Keto Butter Chicken (Family Favorite)

4.88 from 8 votes

This keto butter chicken is rich, creamy, and packed with warm Indian-inspired flavors. Tender chicken thighs are marinated in yogurt, garlic, and ginger, then simmered in a buttery tomato cream sauce for an easy low carb dinner the whole family will love.

Prep Time1

Cook Time30

Total Time1 30

Course: dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: recipe for keto butter chicken

Servings:

Calories: 341

Author: Jennifer Banz

Ingredients

For the Marinade

1 Cup Greek Yogurt
1 Tablespoon Ginger paste
3 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
½ teaspoon Black pepper
2 Pounds Boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into bite size chunks

For the Sauce

2 Tablespoons avocado oil
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
4 Cloves Garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons Ginger paste
2 teaspoons Garam Masala
2 teaspoons Smoked paprika
1 8 ounce Tomato sauce
2 Tablespoons Tomato paste
½ Cup Heavy cream
3 Tablespoons Butter
Fresh cilantro for garnish

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

In a large bowl combine the yogurt, ginger paste, garlic, salt and pepper.
Add in the chicken thigh chunks and stir to coat.
Place in the refrigerator and let marinate for one hour.
When the chicken is finished marinating. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and cook the chicken through, about 8 minutes. The chicken and marinade will release liquid. This needs to be poured off so your sauce isn't thin.
Stir in the garlic, ginger paste, Garam Masala, smoked paprika and salt.
Let it cook for one more minute.
Add in the tomato paste, tomato sauce, butter and heavy cream.
Stir and let cook for a few minutes to thicken.
Serve with steamed cauliflower rice and fresh cilantro.

Notes

I prefer to marinate the chicken for about one hour. Any longer and the yogurt can start to change the texture of the chicken and make it a little mealy.
After cooking the chicken, make sure to pour off the excess liquid before adding the sauce ingredients. This helps keep the sauce thick and creamy instead of watery.
Ginger paste is one of my favorite shortcut ingredients for this recipe. You can usually find it in the produce section in a small tube, but freshly minced ginger works too.
Garam masala gives butter chicken its classic flavor, so I would not skip it. Most larger grocery stores carry it in the spice aisle.
Chicken thighs stay the most tender in this recipe, but chicken breast can also be used if preferred.
I like serving this over cauliflower rice to keep it low carb, but regular rice or naan can easily be added for family members who are not eating low carb.

Nutrition