Butter chicken: see where the calories hide.
The cream and butter are 160 g of a 1.35 kg pot, and they are more than a third of its calories. The builder makes that visible one ingredient at a time, so you can decide what to keep.
- 4 servings, weighed at 1,100 g when finished
- 498 kcal a serving, with 40 g protein, 13 g carbs and 32 g fat
- 9 ingredients, every one a USDA FoodData Central entry in the library
The sample data
These are the amounts used on the screens below, with each figure taken from the library entry for that ingredient. They are sample figures for a pot or tray of this size, not a measurement of anyone's kitchen.
| Ingredient | Amount | kcal | Protein g | Carbs g | Fat g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken thigh, meat only, roasted | 600 g | 1,074 | 149 | 0 | 49 |
| Tomato sauce, canned | 400 g | 96 | 5 | 21 | 1 |
| Heavy whipping cream | 120 g | 408 | 3 | 3 | 43 |
| Butter, salted | 40 g | 287 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| Onions, raw | 150 g | 60 | 2 | 14 | 0 |
| Garlic | 15 g | 22 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Ginger root | 15 g | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Curry powder | 8 g | 26 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Paprika | 3 g | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Whole recipe | 1,351 g | 1,993 | 161 | 52 | 126 |
| Per serving (4) | 275 g | 498 | 40 | 13 | 32 |
Calorie and macro figures are fitness estimates, not medical or dietary advice. Ingredient values are from USDA FoodData Central, which is in the public domain.
Why this recipe
Restaurant butter chicken is a moving target, so a bowl you cook yourself is the one worth measuring. Building it from your own cream and butter lets you see what each ingredient adds before you eat it.
What to weigh
The sample uses chicken that has already been grilled, so it is entered with the cooked thigh entry. The finished pot weighs 1,100 g after the sauce reduces, which is 275 g a serving.
The full workflow, in four steps.
1. Open Create a recipe and search the library
Create a recipe and search "chicken thigh". Choose the cooked, roasted, meat only entry because the chicken is weighed after grilling.
2. Enter the amount you weighed
Enter 600 g. The amount sheet shows 1,074 kcal and 149 g of protein for the chicken.
3. Add the rest, then set the servings and finished weight
Add the sauce, cream, butter, onions, aromatics and spices. After the cream goes in, the whole recipe is clearly above the chicken.
4. Save it and log a serving
Enter 4 servings and the 1,100 g pot. One serving is 498 kcal with 40 g of protein, and you can save it.
Tips while you build it
- Use the entry that matches the chicken's state. Raw and cooked chicken have different calories per gram.
- Cream is the lever. Try a second recipe with half the cream and compare the two per serving lines.
- Rice and naan are logged separately, so the saved recipe stays the same however you serve it.
Make it your own
- Use the half and half entry for a lighter sauce and save the result as "Lighter butter chicken".
- Switch to a raw chicken entry and the raw weight if you simmer the chicken in the sauce.
Each change is a second recipe with its own name, so the first stays as you built it.
Butter chicken questions.
How many calories are in homemade butter chicken?
The sample four-serving pot comes to 498 kcal a serving, with 40 g protein, 13 g carbs and 32 g fat. The cream and butter account for a large share of that.
Can I compare a lighter version?
Yes. Save a second recipe with less cream or butter and give it its own name. Both stay in your foods and you can log whichever you cooked.
Is the garam masala in the library?
The sample uses curry powder and paprika, which are in it. If your spice blend is not found, use the closest entry or create it as a food of your own.
More example recipes.
- Chana masala309 kcal a serving, 4 servings, from USDA FoodData Central ingredients.
- Dal tadka265 kcal a serving, 4 servings, from USDA FoodData Central ingredients.
- Hummus bi tahini211 kcal a serving, 8 servings, from USDA FoodData Central ingredients.
- Mujadara337 kcal a serving, 6 servings, from USDA FoodData Central ingredients.
- Chicken shawarma (oven tray)444 kcal a serving, 4 servings, from USDA FoodData Central ingredients.
- Spaghetti bolognese499 kcal a serving, 6 servings, from USDA FoodData Central ingredients.
- Chicken cacciatore639 kcal a serving, 4 servings, from USDA FoodData Central ingredients.
- Turkey chili326 kcal a serving, 6 servings, from USDA FoodData Central ingredients.
- Homemade cheeseburgers456 kcal a serving, 4 servings, from USDA FoodData Central ingredients.
Keep going.
- Recipe builderWhat the builder does, and every example recipe in one place.
- Indian food caloriesPer 100 g tables for the dishes the food library finds.
- Nutrition and macro trackingBarcodes, label reading, targets that follow your weigh-ins.
- Help: scan, create and recipesThe same steps in the Help Center.
Cook it once. Log it for good.
Build your own indian favourite in Nutrition.