This is a thick and creamyButter 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!

Butter chicken soup in a bowl topped with cilantro.

Looking for more hearty chicken soups? Try ourEASY Chicken Farro SouporCurry Chicken and Rice Soup!

A Quick Look at The Recipe

✅Recipe Name: Butter Chicken Soup
⏲️Ready in: 1 hour (after marinating)
👪Makes: about 8 servings
📋Main ingredients: Chicken thighs, garam masala, and crushed tomatoes.
⭐Why You'll Love This Recipe: This is a hearty and healthy soup recipe with warm and nutty flavors perfect for the Fall and Winter.

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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 sautéing 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 much 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 tomato puree, but I like the slight chunkiness of crushed tomatoes, which adds to the soup's texture!

*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.

Sauteing the vegetables in a dutch oven.

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. Sauté 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 sauté for about 5 minutes.

Step 5: Add 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.

Adding crushed tomatoes and chicken broth to the vegetables.

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.

Simmering then shredding chicken thighs and adding to the soup.

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. Another option could be to serve it with a Gruyere Grilled Cheeseor Italian Sausage Bread 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 in 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

Can I use chicken breast instead of chicken thighs?

Yes, but chicken thighs will always be more tender because they have a higher fat content. The meat will also shred a lot easier.

What if my soup is too thick?

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.

Can I freeze the soup?

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.