I’m channeling a favorite curry recipe — Butter Chicken— into these irresistible Butter Chicken Meatballs. Tender and flavorful chicken meatballs are tossed in a rich and creamy curry sauce.
We love these meatballs served over basmati rice with lots of fresh cilantro and naan. If you’ve got a few minutes, the cucumber raita from these Ground Beef Naan Tacos makes a refreshing and delicious topping as well.
Butter Chicken Meatballs
Butter Chicken is one of my family’s favorite meals and when I found myself with some ground chicken intended for these Chicken Parmesan Meatballs but was missing some staple ingredients, I decided to create Butter Chicken Meatballs instead.
These meatballs are bursting with flavor! They’re tender and juicy with crisp exteriors, bathed in the most luxuriously creamy and intensely flavored curry sauce.
Butter Chicken Meatballs do require a bit of work, so while I don’t necessarily recommend them as a weeknight meal, these meatballs are a dish dressed to impress! If you have company coming, or when you’ve got some extra time on hand and are feeling ambitious in the kitchen, this is the dish to consider. Truthfully, though, we love them so much I make sure to carve out some extra time some days, anyway.
Double-Purpose Spice Blend
Many Indian dishes call for one group of seasonings for the chicken and different ones for the curry. I’ve combined the two processes, so you only have to make one spice blend. Half goes in the meatball mixture and the rest goes in the sauce.
One of the best things about these Butter Chicken Meatballs is that the ingredients are very easily accessible. No need to go to a specialty store or order anything online; you should be able to find everything at your local grocery store!
Butter Chicken Meatball Tips
- Don’t overwork the meat mixture. Stop mixing as soon as all the ingredients are incorporated into the ground chicken.
- Keep the ground chicken cold. The colder the ground chicken, the easier these meatballs are to roll and shape.
- Roll small, even-sized meatballs. In order for Butter Chicken Meatballs to cook through in time and evenly, be sure they’re all roughly the same size. This recipe makes about 32-34 meatballs that are all 1 tablespoon in size.
Quick Tip
Invest in a meat thermometer — you’ll be amazed how handy it is! The meatballs need to be cooked to 160 degrees F (carryover heat takes them to 165 degrees F). Since cooking time will vary due to several factors, I always recommend using a digital meat thermometer to remove any guesswork on your end. Undercooked chicken meatballs aren’t safe to consume and overcooked meatballs will be dry and flavorless.
Faster Butter Chicken Meatball preparation
Meatballs are one of my favorite meals and since I make them so often, I’ve found that preparing the meatballs in stages saves time. Here’s what I mean by that:
- Start by scooping out even amounts of the meatball mixture. Use a lightly greased 1-tablespoon measuring spoon with nonstick cooking spray; press the measuring spoon into the meatball mixture and against the side of the bowl to get an evenly packed amount.
- Using your index finger, scoop the mixture out of the measuring spoon on to a prepared plate. Repeat with the remaining meat.
- Now, roll all the sectioned meat into even-sized, round meatballs.
- Finally, roll all the meatballs into the flour.
Quick Tip
It may not seem like it saves a lot of time, but it’s loads quicker than individually measuring out, shaping, and rolling one meatball at a time. If the meat mixture gets too sticky, chill it in the fridge or lightly spritz your hands with cooking spray.
What to serve with Butter Chicken Meatballs
Below are the three accompaniments we like with Butter Chicken Meatballs and I provide details to explain.
- We love Butter Chicken Meatballs served over basmati rice (or plain cooked white rice). I have a foolproof way to prepare nice and fluffy basmati rice every single time! See below.
- Serve naan on the side to scoop up the meatballs and sauce. We love toasting the naan; more on this follows.
- A very common accompaniment to Indian dishes is an easy cucumber and yogurt salad called raita. I’m sharing my raita recipe and it adds such a nice lightness and freshness to the rich curry.
Cooking basmati rice
Here’s how I cook the basmati rice:
- Measure the rice and rinse it in a fine-mesh sieve until the water runs clear.
- Place the rinsed rice in a bowl and cover it with water to soak for about 5-10 minutes.
- While the rice soaks, fill a large pot with water and set to boil.
- Once the water is at a rolling boil, drain the rice and add it to the pot.
- Cook, without reducing the heat, for 5 minutes (taste and ensure the rice is tender; add another minute if not) and then drain and fluff with a fork.
Toasting naan
If serving naan alongside these Butter Chicken Meatballs, I recommend charring it before serving. To do this, spray both sides of the naan with olive oil cooking spray and “grill” the bread on the stovetop over the open flame until slightly charred. Alternatively, warm the bread (covered with a damp paper towel) in the microwave.
We like Stonefire® naan best, but if you’re feeling extra ambitious, you can also make your own naan!
