Butter Chicken Bulk Spice Mixes

These butter chicken bulk spice mixes make the creation of your favorite Indian curry dish quicker & easier! With these make-ahead spice mixes, transform the lengthy butter chicken cooking process to just 30 minutes of hands-on time without sacrificing restaurant-quality results.

Butter chicken = a new family staple

After having the best authentic butter chicken at my sister-in-law’s house, we’ve been making it on repeat and it’s easily one of the most flavorful meals ever. This specific butter chicken recipe tastes just like what you’d order at an Indian restaurant!

The only downside of this recipe is that it’s a bit of a time investment. This doesn’t bother me as I genuinely love to cook, but it definitely takes longer than your typical weeknight 30-minute meal.

A time-saving idea

Since I knew we’d be making butter chicken regularly, my wheels started turning. How could I make the exact same dish in less time?

Then I realized that one of the most time-consuming parts of the recipe is measuring out all the individual spices. There are a lot! Plus, you need to measure spices twice: once for marinating the chicken, and once for making the sauce.

So I thought: why not make a large amount of the spice mixes in bulk, and then just add a few spoonfuls to the recipe instead of opening so many jars and bags and measuring specific amounts every time??

Thus, these bulk butter chicken spice mixes were born. We’ll be making two mixes: one for the marinade, and one for the sauce, and storing in two separate jars.

Authentic spices you’ll need:

Here are the spices you’ll need to make the mixes:

• Kashmiri chili powder
• Turmeric
• Garam masala
• Coriander powder
• Cumin
• Unrefined salt

If you can buy them from a local Indian grocery store, great. But you can also order all of these online. Make sure to buy the large sizes so you’ll have enough to make the spice mixes!

How to make bulk butter chicken spice mixes

This is SO simple. I definitely recommend using a funnel, and to have a couple large jars on hand (quart size mason jars are good).

Simply add all your spices to each individual jar, cover with a lid, and shake to combine thoroughly. I also recommend adding a label — more on this below.

Labeling the spice mixes

It’s nice to label the jars so you don’t forget which mix is for the marinade and which mix is for the sauce. I also like adding measurements on there, so it’s easy to cook and I don’t need to keep checking the recipe.

I even wrote down what else needed to be added to the marinade & sauce to keep things super simple while cooking. Usually, I still look up the recipe anyway to make sure I’m not forgetting a step, but this streamlines the process. (I didn’t include everything that needs to be added to the sauce, just the other spices and aromatics.)

Here’s what I wrote on each jar (changed it slightly from the first time I wrote these):

Butter Chicken Marinade Mix: 2 Tablespoons mix per recipe. Add: lemon juice, yogurt, pepper, garlic, & ginger.

Butter Chicken Sauce Mix: 3 Tablespoons mix per recipe. Add: cinnamon stick, bay leaf, onion, garlic, ginger. At the end: 1/2 Tablespoon sugar and 1 teaspoon kasoori methi.

Spice mix tips & tricks

• Store in an airtight glass container in dark, cool, dry place.
• Mix stays fresh for up to 6-12 months. For the most vibrant flavor, use within 3-6 months.
• Avoid shaking it directly over a steaming pot, as moisture will shorten the shelf life. Just use a measuring spoon to add it to the recipe.
• Depending on how spicy your family likes curry, you can adjust the amount of mix and use more or less of the spice blend.
• These mixes make enough spices to cook around 14-16 batches of butter chicken for your family. So, they’ll last awhile!