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30 Minute Spicy Indian Butter Chicken…the perfect bowl of warming comfort food that’s incredibly delicious. Indian inspired butter chicken made with plenty of spice and creamy coconut milk for a slight twist. It’s cozy, creamy, a little spicy, and filled with warming Indian flavors. Finish each bowl off with steamed rice and serve with fresh naan. You’ll have the perfect dinner that can be enjoyed any night of the week. Bonus? This is quickly made on the stove, with one skillet, and in just about 30 minutes. And…the leftovers are even more delicious the next day.

overhead close up photo of 30 Minute Spicy Indian Butter Chicken

I’ve said this before I’m sure, but the reason I love to cook so much is because I really love cooking for others. I find so much enjoyment in creating meals for the people I love most. It’s really what inspires me to keep cooking away every day. There’s nothing I love more than having a friend or family member inspire a recipe.

I love the opportunity to make something for someone with the hope that it will be a dish they’ll truly love…one of those dishes my brothers would say is, “fire”. Those are the words I strive for when creating a recipe, but especially when a recipe is created with a specific person in mind.

That was the case with today’s Butter Chicken. This one was inspired by my oldest brother, Creighton. He’s here in Colorado working remotely right now, and the one thing about Creighton?

He loves to eat…like really loves to eat. And one of his favorites foods? Anything Indian inspired and anything spicy. This leads me right into today’s recipe. With Creighton in town, I excitedly have been testing out a new Butter Chicken recipe, and last week I finally got it just right.

Creighton’s exact words…”it’s fire!”

chicken searing in skillet

What Is Butter Chicken?

For any of you who are are not familiar, Butter Chicken it’s one of the most popular Indian curries served around the world. I’ve made a few variations in the past, but aside from the coconut milk, today’s recipe is the most traditional.

Butter chicken is made with spices, tomato, butter, and cream. It’s rich and warming, but the spice blend is really what makes this dish. Using a mix of Garam Masala, turmeric, garlic, and plenty of ginger is key to getting an authentic flavor.

Traditionally, Butter Chicken is marinated for many hours in yogurt and spices, but I’ve adjusted that slightly to create a quicker but still super flavorful recipe!

30 Minute Spicy Indian Butter Chicken cooking in skillet

Here’s how to make this 30 Minute Spicy Indian Butter Chicken.

With such a quick cook time, I’m sure you guessed, but this is pretty simple, quick, and easy.

Start with the chicken. Just like in a traditional butter chicken recipe, we’re first tossing the chicken with yogurt and spices. But instead of marinating overnight, I found that a quick ten-minute soak in the spices really does the trick.

While the chicken is sitting, I like to start in on the prep for everything else, chop the onion, garlic, and ginger, grab that coconut milk and tomato paste and get everything for the remainder of the recipe ready to go.

overhead close up photo of 30 Minute Spicy Indian Butter Chicken

Once the chicken has had some time to sit, pan-sear it in a skillet until crisp.

To that same skillet, add the onion and all those remaining spices and a whole can of tomato paste. Just like my pasta alla vodka, I like to cook the tomato paste together with the spices for a bit to really help intensify the flavors in the sauce.

Then just stir in the coconut milk, or if you don’t enjoy coconut milk, use cream. Either is truly delicious and just as creamy. But I love the subtle coconut flavor paired with these Indian spices, they’re delicious.

Allow the sauce to simmer and thicken, then just stir in a bit of butter and plenty of fresh chopped cilantro. And that’s it, super simple, so delicious.

As this cooks, the aroma in the kitchen is truly incredible. It’s just like your favorite Indian spot in town…but maybe just a touch better. I always find anything made at home to be even more delicious.

I like to serve my butter chicken over steamed rice with some fresh naan for scooping up the creamy, coconutty sauce. Absolutely DELICIOUS. You can’t skip the naan either. It’s reason enough to make a good butter chicken.

overhead photo of 30 Minute Spicy Indian Butter Chicken

So how are the leftovers?

I swear they taste even better the following day. The flavors have time to mend and the sauce is just that more intense.

I can’t tell you how much I love this recipe and how much Creighton loved this recipe. I already know he’s looking forward to it for dinner tonight. This butter chicken is SO flavorful, SO full of color, and a nice switch up from the usual cheesy December pasta dishes I’m always sharing (don’t worry, they’ll be back soon). The best part, well aside from all the deliciousness, is that this requires only one pot and is ready in just about 30 minutes. Perfect for these crazy busy cold December days.

photo with half eaten bowl of butter chicken

Looking for other Indian inspired dinners? Here are my favorites: 

30 Minute Butter Chicken Meatballs

Super Simple Coconut Chicken Tikka Masala

Gingery Coconut Sweet Potato and Rice Stew with Chili Oil

Lastly, if you make this 30 Minute Spicy Indian Butter Chicken, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

30 Minute Spicy Coconut Butter Chicken

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 561 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

