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Indian-inspired slow cooker butter chicken is rich, creamy, and easily made in the crockpot! Tender chicken simmers in a tomato and coconut milk sauce with plenty of warm spices, so you can arrive home to a kitchen filled with incredible aromas and a dish so flavorful you’ll skip the takeout. It comes together with minimal effort and is lighter than many traditional versions!
Delicious Details
- Cuisine Inspiration: Indian
- Primary Cooking Method: Slow cooker
- Dietary Info: Gluten-free
- Skill Level: Easy
You’ll Love This Slow Cooker Butter Chicken
My slow cooker butter chicken is such a winner! Butter chicken is a classic Indian dish that features chicken cooked in a tomato, butter, and cream sauce in a tandoor oven. In my lightened-up version, I use less butter and swap heavy cream for a combination of light coconut milk and Greek yogurt, but you’ll still get the familiar flavors you crave. And, it’s so easy to throw in the slow cooker so you can think about something else while those savory aromas fill your kitchen.
So skip the takeout and scoop up bites of warmly spiced chicken with a fluffy batch of homemade Gluten-Free Naan Bread! Here’s why we love this recipe:
- So flavorful. My butter chicken recipe is simmered for hours in a tomato paste and coconut milk sauce spiked with spices including garam masala, ground ginger, curry, and cayenne pepper to infuse it with rich flavor.
- Just enough butter. More traditional recipes call for more butter than the 4 tablespoons I use, but you don’t need a ton of butter to give it that buttery taste.
- Adjustable. I love making this recipe at home because I can adjust the level of spice to suit everyone (hint: my kids). Similar to my Tandoori Chicken Legs and Quick Chicken Curry recipes, butter chicken can be made mild or spicy depending on how you like it.
- Slow cooked to perfection. For the busiest days, rely on the slow cooker to help get dinner on the table fast. The chicken cooks until it’s juicy and tender without much effort on my part.
What You’ll Need
Check out the ingredients that go into slow cooker butter chicken below, along with some of my notes. Scroll down to the recipe card at the end of this post for the full ingredient amounts.
- Chicken Breasts: I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
- Onion: I use a yellow onion, but red onion also works.
- Garlic
- Spices: These include curry powder, garam masala, ground ginger, and cayenne pepper.
- Salt: Fine sea salt or table salt.
- Coconut Milk: I prefer light coconut milk although regular is fine, too.
- Tomato Paste
- Butter: Use unsalted butter so that the finished dish is not too salty.
- Lemon Juice: Freshly-squeezed lemon juice is best! Bottled juice can be used if needed.
- Greek Yogurt: I prefer whole milk Greek yogurt, but low-fat or nonfat can be used. Make sure it is plain!
How to Make Butter Chicken in Your Slow Cooker
Here’s a look at how to make this easy slow cooker dish! The detailed instructions will be in the recipe card lower down.
- Assemble. Place the chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker and top it with the onion, garlic, spices, and salt.
- Add remaining ingredients. Now place the coconut milk, tomato paste, butter, and lemon juice in the slow cooker.
- Cook. Cover the slow cooker and and cook on low for up to 8 hours.
- Add yogurt. About 15 minutes before serving, stir in the Greek yogurt, salt to taste, then serve!
Tips and Variation Ideas
- Wait to add the yogurt. While it may be tempting to pop the yogurt into the slower cooker when you add the rest of the ingredients, hold off until the last 15 minutes. Adding the yogurt too early can “break” the sauce and make it less creamy.
- Make it dairy-free. Use non-dairy butter in place of the butter to get that dairy-free buttery taste.
- Or use vegetable oil. While it may seem odd to skip the butter in a recipe called “butter chicken,” if you want to lighten this up even more, swap vegetable oil or coconut oil for the butter. You’ll still get plenty of richness from the coconut milk.
- Try fresh ginger. Substitute 2 tablespoons of peeled and grated fresh ginger for the ground ginger if you like.
- Serve with lemon and cilantro. I love adding a big squeeze of lemon juice and a nice sprinkle of cilantro to a portion of butter chicken to freshen up the richness of the dish, so make sure to place a dish of fresh lemon wedges on the table with dinner.
