Healthy Butter Chicken Recipe

I love that my kids are learning to cook at school because they bring home lots of easy and delicious recipes that they now make for ME,  including THIS easy Healthy Butter Chicken Recipe!

I had never been the biggest fan of butter chicken (when I went out to Indian restaurants for Indian food), but this recipe was a game changer because it's so amazing! I was able to make it Weight Watchers friendly (it's 4 WW points )! But not every recipe they've brought home has been such a success.....

🥘 Ingredients

However, when I plugged the original recipe into my WW calculator and saw that it had 40 grams of fat and was 20 WW points, I understood why it was sooo good; FAT MADE IT GOOD.

So.... I made it my mission to make this traditional recipe into a delicious Healthy Butter Chicken that was Weight Watchers friendly and brought it down to 4 WW points.

This Easy & Healthy Butter Chicken recipe with Greek yogurt does not disappoint; it still has a super creamy sauce! However, I knew it was a true success when my kids said they liked my Weight Watchers butter chicken better than the original fattening version! Whipping cream (heavy cream) has a sweet taste, so I've compensated for that by using a little sweetened condensed milk.

For this low fat butter chicken recipe, you'll need:

• boneless and skinless chicken breast (or leftover rotisserie chicken)
• olive oil
• garlic, minced
• tomato paste
• crushed or diced canned tomatoes
• Paprika
• Ground cumin
• tumeric
• Salt
• Garam masala
• Ground corinader
• cayenne
• water
• non-fat Greek yogurt
• sweetened condensed milk

🥗 Side dishes

Besides serving this over rice or with a side of rice, here are some WW friendly side dishes to go with this low calorie butter chicken:

• Quick Cucumber Kimchi
• Skinny Coleslaw Recipe
• Healthy Artichoke & Roasted Red Pepper Coleslaw
• garden salad
• mixed frozen veggies (sprinkled with Everything bagel seasoning)
• ww naan bread or cloud bread

When my son had been bringing home recipes from school for a few years and making them with my close supervision, one day I decided to give him a bit more freedom in the kitchen and backed off a bit. He seemed to like not being micromanaged. But when it came time to taste the cookies he made, he carefully watched my reaction as I took that first bite, yearning for my “expert baker” (as he calls me) approval. And as those cookie morsels met my taste buds in that very first split second, I really wasn't sure what to do...

Being a parent is hard. Every parent's very real struggle is balancing being supportive with honesty, helping them to learn, grow, and navigate disappointment while keeping their confidence intact and not inadvertently crushing their little spirits. Because honestly, you can never really predict how they'll react. And just then you think you have them figured out, they go and change. And then they are teenagers....

So, as my son sat there waiting for my 'expert baker' cookie endorsement, I managed to muster a “Mmmm... can I see the recipe?”

Then I got him to taste it and asked if that was how it was supposed to taste (as they made it in school). He concurred that it was a bit too salty and we soon discovered that he had doubled the salt by not reading the instructions carefully enough.

Although he was clearly disappointed, luckily he is pretty easy-going, even as a teenager, and took it as a lesson learned. And fortunately, many subsequent successful recipes, like this healthy butter chicken, served to boost his culinary confidence!

📖 Variations

I love to serve this Healthy Butter Chicken recipe with jasmine rice because jasmine rice (shown below) has a subtle floral aroma and a soft, sticky texture when cooked. It makes your house smell amazing! Jasmine rice is originally from Thailand and is commonly used in Southeast Asian cooking and is a longer grain variety of rice.

You can also serve this butter chicken with basmati rice. Even though jasmine and basmati rice are often used interchangeably, there are some differences. One of the differences is that jasmine rice grains are shorter and thicker than basmati rice. You can read more about jasmine rice HERE.

• WW friendlier: When I'm trying to really keep my WW points down,  I'll use Cauliflower Rice (and skip the oil in this recipe).
• Rice: You can use any type of rice with this recipe (white rice, brown rice or basmati rice), but jasmine rice is the most flavorful.
• Spice: This recipe is quite spicy, so if it's too spicy for you, simply reduce spice amounts.
• Chicken: You could substitute boneless chicken thighs for chicken breast

🔢 WW Points

This easy weight watchers butter chicken is only 4 WW points. The WW points calculated in this easy butter chicken recipe do not include rice.

🌡️Storage

• The chicken can be stored with the sauce in the fridge for 2-3 days. If you make rice to go with this recipe, keep the rice stored in a separate container in the fridge. I simply reheat it in the microwave.
• This low fat butter chicken recipe freezes well for up to 3 months.

