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This slow cooker chicken tikka masala is a great at-home Indian option for those nights that you can’t quite shell out the money for takeout. This incredibly flavorful at-home alternative will be sure to satisfy any craving! Be sure to serve it with some homemade naan as well.
Indian food is one of my favorite cuisines and I am always craving it. I love the complex flavors of Indian cuisine and it always makes my tastebuds come alive. I think that’s why I love Indian cuisine so much — I’m obsessed with flavor and richness.
I always look to create restaurant favorites at home and this slow cooker chicken tikka masala recipe is one of them! I actually have several Indian favorites on my site, including stovetop butter chicken, dal makhani, biryani, samosas, and gobi manchurian.
When you’re tired after work, the whole dinner part of the evening is kind of daunting. That’s where this slow cooker chicken tikka masala comes into play. I prepped everything the night before and put everything into the slow cooker right before I left for work. It’s so nice to walk into your house after work and smell dinner already prepared. It’s as if you have an in-house chef!
What is chicken tikka masala?
Chicken tikka masala is a dish that’s consisted of marinated chicken that is cooked in a super flavorful creamy tomato-based sauce. It is served worldwide and a popular dish at many Indian restaurants.
Ingredients You’ll Need
For exact measurements, scroll to the bottom of the post.
- Boneless, skinless chicken thighs – I prefer using dark meat over white meat for slow cooker dishes. They tend to retain moisture a lot better and they’re so much more tender and juicy.
- Onion
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Tomato puree – this is the base of the sauce.
- Plain yogurt – you’ll be marinating your chicken in this. Yogurt helps tenderize the chicken.
- Garam masala – a blend of spices originating from India and the most common spice you’ll see in Indian cooking.
- Turmeric powder
- Ground cumin – for that earthy flavor
- Sweet paprika
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground black pepper
- Cayenne pepper – if you don’t like heat, you may omit this and if you love heat, you may add more!
- Bay leaves
- Heavy cream – for that ultra creamy, luxurious sauce.
- Cornstarch – to help thicken the curry stew a bit.
- Lemon juice – to help brighten up the flavors.
How to make chicken tikka masala
For detailed instructions, scroll to the bottom of the post.
Marinate the chicken. In a large bowl, you’ll add majority of the ingredients with the chicken and stir to ensure all the chicken is coated. Cover and refrigerate for two hours or overnight.
Cook the chicken. Once you’re ready, add everything into the insert of the slow cooker and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours.
Make the cornstarch slurry. While the mixture is still hot, make the cornstarch slurry and stir it into the slow cooker to thicken up the sauce a bit.
Serve. Serve on a bed of basmati rice and with Homemade Naan.
Tips to make this slow cooker chicken tikka masala dish
- Try to prep/chop everything the night before so you can put this into the slow cooker before you head out for the day
- Read the instructions carefully — some of the ingredients are not added at the beginning
- Use the correct spices
Common questions
Is chicken tikka masala spicy? It depends! If you like spice you can make it spicy by adding in more cayenne pepper than the recipe calls for. If you don’t like it spicy then you can omit it or use less.
Can you make this vegan or vegetarian? I don’t see why you can’t! You could substitute out the chicken for firm tofu (but I’d add that in at the end of cooking).
Can I omit any of the spices that I cannot find? No! It is what creates the flavor of this dish. Indian cuisine is highly flavorful because of the spices used.
Can I substitute sour cream for the yoghurt? You can, but it MIGHT be too sour.
I accidentally added everything into the slow cooker, will my recipe be ruined? No, it will be fine.
What can I serve with chicken tikka masala? Homemade Naan, Vegetable Samosas, and Mango Lassi!
Storing and reheating instructions
This will keep in an airtight container for up to five days in the refrigerator. To reheat, simply pop it in the microwave for 1 minute (or more) or reheat on the stovetop.
