Learn how to transform your grocery store spice package meal kits into a delicious elevated butter chicken dish ready in under 30 minutes. Homemade chicken meatballs tossed in a spicy butter chicken sauce served with a side of garlic naan YUM!!

Full recipe from scratch listed below in the notes section if you prefer to make this dish from scratch and have the ingredients on hand.

We are currently living in what feels like surreal times. Only essential stores are open, no public gatherings, keeping a safe distant from others and working from home are just a few of today’s current realities. If you’re like us, you absolutely hate waiting in line and with all these restrictions, waiting in line to get into the grocery store is something I never thought I’d have to do.

For this recipe we decided to simply elevate your store bought butter chicken spice package meal kit and went with PATAKS butter chicken meal kit. With produce, protein, spices and many other things being such a hot commodity at the stores, often walking down aisles with empty shelves we figured grabbing the prepared meal kit was a great way to get most of the ingredients you would need to make butter chicken without breaking the bank or having to buy spices you’ll maybe cook with twice a year and avoiding going from store to store just to find all the ingredients.

We haven’t had our butter chicken takeout fix in so long and making butter chicken at home isn’t the easiest thing to make, it never takes like your favorite takeout. We finally made this butter chicken at home and WOW this somewhat homemade version was absolutely delicious.

The chicken meatballs are made in the oven while we simmer the sauce on the stove. This is such a great weeknight dinner that comes together quickly.

Start by making the chicken meatballs. Ground chicken makes for a less expensive alternative and also a sure find at the store these days. Chicken meatballs in butter chicken is so fun and cuts down your total time because you don’t have to wait to marinate the chicken. Traditional butter chicken also requires the chicken to slowly simmer in the sauce for hours which is why we went with chicken meatballs. Toss together all the ingredients that bind the meatballs together, roll them up and pop them into the oven until they’re almost cooked through.

Meatballs are so versatile and easy to add all kinds of different flavours. Check out our blog for other great meatball recipes.

Next comes the sauce. Because we went with a prepared meal kit its very close to a traditional butter chicken which we elevated with a few simple ingredients like coconut milk, green chilies, grated garlic and ginger, onions, Greek yogurt, curry powder, turmeric powder, butter and fresh parsley. The sauce is the most important part when making butter chicken, its where all the flavour is. The oil from the chilies, the creaminess from the coconut milk, silkiness from the butter … mmm  Most of these ingredients we already had in our pantry, I just had to buy a can of green chilies and the extra I’ll cook with fajitas later on this week to ensure I’m not wasting any food. 

HOW TO MAKE THE perfect CHICKEN MEATBALL:

Here are a few steps to make sure your meatballs come out perfect every single time.

• Make sure to combine all ingredients for the meatballs together before adding the ground chicken. If you mix the meat too much, you’ll end up with dry overworked meatballs.
• Try and make all the meatballs the same size, so they cook evenly.
• Rub your hands with a little oil before you roll the meatballs
• Don’t overbake the meatballs. You want to cook them until they’re just a minute or two from being done because they’ll also simmer in the sauce.

I love dipping my naan in the sauce its my favorite part of eating butter chicken. This dish is so saucy you just want to dig right in and dip your naan.

We hope you guys enjoyed this quick alternative to making butter chicken at home and elevating that take home meal kit into a delicious weeknight dinner!

If you make this recipe be sure to tag us! @thecommunalfeast

Print Recipe

BUTTER CHICKEN MEATBALLS

Learn how to transform your grocery store spice package meal kits into a delicious elevated butter chicken dish ready in under 30 minutes. Homemade chicken meatballs tossed in a spicy butter chicken sauce served with a side of garlic naan YUM!!

Full recipe from scratch listed below in the notes section if you prefer to make this dish from scratch and have the ingredients on hand.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Weeknight Dinners

Cuisine: Indian

Servings: 4 -5

Author: the communal feast

Ingredients

• CHICKEN MEATBALLS:
• 1 pound ground chicken
• 1/4 red onion
• 1/2 cup carrots shredded
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon red chili flakes
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Butter chicken sauce
• 1/2 yellow onion chopped
• 2 cloves garlic minced or grated
• 1 inch fresh ginger grated
• 1 package of PATAKS Butter chicken meal kit
• 1 tablespoon green chilies
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 can 14 ounces full fat coconut milk
• 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley roughly chopped for serving
• Garlic naan for serving

Instructions

• 1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
• 2. Add the chicken, egg, grated carrots, chopped red onion, red chili flakes, bread crumbs, and a pinch each of salt and pepper to a bowl. Rub your hands with a bit of olive oil, and roll the meat into tablespoon size balls (will make 18-20 meatballs), placing them on the prepared baking sheet. Transfer to the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the meatballs are crisp and almost cooked through.
• 3. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook 5 minutes or until fragrant. Add the garlic and ginger, cooking another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• 3. Stir in the PATAKS spice and herb packet (we kept the red chilies because we like spice, feel free to leave those out), curry powder, turmeric and cook until fragrant, about 2 minute. Stir in the green chilies.
• 4. Next add the PATAKS paste packet and give it a stir. Add the coconut milk, stir to combine, bring the sauce to a boil, cook for 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly. Stir in the yogurt (more or less depending on how much spice you like) and butter to finish
  your sauce. Add the meatballs and cook, stirring occasionally, until everything is hot, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the freshly chopped parsley.
• 5. Serve the meatballs and sauce over bowls of rice with fresh naan. Enjoy!
• 
  
  

Notes

We decided to eat these meatballs without any rice just the sauce and naan only because we didn’t feel like having rice and wanted a small portion for dinner.

To make the garlic naan, butter the naan, sprinkle with a bit of garlic powder and chopped parsley. Place the bread on a baking sheet and in the oven for about 5 minutes.

If you prefer to make this dish completely from scratch you’ll need:

·        1 can tomato paste

·        ½ tablespoon coriander

·        1 tablespoon garam masala,

·        2 tablespoons vegetable oil

·        2 dried red chilies or ½ tablespoon red pepper flakes

·        1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

·        1 teaspoon paprika

·        3 bay leaves

·        1 teaspoon cumin

·        1 tablespoon sugar

** You might have to adjust the other ingredients and include more ginger, salt & pepper, curry &turmeric depending on the taste of the sauce until you get it right. Where we instruct you to add spices and paste, simple swap the meal kit package for the ingredients listed above.

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