We blind-tested supermarket butter chicken sauces, and the top 3 had one thing in common

The panel unanimously loved the taste of Patak’s Mild Butter Chicken Simmer Sauce. As the clear favourite, responses followed a similar vein, mentioning its homemade feel and high-quality flavour profile.

“It tastes like genuine takeout!” and “It reminds me of one my mum used to make,” were standout comments. Our panel enjoyed the smokier taste, saying it felt less traditional than some of the other options but was still the best sample.

Sarah Murphy, our resident expert, loved Patak’s, putting it in second place on her list. She commented that it was the most family-friendly option, as it wasn’t too strong on spice level, but still felt well-rounded and easy on the palate.

Price: $5.50

Available at: Coles and Woolworths

Sarah’s top spot went to The Spice Tailor Classic Butter Chicken sauce. She loved how deep the flavour profile was for this sample, saying “it tastes like it has been simmering for a while.” She did note that it went a little heavy on the salt, but without any other artificial preservatives or flavourings, it felt justified.

The panel deemed this butter chicken sauce as ‘really lovely’, commenting that it was richer in flavour, more authentic in texture and the ‘closest one to a restaurant butter chicken.’ Note: for this sauce, we did end up cooking two packets, as 1 packet feeds only 2-3 people. This means that you may have to double your size to feed a four-person family.

Price: $6.70 

Available at: Woolworths and Coles

Sitting in third place is Passage To India Butter Chicken Simmer Sauce. This butter chicken option was interesting – in the instructions, it asked for 1kg of chicken, rather than the usual 500g (for serving 4 people). While the flavour kept its score high, the lack of sauce and dryness brought it down a few notches. This may have been due to the increased amount of chicken used in the recipe.

For general taste, this one had more of a tomato base, with several panellists commenting ‘very tomatoey, but still delicious.’ There was a higher amount of spice in this one, which divided our tasters. Some enjoyed the extra kick, while others felt it hadn’t been cooked enough. Sarah took points off for dryness, and also felt that the spices weren’t cooked off properly.

Price: $6.30

Available at: Woolworths and Coles

Coles Butter Chicken Simmer Sauce ‘doesn’t look like butter chicken, but was delightful.’ Our panellists were quite divided on the Coles homebrand butter chicken sauce.

While some believed it was too watery and not flavourful enough, others enjoyed the rich quality and smooth texture. One panellist gave this sample tens across the board, which, compared to the lower 3s and 4s it was given by others, is a huge leap. Sarah stuck to her guns with a middle score of 7. She enjoyed the flavour, but didn’t think the watery texture was appealing.

For a looser, more liquid sauce for your butter chicken, this option is definitely your best bet. And, it’s one of the most affordable!

Price: $2.70

Available at Coles

The thicker, richer sauce of Kan Tong Butter Chicken Cooking Sauce is what pushed it up the ranking. With a rich flavour, good spices and a nice variety of dried oregano (or ‘vegies’ as one panellist called them), this sauce was a winner for many. Sarah enjoyed the flavour, but it was the appearance that sold it for her, with a nice and glossy sauce.

A few tasters mentioned the heavier tomato flavour, comparing it to a pasta sauce, rather than a curry. ‘Too tomatoey’ was mentioned 3 times in this sample’s responses.

Price: $4

Available at Woolworths, Coles and IGA

Sharwoods Butter Chicken Simmer Sauce was loved for its flavour, but texture and appearance are where it flopped. ‘Buttery’, ‘nice spices’ and ‘herby’ were all positives from the panellists.

The ‘very yellow’ and pale colouring made this sample look more unappealing next to the richer orange options. As for texture? ‘Poor’ was the most used descriptor. If you’re all about herby, buttery butter chicken (and have no qualms about mouthfeel), then this is the butter chicken sauce for you.

Price: $5

Available at Woolworths, IGA and select independent stores

The shallow flavour of MasterFoods Butter Chicken Cooking Sauce is what brought it down to third-last place. It scored points for the inclusion of onion and extra crunch, but the taste was too mild and lacking for all.

Sarah was not a fan of the flavour profile of this butter chicken sample. Lacking in strong flavour, the spices were dull and didn’t come through well.

Price: $4

Available at Coles, Woolworths and IGA

In second last for our panel was ALDI Asia Specialities Butter Chicken Simmer Sauce. This sample ‘bordered on a fajita taste’ and felt ‘kind of generic’ to our panellists. Comments ranged from too sweet to quite bland for the taste, while the texture was deemed artificial.

Sarah said it didn’t have much spice or flavour, but still thought the texture stood out amongst the other samples (hence the higher score). As the cheapest option, this butter chicken sauce would do in a pinch, but we would recommend supplementing with extra spices.

Price: $2.59

Available at ALDI

‘Tastes strange’ was the standout comment about Woolworths Butter Chicken Simmer Sauce. Most panellists agreed that this butter chicken sample tasted nothing like butter chicken, with ‘really odd’, ‘no depth of flavour’ and ‘not giving butter chicken’ being popular responses. Points were given for the great colour (a rich orange), but flavour and texture-wise, it did not deliver.

Sarah liked this one even less than the panel, and thought it was akin to apricot chicken rather than a butter chicken curry.

Price: $2.70

Available at Woolworths