Craving something different for dinner tonight? You have to try this super simple recipe for Oven Roasted Indian Butter Chicken. It is so easy and incredibly flavorful, thanks to a two-step flavor process.

Oven Roasted Butter Chicken Recipe

Butter chicken is a tomato-based curry with mild spices and plenty of flavor thanks to slow simmering of the aromatic herbs, vegetables, and chicken. It’s a popular street food in India, where is richly prepared with butter and cream.

I love when I have enough time to make my butter chicken from scratch, but that recipe takes over an hour and involves frequent stirrings to ensure that the curry doesn’t burn on the stovetop. Most weeknights, I am lucky if I have 30 minutes to spend in the kitchen between all of the homework, house cleaning, errands, extra-curriculars, etc etc.

So, I wanted to tweak my classic butter chicken recipe so that it would take about 10-15 minutes of effort yet still deliver all that delicious butter chicken flavor. (Because sacrificing flavor would not go down well in this house!) To do this, I use a two-step process of marinating the chicken before searing and also basting it in sauce before baking. I either set the chicken to marinate the night before or the morning I plan to serve it, but if you forget, you can just marinate it for 30 minutes and it will still be delicious.

This oven roasted butter chicken recipe is juicy, fall off the bone tender with amazing depth of flavor.

Now, this recipe does call for butter chicken sauce from a jar for the second half of the recipe because I figured that was easiest; however, if you do make your own butter chicken sauce from scratch, then just save at least 1/2 cup of the curry sauce for this recipe. (I’ll be sharing our recipe for from-scratch butter chicken sauce soon!)

While I used a whole chicken, split into four servings, you can use chicken breasts or thighs instead. Splitting the chicken does take a bit extra time, but I can often get a whole chicken cheaper than I can 8 chicken thighs so I don’t mind the extra two minutes of prep.

For my low-carb friends, I considered 1/4 of this recipe (so 1/4 of a chicken) to be one serving at 5g net carbs. Fill up the rest of your plate with riced cauliflower or your favorite low-carb veggies for a satisfying meal.

Can butter chicken be frozen? I always recommend freezing chicken before cooking, as cooked chicken has less moisture and is more prone to freezer burn.

If freezing the chicken before cooking, you can simply freeze the chicken in the marinade for up to 4 months using an air-tight container or zip-top bag. (Some people will say up to 6 months, but you may experience a flavor quality loss.) After thawing, continue with the rest of the recipe.

If freezing the chicken after cooking, you can freeze the cooked chicken for up to 2 months using an air-tight container or zip-top bag. Thaw and then reheat as desired (in the microwave or oven).

What is Garam Masala? Garam Masala is a blend of multiple spices; the exact blend can vary quite a bit based on the person or company making it but it usually includes cinnamon, nutmeg, coriander, cumin, black pepper and cardamom (among other spices) and almost never includes turmeric (which is a main ingredient in many curry powders). It is more sweet than spicy.

The best thing about using Garam Masala is that you get all those amazing spices in one. You can even experiment with making your own. Garam Masala can be found at most grocery stores, but you can also order them from Amazon.

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Yield: 4 servings

Oven Roasted Butter Chicken

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A juicy, flavorful take on the traditional popular Indian street food. 

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 2 Tablespoons Butter, melted
• 1 Whole Chicken, split into 4 servings
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons Garam Masala
• 2 sprigs Cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 cup Butter Chicken Sauce
• 1 clove Garlic, minced
• Salt & Pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. In a shallow dish (preferably with a lid), combine 1/4 cup Olive oil, melted butter, Garam Masala, lemon juice, cilantro and a pinch of salt & pepper to create the chicken marinade.
2. Place chicken in the marinade and rub the marinade all over the chicken.
3. Cover and let marinate for 30 minutes or overnight.
4. In an ovenproof skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil.
5. Sear each side of the chicken in the skillet, about 2 minutes per side.
6. (Note: if your skillet is not ovenproof, then just transfer the chicken to a casserole dish after searing.)
7. Brush chicken with the butter chicken sauce, and then top with minced garlic.
8. Cover and bake for 40 minutes. Or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. 
9. Serve garnished with cilantro and lemon.

Notes

If you don't want to cut up a whole chicken, 4 chicken breasts with legs or 8 chicken breasts will work for this recipe.

You can remove the lid towards the last 10 minutes of the cooking process if you want crispy chicken skin.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 506Total Fat: 33gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 19gCholesterol: 159mgSodium: 422mgCarbohydrates: 6gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 45g

This decadent, roast butter chicken recipe is super simple to make and tastes amazing. It’s perfect for a busy weeknight when you want something delicious but don’t have much time to spend in the kitchen.

For more delicious chicken recipes, check out our Khandeshi Spicy Chicken or our Tuscan Grilled Chicken Pizza.