Slow Cooker Butter Chicken
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Published Jan 25, 2022, Updated Apr 24, 2024
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This slow cooker dairy-free butter chicken is a lightened-up take on a classic Indian dish. Chicken breasts are cooked to juicy perfection in a creamy coconut milk and tomato sauce that’s packed with flavor.
In case you haven’t noticed, we LOVE Indian food over here! I basically add curry to everything. Prime example = my curried shakshuka. One of Isaac’s favorite Indian dishes is butter chicken so I took a stab at an EBF version and it’s so delicious! This is now on regular rotation in our house.
What is Butter Chicken?
Butter chicken is a traditional Indian dish made with chicken in a spiced tomato, butter and cream sauce. The butter and cream cut a lot of the spice so it’s a wonderfully balanced dish! I decided it would be fun to create an untraditional, lightened up version so my recipe doesn’t include butter or cream.
In traditional butter chicken recipes, the chicken is marinated in a yogurt mixture. I wanted this recipe to be 100% dairy-free so we’re using the coconut milk and skipping the marinating process altogether. Don’t worry, slow cooking ensures the meat has plenty of time to soak up lots of flavor from the spiced tomato sauce!
Side note: we have an awesome Indian restaurant in Richmond called Lehja that makes really delicious Indian cuisine. They’ll even make things dairy-free if you request it.
Ingredients Needed
- coconut oil – in place of the butter, we’re using coconut oil and it works like a charm! It provides the same robust richness as butter and works perfectly for sautéing.
- yellow onion, garlic and fresh ginger – create a wonderful savory base for the recipe. You’ll start by sautéing the onion, garlic and ginger in the coconut oil before adding to the slow cooker!
- spices – turmeric, garam masala, cumin, chili powder, cayenne, cinnamon, sea salt and pepper. Even though there are a ton of spices in this dish, it isn’t necessarily spicy. If you don’t want it to be spicy at all, simply omit the cayenne powder.
- chicken breasts – boneless, skinless, chopped into chunks.
- full fat coconut milk – instead of using heavy cream we’re using coconut milk in the sauce. I recommend using canned, full fat coconut milk as opposed to coconut milk you find in a carton. Full fat canned coconut milk is thick and creamy and perfect for the base of this recipe.
- tomato sauce – canned tomato sauce is the other main liquid base of this recipe. It’ll transform with all of the spices you add to the dish.
- lemon juice – this might sound like a funny addition but lemon juice cuts through the rich flavors and brightens the dish.
- green beans – not in traditional butter chicken and completely optional but I love the added veggies! I used frozen green beans and thawed them before adding to the dish. They add another texture and volume to the final product but you also get a pop of color and additional nutrients!
- cilantro – I love serving this dish with fresh cilantro. Fresh herbs pack so much flavor!
How to Make Slow Cooker Butter Chicken
Before adding everything to the slow cooker, you’ll sauté a few ingredients! Add oil to a large skillet and cook the onion and garlic until soft and fragrant. Add the fresh ginger, turmeric, garam masala, cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, cinnamon and cayenne and toss to combine. Cook for another 1-2 minutes. This roasts the spices a little bit and builds a deep, rich flavor which is perfect for the base of this recipe!
Transfer the onion mixture into your slow cooker and add the chicken, coconut milk, tomato sauce, lemon juice and cinnamon stick. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours or low for 6 hours. Add the thawed green beans when there’s about 1 hour left in the cooking process. Serve butter chicken over cauliflower rice (or regular rice) with fresh cilantro and a wedge of lemon for squeezing.
pro tip! If you prefer a thicker sauce, whisk together 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch or arrowroot power with 2 Tablespoons water and add it to the slow cooker right before adding the green beans.
How to Serve Butter Chicken
I recommend serving this butter chicken over cauliflower rice with a heavy sprinkle of chopped cilantro, but it would be delicious with more traditional sides like basmati rice and naan. Here’s a homemade naan bread recipe if you’re looking for one. If you skip the green beans and are looking for a vegetable side dish to serve, this roasted broccoli or spinach salad would be delicious additions.
