You're going to love how straightforward it is to get this Easy Baked Butter Chicken on the dinner table! This recipe is still packed with the authentic boldness of Butter Chicken while taking a less traditional, one pan oven-baked approach to develop the flavors in under 1 hour. Serve it with fluffy basmati rice and naan.
Butter Chicken is also known as chicken makhani or in Hindi as murgh makhani. It is an Indian curry made with a base of a spiced tomato gravy with plenty of butter (makhan) and yogurt-marinated chicken that's traditionally cooked in a tandoor. It's famous for its bold red-orange color, silky smooth creamy texture, and rich flavors.
You may think Butter Chicken is centuries old, but it really came about in the mid-1900s! In the 1950s, Kundan Lal Gujral, the founder of restaurant Moti Mahal in New Delhi, developed this world-famous dish on accident by combining leftover tandoori chicken with a tomato-based gravy with butter, or makhani (Source: Moti Mahal Cookbook). You can still visit the restaurant today to try their famous creation.
And while people love my version, which has over 40 5-star reviews, it's a bit of an effort to make. Between marinating the chicken the night before and all the dishes it creates, it's more of a once-a-month dish. But this Easy Baked Butter Chicken makes it possible to meal prep or make ahead butter chicken for a weeknight dinner while still being bold, creamy, and delicious.
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Why You'll Love this Recipe
While I love my authentic stovetop butter chicken recipe, this easier Baked Butter Chicken is much easier and less brain space for me to get on the dinner table. Here's why I love it, and you will, too!
- Making a flavorful butter chicken couldn't be any easier and less dishes. In this recipe, the chicken is tossed in a marinade and then baked off in a sauce that was simply stirred together. Making an authentic stovetop butter chicken requires way more time and effort to develop the flavors.
- There's no marination time. Simply toss the chicken in a quick yogurt-based marinade and the flavors will continue to develop in the oven.
- Baked Butter Chicken has less fat, less calories, and less ingredients than the stovetop version.
Ingredients - Notes and Substitutions
The Marinade
- Chicken thighs - Specifically, chicken thighs. Chicken thighs are more forgiving than chicken breast which can easily become dry and overcooked in hot curries. You can use chicken breasts and sear them in a hot pan for some browning, and then transfer them to the sauce halfway through the bake time to finish cooking until tender.
- You can use up to 6 chicken thighs but it won't be quite as saucy.
- Use boneless skinless thighs, or bone-in thighs with the skin removed.
- Dahi - Plain whole milk yogurt, like Indian dahi, is the best but you can use low-fat yogurt or Greek yogurt. Be sure to use the thickest parts of the yogurt, avoiding whey. Yogurt keeps the chicken super tender at high heat.
- 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.
- Spices - For the quick DIY tandoori masala, you'll need garam masala, ground turmeric, ground cumin, and kashmiri chili powder. Kashmiri chili powder adds the bright red color and is very mild in heat, but can be substituted with another mild chili powder or paprika.
- If, for some reason, the spices aren't accessible, then I'd highly recommend the MDH Butter Chicken Masala, which can be found online or at the Indian grocery. Use a quarter of the box for the marinade.
The Sauce
- Butter - We're using ghee, which is a type of clarified butter with the milk solids removed. It's intensely buttery and has a high enough smoke point for the oven.
- Ground spices - We use garam masala, coriander, kashmiri chili powder, green cardamom, and my secret is the teeniest bit of ground cloves. I recommend adding a tiny pinch of asafoetida (hing) for that extra garlic onion flavor, but this is optional.
- Sugar - Butter chicken has a whooole lot of savory things going on. A bit of sugar helps balance it out.
- Canned tomatoes - The base of the makhani sauce is, of course, tomatoes. Use a plain tomato sauce, also known as tomato passata.
- Heavy cream - For that signature creamy curry, use heavy whipping cream. Substitute it with coconut milk, cashew cream, or half and half.
- Kasuri methi - This is dried fenugreek leaves and is traditional to authentic butter chicken. It's ultimately optional but people swear it's the game-changing secret ingredient. Crush it between your hands before adding it directly in the curry. Substitute it with additional cilantro.
How to make a One-Pan Baked Butter Chicken
Preheat the oven to 425℉.
- Since Butter Chicken already has so much fat, be sure to trim off as much of the fat as possible from the chicken thighs.
- Cut deep slits into the thighs so that the chicken can soak up a lot of the flavor.
- Mix the ingredients for the marinade - the yogurt, spices, ginger garlic paste, lemon juice, and salt - in a mixing bowl.
- Add the chicken and toss throughly to coat the chicken in the marinade.
- Set the bowl with the chicken aside while you put together the sauce.
Step 6 - Mix the tomato sauce, cream, spices, salt, and melted ghee in a baking dish.
Step 7 - Nestle the chicken thighs in the sauce. Be sure to pour any remaining marinade over the chicken!