How to Store and Reheat
- Fridge – Transfer the cooled chicken and sauce to an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- To Reheat – Place the chicken and sauce in a microwave-safe bowl and reheat it in 1 minute increments in the microwave until hot. Place the leftovers in a skillet over low heat and heat, stirring, until heated through.
Make It a Meal
The easiest and lightest way to serve butter chicken is with a side of basmati rice or jasmine rice and steamed veggies. But you have other options if you want to try some other sides. Here are some of our favorite ideas:
- Quinoa. Gluten free quinoa is always a nice protein-packed side to butter chicken as an alternative to rice. Explore my post on 5 Ways to Cook Quinoa for tips.
- Cauliflower Rice. For a low carb dinner, swap traditional rice for a batch of Browned Butter Cauliflower Rice.
- Vegetable sides. Pretty much any vegetable goes with slow cooker butter chicken, from Roasted Cauliflower to Air Fryer Broccoli to Air Fryer Green Beans. Or use the method in my Pesto Roasted Potatoes recipe to make roasted potatoes (leave off the pesto).
- Lassi. A traditional mango lassi can be sipped alongside your meal, or make my more dessert-forward Peach Mango Lassis as a treat after you clear the plates.
More Slow Cooker Recipes
Crockpot Butter Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 medium sliced onion
- 6 minced or crushed garlic cloves
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 14 oz. can of light coconut milk
- 6 oz. can of tomato paste
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt, whole milk preferred, but lowfat or nonfat can be used
- minced fresh cilantro for garnish, if desired
Instructions
- Place 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces, in the bottom of the slow cooker. Add 1 medium sliced onion, 6 minced or crushed garlic cloves, 2 teaspoons curry powder, 2 teaspoons garam masala, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, and ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper on top of the chicken.
- Then add a 14 oz. can of light coconut milk, a 6 oz. can of tomato paste, 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, and 2 tablespoons lemon juice.
- Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or high for 4-5 hours.
- About 15 minutes before serving, stir in t1 cup plain Greek yogurt, and adjust seasoning with salt to taste.
- Serve over brown rice, basmati rice, or cauliflower rice and sprinkle with minced fresh cilantro for garnish, if desired.
Did you make this?
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This is a delicious and easy Indian recipe! Perfect with some naan bread. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much… I hope you enjoy the butter chicken recipe!
I still haven’t tried butter chicken, Brianne, but I just happen to have all the ingredients on hand today! This looks so good. Out comes the slow cooker!
I’m so happy to have given you a new recipe to try, Jean. Butter chicken is delicious, and I hope you will enjoy it!
Fantastic thank you for posting this
I always love indian foods…. Can I use this recipe in the slow-cooker? This recipe looks yummy, delicious and healthy. I can’t wait to try this. Thanks
Everything is already in a slow cooker. Can’t wait for the chicken to be ready. My only question is- there is no salt? Is it supposed to be like that? Will the chicken taste because of spices?
Thank you
There is a ton of flavor, but you can always season to taste if you feel it needs salt. Enjoy!
I love this recipe. One of my favorites. Thank you for sharing this.
Simon
Enjoy!
Thanks for this great recipe! My family loves a good curry but it is a hassle to prepare for a weeknight meal. Until now! My daughter said this was way better than the curry I usually make and she is right! We love it!!
Oh great! So glad you enjoyed it!
What is Mango Lassis? My daughter, husband, and 8yr. old visit me every Friday for supper. I am a very amateur cook(mostly follow directions to the letter, no imagination or feel for cooking) -I think I may give this a try and see what they think.
Mango Lassis are an Indian drink, basically a mango and yogurt smoothie. As you get more experience you will start experimenting more!
Hi, this sounds wonderful and I love that it’s made in a Crockpot. I noticed in the “Meltaways” version they used 2 tsp of curry but you used 2 tbl of curry, is this correct? I can’t wait to make this, thanks for sharing!
Oh my goodness, what a typo! So glad you caught it! Thanks! There is clearly not 2 T of curry missing from my container.