Instructions

  • 1. in a bowl, toss together the chicken, yogurt, 3 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon ginger, 2 teaspoons garam masala, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 1/2 - 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, and 1 teaspoon salt. Let sit 5-10 minutes.
    2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and sear on both sides until browned, about 2 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon butter and toss to coat the chicken. Remove the chicken from the skillet to a plate.
    3. To the skillet, add the onion and cook 5 minutes, until softened. Add 2 tablespoons butter, 3 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon ginger, 1 tablespoon garam masala, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 1/2 - 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, and the chili flakes. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until very fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and continue cooking another 3-4 minutes.
    4. Reduce the heat to low. Add 1 cup water and the coconut milk. Stir to combine, bring the sauce to a simmer, cook 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly. Stir in 1 tablespoon butter. If the sauce seems thick, thin with 1/2 to 1 cup additional coconut milk. Add the chicken and any juices on the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro. Season with salt and pepper.
    5. Serve the chicken and sauce over bowls of rice with fresh naan. Enjoy!
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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Any suggestions for instructions on doing this in an instapot? I’ve made it previously and it was delicious but was hoping to simplify and increase flavor in the instapot

    1. Hi Jamie,
      Happy Wednesday! I really appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad it was a winner! 🤩 I would cook on high pressure for 8 minutes! xx

  2. 5 stars
    My 7 yr old is a super picky eater and I don’t know if the stars aligned for some magic to happen tonight but not only did he try it willingly but gobbled it up! My husband and I had to pick up our jaws off the floor lol The only thing I did was just adjusted the spiciness to fit my family.

    1. Hey Mari,
      Happy Monday!! 👻 I am so glad this recipe was tasty for you, thanks a lot for trying it out! Awe, so glad it was a hit with your picky eater:) xT

    1. Hey Nacha,
      Happy Wednesday!!👻 I truly appreciate you giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it was enjoyed:)

  3. 5 stars
    This recipe is amazing! I also made it vegetarian once and subbed potato and garbanzo beans and it was also amazing!

    1. Hey Dana,
      Happy Monday!! I am delighted to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try!🍁 xxT

  4. 5 stars
    Tieghan, you’ve done it again. I love making food that tastes like it could be takeout and this is it. Too many Indian food recipes don’t get the spice/flavor right but this one totally nails it. Instantly a favorite and there is nothing fussy about this recipe. My only question is how do you time the dish and the naan? I made the naan dough, then prepped all the ingredients for the chicken, cooked the naan, kept the naan warm in the toaster oven while I did the chicken, made the garlic butter while everything simmered at the end, and then finished by brushing the naan with the butter. It worked ok but I think keeping the naan in the toaster oven dried it out a little bit. Would love to know how you juggle those two dishes!

    1. Hey Sabrina,
      Happy Friday!👻 Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try and sharing your review! I love to hear that it was enjoyed! I typically make the dough earlier in the day and then pan fry the naan while the chicken is simmering:) xT

  5. INCREDIBLE!!! I made this last night and it was absolutely delicious. Tagged you on Instagram. Will be making this often, took a little over 30 mins for me but I am a bit slow in the kitchen. Thank you!

  6. Butter chicken was Aaaaahhhhhhmazzing!!!!
    I forgot to take a pic but just know this recipe is a keeper! Thank you!! Can’t wait to make the chai cupcakes next! Love your recipes and cookbooks!

  7. 5 stars
    I’ve made this recipe twice now, and both times it’s turned out FANTASTIC! I used heavy cream in mine both times. And the naan is an absolute MUST! I’m not good at making breads or things like that at home, but I was successful with this naan both times! The butter chicken tastes even better over the next few days as leftovers… Next time, I need to make a double batch to share with family. Thank you!

  8. 4 stars
    Great butter chicken recipe! I’ll prep a bit ahead (chopping chicken, dicing, rice, etc) next time in order to get the time down a bit. Really good flavors.

    1. Hi Karoline,
      Happy Friday🍁 I appreciate you making this recipe and love to hear that it turned out well for you! xT

  9. This is our go to butter chicken recipe! It is incredible, my kids are obsessed with it as are we! Thank you for this awesome recipe!

    Which cook book is this recipe in of yours?

    1. Hey Katie,
      Amazing!! So glad your family loves this recipe:) A similar recipe is in the original HBH Cookbook, but this exact recipe is only on the blog:) xx

  10. 4 stars
    The taste was delicious! I omitted the cayenne and chili pepper because my kids are sensitive to heat (though if this was just for my husband and me, I’d definitely want to add it!) Only reason I gave it 4 stars was because it took me more like 45 mins to make, and that was moving as fast as I could and even cutting down on cooking times/combining a couple steps to make it go faster as I was in a time crunch. To be efficient, I started the rice right away (though should have started after getting the chicken in the marinade). Made the marinade and started heating up my cast iron skillet a few mins before I was going to start cooking. I prepped almost everything else while the chicken marinated or cooked. Served with naan I broiled on low with some pads of butter and minced garlic until the butter melted and the naan was slightly crispy. Great meal!

    1. Hi Taylor,
      Happy Sunday! I am so glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a bunch for making it:) Sorry this took longer than expected! xx

  11. 4 stars
    We used the suggested amount of spice and the spice was way too overpowering. It took about an hour to cook and we were sweating while eating it! We are going to modify recipe with less spice and more greek yogurt next time for more tang and this will be killer.

    1. Hey Maya,
      Thanks for trying this recipe, so sorry to hear this was spicy for you! Hope you’re off to a great weekend! xx