This crock pot butter chicken is a rich and flavorful curry with tender chicken cooked in a creamy tomato and butter sauce, infused with aromatic spices, we’re going to let the slow cooker do most of the work, and with roughly 15-minute preptime, what’s not to love?
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This Crock Pot Butter Chicken is creamy, lightly spiced and delicious – an easy recipe that’s perfect for the slow cooker.
It’s creamy and spicy – but not too spicy for the kids to enjoy too. Perfect with a bowl of fluffy rice.
📋 Ingredients?
I like to use diced chicken breast for this recipe. I often use boneless skinless chicken thighs when I’m cooking chicken for a long time (since thighs tend to be more tender than breast meat with long cooking), but I’ve tested this recipe with thighs and breast, and they both work well and both are tender and juicy.
📺 Watch how to make it
Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Start off by sealing the chopped chicken and onion in a pan (or in your slow cooker if it has a searing function) with oil and butter.
- Add the spices.
- Then add in the stock, tinned tomatoes, tomato puree (tomato paste) and sugar.
- Transfer to the slow cooker and place the lid. Cook for 4-5 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low.
- After it’s been slow cooking you want to remove the cardamom pods and stir in some cream and you’re ready to serve.
👩🍳PRO TIP Sew the cardamom seeds together with a piece of natural cotton so you can easily fish them out later.
If you don’t have a searing function on your slow cooker then you can do these initial stages in a large frying pan/skillet and transfer to the slow cooker later.
🍽️ What to serve it with
I like to serve this slow cooker butter chicken with:
If you wanted to go low carb then you could serve it up with some Cauliflower Rice.
❓FAQ’s
You could use a spicier curry powder like madras curry powder or you could add half a teaspoon of chilli powder when you add the rest of the spices.
I use a Crock Pot CSC024 because I love its searing function, glass lid so I can see whats going on, and dishwasher-safe bowl, this baby
You can let it cool completely then place in an airtight container and put in the freezer for a quick dinner another night. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator (it will likely take longer than overnight to defrost if you freeze a large portion). Reheat in a saucepan over medium heat or in the microwave, stirring occasionally, until piping hot throughout.
Then you can cook your butter chicken curry on the hob (stove) using my other Butter Chicken Curry recipe < click here.
They’re nigella seeds. I like to sprinkle a few on for a unique flavor but don’t worry if you don’t have any in your store cupboard.
This butter chicken was actually the first recipe I cooked in my slow cooker when we bought it a good few years ago. If, like me, you love an easy prep slow cooker dinner then check out these:
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Crock Pot Butter Chicken Recipe
This Crock Pot Butter Chicken is an easy meal, where the slow cooker does all of the hard work. It’s a perfect dinner where you can adjust the heat level so that the adults and kids will love it!
INSTRUCTIONS
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Preheat your slow cooker to high.
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Heat the butter and oil in a large pan, add in the onion and chicken, and cook for 5-6 minutes until the onions are softened and the chicken is sealed.
3 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp vegetable oil, 1 large onion, 700 g (1 ½ lbs) chicken breast
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Add in the garlic, ginger, salt, garam masala, curry powder, paprika and cinnamon. Stir and cook for 1-2 minutes.
4 cloves garlic, 1 tsp minced ginger, 1 tsp salt, 1 ½ tbsp garam masala, 1 tbsp curry powder, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp cinnamon
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Add in the stock, tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, sugar and cardamom. Stir then pour into your slow cooker and cook for 4-5 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low.
240 ml (1 cup) chicken stock, 2 x 400ml (2 x 14 oz) tins of chopped tomatoes, 2 tbsp tomato puree, 2 tsp sugar, 6 cardamom pods
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Remove the cardamom then stir in the cream and allow to heat through.
125 ml (½ cup) double/heavy cream
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Serve over rice sprinkled with some coriander
handful of chopped coriander to serve
✎ Notes
Nutritional information is per serving and does not include rice.
Nutrition
Calories: 311kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 27gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 113mgSodium: 620mgPotassium: 590mgFiber: 2gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 775IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 48mgIron: 1mg
This crockpot butter chicken recipe was first published in February 2015 and updated in February 2024 with new photos, a video, and extra information to help you make this delicious dinner.
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