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When the day’s busy and you’re craving something creamy, cozy, and restaurant-level, this slow cooker butter chicken is the move. It’s rich and saucy, but a little lighter than the classic.
Everything simmers low and slow so the chicken turns ultra tender and the spices bloom. Spoon it over fluffy rice, add warm naan on the side, and dinner basically serves itself.
Why You’ll Love This
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Hands-off slow cooker method with a creamy, spiced sauce that tastes like takeout—but cozier.
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Lighter spin (keep “buttery” flavor without the heaviness).
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Family-friendly heat; easy to adjust.
You see, there was a reason for that Naan yesterday.
Butter Chicken.
Butter Chicken and Naan just need each other. Especially when both are homemade and both are incredibly awesome.
And oh my gosh… So easy!
When I set out to make the Butter Chicken I wanted it to be crazy easy.
My cousin Maggie graduated from college with a teaching degree in May, and in August she started teaching full-time. Yeah, only three months later she landed her first teaching job and it’s full-time, with her very own kindergarten classroom! I know, right? The girl is pretty awesome and one of the hardest workers I know.
She’s also very busy, but really who the heck isn’t these days?
Maggie has been asking for easy crockpot recipes. You know, the ones that you can just throw everything in the bowl, turn it on and go!
So I adapted the classic Butter Chicken recipe, made a few changes to make it healthier, threw everything in the crockpot and prayed. Prayed that this (way too easy, most likely would never work) meal actually tasted somewhat edible.
Sometimes when I experiment things can turn out just plain bad. Like all the recipes I made this past weekend. Ugh…so disappointing. Let’s just not go there. But sometimes…
Yeah, sometimes I get lucky. I knew three hours in that the recipe was gonna be good.
The house smelled amazing. Almost fall like. It was awesome and so cozy.
Gotta love cozy comfort food that is not really comfort food.
I mean it’s comfort food, just a little lighter.
It’s seriously so cozy and perfect for quick weeknight meals.
Like I said, just throw it all in and go!
I have to say that normally I like browning my meat before I put it in the crockpot, but for this I did not miss it at all. There is so much flavor in the creamy sauce that you don’t need to brown the chicken first.
Which is just kind of awesome. I mean who wants to clean another pan? Not me, I’m already up to my eyeballs in dishes.
Oh, and seriously, the Naan is a must.
Make-Ahead, Storage & Reheat
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Make-ahead: Sauce develops flavor as it rests; make up to 1 day ahead and reheat gently.
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Fridge: Store airtight up to 3–4 days.
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Freeze: Up to 2–3 months; thaw overnight in the fridge.
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Reheat: Low and slow on the stove until hot and creamy; add a splash of water/stock if needed.
FAQ Block:
Can I use chicken breasts instead of thighs?
Yep—just cook until the chicken is tender and pulls apart easily. If using breasts, rely on doneness cues (juicy, easy to shred) rather than strict minutes to avoid dryness.How do I make this dairy-free?
Swap the cream for full-fat coconut milk and use olive oil in place of butter. Expect a slightly sweeter, coconut-forward finish that’s still rich and cozy.My sauce looks thin—how do I fix it?
Simmer uncovered until it coats the back of a spoon and leaves a line when you run a finger through it. A small cornstarch slurry also works in a pinch.Can I make it on the stovetop or in an Instant Pot?
Yes—follow the same flow: bloom spices, simmer until chicken is tender, then finish with butter/cream. Use texture and aroma cues (thick, glossy, fragrant) to know it’s ready rather than rigid timing.
Easy Healthier Crockpot Butter Chicken
Servings: 6 servings
Calories Per Serving: 456 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast cut into bite size chunks
- 1/2 onion finely minced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 cloves garlic minced or grated
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1-2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste
- 2 tablespoons garam masala
- 1/2-1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, use less if you are not a spicy person
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
- 1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
- 1/2 cup greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup half and half or heavy cream
- cooked white rice for serving
- Fresh homemade naan for scooping (a must!)
Instructions
- In a large glass measuring cup or bowl mix together the coconut milk, greek yogurt and cream. Stir in the tomato paste, garlic, ginger and all the spices. Mix well.
- Spray the inside of your crockpot bowl with cooking spray or grease with olive oil. To the bowl sprinkle the onion over the bottom. Add the chicken and then pour the coconut milk mixture over the chicken so the chicken is completely covered. Add the butter and place the lid on the crockpot. Cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours. I like to stir mine once or twice during cooking, but it is not necessary. When ready to serve taste and season with salt and pepper if desired. Serve over rice with a big piece of fresh [Naan | https://fett-weg.today/homemade-naan-step-step-photos/%5D%3C/div%3E%3C/li%3E%3C/ul%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E View Recipe Comments
Obviously.
This post was originally published on September 9, 2013
About to start making this! Can’t wait.
Hi Tieghan!
If I were to substitute the chicken in this to make it vegetarian with homemade paneer, when in the cooking process do you think I should add it?
This recipe looks so fantastic, I’m very excited to try it!
HI!! I would add towards the end of cooking. maybe 1 to 2 hours before you are ready to eat. Hope you love this and let me know how it goes! 🙂
I am sooooo going to give this a try!
For those folks who live near a Cost Plus/World Market… we sell many international spices. Garam Masala and Curries for sure! I am not sure how the pricing is vs grocery stores but it is another option to look at!
btw Tieghan… for a 19yro you sure had me (all of us) fooled!
I assumed you were a chef! Congrats on a great site. I book marked you today!