Homemade Raita
- 1/2 cup plain full-fat Greek yogurt (we love Greek Gods®)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped English (or Persian) cucumber
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh green onions
- 1/4 teaspoon EACH: ground cumin, ground coriander, fine sea salt
Add all the sauce ingredients to a medium-sized bowl. Stir until combined and then refrigerate.
Spice Levels
Butter Chicken is typically a much milder curry when compared to other Indian curries, so it’s very family friendly. My kids inhale my regular Butter Chicken and these Butter Chicken Meatballs are no different! You can certainly add more spice to this dish, but as written, it is mild with a tiny kick.
To eliminate any kick at all, leave out the cayenne pepper. To increase the amount of heat, increase the amount of cayenne pepper to 1/4 teaspoon.
More delicious curries
- Chicken Curry Soup with lots of veggies
- Coconut Curry Chicken reader favorite recipe!
- Chicken Tikka Masala with marinated grilled chicken
- Yellow Chicken Curry with potatoes
- Sweet Potato Coconut Curry Soup with chickpeas
Butter Chicken Meatballs
Equipment
- 2 large pans oven-safe
- Large plate or sheet pan
- Parchment paper
- Blender
Ingredients
Spices
- 2 tablespoons ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons garam masala
- 1-1/2 tablespoons ground turmeric
- 1-1/2 tablespoons paprika
- 1-1/2 tablespoons finely minced garlic 4 cloves
- 1-1/2 tablespoons finely minced ginger 1-inch piece
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
Meatballs
Curry
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1-1/2 cups finely diced yellow onion 1 very large onion
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes
- 1-1/4 cups heavy cream
- Serving suggestions see note 2
Instructions
- Spices: In a small bowl, stir together all spices, garlic, and ginger (You can peel the ginger with a spoon or vegetable peeler and finely mince it).
- Meatballs: In a large bowl, combine ground chicken, grated yellow onion (peel and then grate on large holes of a grater, then lightly pack to measure), panko, egg, cilantro. Juice lemon to get 1 tablespoon juice and add. Add 1/2 the spice mix and season meatballs with salt and pepper to taste (I add 1 teaspoon each). Knead ingredients together until evenly combined. Do not overmix or over-knead. Cover tightly and refrigerate until step 4.
- Curry: Meanwhile, from the curry ingredients, heat butter in a large pan; add finely diced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, 7–9 minutes. Reduce heat if it begins to burn/brown—we’re looking for a golden color. Add sugar and continue to sauté until onions are lightly caramelized, another 3–5 minutes. Add the other half of the spice mix and tomato paste. Stir 2–3 minutes or until very fragrant. Reduce heat if the mixture begins to burn. Add fire-roasted crushed tomatoes and sauté 1 minute. Add in heavy cream and salt and pepper to taste (I add 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper). Stir, then reduce heat to the lowest setting. Simmer 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until sauce thickens and is fragrant.
- Roll Meatballs: While sauce simmers, preheat oven to 350℉. Add the flour to a bowl and set aside. Line a large plate or sheet pan with parchment paper. Lightly spray a 1-tablespoon measuring spoon with cooking spray to portion the meatballs onto the parchment-lined plate. Once all portions are on the plate, roll each into a ball, then roll them in flour, tapping off excess flour. Batch portioning makes the process much faster!
- Sear Meatballs: Heat coconut oil to medium-high in a large oven-safe pan. Add half the meatballs. Sauté 4 minutes, turning with tongs after 2 minutes, until meatballs are browned on the outsides but not cooked through. Discard parchment paper and return meatballs to the plate.
- Bake: Repeat with remaining meatballs, adding extra coconut oil if needed. Transfer meatballs to the plate and quickly rinse or wipe out the pan. Spray with cooking spray. Return the rest of the meatballs to the pan, then place it in the oven and bake 7–15 minutes or until meatballs are completely cooked through (160℉). I check the meatballs with an oven thermometer at 5 minutes and every 3 minutes after that. It takes about 12 minutes in my oven.
- Finish Sauce: Meanwhile, transfer simmered and thickened sauce to a blender. Blend until completely smooth and return to pan. if desired, stir in chopped cilantro here (I add about 1/3 cup). Once meatballs are cooked through, add them to the sauce and stir to coat.
- Serve: Serve saucy meatballs over cooked basmati rice (see note 2) and garnish with additional cilantro leaves (optional). Serve with toasted naan (see note 3). Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Measure the rice and rinse it in a fine-mesh sieve until the water runs clear.
- Place the rinsed rice in a bowl and cover it with water to soak for about 5–10 minutes.
- While the rice soaks, fill a large pot with water and set to boil.
- Once the water is at a rolling boil, drain the rice and add it to the pot.
- Cook, without reducing the heat, 5 minutes (taste and ensure the rice is tender; add another minute if not), then drain and fluff with a fork.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
