This Pumpkin Butter Chicken toes the line of sweet and spice, while being delightfully fragrant. A perfectly heartwarming fall supper.
This post was first published on October 19, 2020, and was last updated Sept. 19, 2025.
Ingredients
The yogurt, tomato paste, butter, and chicken are all traditional ingredients for butter chicken. It is a meal of simmered chicken in a tomato and onion coconut milk sauce with curry powder, garam masala, turmeric, garlic, and ginger.
Greek yogurt and butter are stirred in at the end to make it extra creamy and luscious. I like to serve it over my favorite long-grain rice — basmati — with fresh lime wedges and naan bread.
And don't skimp on the cilantro! A generous dusting is a must on butter chicken.
What you need:
- Chicken Breasts
- Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper
- Olive Oil
- Unsalted Butter
- Yellow Onion
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Garam Masala
- Curry Powder
- Turmeric
- Tomato Paste
- Coconut Milk
- Pumpkin or Butternut Squash, peeled and diced
- Greek Yogurt, plain
- Unsalted Butter
- Cilantro
- Lime Wedges
- Steamed Basmati Rice
- Naan Flatbreads
What makes it Butter Chicken?
Curry powder is one of the dominant spices in this dish. Most Indian household has their own version, so I learned to blend my own from a friend of mine who is from the country of Trinidad. We blended my own custom blend that has a bit more coriander in it because it is one of my favorite spices.
The beauty of a homemade curry powder blend is that you get to make it your own by tweaking the ratios.
Method
What I might love most about this Pumpkin Butter Chicken recipe is that it all comes together in one pot! Perfect for building a strong flavor profile and for easy cleanup.
First, dice your chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces, and season them heavily with salt and pepper. Let them stand 20-30 minutes while you gather and prep the remaining ingredients to let the seasonings sink in and draw out some moisture.
To start your curry, heat the oil and butter over medium heat in a Dutch oven. Sear the chicken pieces on one side until crisp, about 5 minutes, until browned. (Do this in batches if needed so you don't overcrowd the pan.)
Remove the crisped chicken from the pan and add the onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook until the onions become translucent. Add the garam masala, curry powder, and turmeric to the pan and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Stir in the tomato paste and coconut milk, then bring the sauce to a simmer and add in the diced pumpkin and the chicken. Simmer the sauce for 10-15 minutes until the pumpkin gets soft and the chicken is cooked through.
Finish the sauce with the Greek yogurt and 2 tablespoons of butter. Simmer about 5 minutes longer to meld everything together.
To finish the Pumpkin Butter Chicken, turn off the heat, and add in a healthy pinch of cilantro. Stir to combine. Serve over steamed basmati rice with lime wedges and naan bread. Enjoy!
If you have the time, let your curry simmer on the stove for a while so the chicken stays super tender. You could also make it in a slow cooker and let it simmer for an hour or so. Use my code "Kendell10" for 10% off your slow cooker order at CookMagnifique.
The longer spices like curry powder, garam masala, turmeric, and ginger have to cook in the coconut milk, tomato paste, and yogurt, the better they'll taste!
📖 Recipe
Pumpkin “Butter” Chicken
This pumpkin butter chicken toes the line of sweet and spice, while being delightfully fragrant. A perfectly heartwarming fall supper.
Ingredients
- 4, 6oz Chicken Breasts, diced
- Kosher Salt and Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- 1 Yellow Onion, diced
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh Ginger, grated
- 1 tablespoon Garam Masala
- 2 teaspoon Curry Powder
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric
- 1, 6oz can Tomato Paste
- 1, 14oz can Coconut Milk, full fat
- 1 lb Pumpkin or Butternut Squash, peeled and diced
- ½ cup Greek Yogurt, plain
- 2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
- Lime Wedges, for serving
- Steamed Basmati Rice, for serving
- Naan Flatbreads, for serving
Instructions
- First, dice your chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces and season them with salt and pepper. Let stand 20-30 minutes while you gather and prep the remaining ingredients.
- In a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat the oil and butter over medium heat. Sear the chicken pieces on one side until crisp, about 5 minutes. Do this in batches if needed. Remove the crisped chicken from the pan and add the onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook until the onions become translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garam masala, curry powder, and turmeric to the pan and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste, and coconut milk. Bring the sauce to a simmer and add in the diced pumpkin and the chicken. Simmer the sauce for about 10 minutes until the pumpkin gets soft and the chicken is cooked through. Finish the sauce with the greek yogurt and 2 tablespoons of butter. Simmer about 5 minutes longer.
- Turn off the heat and add in a healthy pinch of cilantro and stir to combine. Serve over steamed basmati rice, with lime wedges and naan bread to soak up all the delicious sauce.
Notes
Notes & Tips
All curry powders are not created equal. And the stuff you buy at the grocery store in a jar is not what you want for this recipe. It takes a little extra effort, but make THIS RECIPE for curry powder to use here.
If you enjoy spicy foods, you can add a jalapeno, habanero, or hotter pepper if desired to the cooking method when cooking the onions.
I enjoy serving this with a nice flatbread, something homemade is great, but often I grab some Naan bread from the grocery store to add to the table when serving.
Substitutions
To make this vegan or vegetarian, you could leave out the chicken and bulk up the pumpkin to be the main star of this dish.
To make this a year-round staple, replace the pumpkin with butternut squash, it is readily available in most grocery stores at all times.
A good swap for the Garam Masala is, Allspice and Cumin: Combine 4 parts ground cumin with 1 part allspice, for an easy substitute when you're in a hurry. You can also use more curry powder in place of it as well.
Greek yogurt adds a little tang to the dish, as well as mellows out the spices just a bit. You can omit if need to make this dairy-free, simple replace the yogurt with more coconut milk.
Speaking of dairy-free, I know this is butter chicken, you kinda need the butter, but you could exchange the butter for coconut oil if you wanted to keep it free of dairy.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 469Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 88mgSodium: 240mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 4gSugar: 6gProtein: 34g
This is an estimated caloric value, actual numbers may differ based on the ingredients used.
If you want to finish the night off with a little something sweet, stay in the season and try my Pumpkin Banana Bread recipe or Pumpkin Banana Muffins with Pecan Crisp Topping.
Kathryn says
This pumpkin butter chicken looks DIVINE and I'm going to make it some day soon. Every time I look at this post my mouth starts to water -- and I'm happy to eat all the pumpkin things now! 😍😍
Kendell says
YES!! You are going to love it!