Add a pinch of asafoetida for an onion garlic flavor. Alternatively, pulse half a medium yellow onion or red onion in a food processor until a paste forms and stir the onion paste into the sauce. You can also add a green chili for heat and 3 large garlic cloves in with the onion.
Step 8 - Bake the chicken in the oven for 45-50 minutes, pulling it out at 30 minutes and 40 minutes to baste the thighs with the sauce.
Step 9 - Pull the chicken out once the chicken is cooked to a 165℉ internal temperature and the sauce is dark red and thick.
Crush the kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) between your hands over the chicken to release all the flavor.
Serving Suggestions
Garnish the baking dish with fresh cilantro. Serve one thigh and a bit sauce from the Baked Butter Chicken along with fluffy Basmati Rice and naan. I love it with a side of this Cucumber Mint Raita that's cooling and refreshing against the spices in the chicken.
Expert Tips and Troubleshooting
Thin sauce - The fat from the chicken thighs or high water content from cheaper packaged meat that were brined or defrosted chicken may cause the sauce to be too thin. You can remove the chicken after the cook time and let it rest at room on a plate at temperature while you pop the baker with the sauce back in the oven to keep thickening for another 5-10 minutes. Check on it periodically to make sure it doesn't go too far.
Too tangy - If the tomato sauce is acidic or tangy, cut it with a tablespoon of additional heavy cream or more salt. It should be fine when you serve it with rice or naan.
Splattering - If the sauce is splattering a bit too much in the oven, cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.
Make Ahead and Storage Instructions
Make ahead - The dish can be prepped ahead, kept in the refrigerator overnight, and then baked off the next day.
Storage - Store the Baked Butter Chicken for up to 5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The flavors will only deepen over time.
If you somehow have leftovers, don't miss this Butter Chicken Garlic Naan Pizza! We use the leftover butter chicken as a sauce and topping for a delicious pizza made with a naan crust. We also love Butter Chicken Naan-chos. You only need about a cup of leftovers!
More Indian Main Dishes to try
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Easy Baked Butter Chicken
Recipe Video
Equipment
Ingredients
Chicken Marinade
- 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs, ~1.5lbs
- ½ cup plain whole milk yogurt
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 2 tablespoons ginger garlic paste
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon Kashmiri chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Butter Chicken Sauce
- 15 ounces tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons ghee, melted
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground green cardamom
- pinch asafoetida, (optional)
- 1 teaspoon kasuri methi, (dried fenugreek leaves)
- cilantro, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425℉.
- Trim the fat from the chicken thighs. Slice 3 deep slits into the thighs with a chef's knife.
- In a mixing bowl, mix together the whole milk yogurt, lemon juice, ginger garlic paste, garam masala, turmeric, cumin, Kashmiri chili powder, and salt together. Add the chicken into the bowl and toss it with the marinade to thoroughly coat the thighs.
- Now, put together the sauce. In a 9x13 baking dish, stir together the tomato sauce, ghee, heavy cream, salt, sugar, garam masala, Kashmiri chili powder, ground coriander, ground green cardamom, and asafoetida.
- Place the chicken thighs in the baking dish with the sauce. Be sure to scoop all that marinade over the chicken in the baking dish as well.
- Pop the baking dish into the oven for 45 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165℉. Pull it out at 30 minutes and 40 minutes to baste the chicken thighs with the sauce. At the end of the bake time, the sauce should be thick, a bright red, and the ghee will have separated from the sauce.
- Crush the kasuri methi between your hands to extract the flavor and sprinkle it over the baking dish. Garnish the butter chicken with cilantro.
- Serve warm with rice or garlic naan.
Notes
- Thin sauce - The fat from the chicken thighs or high water content from cheaper packaged meat that were brined or defrosted chicken may cause the sauce to be too thin. Remove the chicken after the cook time and let it rest at room on a plate at temperature while you pop the baking dish with the sauce back in the oven to keep thickening for another 5 minutes. Check on it periodically to make sure it doesn't go too far.
- Storage - Store the Baked Butter Chicken for up to 5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The flavors will only deepen over time.
- Make ahead - The dish can be prepped ahead, kept in the refrigerator overnight, and then baked off the next day.
- Scaling - For doubling the recipe, add an additional 20-30 minutes to the bake time. Baste the chicken thighs every 15 minutes.
Trix says
Marinated the chicken thighs overnight and baked the next day. Super flavorful and couldn’t have been easier, perfect weeknight dinner!
Esther says
I made this 2 days in a row, it was so good! My husband doesn't generally like Indian food (we finally figured out I think it's the smell of fenugreek, unfortunately 😭) so I left the fenugreek garnish off and it was just fine! The recipe was very easy to follow and I appreciated the troubleshooting steps - when the sauce came out way too acidic I just added more cream and a tad more sugar as well. The chicken was so tender and delicious. It's to die for - I can't believe I did this in my own kitchen! I live in MN and I loved having a great excuse to visit the spice aisle at my local Indian grocery store. Thank you for making this very accessible version!
amanda says