I like Indian food so much and sadly we do not have many good Indian restaurants around in PDX. – this dish looks absolutely fantastic. Now, all I have to do is get a slow cooker 🙂
Oh you must get a slow cooker! They make life so easy sometimes (take this from a pregnant mama!)
I’ve heard people rave about butter chicken – love that this is a lighter version. Will try it out!
Give it a try! I probably tried butter chicken years ago, and I am sure this is not quite so rich.
This dish is definatly fresh in my memory. It looked gorgeous when Pam made it and looks just as gorgeous now. Instead of salvating at the computer screen maybe I should get off my tukas and just make it. Good idea right? 😉
You can throw it all together so quickly! Yes, you should make it!
Brianne, this is some flavorful looking chicken. Yum!
It really is! Thanks!
Brianne, this is amazing! I love Indian food and this is the first Indian recipe that I came across using butter, I can imagine how tasty it is. Thanks to both you and Pam for this fabulous recipe!
It really is tasty! Give it a try!
I LOVE INDIAN FOOD! I’ve always wanted to make butter chicken. I’ll give this a try! Thanks for reintroducing this recipe!
I think this is a an easy intro to making Indian food.
Fabulous post as always, Brianne. I want to make Pam’s dish too. I love Indian but can’t handle anything too spicy so this is perfect for me. I don’t have a slow cooker (so sad!) so maybe I’ll try this in my dutch oven – just set the heat on my stove real low and cook it long. And isn’t it amazing how the internet/smart phones can now stop debates right in their tracks? Before, we’d have to go to the library and do research in an encyclopedia (remember those?) to verify details & information!
Thanks – you should try it! You can adjust to exactly how you’ll like it. Oh goodness, I do remember my bog ol’ World Book Encyclopedia. Luckily my mom eventually invested ina a set, so I could get some information pretty quickly.
This always makes me think of my dad and grandpa, they adore this!
I love how food can conjure up such strong memories!
I’ve never eaten butter chicken before, but this shredded version over rice looks wonderful! And I can definitely see room for a candle on top 😉
The flavors were wonderful. I know it is not the traditional preparation, but it still tastes good!
Thank you, Brianne! A. My husband and my friends and I love curry. B. I’ve received a bottle of garam marsala from my ex-pat brother and his wife and wondering what the heck to do with it C. My husband loves chicken. You can be sure your recipe is a keeper!
Oh good! Give it a try!!
I love that you make a rule not to take out electronic devices during dinner. Growing up, we never ate with the TV on and I remember eating at a friend’s house whose parents had the news on during dinner. No one talked but the news anchors and everyone faced the TV instead of each other. I’m guilty of whipping out my phone to take pictures of what I’m eating, but it’s a habit that I’d like to break! Also, I’m glad you chose this recipe. Indian food is intimidating to me (I’m not sure why), but I love eating it. This looks very doable 🙂
This is so doable. I remember eating dinner in front of the TV as a kid, but my mom, when she was single and we were on our own, used to let me do that as an occasionally treat. We were very close and talked a lot, but sometimes the two of us sitting at the table could get a little boring. I hope I can keep my boys at the table!
I was always afraid to make Indian food. I guess I was afraid I would mess it up. I will have to make it soon.
I was afraid, too, but it is hard to really mess up anything when you throw a bunch of flavorful ingredients into a crock pot.
This is on my too make list also. I tried Sue’s lightened creamy (butter) chicken the other day and it was delicious. Can’t wait to try this one too!
I’ll have to check out Sue’s recipe. She always has awesome things.
Oh this looks absolutely amazing! I can just imagine how this melts in your mouth!
It really does, Conni!
Thank you so much for all your inspiration every week… there is nothing I love more than when you talk about all the wonderful food the bug enjoys! This recipe looks amazing and it is on my must try list for sure!
No, thank you, Isabel. While we do eat together most nights, you and everyone else in this group inspires me to continue this as I look at your families through your blogs and see even the older kids still enjoying meals with their family. Plus all of the themes inspire me to come up with new ideas! And you must try this!! So goood!
I’m also not a huge fan of Indian food. I want to like it, so I keep trying it. Maybe this is the dish that will turn me into a fan. Fingers crossed and trying your modified version soon!
