I developed this Butter Chicken recipe when I was running my children’s school tuckshop. While there are many more elaborate and authentic recipes out there, I can tell you that it has been our tuckshop’s bestseller for years now. It is buttery smooth, flavoursome without being too spicy and caters for several dietaries.
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The most important aspect (besides the taste, of course) is that this Butter Chicken recipe is 100% gluten, nut and dairy free. It can be adjusted to be vegan and low FODMAP, and there’s even a nightshade free version. Yes, it is high in saturated fats, just like the original version using cream and butter, but let’s look at what that actually means for our health.
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What’s So Special About This Butter Chicken?
I know our school community has been waiting for me to publish this! So many children have voted my Butter Chicken their favourite tuckshop meal because it is so saucy and full of flavour yet not too spicy. My personal excitement circles around being able to provide one of the five serves of vegetables we’re supposed to consume daily in just one small children’s meal!
The vegan version came about because half of my family is vegetarian/vegan. I, therefore, had to find a chicken substitute that, ideally, resembles the texture and nutritional profile of chicken. In the beginning I made the crispy tofu chicken alternative by Nora Cook. It’s very good! However, these days I use homemade lentil tofu or simply tofu which in my opinion offers a similar texture and great taste.
The Ingredients
Some people don’t like hiding vegetables. I don’t mind tricking my children occasionally: it get’s them used to the taste and once they’re hooked I tell them the truth. It works for us but you do you.
- Chicken Thigh. You can use chicken breast but it’ll be less juicy and tender. Vegetarians and vegans best use tofu (check out my delicious homemade lentil tofu here) or Nora Cooks chicken version (https://www.noracooks.com/vegan-butter-chicken).
- Pumpkin. I tend to use Kent pumpkin but butternut will work too.
- Onions & Garlic. Omit if your allergic to onions. If you are on a low FODMAP diet, use dark green leek tops instead.
- Carrots.
- Cauliflower.
- Sweet Potato. If you follow the SCD (specific carbohydrate diet), replace with pumpkin or carrots.
- Zucchini. If you feel your family gets the ick about little green specs in the sauce, simply peel the zucchini before chopping them.
- Coconut Cream or Milk. The best, creamiest consistency is achieved with coconut cream. You can go with coconut milk or light coconut milk if you are worried about the fat content, however, it will make your sauce runnier and more watery.
- Tomato Paste & Passata. Use our Nomato Sauce if you’re avoiding nightshades.
- Extra Virgin Coconut Oil. Don’t worry about the curry having a coconutty flavour. Big promise you won’t notice it.
- Curry Powder, Garam Masala, Ground Ginger, Turmeric, Coriander. These make all the difference! If you react to nightshades, don’t use curry powder or make your own without chili. For low FODMAP and allium allergy check that the curry and Garam Masala powder does not contain onions or garlic.
- Sea or Rock Salt.
Are saturated fats good or bad for you?
Many governmental and medical intuitions continue to promote the message that saturated fats are unhealthy and that their consumption contributes to heart disease. Dozens of large reviews from the past two decades have disproven a distinct connection. Saturated fats are not bad for your health! But before we go there, lets revisit where this belief stems from.
The history of the Diet-Heart hypothesis
In the 1950s, physiologist Ancel Keys linked the consumption of saturated fats (fatty meat/dairy as well as eggs and coconut oil) to the risk of developing heart disease. He proved his assumptions with the famous Seven Countries study which went viral (as we’d say these days) and impacted dietary advice for the next 50+ years. Unfortunately, Keys study contained major flaws:
- It focused only on countries expected to show harm from saturated fat, excluding places like fat-loving France with low heart-disease rates.
- The dietary habits of just a few dozen people per country were used. In some cases that included people under unusual circumstances (religious fasting).
- .Keys’s study hinted at an association between heart disease and saturated fat consumption but failed to demonstrate cause or correlation.
Why does the misconception persist?
The diet-heart hypothesis took root in an era where clinical research and evidence wasn’t as regulated and numerous as it is today. This, together with historical events and the simple narrative: “Saturated fat is bad.” allowed the message to stick. And while many studies successfully challenged Keys hypothesis, their findings were long sidelined as policies and guidelines continued to lag behind scientific shifts. In the end, it needed investigative journalism to shine light of the topic to bring on a shift in understanding and nutritional guidance.
What does this mean for saturated fats?
Fast forward to today, and dozens of large reviews have gone back over all the evidence. The conclusion? Saturated fat doesn’t increase your risk of heart disease or shorten your life. In fact, the science has moved on — it’s just that public health guidelines and old habits haven’t quite caught up yet.
So what does this mean for you? It means you can stop fearing every spoonful of butter or coconut milk. Whole foods that naturally contain saturated fat can absolutely be part of a healthy diet — especially when they replace ultra-processed foods. Instead of focusing on cutting fat at all costs, we now know it’s far more important to enjoy real, nourishing foods that make you feel good and bring joy to your table.
How To Adjust For Allergies And Intolerances
The dish is naturally dairy and egg free, contains no gluten and no nuts (in many traditional recipes ground cashews are often used to thicken the sauce and make it more creamy). But it does obviously contain meat, foods high in FODMAPS and lots of nightshade plants.
Make It Vegetarian/Vegan
I have made this curry many times and it’s so easy to make it vegetarian/vegan. Simply replaced the chicken with chickpeas, fried lentil tofu or soy tofu. A great tip: boil tofu chunks in salty water for about 5 minutes to transform its texture. You’ll be surprised!
