This is a thick and creamy Butter Chicken Soup made with flavorful spices and tender boneless chicken thighs. It is the soup version of the classic restaurant-style Indian dish. It's finished with coconut milk for its creamy almost bisque-like texture for a warm and filling meal!
Looking for more hearty chicken soups? Try our EASY Chicken Farro Soup or Curry Chicken and Rice Soup!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Butter chicken soup is one of those recipes that you smell when you're about to open your front door. It'll have you hungry from the time you start sauteing the garlic until you're mopping up the last bit of butter chicken soup with some bread.
This is by no means an authentic Indian dish, but butter chicken is one of my wife's go-to recipes to make during the week. So, we are constantly eating it.
I always want to make things into soup when I like them. I love Pasta with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe so, of course, I made Broccoli Rabe and Tortellini Soup with sausage! Maybe it's a bad habit but it makes one hell of a soup that I guarantee you're going to love!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
Marinade Ingredients
- Fresh Ginger and Garlic. Fresh ginger and garlic make a world of difference. They add a lot more flavor than their powdered counterparts. Although they can be substituted, I highly recommend the real thing for both the marinade and the sauteing in the soup.
- Boneless Chicken Thighs. Boneless thighs are the way to go for the more tender and easy-to-shred chicken although chicken breast can be substituted if you're looking for leaner meat.
- Greek Yogurt. I always use a full-fat Greek yogurt to marinate the chicken for this butter chicken soup.
Soup Ingredients
- Coconut Milk. You can substitute coconut cream for a slightly creamier texture, but in testing, I haven't found that there is much of a difference.
- Onion and Celery. Butter chicken typically only calls for onions, but I add the celery because, well, it's a soup now!
- Seasonings. This is a heavily seasoned soup and it's really flavorful. You can check all the seasonings below but if you prefer less spice, go easy on the crushed red pepper. I like to go with a combo of garam masala, cumin, and turmeric, but I also add ground white pepper and crushed red pepper for a little extra kick.
- Crushed tomatoes. You could substitute a tomato puree but I like the slight chunkiness of the crushed tomatoes and it adds to the texture of the soup!
*Please see the recipe card below for more information on the ingredients.
How to Make Butter Chicken Soup
Step 1: Combine the boneless chicken thighs with the yogurt, garam masala, turmeric, cumin, salt, ginger, and garlic. Cover and marinate for 4 hours or overnight.
Step 2: Add olive oil to a pan over medium-high heat. Once the olive oil is shimmering, sear the chicken on both sides for 3 minutes. It's normal for the chicken to stick a little so carefully use tongs to flip them. Place the seared chicken on the side.
Step 3: Lower the heat to medium. Add the butter to the pot. Once the butter is melted, add the celery and onion. Stir often. Once the onions start sweating, you'll be able to deglaze the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Saute the onions and celery for about 8 minutes.
Step 4: Combine the garam masala, turmeric, cumin, crushed red pepper, salt, and white pepper. Add the ginger, garlic, and half of the seasonings to the pot. Stir well to combine and saute for about 5 minutes.
Step 5: Add in the tomato paste and combine well with the vegetables. Cook the tomato paste for 3 minutes with the vegetables. This step will caramelize the tomato paste releasing some of that delicious flavor into your soup.
Step 6: Pour in the crushed tomatoes and add the rest of the seasonings. Stir well to combine and bring to a simmer.
Step 7: Pour in the chicken broth and combine.
Step 8: Add the chicken thighs back in and lower the heat to a simmer for 30 minutes.
Step 9: Remove the chicken thighs from the pot and set them aside in a bowl. Let them rest for 5 minutes. Using two forks, shred the chicken to an appropriate size.
Step 10: Return the chicken to the pot. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Step 11: Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the coconut milk. Combine well and serve butter chicken soup with cilantro for a garnish.
Butter chicken soup is the perfect hearty dish to serve for an early Sunday dinner. You can serve it with some butter naan or in our household, probably a loaf of Italian bread. But you'll definitely need something to dip in this delicious tomato-based soup so another option could be to serve it with a Gruyere Grilled Cheese for dipping!
