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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
Since I do not have a crock pot, can you suggest how long I would cook this on the stove top? Thanks :)
Hi Tracy, I’m not positive but I would maybe start with 2 hours on low and longer if you want the flavors to develop more.
Tonight I was desperate for a good curry recipe and luckily I came across this. By far the best I’ve made. I didn’t have heavy cream so I threw in a can of coconut milk. Thank you very much for the delicious recipe!
Hi everyone.. I made this the other day and it was really good, but it was missing something… So close, but some flavor note was missing for sure my fiancé and I agreed. I figured it out. It’s TUMERIC POWDER! Added it afterward, and then it was PERFECT. Tastes identical to Indian restaurant Chicken Tikka. Try it!
I’m also wondering, I had found a recipe years ago that included cardamon seeds… that might help as well. I’m looking forward to giving this a try this weekend. Thanks for posting, I LOVE crockpot cooking & I agree 100%, set it & go is the only way to go
Can I add curry powder to this recipe?
Also, is smoked paprika better than regular paprika?
Thank you!
You can add curry powder to this recipe if you want but I haven’t tried it that way so I’m not sure how it’d taste with the other ingredients. Smoked paprika and regular paprika (which is sweet) are both different so I can’t say if one is better than the other. If you’re looking for a smokier taste, then I’d use smoked paprika (my personal favorite) but if you just want a hint of sweetness, use regular.
So I managed to forget to buy cornstarch when I made this today. Doh! Luckily I had some flour which worked as a good substitute. Pretty tasty dish over all. I think I may try and rub down the chicken before hand as that was the only part that I didn’t like so much. The sauce was amazing but it didn’t penetrate the meat like I’d hoped. Still super yummy though!
Glad it turned out well for you!
I made this lovely dish on Monday, and it turned out amazing. The chicken was tender. The sauce was flavorful. And, it only took a few minutes to prepare. I definitely recommend making this. Thanks for sharing!
There was something off about this dish so I did some research and realized you left out the lemon juice that basically every other chicken tikki masala recipe has. I added some and it helped a lot!
Hey Ali – thanks for catching that! I actually added lemon juice to my tikka masala and I really didn’t like the way it tasted with it so I omitted it when I wrote the recipe because I didn’t want people to get angry about it, but maybe I should add it back in. Thanks!
I just made this recipe and I must say it is awful and nothing like what I expected. Either something is missing from the recipe that caused this epic fail or I just don’t like this recipe and I have had chicken masala many times and it never tasted this way. Very disappointed at the huge waste.
I agree with the above comment, I won’t say we didn’t enjoy it but I was not ready for it to taste so unlike the tikka masala we are used to. We tend to go out for Indian food at least twice a month. I followed the recipe every step of the way and it was really easy but the taste just wasn’t there for me. I seemed to get a lot of cinnamon taste even though I didn’t add anymore then I was supposed to and then chicken was a drop dry.
I just made this and it was super easy and everyone liked it… but it didn’t taste like tikka masala. Tikka Masala is my favourite Indian dish and I’ve had it numerous times and different restaurants. This meal wasn’t bad, but it essentially tasted like a sourcream chicken. It didn’t taste like Indian food. I just stepped back through the entire recipe and made sure that I didn’t miss anything or add too little or too much of something. I did it perfectly (save the cilantro at the end because we just didn’t have any). I would totally make it again, but it is lacking in something and I can’t place it.