I use a jar of butter chicken simmer sauce. That's the shortcut, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise.
What I've worked out is what to add to it. Butter, cream, a teaspoon of sugar, and chicken that's actually browned before the sauce goes in. Those four things are the difference between dinner that tastes like a jar and dinner nobody questions.
About 25 minutes. It's the Indian dish my kids ask for most, usually with a batch of homemade naan to go with it.
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Why You'll Love This
- 25 minutes, one pan. Brown the chicken, pour in the sauce, simmer, stir in the cream. Most of that time is the pan doing the work while you cook rice.
- The jar does the spice work. Garam masala, cumin, coriander, ginger, tomato. Buying a jar means not buying eight spices you'll use once, and that's the whole reason this recipe exists.
- Four additions do the rest. Butter, cream, a teaspoon of sugar, and chicken that's properly browned. Straight from the jar tastes flat and slightly thin. These four fix it, and none of them take extra time.
- My kids ask for it. It's the Indian dish they request most, and it's mild enough that nobody complains about heat.
- Better on day two. The sauce settles overnight and the chicken keeps absorbing it. If you're cooking on Sunday for the week, this is a good one to make.
Which Simmer Sauce to Buy
I use Maya Kaimal, which I pick up at Target. It's tomato-forward rather than sweet, which is what you want here since you're adding sugar and cream yourself. A jar that's already sweet stacks and the whole thing goes cloying.
If Maya Kaimal isn't on the shelf, look for one where tomato is high on the ingredient list and sugar isn't. Most regular grocery stores carry two or three options in the international aisle.
Taste the sauce before you season anything. Salt varies a lot between brands. Some are seasoned to be eaten straight, others expect you to finish them, and there's no way to know except tasting.
One jar covers about a pound of chicken. Any more and the sauce stretches thin, so use two jars rather than adding water if you're feeding a crowd.
Ingredients
- Chicken thighs: Cut into bite-sized pieces. Thighs stay tender through a simmer where breast can go dry and stringy. Breast works if that's what you have, just cut the simmer shorter and pull it as soon as it hits 165°F.
- Butter chicken simmer sauce: One jar. This is the shortcut and it's doing the spice work: garam masala, cumin, coriander, ginger, tomato. See the section above for which one I buy.
- Onion: Diced and cooked down before the sauce goes in. The jar has onion in it, but cooking fresh onion in the pan first gives you a base the sauce sits on rather than a sauce that tastes poured.
- Garlic: Grated fresh. Same reason as the onion. It's in the jar, and it's better when it's also in the pan.
- Butter: A tablespoon or two stirred in near the end. It's called butter chicken and most jars are lighter on it than the name suggests. This is the addition you'd notice missing.
- Heavy cream: Goes in after the chicken is cooked. It rounds off the acidity in the tomato and turns the sauce from red to that orange color you're after. Half and half works and gives you a thinner sauce.
- Sugar: One teaspoon. Jarred sauces tend to lean acidic, and a small amount of sugar pulls it back without making the dish sweet. Taste first, since some jars need none.
How to Make Butter Chicken
- Cook the onion and garlic. A little oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the diced onion and grated garlic and cook until the onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. This is the base the sauce sits on.
- Brown the chicken properly. Add the pieces and let them sit against the pan before you stir. You want color on them, not just cooked through. Those browned bits are most of what separates this from sauce poured over chicken, and it takes about 5 minutes.
- Add the sauce and simmer. Pour in the jar and stir to coat. Scrape up anything stuck to the bottom. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes until the chicken reaches 165°F and the sauce has thickened slightly.
- Stir in the butter and cream. Off the heat or on low. The butter melts in and the cream turns the sauce from red to orange. Add the sugar now too, a teaspoon at a time, tasting as you go.
- Simmer 5 more minutes and taste. Salt and pepper if it needs it, though many jars are salted enough. Serve over rice or with naan.
What to Serve with Butter Chicken
- Homemade naan. The reason to make this on a night you have twenty extra minutes. No yogurt needed, and warm naan dragged through the sauce is most of the appeal of the meal.
- Basmati rice. The default, and it does a job plain rice with more character wouldn't. This sauce is rich enough that you want something neutral underneath it.
- Store-bought naan, warmed properly. Worth saying: a packaged naan in a dry pan for thirty seconds a side is close enough on a Tuesday. Don't microwave it.
- Arugula and pomegranate salad. Not Indian, but peppery and sharp against something this rich, and it takes five minutes.
- Cucumber raita. Plain yogurt, grated cucumber, a pinch of salt and cumin. That's it, and it cools things down if your jar turned out hotter than expected.
- Something pickled. Lime pickle if you have it, or any sharp pickled vegetable. Rich curry wants acid on the side.
Rose's Top Tips
- Brown the chicken, don't just cook it. Let the pieces sit against the pan before you stir. Color on the chicken and browned bits on the bottom of the pan are most of what makes this taste cooked rather than assembled.
