Easy Chicken Tikka Masala
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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?
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This is the best Tikka Masla receipe by far! My friends & family beg me to make this meal at least once a month. 10/10 would recommend to anyone.
This recipe was really good and easy! My family eats a lot though, so I doubled the chicken. I also used boneless chicken breasts. Next time I will sear the breasts or grill them and set aside so they stay juicy, and then make the sauce in the pot with the juices from the chicken separately. *I substituted a can of unsweetened coconut cream for the heavy dairy cream and it was delicious*. I also used 2 small cans of paste since I was using more chicken, but I kept the chicken stock and tomato sauce amount the same as was in this recipe. This made for a rich, thick sauce. I also seasoned the chicken with onion and garlic powder in addition to salt/pepper.
We have made this recipe multiple times within the last year because it is so simple and delicious. We’re obsessed!
This was amazing, and such a beginner friendly recipe. I was able to use the chicken breasts I already had in my freezer and they were still so tender! I’m excited to make this again using chicken thighs. This was a last minute dinner idea so I also couldn’t find Garam masala, so I had to use curry powder instead. I can’t wait to make this with no changes, I’m sure it’s going to be even better 🙂
Thanks so much; this recipe is great! I’ve made it twice now, and I’m obsessed. I have two small suggestions. The first is to add in 1/4 tsp of baking soda after adding the tomato sauce. This can reduce some of the brightness and acid of the tomatos for a mellower flavor. Just add it and keep stirring until the bubbling has stopped. The second would be to wait to add the onions until after the chicken has got a nice char on it. I found the onions released a lot of water that made it hard for the chicken to brown.
My hubby love it
First time making Tikka Masala and WOW! My 13 year old loved it too. The flavor is perfect. My only issue I did buy chicken thighs with bone and having to cut into one inch pieces was bit time consuming for me. So dont make that mistake. The chicken was super tender and had great flavor. This one is a keeper
Love this recipe!! I wondered if I could use a slow cooker for it?
so easy and quickly became a family favorite
Al the tomato sauce I can find has garlic and onion powder some have basil or oregano. Is this okay?
Can you freeze the sauce? Thanks
Great recipe, can’t wait to try your other recipes! I made a big batch tonight and was wondering if I could freeze the rest? If so how long will it last in the freezer?
Thanks!
This recipe is really easy and it tastes amazing!
I am brand new to Indian cuisine. I want to make some recipes to go with Basmati rice. This one sounds interesting.
Can you substitute the Canola oil with another oil, e.g. grape seed oil or olive oil? Also, is the heavy cream really necessary? Can you substitute something else for the heavy cream?
I have never cooked with ginger before. How do you prepare fresh ginger? Do you have to peel and grate it? Would ground ginger in a jar work just as well? Is there a specific type of chilli powder or flakes you recommend?
I’m not a pro but I do often use olive oil. Have never tried with anything but heavy cream but maybe coconut milk would do. It’s a very small amount of heavy cream but it help the tomato mellow out some in my opinion. Also what gives the beautiful orange color.
I would say the fresh ginger will make a difference. Just scrape off the peel and grate it finely.
Just plain ground chili powder is what I use form McCormick.
We love adding fresh cilantro and warm naan bread. Hope you enjoy!
Hi misty, I didn’t have heavy cream, so I used a cup of greek yogurt and half a cup of milk.
I felt like something in my curry was off, but couldn’t put my finger on it. It might have been this. But I didn’t feel like it wasn’t creamy enough. I bet this recipe would have been a 5 star at my table if I had followed the directions.
My husband and I love this recipe and we make it about every other week! There is absolutely no need for us to go to an Indian restaurant ever again. The only tweak I make is to add one tablespoon of sriracha sauce, just for more spice. I also like it with tortillas instead of naan because I always have tortillas on hand. But again, LOVE this recipe!
This was simply perfect! I can never get enough Indian takeout this however might fix that!
We do Christmas around the world every year. This year was Indian Food. My daughter loves Chicken Tikka Masala so I followed this recipe. It turned out delicious and my family wants this dish as part of our Christmas dinner every year! Thank you for sharing this easy recipe.
This is literally my husband’s favorite dinner and it’s a regular in our dinner rotation. It’s been a hit for meal trains and potlucks. We love making a double recipe and freezing half (just leaving out the cream). Thank you for this!!
Do you think I could make the sauce as directed and then add cubed rotisserie chicken? I know it would not be quite the same but hopefully acceptable
Not too bad, I didn’t have garam masala so I had to improvise . I think I used too much ginger the spices were a bit too heavy.
I loved this (and so many of your recipes!)!!! Thanks for another hit 🙂
We loved this recipe, easy and full of flavour. My husband has been raving about it for days