👪 Serving Size

This WW friendly Healthy Butter Chicken recipe serves 4. But trust me, you're going to want to double or triple it - it's really that good and so are leftovers! I always double it for the 4 of us. You can also cut this recipe in half (if you only need 1 or 2 servings) by adjusting the serving size (in blue) on the recipe card. Just click on the serving size (it's highlighted in blue) and select the number of servings you’d like.

🦺Food Safety

• Cook chicken to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C) . Temperature is the very best way to check for doneness. I use this instant read thermometer- (affiliate link) it's great for everything food related!
• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched the raw meat
• Wash hands after touching raw meat
• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
• Never leave cooking food unattended

See more guidelines at USDA.gov.

I love that my kids are learning to cook with others, in addition to me. I think it takes a village to raise a cook. Whether it's the Foods Teacher at school, their Dad, their Grandma, or Aunties, cooking with others gives them a different perspective, which expands their culinary horizons. But like I said, my favorite part is that they can cook and that means not only will they be able to survive without me one day, but in the meantime, they cook for me!

So, whether you're looking for low calorie dinner recipes, a healthy butter chicken recipe, that's also WW friendly, or Weight Watchers Chicken recipes, this version of butter chicken is a great recipe the whole family will love!

🐓Weight Watchers Chicken recipes

If you are looking for additional Weight Watchers friendly recipes give my Baked Hoisin Chicken a try!

And these Cornish Hens with Rosemary Wine Sauce are only 2 WW points per ½ a hen. And yes, Cornish game hens are chickens (just little ones!)

⭐ Reviews

Did you make this low calorie butter chicken recipe? Please RATE THE RECIPE in the recipe card!

Here's what others are saying about this easy recipe:

"I just made this for tonight’s dinner:)) Easy Peasy recipe. It smells and looks delicious. No more buying store bought Butter chicken sauce in a jar!"⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

📋 Healthy Butter Chicken Recipe

This Healthy Butter Chicken Recipe has no butter, a creamy tomato sauce, is gluten-free, easy to make and is Weight Watchers Friendly!

5 from 9 votes

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: butter chicken, healthy, weight watchers

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 288kcal

Author: Terri Gilson

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Equipment

Dutch oven (optional-or use a pot and a skillet)

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 lb skinless chicken breasts * can substitute leftover chicken
• ▢ 1 teaspoon olive oil (or vegetable oil)
• ▢ 6 cloves garlic cloves, minced
• ▢ 5 oz - can tomato paste
• ▢ ¾ cup -diced/crushed canned tomatoes ( or tomato puree)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon paprika
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ▢ 1 teaspoon tumeric
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 2 teaspoon garam masala
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground coriander powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ▢ 1 ½ cups water
• ▢ 1 ½ cups non-fat Greek yogurt
• ▢ 4 tablespoon sweetened condensed milk *I use Eagle brand as it's less WW points

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Cook chicken breast on stove top., over medium-high heat until no longer pink and internal temperature reads 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Cut into bite sized pieces and set aside diced chicken.
• Heat oil in medium pot on medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Add minced garlic and saute for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and tomato paste, then add spices and saute for 5 minutes.
• Stir in water and heat sauce over medium to high heat until sauce is thoroughly warm. 
• Reduce heat to low ( a gentle simmer ) and whisk in Greek yogurt and condensed milk and heat until warm, whisking constantly.
• Once warm, set aside, then add cooked chicken pieces. 
• Serve over jasmine rice, basmati rice or cauliflower rice.

Notes

 

Nutrition Facts

📋 Healthy Butter Chicken Recipe

Amount Per Serving

Calories 288 Calories from Fat 72

% Daily Value*

Fat 8g12%

Saturated Fat 2g13%

Cholesterol 83mg28%

Sodium 1130mg49%

Potassium 773mg22%

Carbohydrates 19g6%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 15g17%

Protein 35g70%

Vitamin A 1165IU23%

Vitamin C 7.8mg9%

Calcium 182mg18%

Iron 2mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition

Calories: 288kcal (14%) | Carbohydrates: 19g (6%) | Protein: 35g (70%) | Fat: 8g (12%) | Saturated Fat: 2g (13%) | Cholesterol: 83mg (28%) | Sodium: 1130mg (49%) | Potassium: 773mg (22%) | Fiber: 2g (8%) | Sugar: 15g (17%) | Vitamin A: 1165IU (23%) | Vitamin C: 7.8mg (9%) | Calcium: 182mg (18%) | Iron: 2mg (11%)

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