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A warming bowl of wholesome, Creamy Butternut Squash Butter Chicken. Indian-inspired butter chicken made with seasonal butternut squash, warmings spices, and creamy coconut milk. This dish is quick to make, cozy, wonderfully spicy – but not too spicy, and filled with warming Indian flavor. Complete each bowl with steamed rice and serve with fresh naan. And the leftovers the next day? They are even more delicious!
With two new butternut squash recipes this week, I think it’s safe to say I’m really enjoying the fall squash. Promise I have dishes with spaghetti squash, acorn squash, and yes, definitely pumpkin (both savory and sweet) coming soon. But this week it’s butternut squash!
I think most of you that read daily know of my family’s love for Indian-inspired dinners. Creighton, my oldest brother, who I find myself cooking for the most, is consistently requesting butter chicken. It’s one of his favorite dinners to order out and eat in.
The idea for this dish came with my urge to switch up a dinner that I consistently turn to in the fall. How could I add something new? Something yummy for fall?
Immediately I thought about how delicious butternut squash would be in a creamy butter curry sauce. I knew the squash could melt into the sauce making it even creamier, while also adding a sweetness that really pairs nicely with the spices.
It turned out so good. Creighton’s not in town right now, but I’m excited to make this for him as soon as he gets back. I sent photos his way via text, and trust me, he’s wishing he was here.
Here are the details
The beauty of this recipe is how simple it is to throw together. It’s made from start to finish in one skillet on the stove and ready in under an hour.
You’ll want to start with the chicken. Just like a traditional butter chicken recipe, we’re first tossing the chicken with yogurt and spices. But instead of marinating overnight, I found that a quick 5 to 10 minute rest in the spices was really enough to do the trick.
While the chicken is sitting, I like to start in on the prep for everything else. Chop the onion, garlic, and ginger, grab that coconut milk and tomato paste, and get everything for the remainder of the recipe ready to go.
If you need to chop up your butternut squash, now is the time to do that! I will say that for convenience, you can use pre-cut butternut squash or frozen cubes. Both work wonderfully and will save you a lot of hands-on prep time.
When I have all the remaining ingredients prepped and ready for cooking, I sear the chicken with olive oil. The next step is key, add a couple of tablespoons of butter. Then allow the butter to brown around the chicken. This will really help to flavor the sauce.
To that same skillet, add the onion, butternut squash, and all of those remaining spices. Because we are using butternut squash, I didn’t want the tomato paste to overpower the flavor. So I reduced the amount of tomato paste that I’d normally use. Now, instead of the sauce being tomato based, it’s butternut squash based!
Stir in the coconut milk, or if you don’t enjoy coconut milk, use cream. Either is delicious. The coconut milk does add a special touch and keeps the curry dairy-free, minus the butter.
Allow the sauce to simmer and thicken around the squash and chicken. As the curry slowly cooks, the squash melts into the sauce. The sauce becomes creamy and buttery without having to add actual cream.
I like to serve this pretty traditionally, over steamed rice with fresh naan for scooping up the creamy, coconutty sauce. Absolutely DELICIOUS. You can’t skip the naan either. We love it so much that it’s reason enough to make this cozy fall version of butter chicken.
Looking for other Indian-inspired dinners? Here are my favorites:
Coconut Curry Salmon with Garlic Butter
30 Minute Spicy Indian Butter Chicken
30 Minute Butter Chicken Meatballs
Super Simple Coconut Chicken Tikka Masala
Gingery Coconut Sweet Potato and Rice Stew with Chili Oil
Lastly, if you make this Creamy Butternut Squash 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!
Creamy Butternut Squash Butter Chicken
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 499 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts/thighs, cut into bite-size chunks
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper, use to taste
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 2 cups cubed butternut squash
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
- 1-2 teaspoons chili flakes, use to taste
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 (14 ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
Instructions
- 1. in a bowl, toss together the chicken, yogurt, 2 teaspoons garam masala, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 1/2 – 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, and 1 teaspoon salt. Let sit 5-10 minutes.2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and sear on both sides until browned, about 2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and toss to coat the chicken. Remove the chicken from the skillet to a plate.3. To the skillet, add the onion and butternut squash, tossing with the butter in the skillet. Cook 5 minutes, until softened. Add 2 tablespoons butter, the garlic, ginger, 1 tablespoon garam masala, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 1/2 – 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, paprika, and the chili flakes. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and continue cooking another 3-4 minutes.4. Reduce the heat to low. Add 1 cup water and the coconut milk. Stir to combine, bring the sauce to a simmer, cook 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly. If the sauce seems too thick, thin with 1/2 to 1 cup additional coconut milk. Add the chicken and any juices in the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro. Season with salt and pepper.5. Serve the chicken, squash, and sauce over bowls of rice with fresh naan. Enjoy!