Pro-Tips
- You can get away with marinating the chicken for an hour but the chicken will be more flavorful if you can marinate for 4 hours or overnight. Yogurt isn't very acidic so an overnight marinade is fine.
- When searing the chicken, expect it to stick a little bit. Gently pull the chicken away from the pan without ripping it apart. The brown bits left on the bottom of the pan will add so much flavor to the soup.
- When adding a large amount of tomato paste like in this recipe (6 oz), it's important to let it cook directly on the pan before adding broth or crushed tomatoes. This will intensify the flavor and allow the sugars in the tomato paste to caramelize.
- This soup can have a slight kick. If you don't like anything spicy, remove the crushed red pepper.
- This soup develops more flavor over time, so you can make it early in the day and leave it on a low simmer all day or you can make it and eat it right away!
Recipe FAQs
Yes, but chicken thighs will always be more tender because they have a higher fat content. The meat will also shred a lot easier.
Add a cup of chicken broth and combine well. This will help thin it out a bit if you simmered it for longer than the recipe called for.
Yes, butter chicken soup will freeze well and last in the freezer for at least 3 months. Place in the refrigerator overnight to defrost and add chicken broth when reheating.
More Hearty Soup Recipes
Please leave a comment and star rating below in the recipe card! I love to hear what you think of our recipes. Feel free to tag us on Instagram @vindelgiudice.
📖 Recipe
Butter Chicken Soup
Equipment
- 1 Large Dutch Oven or Pot
Ingredients
Chicken Marinade
- 2 lbs boneless chicken thighs
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup full-fat greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon ginger, minced
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
Soup Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 tablespoon butter
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 tablespoon ginger, minced
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1 6 oz can tomato paste
- 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 14 oz can coconut milk
- 3 tablespoon fresh chopped cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Combine the boneless chicken thighs with the yogurt, garam masala, turmeric, cumin, salt, ginger, and garlic. Cover and marinate for 4 hours or overnight.
- Add olive oil to a pan over medium-high heat. Once the olive oil is shimmering, sear the chicken on both sides for 3 minutes. It's normal for the chicken to stick a little so carefully use tongs to flip them. Place the seared chicken on the side.
- Lower the heat to medium. Add the butter to the pot. Once the butter is melted, add the celery and onion. Stir often. Once the onions start sweating, you'll be able to deglaze the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Saute the onions and celery for about 8 minutes.
- Combine the garam masala, turmeric, cumin, crushed red pepper, salt, and white pepper. Add the ginger, garlic, and half of the seasonings to the pot. Stir well to combine and saute for about 5 minutes.
- Add in the tomato paste and combine well with the vegetables. Cook the tomato paste for 3 minutes with the vegetables. Then pour in the crushed tomatoes and add the rest of the seasonings. Stir well to combine and bring to a simmer.
- Simmer the crushed tomatoes for 5 minutes, then add the chicken broth and return the soup to a simmer. Add the chicken thighs back in and lower the heat to a simmer for 30 minutes.
- Remove the chicken thighs from the pot and set them aside in a bowl. Let them rest for 5 minutes. Using two forks, shred the chicken to an appropriate size and return it to the pot. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the coconut milk. Combine well and serve with cilantro for a garnish.
Notes
- You can get away with marinating the chicken for an hour but the chicken will be more flavorful if you can marinate for 4 hours or overnight. Yogurt isn't very acidic so an overnight marinade is fine.
- When searing the chicken, expect it to stick a little bit. This is okay. Gently pull the chicken away from the pan without ripping it apart. The brown bits left on the bottom of the pan will add so much flavor to the soup.
- When adding a large amount of tomato paste like in this recipe (6 oz), it's important to let it cook directly on the pan before adding broth or crushed tomatoes. This will intensify the flavor and allow the sugars in the tomato paste to caramelize.
- This soup can have a slight kick. If you don't like anything spicy, remove the crushed red pepper.
- This soup develops more flavor over time, so you can make it early in the day and leave it on a low simmer all day or you can make it and eat it right away!
Vinny
A delicious and aromatic soup that will fill your house with the amazing smells of this soup! If you try it, leave a comment below!