Slow Cooker Butter Chicken (Paleo & Whole30)
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Let’s make Slow Cooker Butter Chicken! This paleo butter chicken recipe is so easy and delicious, it’s become one of the all-time most popular recipes on this site! You’ll want to slurp the sauce with a spoon. (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Paleo, Whole30)
Photos + post updated January 2021. Original post published October 2014.
Since they’re related to (and living with) a food blogger, my family is constantly eating a stream of new recipes. Some are winners that make it to the site, others are misses that send me back to the drawing board. Since we try to cut down on as much waste as possible, we eat almost everything I make for the blog. (Even most of the failures. Some failures just aren’t edible.) So it’s not super often that we repeat meals.
But some recipes are so good, they make it into the regular rotation and never leave. This Slow Cooker Paleo Butter chicken is one of those recipes. I first made this wayyy back in 2014 (when Milo was just 1!), and we’ve been making it on a regular basis ever since.
In the years since I first published this Slow Cooker Butter Chicken recipe, it’s become one of the most popular recipes on my site, has been featured around the internet, and was even been published in a magazine. I GET IT! It’s easy, it’s crazy delicious, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you licked your plate clean (been there!).
The sauce is velvety smooth (even without the traditional butter!), and it’s got a gorgeous flavor you’ll dream about after. Here’s what you need to get started…
Our Paleo Butter Chicken Recipe At A Glance:
Here’s What goes Into Our Slow Cooker Butter Chicken Recipe:
- CHICKEN BREAST OR CHICKEN THIGHS. You can make our paleo butter chicken with either boneless, skinless chicken breast or chicken thighs. Chicken breast is my go-to, though thighs can be less expensive and can stay even more moist (even with the longer cooking time).
- ONION + GARLIC + GINGER. This trio of aromatics adds TONS of flavor to our butter chicken sauce and sets the stage for all the layers of flavor we’ll build in. I love using frozen garlic + frozen ginger. The flavor is identical to fresh and there aren’t any additives! Next up, we have…
- WARM SPICES + SEASONINGS. The next layer of flavor comes from warm spices like cumin, cardamom, and coriander, along with some salt and a little cayenne (or not! It’s up to you!). The flavor and aroma is mouthwatering, and the cayenne gives *juuust* a little heat without making this super spicy. (Prefer it spicy? Add more!)
- TOMATO PASTE + CANNED COCONUT MILK. Tomato paste makes this sauce velvety smooth and stirs into the coconut milk like a dream. I beg, plead, and implore you to use full-fat coconut milk for this paleo butter chicken recipe! It gives the sauce such delicious texture (especially since we’re not using butter), and helps carry the flavors. You can even use coconut cream if you like, but I don’t recommend light coconut milk or refrigerated coconut milk for this recipe.
- A FEW FRESH FINISHES. Lastly, you’ll brighten up the dish by adding a squeeze of fresh lime juice and some fresh cilantro. It makes it look gorgeous and keeps the chicken cozy without feeling heavy.
What To Serve With Paleo Butter Chicken:
- RICE OR CAULIFLOWER RICE. I looove having something to soak up all that lovely sauce from the paleo butter chicken. Depending on your dietary needs, you can serve this with cauliflower rice or white rice. I love it either way! (Note: for Whole30 be sure you use cauliflower rice.)
- GREEN VEGGIES. Green veggies are a natural side dish pairing with our Slow Cooker Butter Chicken and we’ve made all kinds over the years. Simply cooked broccoli (steamed or roasted), some green beans, asparagus, zucchini… it’s all good! Pick your favorite and go to town!
- THAI CUCUMBER SALAD. We’re blurring lines cuisine-wise here, but one of my recent faves is to serve my Slow Cooker Paleo Butter Chicken with my Thai Cucumber Salad. The cool, crisp, refreshing flavors of the salad are a delightful pairing with the warm, creamy, rich sauce of the butter chicken.
- FRESH PINEAPPLE OR MANGO. Or, you can cool off your mouth with some cold fruit. Pineapple and mango are lovely, though you can certainly use whatever is in season or looks good at the market!
