Butter Chicken Meatballs
, Published Aug 28, 2024
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Tender Butter Chicken Meatballs in a rich and creamy spiced tomato sauce. Prepare to drool over this quick and easy restaurant-quality meal the whole family will go crazy for. SO MUCH YUM!!
We’re big fans of Indian food in our family, but our love for spices varies pretty wildly. While my husband and I love mid-to-spicy curries, our kids would act like they’re too hot to handle. Butter chicken curry – murgh makhani – is the perfect middle ground for us all and one of my all-time-favorite comfort foods.
If you love butter chicken then you will LOVE these Butter Chicken Meatballs! The divine buttery-creamy mildly spicy tomato sauce is enriched with butter AND cream so you know it’s to die for…
Best of all, this recipe is a real time saver. Traditional butter chicken involves marinating chicken for hours, followed by slow cooking in a clay pot or oven, but that’s not required for this meatball version.
Instead, the chicken meatballs can be made and pan fried quickly, and the sauce ingredients can be blitzed in advance, ready for the pan. The two are then combined and cooked on the stove in the same single pot or large skillet – no fuss, no muss and absolutely gorgeous!
What you will need for Butter Chicken Meatballs
- Chopped / crushed tomatoes or you can use passata for a super smooth sauce
- Yellow onion
- Garlic cloves
- Ginger: fresh ginger is best but you can use ginger paste or frozen chopped ginger in a pinch
- Lemon juice
- Tomato paste (tomato purée)
- Spices: paprika, cayenne pepper, Garam Masala, ground cumin, turmeric, mild curry powder
- Salt & pepper
- Ground chicken (chicken mince)
- Panko breadcrumbs
- Egg, to bind the meatballs
- Chicken broth or chicken stock made using a stockpot / stock cube
- Cream: heavy cream (double cream) or you can use evaporated milk
- Unsalted butter: with a recipe that has “Butter” in the title you can expect a fair bit of it in the sauce…
- Cilantro/Coriander to garnish (if you are not a fan you can skip it, obvs)
How to make Butter Chicken Meatballs
Full measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page. Please take a look at the steps and video before attempting this recipe!
Add all the ingredients for the curry paste into a mini chopper / blender and process until you have a paste.
Place the ground chicken, breadcrumbs, egg, curry powder, salt and two tablespoons of the curry paste you just prepared into a bowl. Mix really well then use a small cookie scoop to portion out 20-24 scoops of the meatball mixture.
Roll the meatballs in greased hands to make them perfectly spherical. Roll them in the Panko breadcrumbs to coat (<–– this bit is actually optional!).
Heat the oil and butter in a skillet. Pan fry the meatballs until golden on both sides, about 5-7 minutes. Set aside on a paper towel-lined plate and wipe the skillet clean.
Add a splash of oil to the pan and stir in the remaining curry paste. Pour the chicken broth into the skillet and bring to a simmer. Place the meatballs into the sauce, cover the pot and cook for about 10 minutes over low heat.
Make some space in your pan (you may need to transfer the meatballs onto a plate) and stir in the butter and cream. Cook for a couple of minutes and then have a little taste of the heavenly sauce – add salt and pepper, if needed.
Garnish with plenty of chopped cilantro (coriander), a pinch of red pepper flakes and a final drizzing of cream. Serve over plain basmati rice or pilau rice with naan bread or flatbreads and swoon over the insane deliciousness of this simple dish!
Recipe Notes
- Like most curries, butter chicken meatballs taste even better the next day, just make sure to store leftovers in an airtight container and you can heat them up in a microwave or in a saucepan.
- You can use store-bought meatballs if you like to speed things up. Vegetarian and vegan meatballs also work well in this recipe.
- Use soya cream instead of heavy cream and a plant-based butter to keep this dish dairy-free.
You Will Also Like
- Marry Me Chicken Meatballs With Orzo
- Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken Meatballs With Gnocchi
- Vietnamese Meatballs (Bún Chả)
- Chicken Piccata Meatballs with Orzo
HAVE YOU MADE MY BUTTER CHICKEN MEATBALL CURRY RECIPE? Please leave a rating, post a photo on my Facebook page, share it on Instagram, or save it to Pinterest with the tag #supergoldenbakes and make my day!
Butter Chicken Meatballs
Video
Ingredients
For the curry paste
- 1 onion chopped
- 4 garlic cloves
- 400 g (14oz ) canned tomatoes crushed / chopped
- 2 tbsp tomato paste (optional)
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp cayenne
For the meatballs
- 500 g (1 pound) ground chicken
- 60 g (1 cup) Panko breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp mild curry powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 60 g (1 cup) Panko breadcrumbs to roll the meatballs in (optional!)
For the sauce
- 2 tbsp avocado oil or olive oil
- ½ tbsp butter
- 80 g (6 tbsp) unsalted butter or to taste
- 120 ml (½ cup) cream heavy / double cream
To serve
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro (coriander) to garnish
- chilli flakes (optional)
- salt and pepper to season to taste
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients for the curry paste into a mini chopper / blender and process until you have a paste.1 onion, 4 garlic cloves, 400 g (14oz ) canned tomatoes, 2 tbsp tomato paste, 1 tbsp fresh ginger, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground turmeric, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp cayenne
- Place the ground chicken, breadcrumbs, egg, curry powder, salt and two tablespoons of the curry paste you just prepared into a bowl. Mix really well then use a small cookie scoop to portion out 20-24 scoops of the meatball mixture.500 g (1 pound) ground chicken, 60 g (1 cup) Panko breadcrumbs, 1 egg, 1 tsp mild curry powder, 1 tsp salt
- Roll the meatballs in greased hands and roll in the Panko breadcrumbs to coat (<–– this bit is actually optional!).60 g (1 cup) Panko breadcrumbs
- Heat the oil and butter in a skillet. Pan fry the meatballs until golden on both sides, about 5-7 minutes. Set aside on a paper towel-lined plate and wipe the skillet clean.2 tbsp avocado oil, ½ tbsp butter
- Add a splash of oil to the pan and stir in the remaining curry paste. Pour the chicken broth into the skillet and bring to a simmer. Place the meatballs into the sauce, cover the pot and cook for about 10 minutes over low heat.
- Make some space in your pan (you may need to transfer the meatballs onto a plate) and stir in the butter and cream. Cook for a couple of minutes and then have a little taste of the heavenly sauce – add salt and pepper, if needed.80 g (6 tbsp) unsalted butter, 120 ml (½ cup) cream
- Garnish with plenty of chopped cilantro (coriander), a pinch of red pepper flakes and a final drizzling of cream. Serve over plain basmati rice or pilau rice with naan or flatbreads and swoon over the insane deliciousness of this simple dish!2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chilli flakes, salt and pepper to season
Notes
- Like most curries, butter chicken meatballs taste even better the next day, just make sure to store leftovers in an airtight container and you can heat them up in a microwave or in a saucepan.
- The curry paste can be prepared in advance and frozen to use whenever you like!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is always approximate, and will depend on quality of ingredients and serving sizes.
