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Almost effortless, One Pan Sesame Pumpkin Butter Chicken – Indian inspired butter chicken made with plenty of spice, creamy coconut milk, pumpkin, extra chili butter, and even some sesame seeds too. Incredibly delicious comfort food made at home. Finish each serving with steamed rice and serve with warm, buttered naan. You’ll have the perfect dinner that can be enjoyed any night of the week. This meal is quickly made all in one dish. Just bake, serve, and enjoy – easy peasy!
As we inch deeper into fall, our weather is steadily getting cooler, and the days are already becoming so much shorter! Halloween is almost here, then suddenly, we’re in the coziest season of the year!
Things are always busy, but this time of year is especially crazy (in the best way)! With the sun setting early, time in the kitchen is limited, leaving even less time to create a decent meal after work.
Because of this, anything I can throw in the crockpot or slow cook in the oven is on my radar! This pumpkin curry fits the mold and mood of the season perfectly!
The entire curry is mixed and baked all in the same dish. It’s hard to beat that!
These are the Details
Ingredients
- chicken
- yogurt
- garlic
- ginger
- garam masala
- cumin
- turmeric
- cayenne
- salted butter
- onion
- coconut milk
- tomato paste
- canned pumpkin
- sesame seeds
- cilantro
- chili flakes
- paprika
Tools from The Kitchen
A baking dish is all you need!
The steps
Step 1: season the chicken
For this dish, I use boneless, skinless chicken thighs and breasts. My mom loves chicken breasts, but my brother loves thighs. You can use either or both, but make sure to use similar sizes. Personally, I think a mix works best, but use what you and your family enjoy most.
In a baking dish, toss the chicken with yogurt and add plenty of garlic and fresh ginger. Then, add all of the spices: garam masala, cumin, turmeric, and cayenne. Use the cayenne to your taste—I used 2 teaspoons, but we like things spicy over here! Again, use what works best for you.
If time allows, you can marinate the chicken for 30 minutes or overnight. If you’re in a time crunch, just start cooking. I’ve now made this both ways, and there’s not a huge difference.
Step 2: add the pumpkin and everything else
Now, the pumpkin! I used a can of pumpkin puree, it’s so delicious in a spiced curry like this. Honestly, I’d make this with pumpkin all year round simply because it’s just better. The sweetness from the pumpkin complements the spices.
Top the chicken with chopped onion. Pour over a can of coconut milk, add the tomato paste and pumpkin, and mix it all together until you have a very creamy sauce. Oh, and season with a little salt too.
Add thin slices of cold salted butter and sprinkle over the sesame seeds.
Step 3: baking
Bake anywhere from 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken.
The chicken comes out with some butter on top, but underneath is a very creamy, very delicious pumpkin sauce.
Step 4: serve
I don’t think you can serve this without rice (in notes) and warm naan. I certainly recommend making both!
The chili butter is extra, but if you love spicy food, we think it’s delicious!!
Leftovers and Freezing
This dish gets better once the sauce sits, so leftovers tend to be even more delicious!
This is also a great meal to freeze. I currently have a batch in my freezer that I know will be gone before I get home! My family is planning to thaw and enjoy it this week!
Looking for other fall dinners? Here are my favorites:
30 Minute Butter Chicken Meatballs
Super Simple Coconut Chicken Tikka Masala
Gingery Coconut Sweet Potato and Rice Stew with Chili Oil
30 Minute Spicy Indian Butter Chicken
Crockpot Creamy Coconut Chicken Tikka Masala
Lastly, if you make this One Pan Sesame Pumpkin Butter Chicken, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
One Pan Sesame Butter Pumpkin Chicken
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 600 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds small boneless chicken breasts or thighs
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
- 2 tablespoons garam masala
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (use to your taste)
- salt and black pepper
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 1 can full-fat coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3/4 cup canned pumpkin
- 2 tablespoons cold salted butter, sliced
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- steamed rice and naan, for serving
Chili Butter (optional)
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 teaspoons chili flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- 1. In a baking dish, toss together the chicken, yogurt, garlic, ginger, garam masala, cumin, turmeric, cayenne pepper, and 1 teaspoon salt. Let sit 5 minutes.2. Preheat the oven to 400°.3. To the chicken, add the onion, then pour over the coconut milk. Add the tomato paste and canned pumpkin. Stir until creamy and well mixed. Arrange the butter slices over the chicken. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Top with cilantro.4. Meanwhile, melt the butter, chili flakes, and paprika together. Cook until the butter browns, and then remove from the heat.5. Serve the chicken and sauce over bowls of rice with chili butter and naan. Enjoy!
Notes
Coconut Rice: Combine 1 can (14 ounces) of coconut milk and 1/2 cup water in a medium pot. Bring to a low boil. Add 1 cup basmati rice and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine, cover, then turn the heat down to the lowest setting possible. Allow the rice to cook for 10 minutes on low, then turn the heat off completely and let the rice sit, covered for another 15-20 minutes (don't take any peeks inside!). Remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork
Wow! This is such an incredibly easy, delicious recipe. I marinated 4 chicken breasts overnight (step 1) and the meat was super flavorful and moist. My entire family RAVED!!!!