FAQ + Tips And Tricks For The Best Slow Cooker Paleo Butter Chicken:
CAN I JUST “DUMP-AND-GO”? Yes. If you are short on time, you can absolutely pour all the sauce ingredients into the crock of your slow cooker, give it a whisk to smooth it out, then add the chicken. I prefer starting the sauce on the stovetop as shown because the onions are more meltingly tender and the sauce is less likely to have any lumps, but LOTS (hundreds) of readers have successfully made this paleo butter chicken as dump-and-go recipe. You do you!
NEED A SLOW COOKER? If you’re in the market, we have two that we love. (#foodblogger). First up is this one. It’s programmable, and will automatically switch the heat to the WARM setting when it’s done. You can even use the included programmable thermometer so that the heat switches to warm as soon as it’s reached the right internal temperature (which means NEVER overcooking your meat). It also comes with a lid clip to keep the lid in place (which means no sloshing if you’re carting it to a friend’s house or potluck). Our other fave is this one (our exact color isn’t sold anymore, but it’s a similar model). It’s inexpensive, easy to use, and looks cute, too!
IS BUTTER CHICKEN SPICY? It can be, but isn’t always. You can control the heat here by adding more or less cayenne pepper. The amount I suggest starting with (1/4 tsp.) will add some warmth and mild heat, but I wouldn’t say it’s super spicy.
FYI: SOME SLOW COOKERS RUN HOT! I’ve had a few readers in the last few years (just 2-3) tell me their sauce burned a bit toward the end of the cook time. If you’re nervous, I suggest keeping an eye on it toward the end or try using the LOW setting instead of the HIGH setting.
Looking For More Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes? You might also like…
- Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Chili (Paleo + Whole30)
- Slow Cooker Chicken Curry (Paleo + Whole30)
- Slow Cooker Thai Chicken and Butternut Squash Soup
- Slow Cooker Paleo Beef Stew (Paleo + Whole30)
- Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala (Paleo + Whole30)
- Slow Cooker Pumpkin Taco Soup (Paleo + Whole30)
SHOP OUR FAVORITE TOOLS + INGREDIENTS FOR MAKING BUTTER CHICKEN:
Slow Cooker Butter Chicken (GF, DF, Paleo, Whole 30)
- Total Time: 3.5 hours
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Description
Slow Cooker Butter Chicken – This paleo butter chicken is so easy and delicious! It’s become one of the all-time most popular recipes on this site–you’ll want to slurp the sauce with a spoon! (Gluten Free, Paleo, Whole30)
Ingredients
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast (or chicken thighs)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 tsp coconut oil (or ghee)
- 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, finely minced
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp cardamom
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4–1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1 (14oz) can coconut milk (full fat, please)
- 1 (6oz) can tomato paste
- juice of 1/2 lime (about 1 Tbsp.)
- 1/4 cup cilantro, or to taste
Instructions
- In a medium saute pan, heat coconut oil over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent and fairly tender. Add garlic, ginger, spices, and salt. Cook 1 minute longer, till all the spices are fragrant and amazing. Stir in coconut milk and tomato paste and stir until well combined.
- Add chicken to the slow cooker. Pour sauce over everything.
- Cook on high heat for 3-4 hours or on low heat for 6-8 hours.
- Shred or dice chicken into the sauce, squeeze in lime juice, top with cilantro, and serve with your favorite vegetable, rice, or naan.
Notes
“DUMP & GO” DIRECTIONS: If you are short on time, you can pour all the sauce ingredients into the crock of your slow cooker, give it a whisk, then add the chicken and set it to cook.
- Prep Time: 15 Minutes
- Cook Time: 3-4 hours
- Category: Main Dish, Chicken
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: Indian, Indian-American
Hi Emily- This looks delicious! Going to give it a try this weekend 🙂 Question about your slow cooker -I’m in the market for a new one. Is yours programmable? I work 9 hour days and most recipes for slow cookers call for 6 hours of cook time. It’s a pain to run home mid morning to turn on the slow cooker. I know some have the option to set the time to being cooking and was wondering if this one has that feature? Thanks!
This one is GREAT! I’m actually so in love with it I’m doing a giveaway later this month. It’s programmable, which I love, and you can set it to delay the cook time, or to switch from your cooking temperature to warming when it’s finished. It even has a probe thermometer you can use to switch to “warm” when your meat reaches the right temperature. I love it, and I’d highly recommend it.
