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# Butter Chicken Pasta — MAHA Fusion Weeknight Dinner
- URL: https://thefoodiekitchen.net/butter-chicken-pasta/
- Published: 2026-09-12T07:40:57.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-12T07:42:07.000Z
- Description: Butter chicken pasta — ghee-spiced chicken in a tomato cream sauce over rigatoni. Seed oil free. 30 minutes weeknight dinner.
- Author: Savannah Ryan
- Tags: MAHA Recipes

Butter chicken pasta is the weeknight dinner that happens when you have a jar of ghee and rigatoni in the cupboard. The butter chicken sauce — tomato, cream, garam masala — coats pasta exactly as well as it coats rice, and the pasta water adds a starchy body to the sauce that makes it cling to every ridge of the rigatoni. It is not traditional Indian cooking. It does not pretend to be. It is a good dinner in 30 minutes.

## Butter Chicken Pasta Recipe

Serves

4

Prep

10 min

Cook

25 min

### Ingredients

- 400g rigatoni or penne
- 500g boneless chicken breast, diced 2cm
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 400g crushed tomatoes
- 150ml single cream
- Sea salt and pepper
- Fresh coriander to serve

### Method

1. Cook the rigatoni in heavily salted boiling water until al dente. Reserve 200ml pasta water. Drain.
2. Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken and sear for 4-5 minutes until golden and cooked through. Remove.
3. Add remaining ghee. Cook the onion for 8 minutes until golden. Add garlic and all spices. Cook 1 minute.
4. Add crushed tomatoes. Simmer 10 minutes until reduced.
5. Stir in the cream. Return the chicken. Simmer 5 minutes.
6. Add the drained pasta to the sauce. Toss, adding pasta water a splash at a time until saucy and coating.
7. Serve immediately, topped with fresh coriander.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this seed oil free?

Yes. Ghee is the only fat. Check your pasta — most dried pasta contains only semolina and water with no added oil.

Can I use chicken thigh?

Yes — thigh stays more moist if the sauce simmers longer. Cut into 2cm pieces and cook 7-8 minutes.

What other pasta shapes work?

Any ridged or tubular pasta that holds sauce — penne, fusilli, cavatappi. Avoid long pasta like spaghetti.

Shop on The Foodie Kitchen

- [Seed oil free pantry guide — every fat, every brand](https://thefoodiekitchen.net/seed-oil-free-pantry-staples-amazon/)
- [All 25 seed oil free cookbooks by Savannah Ryan](https://thefoodiekitchen.net/cookbooks/)

Savannah Ryan · Cookbook

Savor Family

50 seed oil free weeknight dinners — butter chicken pasta, smash burgers, tallow fries, and more.

[Get on Amazon →](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GXDQPLN9?tag=thefoodieki0f-20&ref=thefoodiekitchen.net)

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