Slow-Cooker Butter Chicken Recipe (2024)

I will NEVER understand why people think that critiquing a great recipe or offering alternatives that are not positive is acceptable. Be positive or be quiet.

FYI, you can store whole ginger root in your freezer. It makes it really easy to grate, and you just pop it back in to await the next meal!

Your suggestion is helpful, although your tone is somewhat less so. A quick version in a pressure cooker is a truly great alternative, and thank you for suggesting it. But many of us really do like a slow cooker: it uses very little energy, it can be left unattended, and it's very forgiving if you don't know how late you'll get home from wherever you've been.

Based on the comments, I doubled the garam masala to 2 TBSP, and used 6 cloves of garlic. I upped the salt to a full tsp. I used the zest and juice of 2 limes -- added the zest as instructed but stirred the lime juice in at the end after cooking. I also used the whole can of coconut milk. This was delicious! And the leftovers were just as good the next day. Served with basmati rice and garlic naan. Definitely will make this again.

If it's such a long simmer, why use boneless chicken? Bone-in thighs would offer much more flavor and character.

In reply to "S": As a child of immigrants from the Middle East, bread and rice was most often served at every meal. I can assure you it's not a quirky idea, and very common. Of course, serving sizes were always modest. I would love to try an insta-pot, but I don't own one right now. A slow cooker has worked well, and this dish was delicious prepared exactly as written.

I grew up in the Middle East and bread or naan is always served on the side of any meal-- regardless of whether or not there's rice served.

This was not spicy enough for my taste, so I used 2 TBSP garam masala, 1 tsp cumin and 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper.

I cooked at 200 degrees in a dutch oven for 5 hours. Just like a slow cooker and resulted in a delicious meal. Home smelled great also.

From another NYT Cooking article: Butter chicken is the General Tso’s of Indian food, a great, ever-evolving, cross-continental dish found in Delhi, London, New York, Perth and most points in between. In its purest form, it is yogurt-and-spice-marinated chicken dressed in a velvety red bath comprising butter, onions, ginger and tomatoes scented with garam masala, cumin and turmeric, with a cinnamon tang.

doubled the garam masala to 2 TBSP, and used 6 cloves of garlic added curry and cumin. I upped the salt to a full tsp. I used the zest and juice of 2 limes -- added the zest as instructed but stirred the lime juice in at the end after cooking. Serves over rice to which I added finely chopped peppers, red and orange for color. I added the whole can of coconut mild instead of the additional 1/2 cup chicken stock. Cilantro garnish. A pound of baby spinach stirred in to wilt at the end

Slow cookers are a godsend for anyone who is gone during the day and wants to walk in and have a fully prepped meal ready to go. The hour preceding dinner is the busiest hour of the day for parents who are out at kids' activities -- I would much rather prep the meal the night before or while making breakfast in the am.

Good dish, but stove top is best. Sear the chicken first in the oil with a palm of Garam Masala, remove. Deglaze with a splash of white wine then add the onion, ginger, garlic and chopped mushrooms, cook till soft. Then add the coco-milk, tom-paste and more GM plus a sprinkling of chili powder. Simmer and season to taste........was really yum!

I don't think that naan plus rice thing is just a "fixity in the US." I'm in Canada, and I frequent a number of small Indian restaurants owned by Indian/Pakistani/etc. owners, and they all serve both rice and naan with their thali plates. I don't think it's just a concession to N. American expectations. AFAIK, it is typical to serve only rice in southern India but in northern India it is normal to serve both. I might be wrong, but all of my reading points that way.

This is a very good recipe, but it’s not like the butter chicken others may have had in restaurants, or grew up on. We tried it as written, realized we do like a slightly stronger flavor, so we doubled the dry spices, while leaving the garlic and ginger as written. It’s perfect.

Very bland. Even with adding 1/4 tsp cayenne.

Used full can of coconut milk and full cup of chicken brothUsed 2 TBSP curry powder alongside the 1 TBSP garam masala

I was disappointed in this recipe. As other commenters have mentioned, this does not taste like butter chicken (the absence of butter in the ingredient list is pretty telling). It also failed as a unique dish, because the elements of this recipe never "came together", even after 4.5 hours in a slow cooker. I decided to trust the process with this recipe and believe that the final result would be greater than the sum of its parts. I was wrong, and now I am regretful that chickens died for this.

Tasted good but wasn't really butter chicken. My husband ate on a roll and loved it lol.

After placing the tomato paste mixture in the cooker, I deglazed the pan with the chicken stock and the coconut milk, then poured it over the chicken.

Made it as written. The sauce was very good, but the chicken was a bit bland. Next time I will follow the suggestions below and increase the amount of garlic and spices. It certainly has potential, but as written, it lacks the requisite flavor.

Similar issues as others - more of a broth than a thick sauce, definitely needed more salt. It was fine, but I would not make again.

We think this is a flavorful dish and a terrific option from roasted chicken, since we eat a lot of chicken in this house. To keep it healthy, we use chicken breast and light coconut milk. We had extra salt, lime, juice, cumin, and garam masala.

I see many of the comments are 6 years old. Don’t know where I’ve been but finally tried this…so simple and great that timing is flexible in slow cooker… as other comments I added a whole can of coconut mile and used a whole lime. I may try adding more spice next time, but this recipe is a keeper for sure.

I liked it Mary didn’t. Needed more salt. Should be thicker

Enjoyable but delicate, verging on bland. I would 2x or 3x the garam masala. 2x the garlic and ginger.

This was delicious. I will increase the garam masala next time. I froze the remainder—I hope the coconut milk base stands up to freezing.

Followed the advice about using a whole can of coconut milk, 6 cloves of garlic, 2.5 tablespoons of garam masala. But I discovered that I was out of ginger! I subbed about a half teaspoon of cloves and a half teaspoon of cardamom (because I was out of ground ginger too!) and it came out lovely, so if you’re in a pinch, there you go!

This was delicious and easy! Definitely would make again. I made a few tweaks that I think worked nicely — extra tablespoon of garam masala, extra clove or two of garlic, and mixed a teaspoon of salt into the chicken after putting it in the slow cooker. I also added a few tablespoons of butter about halfway through the cooking.