Mouthwatering Keto-Friendly Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)

An easy, full-flavored Butter Chicken recipe that allows you to stay on your keto journey whilst enjoying restaurant quality food! Try this mouth-watering keto friendly butter chicken today.

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When I first started keto, as with many people, I ended up eating the same meals over and over again.

There were a few dishes that I was confident were low in carbs and keto-friendly.

Indian food was not something that I had considered would be keto, then I found this amazing keto-friendly butter chicken.

Keto Friendly Butter Chicken [Winner!]

The first meal I ate out after going keto was at the local Indian with the girls. Determined to stay on track I did a lot of research into keto Indian meals and ingredients.

Butter chicken was a winner in my research with chicken tikka coming a close second. ?

This is the perfect keto dish as it is naturally high in fatty ingredients and it is traditionally cooked in ghee with cream being the thickening agent it does not use any flower so the carbs are already at a minimum.

At this point none of my friends knew I was on keto – I was not ready for the criticism and health warnings that I thought I would get from them.

Although I was already seeing amazing results only a couple of weeks into keto, I did not have the conviction to hold an argument with my friends over this.

Now I would happily defend my position on keto– I’m convinced that I would win every time, and if I didn’t, I’m happy so who cares!

Keto Indian Side Dishes

In order to try and ditch the carbs, I didn’t order a side of rice but instead a side of saag aloo…cunningly I only ate the spinach and avoided the potato… the best bit? – I got away with it!

Nobody noticed that I’d avoided actively eating carbs on my meal.

Instead of the usual beer that I would have had with the Indian, I swapped that out for gin.

Check out this article for more on drinking alcohol on keto.

The night was a massive success, we had an amazing night with lots of laughs and even better we ended up dancing the night away to a local band.

This night was a real deal changer for me – this night out proved to me that that keto could become a way of life for me, and as any of you that follow me know, I haven’t looked back since.

Indian Food You Can Eat On Keto

I’ve always tried to cook Indian meals at home, however, prior to this, they had always been from the point of view of trying to minimize calories.

I would use low-fat yogurt and cooking spray as opposed to oil, etc.

Having discovered keto, a whole new world was opened up to me.

I started researching recipes and worked out how they could be made keto-friendly by substituting a minimum number of ingredients in order to keep their authentic taste.

Tikka masalas and tandoori dishes are always a go too for me. Indian is one of the easiest takeaway/ restaurant eating on keto.

Keto friendly Indian food is a reality.

You don’t just have to be eating out. Indian can be really easy to cook at home, it can be prepared in advance and often left in the slow cooker, meaning it can be ready for you as you get home.  

Ghee On Keto

A lot of Indian cooking uses ghee (a form of butter) as the base of most Indian recipes. Ghee is high in fat, low in carbs and therefore is keto-friendly.

Ghee is basically highly condensed butter, therefore, is amazing in a keto way of eating.

Ghee has a number of health benefits including; boosting energy, reduces inflammation, high in antioxidants, boosting the immune system amongst other things.

Himalayan Butter Chicken [Authentic Taste]

Fresh ingredients do provide a more authentic taste, but let’s be realistic, we don’t always have the time to do that.

Sometimes food needs to be thrown together quickly with minimum effort of grating, shredding, and mincing.

However, if you do have the time, I would suggest trying this sometime with all the fresh ingredients, but who am I kidding, this keto butter chicken it’s gorgeously made anyway.

What I love about this dish is its versatility – you can make it in advance if you want.

Ideally, the marinade can be made the night before and left in the fridge in order for the flavors to develop.

Also, this keto butter chicken freezes really well providing you with a yummy dinner in no time at all if you’re in a rush – or perfect to pack up for a lunch at work.

Chicken Thighs Or Breast?

Personally, I like this dish with chicken thighs as they just add that extra meaty and juicy flavor.

What I also love is that if I’m trying to have a meat-free week the sauce works amazingly over cauliflower or any other low carb vegetables of choice. 

Speaking of the sauce – this can also be made in advance. 

If I know I’m going to be late home the next day I will leave the chicken in the fridge marinating overnight and I will throw all of the sauce ingredients (minus the cream and the onion) and blitz all of the ingredients up in the NutriBullet – I will leave this in the fridge.

When I get in all I have to do is cook the chicken, fry off the onions and add the sauce – simple!  

Have you tried this Keto-Friendly Butter Chicken, or have another recipe you would like to see or share? Let us know in the comments below so we can all enjoy it!