Summary:
One of my favorite low carb chicken dinners, this Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala is restaurant quality with tender chicken chunks and an incredible sauce. Don't have a slow cooker? Make this on the stovetop (see Stovetop Chicken Tikka Masala) or using a pressure cooker (see Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala).
INGREDIENTS
Marinating Chicken:
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts (Note 1)
- 1 (7-ounce) container plain greek yogurt (Note 2)
- 1 tablespoon
garam masala (Note 3) - 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon
ground ginger
Sauce:
- 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon
garam masala (Note 3) - 1/2 teaspoon
garlic powder - 1/2 teaspoon
smoked paprika - 1/2 teaspoon
turmeric - 1/2 teaspoon table salt
- 1/4 teaspoon
ground cayenne (Note 4)
Finishings:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream (Note 5)
- optional chopped fresh cilantro
INSTRUCTIONS
- Marinate Chicken: Stir together all marinade ingredients except chicken in large bowl until well-mixed; set aside. Pat chicken dry with paper towels, and cut into bite-sized chunks, 1/2 to 1 inch in size. Stir chicken chunks into marinade until well-coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Sear Chicken (Note 6): Heat wide nonstick pan over high heat, no oil needed. Add 1/3 of chicken chunks (along with any marinade sticking to them; Note 7) and cook until chicken appears a bit blackened and charred, less than 5 minutes, while stirring and flipping chicken to sear all sides. As they finish searing, transfer to slow cooker (don't include pan drippings, if any). Repeat with remaining 2 batches of chicken.
- Cook & Serve: Add all sauce ingredients to
slow cooker , and stir everything together. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours. Uncover and stir in heavy whipping cream until sauce turns orange. Serve (Note 8), and optionally garnish with chopped cilantro.
NUTRITION
| Makes 4 Servings |
| Amount Per Serving: |
| Calories 410 (54% from fat) | |
| Total Fat 24g | 37% |
| Saturated Fat 15g | 73% |
| Cholesterol 138mg | 46% |
| Sodium 400mg | 17% |
| Net Carb 9g | |
| Total Carb 13g | 4% |
| Dietary Fiber 4g | 16% |
| Sugars 6.5g | |
| Protein 33g |
PHOTOS
I loved this! I tweaked the recipe and added 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter to the crock pot about an hour into cooking. Gave it that extra richness I was looking for, and some extra fat for my keto WOE 🙂
I made this the other night and it turned out perfectly! The chunks of chicken did not get tough after being sauteed, everything was moist and delicious! I was surprised it was so good, given how easy it was to put it together. My husband was particularly pleased with the quantities of sauce it made – he loves dunking his naan bread (and crusty bread) in the sauce. Thanks for posting this recipe!
Haha I love it when someone tells me they appreciate the extra sauce 🙂 I’m glad you found this easy to make, hope you get a chance to make it again soon!
Could I cook on low in n the slow cooker and for how long?
Sooo. goooood! I followed cooking directions to a T and it is fabulous! I tripled the recipe to have this for dinner all week and am serving with a keto flat bread and cauliflower.
I have made this several times. Always perfect. I like to serve it with both naan and basmati rice. Trader Joe’s Mango Chutney is a nice accompaniment. Thanks so much for posting.
We make this recipe literally once a week… Either this slow cooker version or your instant pot version depending on how much lead time I give myself. We always have to double, or triple, the recipe because my husband loves it so much He wants leftovers. This is one of the only meals that he request they make enough for leftovers on… Thank you!
Would it work for 4 hours on low instead of 2 on high?
I don’t see why not 🙂 I haven’t tried it but it should work.
Did you try it Shelly? I’d like to do that too, it’s better time-wise for me…please let me know! Can’t wait to try this!!!
This is just like our favorite Indian place makes it! Sometimes you get too much tomato and/or cinnamon with different recipes (admittedly, I’m not aware of the authentic way to make Tikka Masala). We made it just as instructed and it was delicious, however, I think the spice masked the flavor of our garlic naan so we will likely opt to cut the cayenne and/or smoked paprika just a tad. We also found that the recipe really was more suitable for two rather than four.
This is absolutely the best recipe for chicken tikka masala. Thank you!
I had trouble getting this to print. Only the first page appeared, so I was not able to get any of the notes or nutrition. I finally copied it into Word and made a PDF that way.
Did you use the gold-colored print button provided above the ingredients list? My guess is that your browser print settings are preventing you from printing more than the first page.
Thanks for the comments. By reading them I find everyone uses different subs. I have never had this dish before. I was getting hungry just reading. Now I am excited to just try it. Thanks again.
This is my absolute favorite recipe right now, delicious and very filling, a super plus that it’s low carb too! I make it every other week and serve it over cauliflower rice. Soooooo good! It’s hard to not overindulge.
I did have a question however, how many grams make one serving? I want to be able to track this correctly in my food diary. Thank you!
Hi Dicentra! I haven’t weighed each serving before, so I don’t know each serving’s weight in grams. You can calculate a decent estimate by adding up the heaviest ingredients (chicken, yogurt, tomato sauce, heavy whipping cream), converting that total from ounces to grams, and then dividing it by 4 servings.
Julia, instead of frying the chicken. Can I bake them in the oven?
Thank you.
Yes, that would work. Baking at high temp or broiling would be best for giving the chicken a charred appearance, but it’ll be delicious either way.
Perfection! I added a little bit more spice but the taste is great!
OMG, I have a new favorite food! I had tried Trader Joe’s “butter chicken “ in the frozen food section and liked it, but THIS one is over the top!!!
Family, friends, and neighbors also loved it! Thanks so much for posting this recipe!
It’s a definite hit!
Ty for this recipe, I’m going to try it at a community center I help at. 20-25 servings for a dinner.
Omg…. delicious, delicious, delicious. Shockingly good for how easy it is!!!!!! Thanks for sharing.
I love this recipe. Soooo good. My husband and I recently started counting calories, so I am wondering based on the nutrition facts you have posted….what amount is a serving size?
Thanks! I haven’t measured the volume of each serving, but it’s basically 1/4th of the entire recipe. So after making this, if you divide it into four equal portions, that should give you the serving size corresponding to the nutrition facts.
I cannot WAIT to try this! I am a slow cooker lazy lady who likes to let the cooker do the work.
I made this today and whilst it looks good it tastes way too sweet to be like a proper restaurant tikka masala, perhaps there is far too much tomatoe sauce / purée for my families licking. Was disappointed
I wonder if it’s the type of tomato sauce you used. I usually get a plain version — simply pureed tomatoes and salt, no sugar or herbs added. You can check the ingredients on the label of the can to see what’s in it.
So simple to make and absolutely delicious! Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Is there any way to marinate and sauté the chicken the night before and then add the sauce the next day before cooking?
Yes, you can definitely marinate the chicken overnight. I haven’t sauteed the chicken the night before, but I don’t see why not.
Excellent! Thanks for guiding me with my “newly” purchased slow cooker – This has always been a favorite meal and so easy to cook at home – the translation from dutch oven to slow cooker – perfect!
My house smells divine!
YUMMY! Thank you for posting the slow cooker version!