Give it a try! So easy that it won’t feel like a huge effort if you aren’t a fan. And maybe cut down on the spices the first time. The tomato and coconut and yogurt add a lovely creaminess, so you can add a little spice at a time till you get used to is.
Butter chicken has been on my to-do list forever! I may as well go a bit healthier with it! YUM!
A bit healthier, though still nice and creamy, and super easy.
I like this lightened up version of Butter Chicken.Its also very different from the traditional Butter Chicken that you would eat in an Indian restaurant!I bet it tasted delicious with the curry and coconut 🙂
Yes, I am sure it is different (I know that it is more chunks of chickn versys shredded, but to be honest, I don’t know the differences in flavors), but regardless, the flavors are amazing.
We absolutely LOVE Indian food in my house. Even my super picky 7 year old is a fan, so I am all over this recipe!
That is great he loves it! Hoping The Bug will if he tries it again. He was just in a mood that night.
Love a good slowcooker recipe! I love this one!
Nothing like having a delicious smelling, yummy meal waiting for you at the end of a day.
Now I have butter chicken on the brain and have to make it. Looks so good!!
This is an easy way to get your fix!
My husband loves Indian food but he’s trying to lose some weight. I’m saving this to make when he’s craving some but needs it on the lighter side.
This still has some richness with the butter and even light coconut milk, but it would be a nice treat that isn’t going too crazy. Like I mentioned, try using less butter even. You’ll still get all the spices, and I am not sure I tasted the butter much. The coconut milk and yogurt add a lot of creaminess and richness.
It looks so amazing, and I love the flavors so much! Looking over the recipe I even have all the ingredients. About the cardamom, I might add some, since I use it a lot in baking and always have some. Happy Sunday Brianne!
I should try some other recipes with cardamom, but couldn’t part with the $14. I’ll have to check an Asian market locally and see if it is cheaper. The flavors were really incredible!
Oh yes I know what you meant with the nuts in India. I used to only eat parle cookies, oranges and peanuts when I discovered the country first, I just couldn’t eat the spicy hot food! First of all its so different to our food in Europe and secondly my stomach couldn’t handle it. ^.^
Nowadays I love Indian food, especially the goan cuisine. One of my favorite Punjab style dishes is the Butter Chicken. We are all nuts for this dish here and when we used to run a Tandoori restaurant here, we would have butter chicken very frequently with nans.
You tempted me with your gorgeous butter chicken!
I love Naan, and would be wonderful with this, but I have a slight wheat allergy, so went with the rice instead. Thanks!
I want to make Indian food this year. I love it yet have not made it at home. I think this dish will have to be one of the first I make.
This is certainly an easy way to start. And now with curry and garam masala in my pantry, I want to try more.
This looks amazing! It’s plated so beautifully!!
Thanks so much!
We love Indian food here even Morgan does, I have been shocked at how spicy she can eat her curry. But then again I guess kids in India eat it as well so I shouldn’t be so shocked. But I have to say I have never made butter chicken before, I love that it is a crock pot version as well.
The Bug eats spicy Mexican, but I think this was just so new to him. I think he’ll like it next time, now that he has had a taste.
Indian and Mexican have such different heat profiles so i dont blame him for not taking to it right away. I have been eaing spicy Indian food for as long as I can remember but it took me years to enjoy my Mexican food spicy.
I am so glad that you liked it! We loved it and I’ll have to make it again soon for my hubs as well. Thank you so much for choosing one of my dishes – it totally made my day! Your pictures are beautiful – love the elephant!
Thanks so much! It truly was wonderful, and now I am so happy I can give my hubby Indian food sometimes.
ooh, didn’t know you had visited India. Wherabouts? I am from Bangalore, only came to the states about 15 yrs back. I cook Indian a lot at home, but have a light version of butter chicken too but have never tried it in a slow cooker. I bet it’s full of flavor cooked in a slow cooker. Have to try this recipe.
Oh gosh, I was in a different place everyday, so I can’t even remember, it was such a whirlwhind. I was near Bangalore, and near Pondicherry, plus a couple of other places. It is nice with the shredded chicken – lots of flavor in each bite!