Slow Cooker Butter Chicken
Slow cooker butter chicken with no searing, no sautéing, and no slurry. Chicken thighs tossed in cornstarch and garam masala cook all day in a garlic-ginger tomato sauce, and a splash of cream at the end makes it rich and silky.
Ingredients
Meat & Protein
- 2.5 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
Produce
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger grated
- 0.25 cup fresh cilantro roughly chopped
Dairy
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter cut into pieces
- 0.75 cup heavy cream
Pantry & Canned Goods
- 28 oz crushed tomatoes one 28 oz can
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
Seasonings & Spices
- 2 tbsp garam masala divided
- 1.5 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- In the slow cooker insert, whisk together the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, ginger, and 1 tablespoon of the garam masala until smooth.
- In a large bowl, toss the chicken thighs with the cornstarch, the remaining 1 tablespoon garam masala, and the kosher salt until every piece is evenly coated with no dry white patches. Leave the thighs whole.
- Nestle the coated thighs into the sauce in as even a layer as possible and spoon some sauce over the top. Scatter the butter pieces over everything. Do not stir.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours or HIGH for 3 hours without lifting the lid, until the chicken is fork-tender and registers at least 175°F.
- Turn off the slow cooker. Use two forks or tongs to break the thighs into bite-sized chunks right in the pot. They will fall apart with almost no effort.
- Pour in the heavy cream and stir until the sauce turns an even, creamy orange. Let it sit 2 minutes, then taste and add more salt if needed.
- Serve over basmati rice or with warm naan, topped with fresh cilantro.
Notes
Why the cream goes in last: dairy held at a simmer for hours in an acidic tomato sauce can separate and turn grainy. Stirring it in off the heat at serving keeps the sauce smooth. No extra cook time is needed because the cornstarch and tomato paste have already thickened the sauce.
Chicken breasts work, but cook them on LOW for about 4 hours and pull them at 165°F. Breast meat dries out over a full 6-hour cook.
For more heat, whisk ½ teaspoon cayenne into the tomato sauce in step 1.
No heavy cream? Full-fat canned coconut milk is a one-to-one swap.
To freeze, portion the butter chicken before adding the cream and freeze up to 3 months. Stir in the cream when reheating.
Roughly 35g protein per serving, based on 2.5 lb of raw chicken thighs split six ways. Rice and naan not included.
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