsp. curry instead of all turmeric, and I added chopped red bell pepper. I served it with season cauliflower, drizzling some of the sauce over the cauliflower. Definitely will make this again, likely subbing some plain greek yogurt with half the heavy cream and upping the curry…I like curry, love Indian food. If one wanted to use garam masala, how much, and would it replace any of the other spices? Thanks for this recipe.
I think you can do it in addition to the rest of the spices. Just cut back everything slightly and add about 1 tsp garam masala
Hello Susan,
You can replace curry powder with garam masala at a 1:1 ratio. it would not take the place of turmeric. typically the ratio of garam masala to turmeric in any curry is 2 units of garam masala to 1 unit of turmeric. this is true whether you use teaspoons or tablespoons or any measurement. Plain Greek yogurt will make this dish tangy and more curry like. Butter chicken has a fair amount of sugar in the cream sauce. I would use a 1/2 tsp of swerve to the heavy cream/tomato mixture in order to get an authentic taste. you can also pick up a butter chicken pre-mixed spice packet at any Indian food store and that works just fine.
there isnt any curry powder in the recipe
I would caution against using Garam Masala as it has 1g carbs per 1/2 tsp. (will vary based on blend of spices) but with the ratios your suggesting in the previous post you’ll be up to 10-15g carbs per serving for the dish (not very keto friendly)
This chicken is sooooooo good. It’s recipes like this that make me excited to do a kept diet. Thanks guys.
Made this for dinner tonight. Yum yum!!!!!
Made this for dinner tonight. I used thighs because I just like dark meat better. Also thickened some with the top off. It tasted amazing,, rich and decadent. I am making Keto bars tomorrow . Thanks.
My wife doesn’t like chicken. Can I sub pork for this and have it taste good?
What other spices would you add if you weren’t trying to keep it simple?
Probably some garam masala and fresh diced chilis.
How much garam masala would you add? Plan on making this tonight!
I add ground cardamom and jalapeno to taste. So good!!!! IT deepens the flavor a lot.
Great additions!
Hi Megha,
You mentioned using Curry.
What would be the spices used and the amounts ignored I used curry?
Thanks!
Wow! This recipe looks so yummy and easy. I love curry and have been wanting to create a recipe of my own, but looks like you guys have done all the hard work for me! Can’t wait to try it out. Thank you.
Made this for dinner…a winner! Husband loved it.
Hi this looks awesome! Im thinking about using this dish for meal prep, how long would you say it keeps in the fridge?
It should last for about a week in the fridge.
I would highly recommend eating it within 48 hrs (2 days)
I agree totally.
What can I expect for day 3 and 4? Does the creaminess kind of separate? 4 servings is a lot for 2 days for 1 person. Should I freeze some?
You should be able to keep it several days refrigerated. I’ve always put mine in containers per serving size and taken them for lunches. I’ve never had a problem keeping ANYTHING for up to a week. No worries. Enjoy!!
Wondering why would you say within 48 hrs?! A lot of meal prep pets cook foods and Sunday to last through Friday…
I have made this every week for the last 3 weeks. It will last a week no problem in the fridge as long as your fridge works properly and is cold. I actually make this recipe using 5 pounds of chicken. My fiancé and I are both on a keto diet and we eat this for lunch every day until its gone. Each week we think about trying something new, but we love this so much we just make it again.
Thats awesome! we just made 4 lbs worth and its cooking now. what do you usually pair it with? Cauliflower rice?
Yess cauliflower rice would be great. Also maybe even some roasted low-carb veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, or Brussel sprouts. You could even do some zucchini noodles or miracle noodles and add the butter chicken on top. 🙂
This recipe is a once a week meal my husband, 5 year old son, and I eat. My son and husband are not keto, but love this recipe. We eat it with garlicky riced cauliflower.