How to Store Leftovers
Want to know the best thing about this recipe? It gets better with time. We enjoyed this dish for dinner three nights in a row and each night was better than the previous. It stores so well! Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If you’re looking for longer storage, let the chicken cool completely and store in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. To defrost, take the chicken out of the freezer and place it in the fridge to thaw the night before you’re wanting to eat it.
More Indian-Inspired Recipes You Might Enjoy
- Tempeh Tikka Masala
- Mattar Tofu
- Curried Tempeh Salad
- Coconut Curried Eggplant
- Easy Channa Masala
- Mango Curry Trail Mix
- Chicken Curry With Vegetables
More Slow Cooker Recipes to Try
- Chicken Wild Rice Soup
- Chicken Fajita Soup
- Minestrone Soup
- Teriyaki Chicken
- Cheesy Mexican Quinoa Casserole
- Vegan Sweet and Sour Tempeh
- Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Slow Cooker Butter Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 inch knob of fresh ginger, chopped
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1 Tablespoon garam masala
- 1 Tablespoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- ½ teaspoon cayenne, optional
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast, chopped into chunks
- 1 15 oz can full fat coconut milk
- 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 cups thawed frozen or fresh green beans, optional
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Add oil to a large skillet or saucepan and cook onion and garlic until soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
- Add fresh ginger, turmeric, garam masala, cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, cinnamon and cayenne and toss to combine. Cook for another 1-2 minutes. This step can be done in the base of your slow cooker if it allows.
- Transfer onion and garlic mixture into your slow cooker. Add chicken, coconut milk, tomato sauce, lemon juice and cinnamon stick to the slow cooker as well.
- Cover and cook on high for 3 hours or low for 6 hours. Add green beans when there's about 1 hour left in the cooking process.
- Serve butter chicken over cauliflower rice (or regular rice) with fresh cilantro and a wedge of lemon for squeezing.
Notes
- Thicker sauce: If you prefer your sauce thicker, whisk together 1 Tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot powder with 2 Tablespoons water and add it to the slow cooker right before adding the green beans.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
It was a cold rainy day, perfect for this slow cooker recipe. The flavors were amazing. Very easy to put together. Next time (because there will be a next time) I will add a gold potato and some carrots. Thanks for another great recipe.
Yay! So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe, Steve. Love the idea of adding potato and carrots. Thanks for the review!
Hi, how would you make this toddler friendly? 😃
Hello, I just made this toddler friendly yesterday. Omitted the chillies and cayenne pepper. Made it with petits pois instead of green beans. Used less salt and put more on my dish at the table. Cut the chicken chunks smaller for her. My daughter is 21 months, can feed herself with a spoon (although the food ends up all around her too 😅). It is yummy, would definitely recommend to try. Enjoy!
So glad you loved this recipe, Ellie! Thanks for the review and for letting me know what changes you made, glad it was a hit with your little!
At least now one Indian recipe Slow Cooker Dairy-Free Butter Chicken, I Love Butter Chicken . Thanks for sharing this recipe with us, will definitely gonna try this one .
Let me know how it turns out, Alishka!
thanks for sharing this Slow Cooker Dairy-Free Butter Chicken recipe, I actually searching some unique kind of recipe, will definitely gonna try this one this weekend.
Recipe is a bit runny. Should I have used both liquid and solid of coconut cream or just the solid? I will thicken with cornstarch.
Thankfully Something Indian Recipe “Butter Chicken “, one of my favorite recipe and will surely gonna try this one .
As someone who is Celiac and lactose-intolerant, I was thankful to find this recipe. I liked that it used the slow cooker, and the recipe was simple.
The flavours are great, although I prefer the sauce a bit thicker. So, I’ll add a little cornstarch next time.
Great recipe that is in our regular dinner rotation. I make it in the instant pot on slow cooker mode, so I’m able to sauté directly in the same pot. Super quick and easy. Always appreciate the leftovers!
Woo! So glad you’ve been enjoying this recipe. Thanks for the review, Alex!
Is this Gluten Free?
Yes!
As someone who is lactose intolerant, thank you so much for the dairy-free recipe! I only had tomato puree on hand so I used that instead of tomato sauce. It was absolutely delicious! Definitely a go-to from now on
You’re so welcome, Emily! So pumped you loved this recipe! Thanks for the review. I so appreciate it!