If you love butter chicken, you'll definitely love this simplified 30-minute version of the makhani sauce tossed with pasta. Butter Masala Pasta is undoubtedly about to be a new addition to the dinner menu rotation! The makhani sauce is creamy, slightly spicy, and everything we all love in a great tomato-based pasta dish! Add chicken to make a Butter Chicken Pasta!
If you're a child of immigrants in the U.S., you were probaaaably made fun of for what was in your lunch box that day. Maybe you were one of the lucky ones that convinced your mom to allow you to take a Lunchables to school.
I always complained about being made fun of for my Indian food and I would get caught throwing out my untouched lunch. The show Fresh Off the Boat even had an episode on this exact same thing! Thanks to my stanky lunch, my mom learned how to adapt in the best way ever - Indo-American fusion food.
Instead, she did things like mix our leftover curry from the night before with regular marinara pasta. Enter: Butter Masala Pasta. Now, I'm sure there are a few desi people whose parents made a variation of this.
One day, I was stuck in meetings and boiled pasta before I realized I had no sauce. I grabbed the butter chicken I made the night before and threw some of the curry onto the pasta and called it a day. It just made sense! The tomato base with cream is very similar to Italian pastas and butter masala requires just a few extra ingredients, namely some spices.
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Why You'll Love this Recipe
This flavorful pasta is incredible a quick lunch! Here's why you'll love it:
- This recipe encapsulates the delicious flavor of Butter Chicken, but only uses four masalas instead of the hefty ingredient list for an authentic recipe.
- It's ready in under 30 minutes for a quick homemade lunch or to add into your weeknight dinner rotation.
- While this recipe is vegetarian, it's extremely friendly for adding your protein of choice. Readers have reported successfully adding chicken, lobster, shrimp, sausage, and tofu. A protein pasta would also be a great source of protein!
If you're a fan of makhani sauce, you should also definitely check out these Butter Chicken Wings!
Ingredients - Notes and Substitutions
I realize that Indian cooking is very new territory to some people, so you may not have all the masalas at first. The ingredients for making Butter Masala are almost the same as a creamy tomato-based pasta. You'll just need a total of four spices, all in equal parts.
- Pasta - You can use any dry or fresh pasta for this recipe! I used a protein-heavy pasta.
- Onion - Use half of a medium yellow onion. A red onion also works. We cook this until it's browned significantly to develop more flavor.
- Butter - A makhani sauce needs makhan, or butter!
- Ginger Garlic Paste - Or as I call it, gigi paste! This is simply a 50/50 mix of ginger and garlic that's blended into a paste. You can easily make ginger garlic paste at home in a mortar and pestle or blender, or purchase it readymade.
- Tomato Paste - For a deeply concentrated tomato flavor without needing to cook down tomato puree. You can definitely use fresh tomatoes and puree them, but you'll need to simmer them for 10-15 minutes for a thick sauce.
- Heavy Cream - Balances out the tang from the tomato paste and also makes the pasta super creamy.
- Spices - We're using equal amounts of garam masala, ground coriander, chili powder, and cumin. Just under a teaspoon of each for 2 servings.
You can find garam masala on Amazon, but at this point it's also widely available at most grocery stores. As a substitute, use about a tablespoon of butter chicken or chicken tikka spice blends that you can get online or at desi grocery stores.
Note: You can also marinate and cook chicken according to this butter chicken recipe if you choose not to use a protein pasta. I’ve also had readers report back saying they used shrimp, lobster, sausage, and tofu!
Step-by-step Instructions
Making the makhani sauce is super similar to making a vodka sauce. Just axe the vodka, and add spices!
- Boil the pasta. Bring a large pot with salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to instructions. Reserve up to a cup of the pasta water.
- Fry the onions and blend. In a pan on medium heat, melt a tablespoon of butter and add in diced onions. Fry the onions until they're golden brown, not just transparent. If the pan dries up, add a splash of water to deglaze and continue to brown the onions. Transfer the onions to a food processor and slowly add in water until you get a paste. Add the onions back into the pan.
- Sauté aromatics and tomato. Add in the ginger garlic paste and tomato paste. If you don't have ginger garlic paste, use freshly grated ginger and garlic, or even powdered spices. Add in the tomato paste and stir it together really well. Allow it to simmer until the tomato darkens in color and the water evaporates leaving a thick paste.
- Add the spices. Stir the ground garam masala, chili powder, coriander powder, and cumin into the paste. If you want it less spicy then adjust the amount of chili powder.
- Pour in the liquids. Add the heavy cream and add the pasta water based on the sauce consistency you'd like. I use about ½ cup.
- Transfer the pasta to the sauce and toss it well until the pasta is well coated.
- Serve warm with chopped cilantro.
Expert Tips for the Best Makhani Sauce
This butter masala sauce is inspired by murgh makhani, known as Butter Chicken. Makhan means butter in Hindi.
Butter chicken gets a lot of the bold red color that's so visually striking from the marinated chicken cooked in a tandoor before adding it to the orangey-red curry. Most people say "you know it's good butter chicken when the color is a beautiful red" and it's so true!
Here are a few tips to achieving the beautiful bold sauce:
- Fry half a cup of a yellow onion in unsalted butter to a deep golden brown before putting it through the food processor. It's key to getting the perfect flavor (trust me, I tried without). Add only as much water into the food processor as you need to turn the onion into a paste.
