This Slow Cooker Butter Chicken 🧡🧈 recipe effortlessly recreates classic Indian butter chicken but it’s made in your Crock-Pot which makes it so EASY! Chicken simmers in a warmly spiced tomato broth along with butter, onions, garlic, and at the end stir in cream for ultimate richness. Truly a set-it-and-forget-it chicken dinner recipe that everyone adores and that rivals your local Indian restaurant!
Easy Slow Cooker Butter Chicken Recipe
- Dump and go. The chicken and all the ingredients including the broth, onions, garlic, and spices all go straight into the slow cooker. There’s no browning, searing, or transferring meat from stovetop to Crockpot which saves on time, energy, and dishes.
- 10 minutes of prep. Cutting the chicken and dicing an onion is all the hands on work you have to do. And then it’s fully hands off until the last 15 minutes of simmering when you stir in the cream.
- Big flavor from pantry spices. Garam masala, curry powder, cumin, and ground ginger flavor the simmering broth with warm richness that Indian butter chicken is known for.
- High protein, gluten-free, and busy weekday-friendly. Get your protein in without gluten and since this cooks either on high for 2-3 hours OR on low for 4-6 hours, you can choose what cooking time works best for your life and schedule.
- Stovetop 30-minute option. If you’d rather make a stovetop version that’s ready in 30 minutes, my Indian Butter Chicken is spectacular and so is this Indian Chicken Curry. Saucy, juicy, wonderful. Or try these Butter Chicken Meatballs which are a family favorite and baked in the oven.
Ingredients in Slow Cooker Indian Butter Chicken
- Chicken thighs: Boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into bite sized pieces are what I use because thighs tend to stay more tender through the long cook time and I prefer them over breasts here. Although boneless skinless chicken breasts are fine.
- Tomato sauce and tomato paste: The sauce is the base, and the paste deepens the tomato flavor.
- Chicken broth: Just a small amount for flavor and in a pinch, you can use water. I use reduced sodium and adjust the salt balance at the end.
- Garlic and ginger: Fresh is ideal for both, but use what you have. Dry ground ginger is fine and so is garlic in a jar.
- Spices: Garam masala, curry powder, ground cumin, and salt. Tip – When selecting curry powder, I recommend middle of the road in terms of spice level. Make sure to read the label so you know what you’re getting! Curry powder can vary dramatically in heat level. Of course, if you want this Crockpot butter chicken to be either very spicy or very mild, choose your curry powder accordingly to preference.
- Onion: Yellow onion is ideal.
- Salted butter: I like salted butter here for a more savory, richer depth of flavor to the buttery sauce. If you’re using unsalted butter, add a bit more salt, if desired and to taste.
- Heavy cream or coconut milk: Either works. Coconut milk adds a light coconut flavor and if you’re using it, I recommend full-fat canned coconut milk.
- Lime juice: A squeeze of fresh lime juice nicely cuts through the richness of the butter and cream sauce and I recommend it.
- Fresh cilantro, optional: Also adds a pop of herby freshness to the heavier creamy sauce and brightens everything.
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Butter Chicken in a Slow Cooker
- Add everything to the slow cooker. Add the chicken, broth, tomato sauce, tomato paste, ginger, spices, salt, onion, garlic, and stir to combine. Tip – Dice the chicken in uniformly-sized pieces so it cooks through at an even rate.
- Top with butter. Scatter the cubed butter over the top. It melts down into the sauce as it cooks.
- Slow cook. On high, it’ll take about 2-3 hours OR on low it’ll take about 4-6 hours. Slow cookers vary in their heat output and so keep cooking until the chicken is fully cooked through to 165F. Tip – For a thicker broth, leave the lid off during the last 30 minutes of slow cooking so some of the excess moisture evaporates.
- Stir in the cream at the end. Add heavy cream or coconut milk during the last 15 minutes rather than at the start of cooking because dairy can separate over a long cook time.