Awe! Thank you so much! Hope you love this recipe! 🙂
I have to say that this butter chicken is a regular in our house. My 2 kids and husband love it. I will agree that curry spices vary. I just bought a new one and it made the dish super spicy. We all loved it but my youngest – to hot for her tastebuds but she added some plain geek yogurt to it to cut the heat…. I quadruple the sauce recipe and freeze the remaining to have on hand for a quick meal or when I don’t feel like cooking. I also don’t always use a slow cooker but just cook on the stove. Thanks for this amazing recipe.
Sadly, we were disappointed in this dish. It was just WAY TOO SPICY. We usually like spicy food, but this was just bordering on inedible. It smelled amazing while cooking and I followed directions exactly. I’m not sure what to leave out if I were to make it again, but probably the cayenne? This is a bummer — I was so happy to find a slow cooker recipe for butter chicken because I love it.
Hi Kimberly,
I am really sorry this was too spicy for you. My family does love spicy food. Next time just reduce or omit the cayenne all together.
Tieghan
I make a LOT of curries– Indian, Thai and Vietnamese as we don’t have a local Indian house nearby. I was intrigued by this recipe being a fusion of sorts…it had not occurred to me to use Indian curry powder and Thai curry paste in one recipe. It’s in my slow cooker right now and tastes good. A few comments on how I made it better.
First- Indian curry powder varies hugely and some come with a real kick. Thai curry pastes are always very spicy… and so we have here a very unpredictable amount of heat in this dish for most American palates I think. I recommend you HOLD the cayenne until you’ve tasted the sauce…I’ve already warned my Sweety that his dinner is going to be spicy and I added no cayenne at all… Cayenne is very hot!
I also think that the dish lacked some of the nuances of Indian food so I added a teaspoon or so of cumin, coriander and a big pinch of cardamom. This adds to the dish. I did not add butter- with a whole can of coconut AND whipping cream the dish simply doesn’t need more fat.
As one reviewer said – this is not butter chicken- with all the tomato it’s rather more like Chicken Tikka Masala – -but it IS yummy and it IS quick and I thank you for the inspiration for busy days!
(-_-)
This was amazing! I did not have curry paste, so I omitted it. I also used 2% milk because it was all I had on hand. The recipe is right to warn about the cayanne… I love spice, but even the 2 teaspoons of cayanne pepper was a little much for me! I also added a touch of honey at the end to add to the sweetness. Still extremely tasty! I will just use less cayanne next time! Thanks for the recipe!
So happy you loved it! Thanks!
Made this yesterday, it was delishcious! Thanks for the recipe. Im Thai and don’t really believe mixing ingredients, but this Indian meet Thai receipt is the bomb! I love it! I brought it to work for my worker to try and they approved. I wish I can attached the image cuz it looks and tastes so good. For coconut milk, I used ” chaokoh” brand. And for red thai chili paste, I used ” Mae Ploy” brand. You can find them in any Asia market. I also added cumin and bay leave. Good luck to those who try to nail this recipe. Ammmm yummy. Thanks again, Tieghan 🙂
Hi Tieghan,
I just bought myself an awesome new slow cooker, and plan to break it in this weekend with this recipe! I do have one question for you- what kind of white rice is in the photos accompanying the butter chicken? I’ve been using either wild or brown rice for so long that my mind is going blank on the paler varieties.
Thanks!
I love using jasmine rice and that is what is in the photos. Hope you love this!!
My family lived in Japan for 4 years and believe it or not, our favorite restaurant was Indian. We have been back in the US for 3 years and had given up on tasting our favorite butter chicken ever again. Yesterday, I made your recipe with a few minor tweaks (extra curry powder and curry paste) and it was excellent!!! I too have a newer crock pot and it may have cooked a bit too long so I think I will try the slow cook oven option next time. I used thighs instead of breasts and added extra. This made it a bit greasy, but overall the flavor was amazing! Next time I will try the homemade naan too. Thanks for sharing.
This is an amazing recipe. It looks so amazingly creamy and rich. I know some Indians who toil hard to make that “butter chicken” might have objections to you just throwing in ingredients and calling it a butter chicken, you can just specify that this is a cheat version. I think people will be less likely to get offended. I am however going to try this for certain. I can imagine the taste and the richness. To make it more closer, you could try adding about 2 tbspn of soaked and ground cashew instead of the coconut milk. Authentically cashews are what go in.
Notwithstanding anything else….I love it
Thanks Shella!! Love the suggestions!
When u call it butter chicken it should be just that plenty of butter tomatos,cream scented with dried fenugreek leaves,not coconut milk,greek yogurt like making mexican mole with white chocolate chips coconut milk,curry powder has turneric,cayenne pepper,currry paste has ginger,garlic,shallots again there is onion,garlic,ginger. Thats double of everything. No wonder some found it spicy. Like Rahul said u should call it fusion chicken curry or everything but kitchen sink curry. U cannot call a donkey a thoroughbred. Not butter chicken curry. Research showed turmeric inhibits flak formation on brain and good for artharitis.
This is my third time making this curry because we just love it! I always make it in a Dutch oven in my oven for 4 hours at 275 degrees and it comes out SO good and it is so easy. I made a big batch of homemade naan to go with it. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!!!!
SO happy you love it! THANK YOU!!
So this is the first time I have ever commented on a blog, but my husband and I LOVE this butter chicken! I first made it several months ago, and every time I ask my husband what he would like me to cook, he requests this butter chicken. Needless to say, I have made it multiple times, and it always comes out amazingly! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
That is so awesome! I am so excited this was a hit and thank you so much for commenting!
Hi,
I was wondering if i double amount of ingredients has the cooking time need to
altered,as i have a 6qt slow cooker.
Many Thanks for recipe
Hey George,
I think you will need to cook this an hour or two longer. Also, I would not double the liquids in the recipe. I would add more as needed. I am worried it might not thicken otherwise. Hope that helps and let me know if you have any other questions.
Tieghan