Easy Chicken Tikka Masala
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
10000x better (and faster) than take-out! And the chicken is perfectly tender with the creamiest, most flavor-packed sauce ever!
WHAT IS CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA?
Tikka masala is a very popular Indian dish (that may have actually originated from Great Britain) that consists of boneless chicken in a spiced curry sauce of tomatoes, cream, and traditional Indian spices such as garam masala and turmeric.
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA
- Cook the rice. Let’s get the rice going first so it can cook while we prep everything else. Now we love this over basmati rice but Jasmine rice can be substituted.
- Brown the chicken. Cook the chicken until nice and golden brown – we want a good sear to lock in all the flavors and juices inside the meat.
- Add your spices. Stir in all your spices and aromatics until fragrant – tomato paste, garlic, ginger, garam masala, chili powder and turmeric.
- Make the sauce. Simmer simmer simmer to let all the flavors blend together, about 10 minutes.
- Serve. Stir in heavy cream and sprinkle with cilantro, serving over rice and naan.
TIPS AND TRICKS FOR SUCCESS
- Chicken breasts can be substituted, but chicken thighs are highly recommended here.
- Make sure you have plenty of naan for serving, dipping, sopping.
- For a dairy-free version, coconut milk can be substituted for the heavy cream.
Easy Chicken Tikka Masala: Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, chicken breasts can absolutely be used here but chicken thighs have more dark meat and a higher fat content which will yield juicier, more flavorful chicken.
Heavy cream (or heavy whipping cream) has one of the highest fat contents with about 36-40% fat. Half and half or whole milk are suitable substitutes, but will yield a lighter result.
Yes! You can freeze the leftovers without the heavy cream in individual freezer bags, thaw overnight, and reheat on the stovetop, adding heavy cream when serving.
Easy Chicken Tikka Masala
Ingredients
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil
- ½ medium sweet onion, diced
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoons garam masala
- 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 cup chicken stock
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Instructions
- In a large saucepan of 2 cups water, cook rice according to package instructions; set aside.
- Season chicken with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add chicken and onion to the stockpot and cook until golden, about 4-5 minutes.
- Stir in tomato paste, garlic, ginger, garam masala, chili powder and turmeric until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in tomato sauce and chicken stock; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced and slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in heavy cream until heated through, about 1 minute.
- Serve immediately with rice, garnished with cilantro, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Wow Chungah, you’ve done it again! My husband and I absolutely love Chicken Tikka Masala, so I was thrilled when I saw that you had posted this recipe! I made this recipe last week for dinner, and it was a hit! Absolutely delicious. We almost ate everything in one sitting, but we had to stop ourselves because we wanted to take some to work the following day to eat for lunch! You are right about the chicken thighs! It really made the difference. The chicken was so moist and juicy. We served this over basmati rice with a dollop of greek yogurt and naan on the side. We added a little paprika for some extra added heat. This is one of my new favorite recipes, I will be making this again for dinner tonight! Thanks again for the wonderful recipe, keep em coming!
Thank you so much for sharing with us, Natalie!
Delicious as always. Thank you for your recipes!
This recipe is delicious! It’s so simple to make and tastes even better the next day.
That’s great!
Fabulous!
I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts, added lots more garlic and used crushed tomatoes instead of sauce. Yum!
Thanks, Mary Ellen!
Any idea if I could make this in a crock pot?
Is the recipe referring to mexican chili powder, the blend, or indian chili powder which is just ground chilis?
The blend. 🙂
This was a great dish with just enough heat to know it was there but not so much that my children would complain. That probably depends on your spices, though. This was really simple to make, especially when Indian dishes can run into hours of simmering and a laundry list of ingredients. I had almost everything in my kitchen already- except cream. But I had coconut cream handy so I used that. Turned out fine anyway.
If you’re having problems finding garam masala, I have purchased it from both Sprouts and Amazon in the past, both reasonably priced.
Thanks for your feedback!
Just made this tonight. It’s super easy and delicious! I will definitely be making it again.
It’s the best! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Quite delicious and easy to make.
Made this recipe for meal prep last week, tasted AMAZING. Served it with jasmine rice and cauliflower rice. Just wondering your thoughts on freezing leftovers? Not sure with it having heavy cream.
Thanks so much for your feedback, Jamie! Yes, having dairy in it can make it tricky to freeze, and since we haven’t tried freezing this ourselves, I can’t give you a concrete answer. As always, please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
This was so delicious I wanted to lick my plate clean!!
Love that!
I love this recipe and make it often using different recipes that I come across, so far your in the lead. Lol.
Saw where someone used Chaka instead of Masala, what is the difference and which would you recommend?
Love your recipes and have made several with great success. Keep sharing.
To be honest, I am not entirely sure what “chaka” is! Did you mean something else?
Isnt Chaka Masala an Indian dish meaning garbanzo beans?
Excellent recipe! Made this tonight and my 5yo and husband devoured 🙂
So happy your family enjoyed it!
I just this minute finished making this and although I am sure the flavors will be more fully developed tomorrow (tomato dishes usually are), it is perfectly delicious right now. I am typing in between bites …
It was easy to make, the prep was not too lengthy, and it is very flavorful. Cutting up the chicken took the longest, and gathering all the other ingredients ready to go was a time saver. I prefer brown Basmati rice to white, so used that instead. The only other changes I made were from personal preference and necessity: more onion than called for and chana masala instead of garam masala because that’s what I had. I will definitely make this again.
With the exception of the chicken and fresh cilantro, everything was a pantry staple. If your local supermarkets stock packaged naan, or if you make it, that is a nice addition to your meal.
Thanks for your feedback, Christine!
This was so yummy! It was a big hit with my picky husband. He said it was one of the best things I have made in a few days lol! My daughter just about licked her plate clean! Your recipes are my go to recipes to use. Thank you so much, you make me look good in the kitchen.
Thanks for sharing!
I made this for dinner tonight. It was sooooooo good!
It’s the best – glad you liked it!
This recipe was AMAZING! Best comfort food and perfect balance of flavor. So much good dipping sauce for naan! I’m in Virginia and was able to find Garam Masala easily at Wegmans for anyone with a Wegmans nearby!
Great! Thanks for sharing.
Absolutely amazing -your recipes never disappoint! I questioned the amount of seasonings, and as always, they are spot on. I did use chicken breasts ( we really don’t care for thighs) and it turned out really well – not dry at all. Served with Jasmine rice (what I had on hand), and garlic naan. Will definitely make again! Also, found garam masala under the traditional alphabetical spice section display, so you may have to look down below with the various seasoned salts, etc. to find it!
Thank you for sharing, Sue!
How can I make this recipe spicy? My husband likes this dish with some heat.
You can try to increase the amount of chili powder, but as always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications.
The usual excellently laid out recipe and instructions. Thank you.
I had to replace the ‘heavy cream’ with a mix of greek yoghurt and milk for calorific reasons. I am sure that with heavy cream it would taste better. However, I could not risk even further inches on the existing love handles.
We love it, Stew!
I haven’t made this recipe yet, but I was wondering if I could use heavy whipping cream instead of heavy cream? I accidentally bought heavy whipping cream at the store.
Yes, they’re essentially the same.