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This Whole30 Indian butter chicken is super flavorful and comes together quite quickly and easily. One of my favorite Whole30 Indian recipes, this Whole30 Indian butter chicken is a family favorite that even my toddler will eat! Whole30 Indian recipes are a great way to break up the Whole30 heaviness, and you’ll love this Whole30 Indian butter chicken for sure.
My Indian butter chicken recipe has always been a family fave. In fact, I made it for my father in law the first time I ever cooked for him. I stressed over the right recipe to make, rolled out naan from scratch, dashed to the Indian market days before the day, picking up tiny jars of asafoetida and fenugreek leaves and coriander chutney.
If you don’t know, my husband is half Pakistani, his dad born and raised abroad. I wouldn’t quite consider him a foodie; he’s been focused on his work as a research doctor for way too long to care, I think. But I knew I had to make the dinner feel somewhat authentic – as authentic as I could get it at that early stage in our relationship.
I’ve always been drawn to Indian cooking; I’ll always remember that time I was studying for an exam in college and decided to make homemade samosas instead. I didn’t have a rolling pin then, so I stretched the dough out with a can of tomatoes on its side, dipped the misshapen triangles stuffed with potatoes in peas in oil, started a grease fire, freaked out, and still somehow managed to get an A on the exam. It was one of the times that catapulted my obsession with cooking further than the day-to-day cooking borne out of necessity.
No, it was: I’m making art and I can freaking eat it.
So when my father in law came over for dinner for the first time, I knew I had to impress. My Indian butter chicken recipe is easy and flavorful but not heavy, and my perfect naan recipe is, well… perfect.
The meal started a little awkwardly, him wondering, I think, why in the world we wanted him to eat at our house, and ended with him asking for seconds, leaning back in the chair with his hands on his belly, laughing and lingering. Success.
So I knew I had to create a Whole30 Indian butter chicken version of my beloved dish! It’s quite easy as Indian goes, comes together quickly, and is full of flavor. You don’t miss too much from the original recipe, and the addition of coconut cream makes it so rich and so creamy.
We serve this over plenty of cauliflower rice, and it’d be delicious with a quick dairy-free raita on the side, subbing almond or coconut yogurt for regular yogurt. Or serve it with this Indian sautéed spinach! I’ve made this recipe several times and love it.
To make this Whole30 Indian butter chicken, I used…
Whole30 Indian Butter Chicken
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons ghee divided
- 2 pounds chicken thigh filets cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 6 cardamom pods bruised with the flat side of a knife
- 15 ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
- 1 cup coconut cream only the solid white part
- 1 ½ tablespoon fresh lemon juice plus more to taste
- plenty of salt to taste
- fresh cilantro chopped, for garnish
- cooked cauliflower rice to serve
Instructions
- Heat a wok or large skillet until very hot. Add 1 tablespoon ghee and swirl to coat. Add half the chicken and stir fry for 4 minutes, or until lightly browned on all sides and no longer opaque. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add remaining tablespoon ghee and stir fry the remaining half of chicken until browned. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Pour out used ghee.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add 1/4 cup ghee to skillet and melt. Add garam masala, sweet paprika, coriander, ginger, chili powder, cinnamon stick, and cardamom pods and stir fry for 1 minute or until fragrant. Return the chicken to the skillet and mix to coat in the spices.
- Add the tomato sauce and coconut aminos and simmer, stirring, for 15 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and the sauce has thickened.
- Add the coconut cream and lemon juice and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly. Add plenty of salt to taste; using enough will cut the heavy spice flavor and round out the entire dish. Serve over cooked cauliflower rice with chopped fresh cilantro.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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This was delicious. Whole family loved it. Highly recommend.
Thank you so much for a wonderful recipe, my boys kept asking for more, so 5 stars from all of us. thank you for making this recipe available 🙂 Take care and greetings from New Zealand
WOW! I love when my recipes are enjoyed by people all over the world! 🙂 So happy you liked it!
This was amazing! I usually don’t comment on things, but I want to let everyone know to try this if you are thinking of a good butter chicken recipe. While not on Whole30, I was looking for a dairy free version, and it was wonderful to both enjoy the meal and not know that it would be bothering my stomach later. Thank you!
This was so good! Any chance you have a nutritional breakdown?
I’ve updated with a label! The label is for 4 servings per recipe – you can definitely get 4-6 out of a batch
I followed this recipe verbatim and it was AH-MAZING! Definitely making this to impress company. BETTER THAN TAKE-OUT! Hearts to you, Cheryl – this recipe is awesome! <3
That is the best compliment! I’m so so glad you liked it Mary Pat 🙂
This was so delicious – made it tonight for myself spur of the moment so had to make some tweaks based on what I had on hand – was out of ghee so subbed olive oil, didn’t have cardamom, but threw in the teaspoon or so of curry powder (with cardamom) left in the bottom of a jar, and used leftover, shredded chicken breast instead of cooking from raw. I’ve already added it to the dinner rotation for the rest of the family next week – hopefully as written next time ? – thanks so much for such a great recipe!
I am so glad this recipe is so forgiving and versatile! That is so great to know. And SO happy you liked it! <3
Do you have any suggestions on how to do this in a slow cooker? Thanks!
So I actually think you could just throw everything in the slow cooker! I don’t see why that wouldn’t work – that said, I haven’t tried it! I’d cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and just throw it all in there together, raw. Cook on low for 6 hours or until chicken is cooked through, high for maybe 3 hours. Try it and let me know how it works!
We made this the other night and it was fantastic!! Best Indian dish we’ve ever made at home. And made the kitchen smell SO good. Thanks for the great recipe.
Yay! So glad you liked it 🙂
Looking forward to making this for a gathering of friends! Can you tell me for how many people your recipe is approximately written?
They’ll love it! It makes enough for 4-6, depending on the serving size 🙂
Hi Cheryl,we Love your recipes at our house! I haven’t tried a thing that was not delicious. Can you tell me, in the butter chicken recipe, how important is the cardamom pods? That’s the only thing I’m missing. Thanks
Hi Cindy! I’m so happy to hear that 🙂 the cardamom pods definitely add to the complexity of the dish, and I love them. But I wouldn’t NOT make the recipe because you don’t have them 🙂