Low FODMAP Adjustments
You generally should be fine with this recipe if you omit or replace the onion and garlic in this recipe. To be on the safe side, go light on the sauce. Too much pumpkin, sweet potato, zucchini, coconut cream and tomato based products may cause issues. However, one small portion will be within the acceptable range.
Allium (Onion/Garlic) Allergy Version
Simply omit the onion and garlic, or you may choose to replace the onion with carrots or red capsicum instead.
Nightshade Free Butter Chicken
Replace the tomato paste and passata with our Nomato Sauce. That’s easy! Please pay your attention to your curry and Garam Masala powder. Curry powder generally contains chilli and Garam Masala may have traces of it too, sometimes.
Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)
The only thing you have to avoid in this recipe are the sweet potatoes. Just replace with more pumpkin. Please also check the coconut milk (the brand Ayam is perfect) and spice mixes for fillers.
Step-by-Step Cooking Guide
This curry is cooked so incredibly fast! Thirty minutes tops. If you have a food processor to chop your veggies, you’ll save even more time. I highly recommend the Ninja food processor or the Ninja Detect Kitchen System which includes several mixers/blenders.
STEP 1 – Peel and finely dice the vegetables. The smaller the better; using a food processor will further cut down your cooking time.
STEP 2 – Add coconut oil to a large pan, pot or wok and gently fry the veggies until tender.
STEP 3 – Once the vegetables have cooked down and slightly caramelised, add the coconut cream, tomato paste, passata (use Nomato Sauce for nightshade allergy) and spices.
STEP 4 – Simmer until fragrant. If you prefer the sauce to be smooth, use a food processor or stick mixer to blend the mixture until it has the desired consistency.
STEP 5 – In the meantime, a separate pan, add the diced chicken thigh with a little coconut oil.
STEP 6 – Fry until the juices have released and you can no longer see raw meat.
STEP 5 – Add the sauce to the chicken. Leave to simmer for 15 minutes until the meat is fully cooked and the curry steaming hot. Meanwhile, boil the rice and prepare your vegetable sides.
STEP 6 – Add salt and pepper to taste and serve with rice. Adding some coriander and peas provides even more fibre, beneficial nutrients and some colour. Enjoy!
Expert Tips & Common Questions
While chicken thigh is lower in protein and higher in fat, it is much more flavoursome, higher in iron and zinc. To further soften the meat, massage 1 tsp of bicarb soda into the chicken flesh and let it rest for 10-15 minutes. Rinse thoroughly before beginning the cooking process.
You definitely can if you plan ahead. It does elevate the chicken taste for sure. Marinate the meat for 12 hours in the above spices and a little coconut cream. Then cook as described in the recipe, but omit adding more spices to the gravy.
If you are not allergic to nuts, fine grind 1/3 cup (50g) of raw cashews and stir under the sauce. If you cater for a nut allergy, add more steamed vegetables. You may have to up the spices in this case.
You can keep it in the fridge for around 3 days and freeze it for three months.
Help Me Spread Healthy Deliciousness!
You being here means so much to me! I hope you like the recipe and enjoy learning a bit more about how we best fuel our bodies. No matter the dietary restriction.
Can you please do me a favour? If you like this recipe, please also try my other recipes, rate and comment. Feel free to ask me any questions in the comments.
Watch How To Make This Recipe
Amazing Allergy-Friendly Butter Chicken
Equipment
- Food Processor ideally
- 1-2 Large Pot(s)
- Air Fryer or Oven ideally for vegan recipe version
Ingredients
Hidden Vegetable Sauce Base
- 125 g Pumpkin
- 75 g Carrots
- 75 g Sweet Potato (replace with pumpkin to reduce starch)
- 100 g Zucchini (peel if you have a super fuzzy child)
- 125 g Cauliflower
- 100 g Brown Onion (omit if allium intolerant or replace with carrot or red capsicum)
- 1-2 cloves Garlic (omit allium intolerant)
- 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
Sauce
- 140 g Tomato Paste (omit if nightshade intolerant – see notes)
- 175 g Passata (3/4 cup) (omit if nightshade intolerant – see notes)
- 1 tin Coconut Cream (400g)
- 1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
- 1/2 tsp Ground Turmeric
- 1/2 tsp Ground Coriander
- 1 tbsp Garam Masala
- 1 tbsp Curry Powder
- 1/2-1 tsp Sea Salt
- Pepper
Chicken
- 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
- 1000 g Chicken Thigh, chopped
Vegan "Chicken"
- 2 tbsp MCT Oil or Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, melted
- 3 tbsp Corn Starch (GF) (use 2tbsp of coconut flour for low arb/low starch)
- 500 g tofu (if allergic to soy, see notes)
- salt, pepper
Video
Instructions
- Peel (if necessary) the vegetables and cut into small chuncks. Place them into a food processor and process into a large crumb.
- Add the coconut oil to a pot and gently fry the coarsely chopped vegetables until soft.
- Now add all the sauce ingredients and spices and gently boil for about 15 minutes until all the vegetables are soft.
- In the meantime cut the chicken thighs into small chunks and fry in coconut oil until slightly browned and just cooked through. If serving with basmati or jasmin riuce, boil your rice now.
- Add the additional coconut oil (this is potional but will create that buttery mouthfeel of traditional butter chicken recipes) to the sauce. Puree the sauce super smooth or leave as it.
- Add the sauce to the fried chicken or, if doing the vegan version, add the vegan chicken chunks to the sauce.NOTE: if adding the vegan chicken chunks to the sauce, you may want to add some chicken or vegetable broth as the chunks will thichen the sauce.
