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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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Thank-you for this delicious recipe. It tasted exactly like the butter chicken we had at restaurant while travelling in London and I have been looking for a recipe that is dairy free. My family loved it. I only used half the amount of ghee the recipe called for.
Yum!!!
I love your recipes! I am not Whole30 or a certain type of lifestyle, except for the healthy and delicious one, and I have to say all your recipes are AMAZING. I am making the butter chicken tonight. In The past I’ve made the the toscana soup (which was a hit) and the egg roll In a bowl. Two standouts. I wanted to just stop by here and say a big THANK YOU!!!
Any suggestions for substituting the coconut cream? My store only has cream of coconut and coconut milk. I purchased both. Thanks.
I use coconut milk. There are some brands that are very rich. Any coconut milk with 17g of fat, is more of a coconut cream! Real Thai is my FAVORITE brand, but Aroy-D also has 17g of fat, and is a lot cheaper!
I have ground cardamom and ground cinnamon instead of the pods and stick. What amounts of the ground version would you recommend?
I would just do a small pinch of both!
I’m on Whole30 right now and it’s recipes like this that makes me feel like there’s no deprivation whatsoever to my new eating habit. This recipe is ridiculously delicious. Hands down. Period. I’ve already made it twice. Followed everyone single thing, except for salting it because I always prefer using fish sauce over salt. One of my absolute favorites. I made it tonight for a potluck at work tomorrow. I know my coworkers will love it.
SO happy you like it!
Have made this 4 times now! Good enough that we served for dinner guests with fresh naan bread and roasted cauliflower. It’s consistently in our rotation now and got my daughters to try Indian cooking for the first time. Thanks:)
ALL I CAN SAY IS DELICIOUS!!! It was easy to make and super tasty. I actually didn’t have to add any salt because the mixture of the spices was perfect. May family said this was a definite “do over”. Which means I must make again. Had some left overs so can’t wait to eat for lunch tomorrow! ?
YAY!! This makes me so happy!
I made this tonight and it was OUTSTANDING. Best Indian I’ve ever made (and better than most takeout we’ve had). I make Indian often and it always misses the mark—my husband was RAVING. I’ve already shared the recipe with so many friends.
Oh my god! I’ve never made Indian food that tastes this good. I’ve been following paleo for 5 days and this recipe is amazing. We made this as a fancy dinner night substitute for a weekend night. Even after my paleo challenge is over, this is a keeper. My kids even gave it 10/10.
YASSSS!! I LOVE hearing that!
Ghee still has lactose in it. I’m true lactose intolerant and can’t even have the tiniest bit without reacting.
You’re correct – there are still minute amounts of lactose in ghee. You can absolutely use a butter substitute though and it’d be delicious!
I just want you to know, when I’m doing a whole30 I use your recipes exclusively. Besides a plain ol baked chicken breast, basically everything i make is your recipe. You are killing it. I have made dozens of them and have never once been disappointed. I could scroll this blog for hours!!!! I LOVE 40APRONS!!!!
That might be the nicest comment I’ve ever gotten. I am so grateful that you enjoy the recipes and continue to make them. THANK YOU Julia!