Thanks! Hope you’re having a good week : )
Can I replace the coconut milk with flax milk? My son is allergic to nuts. Thx
Lindsay – You probably can! Since flax milk is so much thinner, it will just be slightly thinner and less creamy at the end of the cook time. You can try to add less milk to compensate for this, but you’ll want to be sure not to overcook it, since with less liquid it’d be more likely to scorch. Hope you guys love it!
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This is going on my next menu. I am so glad you introduced me to cardamom. It is now my favorite, and I want perfume that smells like chai spice.
Maybe we could add this to our menu plan while you are here… 🙂 Yes, Please!
I made this and it is AMAZING!!! Even my non-paleo, grain addicted boyfriend said it was the best butter chicken he has ever had!
Hoping for many more easy recipes like this 🙂
Thank you
I’m so glad you liked it! We can’t get enough!
I’m not on a paleo diet either, but this is my favorite new recipe for the slow cooker. BTW a Crockpot trick I learned from a friend who cooks a lot: just drop in a whole bulb of garlic (only the papery outer layer needs to be removed) and it will release its flavor without chopping or mincing.
I’ll have to try that! It sounds genius!
Made this tonight and it really is delicious! Warm and yummy spices but not too spicy for my toddlers. Couldn’t be easier and love the healthier variation of a classic that is normally filled with butter and cream. Thanks!!
I’m SO glad you and your family enjoyed it!
I’m looking forward to eating this with my family tonight. It’s smelling so good! I added a little garam masala as I had some in my spice drawer. Great recipe, thanks!
Yum! We’re making it tomorrow night! It’s one of our very favorites. We make it over and over!
This recipe was absolutely amazing, and so easy to make! It’s one of my go to chicken recipes 🙂
I’m so glad you liked it Marisa! We just made it again last week and it’s ALWAYS a favorite. I love it!
A lot of recipes call for adding coconut milk at end, heating before serving. Do you find that coconut milk cooks out in slowcooker at all? Can’t wait to try this recipe out!
I haven’t noticed any loss in flavor or texture by adding it at the beginning. Hope you love it!
Thank you for a GF/DF Butter Chicken. One of my favourite dishes but with a dairy/gluten intolerant child, it’s been off the menu. As for the slow cooker, I have the same one. It’s fantastic. I don’t have to be on a 4 or 8 hour schedule! It’s easy to use and easy to clean.
It’s just the best, isn’t it!?
Would this work if I double it? I have a 6 or 7 quart slow cooker. Thanks.
Jen – absolutely! I love doubling it.
When you double it, do you double everything? Or just the chicken? Thanks!
I double everything because I LOVE the sauce!
Made this today and it was delicious! This was a hit with my partner and 1.5 year old toddler, it was fully of tasty flavours but not too spicy for my daughter (I added 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper). It was really easy to make and being dairy and gluten intolerant, I am grateful for this version of the recipe. Thank you!
Oh, I’m so glad you liked it! It’s one of my favorite meals of all time!
Thought I was ready to try this but forgot the tomato paste! Looks yummy…how do Ienter to win the slow cooker?
Donna – The slow cooker giveaway was last year. I’m so sorry!
My sauce fell apart badly in the crockpot. Some parts burnt, some parts thin with juice and others with skin. I wonder if anyone’s had that problem? I was thinking next time I might reserve 1/2-2/3 and pour it over when done.
Oh dear! I wonder if it cooked a little too long? Some slow cookers run hot and perhaps it scorched your sauce? In my experience, if I leave it too long, I can usually sort it out by adding 1/4c water and stirring everything back together.
Is precooking the sauce totally necessary or could this easily be changed into a dump and go recipe?
Courtney – I prefer the texture of the onions when you precook the sauce and find that the spices mix together best when I whisk them into the tomato paste and coconut milk mixture. I’m sure you could dump and go, though you might want to at least whisk up the sauce ingredients first so you don’t have chunks of tomato paste or spices that scorch.
I’ve made the recipe both ways, as written and a “dump and go “. Both turn out well, but the original is a little more tasty I’m my opinion.
I agree! It’s my favorite way, too.
I did the dump-and-go method and it was delicious.
Oh good! I’m glad to hear that!