- Taste the jar before you season. Salt varies a lot between brands, and some sauces are seasoned to be eaten straight. Adding salt out of habit is how this ends up too salty to fix.
- Add the cream off the heat or on low. Cream that boils in an acidic tomato sauce can split. Once it's in, you're warming through rather than simmering hard.
- A teaspoon of sugar, then taste. It's balancing the acidity in the tomato, not sweetening the dish. Some jars need none at all, and going too far is more noticeable than going too light.
- Use a bigger pan than you think. Chicken crowded in a small pan steams instead of browning, which costs you step 2 entirely. Give it room or do it in two batches.
- Make it a day ahead if you can. The sauce settles and the chicken keeps absorbing it overnight. Same dish, noticeably better.
Butter Chicken Vs Tikka Masala
They look similar in the takeout container and they're genuinely close, which is why people mix them up.
Butter chicken is the richer one. Tomato, cream, and a good amount of butter, with warming spices rather than heat. It's smooth, mildly sweet, and mild enough that kids usually eat it.
Tikka masala is tangier and a bit spicier. The sauce has more texture to it, often with pieces of tomato and onion left in, and it leans on the char from the tandoori-cooked chicken more than butter chicken does.
If you're deciding: butter chicken for the softer, creamier one, tikka masala if you want something with more edge to it.
Storage and Reheating
It's better on day two. The sauce settles overnight and the chicken keeps taking it on. If you can make this a day ahead, do.
Fridge, 3 to 4 days. Airtight container. The sauce thickens as it sits, so you'll want a splash of water or cream when you reheat.
Reheat gently on the stove. Low heat, stirring, until it's warmed through. High heat can split a cream sauce, and the microwave heats unevenly enough that the chicken goes rubbery in spots.
Freezer, 3 months. It freezes better than most cream sauces because the tomato base holds it together. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then reheat on the stove. It may look separated when it first goes in the pan, and stirring brings it back.
Store the rice separately. Rice absorbs sauce overnight and you end up with dry rice and not much sauce. Keep them apart and you can portion properly.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. Cut it into bite-sized pieces the same way and shorten the simmer, since breast dries out faster than thighs do. Pull it as soon as it hits 165°F rather than leaving it in the sauce to keep cooking.
I use Maya Kaimal, which I get at Target. Look for one where tomato is high on the ingredient list and sugar isn't, since you're adding a little sugar and cream yourself. Most grocery stores carry two or three options in the international aisle.
Not usually. It's built on warming spices like garam masala and ginger rather than heat, and it's mild enough that most kids eat it. Jarred sauces vary though, so taste before you serve it to anyone heat-sensitive.
Full-fat coconut milk in place of the cream and a plant-based butter. Check the jar too, since some simmer sauces already contain cream. The coconut reads slightly sweet against the tomato, which most people don't mind here.
Probably because the chicken wasn't browned properly. Let the pieces sit against the pan and take on color before you stir, and scrape up whatever sticks to the bottom when the sauce goes in. Butter, cream, and a teaspoon of sugar do the rest.
Yes, and it's better for it. The sauce settles overnight and the chicken keeps absorbing it. Keeps 3 to 4 days in the fridge, and you'll want a splash of water or cream when you reheat since it thickens as it sits.
Chicken and the jar of sauce on low for 6 hours or high for 3, then stir the butter and cream in at the end. You lose the browning, which is a real trade-off, but it works if you want it waiting when you get home.
More Chicken Recipes
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Easy Butter Chicken with Simmer Sauce
Equipment
- 1 sauce pan or pot
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- ½ medium onion, diced
- 1 pound chicken thighs or chicken breast cut it bite size pieces
- 12 ounces butter chicken simmer sauce
- 4 tablespoon butter
- ¾ cup heavy cream or half and half
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- In a pan, heat a bit of oil over medium heat. Add the grated garlic and chopped onion and sauté until the onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.2 cloves garlic, crushed, ½ medium onion, diced, 2 tablespoon olive oil
- Add the chicken and let the pieces sit against the pan before stirring. Cook until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. You want color on them, not just cooked through.1 pound chicken thighs or chicken breast cut it bite size pieces
- Pour in the simmer sauce and stir to coat, scraping up anything stuck to the bottom of the pan. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes, until the chicken reaches 165°F.12 ounces butter chicken simmer sauce
- Stir in the butter and cream over low heat. The sauce will turn from red to orange.4 tablespoon butter, ¾ cup heavy cream or half and half
- Add the sugar a teaspoon at a time, tasting as you go. Season with salt and pepper only if it needs it, since many jars are salted enough.1 teaspoon sugar
- Simmer 5 more minutes. Serve over rice or with homemade naan.
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Alina (www.healthandyum.ca) says
Butter chicken is one of my favourite recipes! 😋