Other slow cooker recipes to love:
Slow cooker chicken enchilada soup
Slow cooker pumpkin coconut curry
Slow cooker chicken pot pie soup
Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala
Equipment
Ingredients
- 5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 ½-inch cubes
- 1 large onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
- 29 ounce (822 ml) can of tomato puree
- 1 ½ cups (368 g) plain yogurt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons Garam masala
- 1 teaspoon tumeric powder
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- ½ tablespoon sweet paprika
- 2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1–3 teaspoons cayenne pepper, depending on your heat preference
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup (237 ml) heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- Lemon juice from half a small lemon
- Chopped parsley or cilantro, for topping
Instructions
- Place chicken, onion, garlic, ginger, tomato puree, yogurt, olive oil, garam masala, tumeric powder, cumin, paprika, salt, cinnamon, ground black pepper, and cayenne pepper in a large bowl. With a spatula, stir to combine everything and make sure the chicken is coated well.5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, 1 large onion, 4 cloves garlic, 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, 29 ounce (822 ml) can of tomato puree, 1 ½ cups (368 g) plain yogurt, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons Garam masala, 1 teaspoon tumeric powder, 1 tablespoon cumin, ½ tablespoon sweet paprika, 2 teaspoon salt, ¾ teaspoon cinnamon, ¾ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, 1–3 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- Cover and refrigerate for two hours or overnight.
- Once marinated, gently place the mixture in the insert of the crockpot and add the two bay leaves.2 bay leaves
- Cover and cook for 4 hours on low (or 2 hours on high).
- When done, in a medium bowl, whisk together heavy cream and corn starch, then pour the mixture into the crockpot and gently stir. Let cook an additional 20 minutes to thicken up. Squeeze half a lemon over the mixture then stir to incorporate.1 cup (237 ml) heavy cream, 3 tablespoons cornstarch, Lemon juice from half a small lemon
- Serve hot over a bed of white (or brown) rice.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Video
Nutrition
Photography by Jesse Reilly
Hahaha! I’ve realized my mistake. I’m from England and we call tomato paste tomato puree. I will try it again with American tomato puree :)
Tried this recipe and it was amazing! Hands down mine and my hubbies favorite meal. One thing, we both LOVE spicy. What can we add to this to give it that extra kick? It would be much appreciated!
You could add more cayenne pepper to give it an extra kick!
We are HUGE Indian food fans around here – so I couldn’t wait to try my hand at this. We really liked it – I would cut down a tad on the cayenne next time (sometimes I forget it’s better to start easy on the spice because you can always add, but you can’t really take away!)
I felt like it was missing a little something – something I can’t quite put my finger on. Maybe more salt! Either way, it’s a fantastic recipe and it is definitely going into our rotation! Thanks for sharing!
Is there a typo in this recipe? I made it with 29oz tomato puree and it was soooooo tomatoey and didn’t need thickening. Should it be 29oz tomato sauce?
No, there is no typo in the recipe. I made it myself with 29 oz. tomato puree.
Can I use curry as a substitute for garam masala?
or is there a susbtitute for it
You could but I wouldn’t recommend it. Garam masala is a mixture of spices and your dish probably would just end up being a chicken curry dish as opposed to a tikka masala.
Made this tonight and it was fantastic! Easy to throw together and came out delicious. The chicken ended up really tender, pretty much shredded but that’s probably because it cooked for about 10 hours since I work long shifts.
For anyone looking for a slightly lighter alternative, I used light coconut milk in place of the heavy cream and it turned out great – the spices definitely covered any coconut taste. I also used plain Greek yogurt, which kept the sauce nice and thick.
Thanks for the great recipe! I will definitely make this again
Made this pot of goodness over the weekend, and we loved it. Very complex flavors, easy to throw together, and gave us plenty of leftovers. Considering it a regular in our rotation now!
Thanks for the recipe. I made this last night and wanted to share my take on the spiciness level. I’m an absolute wimp when it comes to spice. I used 1.5 tsp of cayenne and for me it was too much. My husband is a spicy enthusiast and added more red pepper to his plate. I’m going to try adding some extra greek yogurt to my plate of leftovers tonight to try and cut down on the spice for me. My husband raved about this dish and offered to be in charge of eating all of the leftovers this week :) So I’d say it was a success!
I tried the recipie but it didn’t turn out. Maybe its because I used sourcream because I didnt have yogart. I cooked it on low for 8 hours and found the chicken way over cooked and the sauce didn’t taste good. (I usually love Indian food). If I was to do this again, I would cook the chicken separtely and just add it in at the end to warm up. Thoughts?
Traditional Indian dishes always use yogurt. I’m pretty sure the sauce didn’t taste good because of the substitution of sour cream. I think you should try that next time. The yogurt also tenderizes the chicken throughout the cooking process so the omission of yogurt might’ve just been why your dish didn’t turn out. If you want to make this again, I definitely suggest using yogurt and if you want, you could definitely cook the chicken separately and then add it in at the end!
I tried this and it was so good! I’m writing a post about recipes I’ve tried recently, and will definitely be linking to this post! :)
Thanks for sharing!