I’m excited to share a new recipe with you that I tweaked over and over again to get it right—Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala! It’s as close as I could get it to the super yummy Tikka Masala we recently had at an authentic Indian restaurant here in Charlotte (thanks to Vani for introducing it to us).
I came home and immediately put it on our meal plan so I could try making it myself. The first version was nothing like the restaurant version—all we could taste was a strong cinnamon and clove flavor, and we were not fans. So, I quickly determined I’d basically have to make my own garam masala spice mix that was a little milder. I got some advice from my cousin’s wife (who grew up on authentic Indian cuisine), and after a few more takes, finally got it pretty darn close!
Vegetarian Note
As I recently mentioned, my 13-year-old is trying something new and no longer eating meat at the moment! Luckily she’ll still eat the sauce from a dish like this, even if the chicken was cooked in it. I guess it’s that or make your own dinner, LOL. So, I quickly sauteed some shiitake mushrooms for her to substitute for the chicken, and she loved it. The sauce is so good that I made sure to include plenty of extra on purpose … yum!
I hope you enjoy this one as much as we do! It’s hard not to love a recipe where all you have to do is dump it in the slow cooker and turn it on. Enjoy!
Other Indian Recipes You Might Enjoy
Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala
This Chicken Tikka Masala recipe is as close as I can get to the delicious meal I had at an authentic Indian restaurant here in Charlotte. The sauce is so good served over brown rice.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breasts, or thighs, boneless and skinless
- 1 small onion, (or 1/2 large onion), diced
- 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 15 oz can plain tomato sauce
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 teaspoons ginger, peeled and freshly minced/grated
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamon
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
- plain yogurt and brown rice, for serving
Instructions
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Place the raw chicken pieces in the bottom of the slow cooker. Top with the diced onion, canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic & spices, tomato paste, and honey. Cook on low for 6 to 7 hours.
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Temporarily remove the chicken and shred it into bite-sized pieces. Add the cream to the slow cooker and use a hand-held immersion blender to blend the sauce until smooth, then stir the chicken back in with a spoon.
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Spoon the brown rice into bowls, top with chicken and sauce, plain yogurt, and cilantro, and serve.
Recipe Notes
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
Nutrition facts do not include rice and yogurt.
Nutrition Facts
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Blackened Fish Salad with a Creamy Avocado Dressing
For my dairy free friends a can of full fat coconut milk works perfectly instead of heavy cream. Great recipe! Also did only 2 TB honey and it was enough and great.
Thanks for the tip! Glad it still turns out great. – Nicole
Could you use half and half to lower the fat content or is the whipping cream a non-negotiable?
We have not tried it, but I’ve read some recipes that used half and half, or you could also try greek yogurt as a sub. Let us know if you give it a try. – Nicole
We loved this recipe! My kids range from 20-1, and all loved it! It is going to be a repeat in our house, and I even passed it on to my adult daughters to make in their home! We did choose to serve it with a cilantro yogurt sauce (recipe found online) that really pulled it all together!
Glad to hear it was such a hit! – Nicole
I love this recipe! I’ve not had Tikka Masala before- but I am so glad I tried this. I prepared this recipe exactly as you stated. It is so flavorful and will be a recipe that I’ll keep coming back to.
We’re so glad you gave it a try and loved it. – Nicole
I made this last night, and while it’s quite tasty, it doesn’t taste like any Tikka Masala I’ve had before. For me, the issue was the honey–perhaps I used very good quality honey (with a stronger taste?), because it overpowered the dish and made it too sweet. I did add three times as much crushed red pepper than the recipe called for, but I think real (not dried) chilis are required to give this any real heat. All this being said, I love these slow-cooker recipes, so keep them coming! As a college prof with a variable schedule, it’s so great to be able to toss stuff in between classes and not think about it until dinner time.
Hi Amber, thanks for the feedback. It could possibly be the honey that is throwing you off, as we try to use only honey or 100% maple syrup as sweeteners, staying away from refined sugars that you would normally find in this type of recipe. – Nicole
Can this be frozen? I don’t think my husband and I could eat this all in one setting. Currently in the crock pot! Can’t wait to eat it
Sorry we couldn’t respond back in real-time. Hope it came out great for you. While we haven’t tried, there shouldn’t be any reason it couldn’t be frozen. – Nicole