- The sauce is ready for spices when the butter starts separating from the tomato paste and the color has darkened.
- The sauce will be dry and darken even more after adding in the spices and allowing the sauce to simmer. When you add the heavy cream it'll retain a nice orangey-red color.
- The butter masala is done simmering when there are streaks of butter in the sauce. I like to add a dollop of ghee at the very end and let it melt into the pasta.
- Add more hot water if the sauce is too thick to evenly coat the pasta. If you like it super saucy like I do, simmer the sauce until it thickens up to your preferred consistency.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use a fresh tomato instead of tomato paste in makhani sauce. Blend the tomato first and then add it in when you would add in the tomato paste and let it simmer down. I've even had a friend use ketchup and say it was just a bit sweet.
You can use a handful of cashews and blend them with the sauce to make it super creamy. You can also use coconut milk.
100%! It won't be as robust as a regular makhani sauce but I've definitely used this as a simplified version for pizzas like in this No-Yeast Pizza Crust recipe where I made a paneer makhani pizza.
I'd recommend adding paneer or chicken to make a Butter Chicken Pasta. You can also add sausage or lobster. You'll want to marinate the protein in a tablespoon of the spice mixture, ½ cup of yogurt, and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice for a minimum of 30 minutes. Sear the protein and undercook it by 2-3 minutes, and then add it into the sauce a few minutes before adding the pasta.
More Indian Weeknight Dinner Recipes to try
If you love Butter Chicken, be sure to check out these Butter Chicken, Butter Chicken Wings, and Butter Chicken Garlic Naan Pizza recipes!
Recipe
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Butter Masala Pasta
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon butter
- ½ cup chopped onion
- ½ teaspoon ginger garlic paste
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- ¼ tablespoon garam masala
- ¼ tablespoon Kashmiri chili powder
- ¼ tablespoon ground coriander
- ¼ tablespoon ground cumin
- salt to taste
- 2 tablespoon heavy cream
- handful of cilantro for garnish
- 4 oz pasta
Instructions
- Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a medium sized pan on medium heat. Add the chopped onion and pan fry until golden brown, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer the onions to a food processor. Blend the onions while slowly adding about a tablespoon of water until smooth. Transfer the onions back to the pan on low to medium heat.
- While the onions are blending, add the pasta to a pot of salted boiling water and cook to instruction. Drain the pasta, reserving ½ cup of pasta water.
- Stir in the ginger garlic paste, tomato paste, and salt to taste into the pan with the onion paste. Cover the pan with a lid until the butter starts separating a little on the sides and the tomato turns a darker color, about 5 minutes. Be sure to stir it every now and then. The sauce should be very thick at this point.
- Add all the spices into the pan and mix together well. Stir in the cream, and then the ½ cup of hot pasta water. Simmer until butter starts to separate and the sauce thickens.
- Pour in your pasta. Once the sauce is incorporated, mix in 1 tablespoon of melted butter before plating the pasta and garnishing with cilantro.
Notes
- A great alternative to using the spices is buying a readymade spice mixture of butter chicken or tikka masala from your local Indian grocery store.
- If you don't have ginger garlic paste available, you can toss fresh garlic and ginger into a food processor with some water and blend until a paste forms. Ground ginger and garlic are also acceptable substitutes, but not preferred over fresh ginger and garlic.
Nutrition
This recipe was updated on May 26th, 2020 and February 20th, 2024 to include more process photos and additional details.
michelle says
My son asked if this could be in our regular rotation - that doesn't happen often 🙂 I thought it was a bit bland for my taste, but the other 4 in the house wouldn't change a thing they said. I added firm tofu while cooking, my only adaptation, and I think it needs something like that to make it a more substantial meal, personally, but to each their own. Thank you for putting this together, it's easy, and great little twist on some of the usual fair.
Shweta Garg says
One thing my recipes never are is bland… but to each their own! Glad the rest of the family enjoyed it.
Ash says
Tried out this recipe after seeing it on subtle asian cooking… and it was delicious! I’m 100% down for curry pasta!
Shweta says
Yay! Hi from FB!
Kash says
This recipe is restaurant quality! I have made this Butter Masala Pasta, four times for my family and we all love it. The distinct masalas really bring the dish together. I love that it is a perfect vegetarian option. From the first bite, I was reminded of a trip I took to India in 2018!! The flavor profile is unmatched. If you haven’t already, you need to make this pasta 🙂
Shweta says
Absolutely makes my day that you and the fam love this recipe!!!
Dhaval says
We absolutely loved it! It was so good that we ended up adding this to our biweekly menu.
Tips: use a bit more cream if you feel like it to remove the tanginess of tomato paste
Shweta says
That makes me so happy to hear, Dhaval! Your photos of it were so incredible!! Love that tip 🙂
Maggie says
Such an easy recipe, full of flavor! A great weeknight recipe and is in my regular rotation.
Shweta says
so great to hear you found it easy!! it's in my regular rotation too 🙂
Shobha says
Brilliant idea. Easy to make and taste yummy
Anshul says
This recipe was so good. We used leftover butter chicken which made things simple but delicious.
Shweta says
That's how it all starts! The butter masala totally works as a base to make some butter chicken too!
Abha says
Great presentation! Loved the recipe, Soo easy to make and tasty.
Shweta says
Yay! Glad to hear that 🙂
Suneel says
This is so tasty that I ate this pasta twice a week
Shweta says
that's a lot of pasta to eat 🙂