Hi Sue,
Happy Holidays!🎄🎁☃️ Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I’m so glad to hear it turned out well! XxT
Hi! I’m excited to make this recipe! I saw some comments about the butter and I’m still confused by your comments on them. You have listed in the ingredients section:
-4 tablespoons salted butter
-2 tablespoons cold salted butter, sliced (placed on top of the chicken mixture)
-3 tablespoons salted butter (for the optional chili butter)
There is nowhere in the instructions where it mentions the 4 tablespoons salted butter. Does that go in with the mixture of the coconut milk, tomato paste & pumpkin? Thank you!
Hi Nicole,
Sorry for any confusion, you can add the 4T with the 2T in step 3 when you arrange the slices over the chicken. I hope this helps! Enjoy the recipe! xx
This recipe is delicious! I plan on making it and freezing a batch. Do you cook the chicken and everything before freezing?
Hi Grace,
You bet, you can fully make the entire recipe and then freeze. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
This was yummy and easy! I live for a one pot recipe. It did come out of the oven looking a bit oily but don’t let that scare you. Would definitely make again
Thanks so much, Natasha! I’m so glad you enjoyed this dish and appreciate you making it! Have the best day! xx
Made this tonight for dinner and it was delicious! Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Elise,
Happy Sunday!! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, thank you so much for making it and your feedback! xx
I made this last night, and the outcome was ultimately that it was delicious and my family greatly enjoyed it. However, I had to do a bit of rescuing, as at the end of cooking the chicken looked to be swimming in a very watery liquid. Perhaps some canned pumpkin is more watery than others? I drained off the liquid into a saucepan and boiled it down, and then poured it back over the chicken. As I say, it was actually yummy, but not sure that extra step in the process would make me turn to it again over other recipes.
Hi Lisa,
Thanks so much for trying this dish and sharing your feedback! Glad to hear it was enjoyed, sorry for any extra liquid! xx
Loved this – super easy to make. I’d mix all of the sauce ingredients first and pour everything over the chicken instead of doing the steps described above.
Hey Jelica,
Happy Sunday!🍂🍁 Thanks a lot for trying this recipe and your comment, love to hear it turned out well! x
OH MY WORD this was one of the best things I’ve made and I can make a lot of good things…I’m terrible at following recipes to a T and it still came out absolutely sooo good. It was a very easy and quick recipe so thank you for sharing!!
Hi Holly,
Awesome!! So glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed. I appreciate you giving it a try and your feedback! Have the best day! XxT
I made this up real quick in between all the runnings for hockey and cheer tonight for my kiddos and it was so delicious came together really fast I prepared and had all the ingredients ready to go before hand and everyone ate it and loved it so thank you thank you!
Hey Rebekah,
Awesome!! So glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed by your family. I appreciate you giving it a try and your feedback! Have the best day! XxT
Sorry, I accidentally commented (again, it turns out!) on a similar recipe without the pumpkin, which I thought was excellent in this one. This is what I said, actually intended for this recipe: Another very spicy and delicious dish! The one thing I changed was mixing the chicken and all those ingredients in the baking dish; they were hard enough to mix well in the large bowl I used, especially because of the inclusion of the chicken breasts. In any case, we loved it, and I’m sure I’ll be making it again (my way ;-)).
Hey Helen,
Happy November!! Thank you so much for trying this dish and sharing your feedback! Glad to hear it was a hit! 🍂
Can you please clarify on the butter? It is listed three separate times in the ingredients list but only mentioned two separate times in the instructions. Unless I am misreading… Want to make sure I don’t miss anything 🙂
Hi Annette,
You are going to use 6 tablespoons of butter in step 3 and 3 tablespoons of butter in step 4. I hope this helps! xT
might be worth redoing the ingredients list though, she’s right, that reads confusingly, it should say 6 tbsp and then 3 tbsp, not 4 + 2 + 3
How much butter for step 4?
Hi Alyssa,
It’s 3 tablespoons of butter. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Made this for a fall girls night with chicken breast – turned out awesome!
Hey Lisa,
Wonderful! So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for trying it! Have the best autumn weekend! xT
This was very yummy! I’ve already sent it to several friends.
Hey Bre,
Wonderful! So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for trying it! Have the best autumn weekend! xT
Could you omit the Greek yogurt if you wanted to make this dairy free?
Hi Grace,
I would just use a dairy free yogurt, that will work nicely for you! I hope you love this recipe! xT
Flavour was really yummy but chicken was a little dry (I made it with breasts) so maybe a little less cooking time in the oven.
Overall was a nice, hands off, curry though!
Hey Grace,
Thank you so much for trying this recipe and your feedback! So glad to hear it was enjoyed! Sorry it was overcooked, I would just reduce the bake time next time with breasts! xx
Hi could I bake this in a Pyrex 9×13 (glass dish)? Would I just need to bake it longer?
Hi Jen,
Sure, that would be just fine for you to do! I hope you love this recipe! Have a great Friday! xT