Butter chicken mac and cheese
Butter chicken's spiced tomato sauce, blended smooth and stirred through macaroni with two cheeses instead of naan and rice. Ridiculous on paper, genuinely good on the table.
Notable for: calcium, antioxidants, B vitamins
Ingredients
- 600 gchicken breast, diced
- 400 gmacaroni
- 200 gbrown onions, diced
- 20 gcrushed garlic
- 15 gcrushed ginger
- 200 gtomato puree
- 100 mlcoconut milk
- 20 gcurry powder
- 10 gsmoked paprika
- 10 gground cumin
- 20 gbutter
- 90 greduced-fat grated tasty cheese
- 40 ggrated parmesan
- 10 mlolive oil
Method
Put the pasta water on to boil.
Heat the butter and oil in a wide pan, add the onion, and cook for 5 minutes until soft, then add the garlic and ginger for 30 seconds.
Stir through the curry powder, paprika and cumin for 30 seconds, then add the tomato puree and coconut milk and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the chicken and simmer for a further 10 minutes until cooked through and the sauce has thickened, then blend it smooth with a stick blender if you'd like it silkier.
Cook the macaroni to the packet instructions, drain it, and stir it through the sauce with the tasty cheese until melted and glossy.
Serve straight from the pan with the parmesan grated over.
Blend the sauce before the pasta goes in
Blending the sauce smooth is what makes this taste like butter chicken rather than a curry-flavoured mince. Do it before the macaroni goes in, while the sauce is still thin enough to blend easily.
Storage
Keeps four days in the fridge and freezes well.
Reheat with a splash of milk or water, as the sauce thickens considerably once cold.
Cost per serving is indicative, based on New Zealand supermarket prices as at September 2026. Batch prices your own week against your own store on the day. Nutrition figures, including calories, are estimates rather than label readings, so always check the packet if you have an allergy. "Notable for" reflects well-established qualities of the ingredients used, not a lab measurement of this exact dish.