- Taste, garnish, and serve. Add more salt if needed or add or red pepper flakes for extra heat, optionally garnish with cilantro, lime wedges, and serve. I like to serve butter chicken with naan, basmati rice, jasmine rice, or coconut rice to mop up all that glorious butter sauce!
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for step-by-step photos and process shots of the cooking process.
Slow Cooker Butter Chicken
🧡🧈 This recipe effortlessly recreates classic Indian butter chicken but it's made in your Crock-Pot which makes it so EASY! Chicken simmers in a warmly spiced tomato broth along with butter, onions, garlic, and at the end stir in cream for ultimate richness. Truly a set-it-and-forget-it chicken dinner recipe that everyone adores and that rivals your local Indian restaurant!
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces (boneless skinless chicken breasts may be substituted)
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 8 ounce can tomato sauce
- ¼ cup chicken broth, (I use reduced sodium; you can sub with water if you don’t have broth on hand)
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon fresh finely grated ginger OR about 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger, or to taste
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 1-3 teaspoons curry powder, or to taste (use one according to your heat preferences mild, medium, or spicy; and then add to taste)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin, or more to taste if desired
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste (I use about 2 teaspoons along with salted butter)
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- ¼ cup salted butter, diced or cubed (unsalted butter may be substituted but you'll likely want to add additional salt)
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream, (full fat coconut milk may be substituted noting you’ll taste a milk coconut flavor)
- 2-3 teaspoons lime juice, optional but recommended
- 2-4 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely minced; optional but recommended
Instructions
- Spray the ceramic portion of your slow cooker with cooking spray if desired and to it, add the diced chicken, onions, tomato sauce, broth (or water), tomato paste, ginger, garam masala, curry powder, cumin, salt, pepper, and stir to evenly coat everything with the spices and with the tomato paste and tomato sauce.
- Evenly sprinkle the cubed butter over the top.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 2-3 hours; or on LOW for about 4-6 hours. Tip – Consider leaving the lid off in the last 20-30 minutes of cooking if you want a thicker sauce, see below.
- Thickening the Sauce, optional – Because slow cookers trap moisture, the sauce be slightly thin before adding cream. For a thicker, restaurant-style butter sauce, and like the photos show, leave the lid off for the last 20 to 30 minutes of cooking to allow excess moisture to evaporate. Additionally, you can also make a cornstarch slurry (2 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 1-2 tablespoons water) and stir it in at the same time as the heavy cream. Be careful with cornstarch because it can make things overly thick (think really thick, gloppy gravy) so don't exceed what's recommended.
- In the last 10-15 minutes of slow cooking, add the heavy cream, and stir to combine. Tip – Don't overcook after the cream has warmed through. It's very unlikely given the high fat percentage in heavy cream but you don't want the dairy proteins to break and that can happen if dairy is overheated. If you're using coconut milk, you will be able to taste it.
- Slow Cooking Tips – All slow cookers vary in their heat intensity and output so check earlier than the suggested cooking times but also don't be surprised if it takes longer. Chicken is done when it's 165F internally so take the temperature and don't guess.
- Optionally, a bit of lime juice right before serving cuts through the richness of the butter and heavy cream, instantly brightening the spices and sauce and I recommend it. Fresh is best but bottled works.
- Optionally, add cilantro either sprinkled over individual portions or to the whole batch.
- Serve with naan, rice such as jasmine rice, coconut rice, basmati, or your favorite rice.
Notes
Storage: Extra will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 4-5 days or in the freezer for up to 2-3 months. Reheat gently in the microwave or as desired. I think this tastes even better the next day because the flavors marry as it sits.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 410cal, Carbohydrates: 7g, Protein: 37g, Fat: 26g, Saturated Fat: 13g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7g, Trans Fat: 0.4g, Cholesterol: 224mg, Sodium: 1043mg, Potassium: 740mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 1043IU, Vitamin C: 7mg, Calcium: 57mg, Iron: 3mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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