I love this recipe , just realized I don’t have Greek yogurt though. Anything else that would work instead ?
Thanks!
Hey Lexie,
Thanks so much for making this recipe!! Sour cream would also work nicely in place of the greek yogurt. xx
Would you be willing to include cholesterol in your nutritional facts? 😊
Hi Andi,
It’s definitely something we can consider for the future. Thanks for sharing your feedback! xx
Can you substitute regular milk for the coconut milk?
Hi Eric,
Yes, that would be just fine for you to do! I hope you love this recipe! xT
Another winner!! This has to be my favorite fall recipe I have made yet this season. 🍁
Thanks so much, Ashley! So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you! I appreciate you giving it a try! 🎃 xXT
This one was sooo good! Like restaurant quality good, and I’m picky!! Thank you!!
Hey Eileen,
Wonderful! So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for trying it! Have the best autumn weekend! xT
Really delicious. The butternut squash took longer than expected to soften but I’m not sure if that’s because I did not add enough butter. Thanks for this tasty recipe!
Hey Millie,
Yay! So glad to hear this dish turned out well for you, thanks for trying it! Have a great day! Xx
Can you freeze this? Thanks
Hey Jayne,
Totally, that will work well for you! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
This is the Perfect Fall meal. I made it with bone-in chicken thighs, increasing the cooking time and checking with a meat thermometer. It was delicious. I loved the use of spices, especially Garam Marsala. One we don’t use as often.
Hey Kym,
Wonderful! So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! xT
This was amazing! Made it for friends.
Hey Christy,
So glad to hear this! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try and sharing your comment! xT
My family loved your crockpot basil butter chicken, but I want to try this version for them next. Would I be able to do it in the crockpot as well?
Thanks so much, Evan!! Totally, this would be a great dish to make in the crockpot, you could basically follow the same directions. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Tried this with gnocchi instead of rice because my kiddos don’t like rice and I loved it!
Hey Heidi,
Fantastic! So glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! Have the best week! x
This was delicious! Thanks so much for sharing this. These spices together were perfect. I was just trying to use up a butternut squash and found you here. I can’t help but tweak recipes as I go…so I doubled the garlic, doubled the ginger, added lime leaves, added 1/2 cup of cashews, and then topped with Greek yogurt. Will definitely be making this again and passing along the recipe. Thanks!
Hey Nancy,
Fantastic! Love to hear that this dish was enjoyed, I appreciate you making it and your comment! Xx
This was really tasty and pretty easy to make. I used chicken breast because that’s what I had on hand and threw in a couple handfuls of fresh chopped spinach for color. The result was smooth and rich tasting … like it had simmered for hours. I will definitely be adding this recipe to my repertoire. Thanks, Tieghan for a real winner!
Hey Barbra,
Happy Sunday! I’m so glad to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks for trying it out! xT
REALLY enjoyed this recipe, thank you, and have placed it on my menu rotation.
Hi Sherry,
Happy Monday! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a go and your comment! Love to hear that it turned out well:)
We made it and added chickpeas and a 1/3 more butternut squash. We enjoyed it and will make it again!
Hi Douglas,
Awesome! So glad to hear you enjoyed this dish, thanks a lot for trying it! xT
Wow- I was surprised how good this was. Delish and a great way to sneak veggies in!
Thanks so much Kaitlyn!! Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for trying it! xT
This is one of my go to recipes now and I add in green beans or Kale or whatever greens need to be used up. Yum. Thanks for another winner!
Hey Alanna,
Happy Sunday! Thanks so much for making this recipe so often:) So glad it always turns out nicely for you! x