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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
I have been looking for a good crock pot chicken tikka masala recipe ever since starting school and this is not only the best but also one of the easiest recipes ever. So good!!
Julie,
Thanks for this recipe. I’ve been wanting Indian all week and just haven’t had the time. It’s sitting in the crockpot and we are looking forward to it, but I have a few questions.
1) I made my own garam Marsala, toasting the herbs and grinding, but I did not include cardamom (because we are out) or clove (because we don’t like it). All of the other recipe spices are included in the dish, do you think this will have a drastic impact?
2) I didn’t have enough plain yogurt, so I used half yogurt/half sour cream. Do you think it will curdle?
3) I dont have any heavy cream to finish, and was going to pick up, but I do have coconut milk. Thoughts?
Hi Christy! Here are the answers to your questions –
1. I think it’ll be fine
2. I don’t know about the curdling but it honestly might give it a weird taste
3. Coconut milk would be great!
Is this a recipe I can prep ahead, bag and freeze for cooking at a later time? Any suggestions?
Sorry, I’m not sure about freezing it! I can’t see how it’d hurt it but feel free to give it a try :)
This recipe has become a staple in my house! Sometimes I substitute the chicken for paneer (added in the last hour of cooking). This recipe also freezes beautifully.
Are there nutrition facts for this? I’ve made it before and made it again today. Huge hit! Thank you! :)
I’m so glad you enjoyed this! Unfortunately, no, on the nutrition facts. There are many reasons as to why I don’t post nutritional information on my recipes, one of which is that I simply do not have the time to do this. Also, I’m not a registered dietician or nutritionist so for me to give any sort of nutritional information would be incorrect and inaccurate. There are also many differing factors when it comes to nutritional information and since I do not have the knowledge in this, I do not feel comfortable posting this sort of information. If you must have this information, there are many calculators out there (free and paid) that can help you with calculations. A simple Google search would pull up some of these calculators, but again, I’m not endorsing them as I do not know how accurate they may be.
Made this today & it was excellent. I left the lemon out & it was perfect so thank you for that Julie! I didn’t need to thicken it either. Maybe it was because I used 1/2 a jar of tomato sauce since I didn’t have any puree on hand. I just pulled the chicken apart & served over rice. The only sad part was there was no left overs. Next time it will be a double batch!
Just made this and it is awesome! So much easier, and better, than my standard tikka masala recipe. I already can’t wait for lunch tomorrow. :)
1. I’m really impressed with the fact that you’re still responding to comments on a post that’s a few years old! :)
2. I read through the recipe and comments several times to see if anyone had a similar road block – my sauce completely separated while cooking. I had the slow cooker on low and cooked for 8 hours, and when I went to stir it there was a thick skin over the top. It looked like the yogurt curdled. It still didn’t really incorporate when I stirred in the cream and cornstarch slurry. Any thoughts? Thanks!
I know slow cookers cook at different temperatures so some slow cookers’ ‘low’ may be higher than some. I don’t really have ideas for you except maybe don’t cook it as long on low? Or maybe 5-6 hours instead.
It was nice but it came out really pale and didn’t really taste like chicken tikka masala. I used tinned tomatoes, I added another one at the end and it was still super pale.
IS American tomato puree the same as UK tomato puree? I read online that they were different and your tomato puree is like our tinned tomatoes, so I blended tinned tomatoes.
Our tomato puree comes in a tube and is used for things like pizzabases, is that what I should have used?
Our tomato PASTE is what comes in a tube like your tomato puree. Our tomato puree is probably different than your UK tomato puree then. Tomato puree is just basically tomatoes pureed into a smooth consistency, so kind of like tomato sauce.
I just made this tonight and I just have to thank you for the wonderful recipe! I am going to have some fabulous work lunches the next few days with the leftovers!!
Leftovers for lunch are the best! So glad you enjoyed!
I made this yesterday and followed the recipe to a T. However, at that stage I did not know that what you call ‘Tomato Puree’, we in the UK call passata and vice versa! So I used what you would call tomato paste. It didn’t generate much sauce but when I added the cream near the end, this rectified the problem. This was a delicious recipe which all of my family loved, praising my culinary skills. I think I will make it exactly the same way again as it worked so well. Thank you for posting, I love slow cooking (crock pot), it makes life just that bitless stressful of an evening.
Good to know about the difference in names! I’m glad it worked out well for you :) slow cooker recipes definitely help out in life!