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!
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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
- Use chicken thighs. Chicken breasts are great as a leaner protein source, but chicken thighs will be more tender and juicier due to its higher fat content.
- Add the cream slowly. Always add the heavy cream at the very end, pouring very slowly to prevent curdling.
- Serve with naan. Serve with all the naan for dipping, sopping and dunking!
- Make it dairy-free. For a dairy-free version, swap the heavy cream for coconut milk.
what to serve with chicken tikka masala
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.
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I have made this twice in about 6 weeks. The first time I made this my ten-year-old daughter actually did most of the work on her own. After eating this for the first time, my husband said it was his new favorite meal prep lunch and asked when I planned to make it again. I made it again this week for lunches and have been asked by several co-workers for the recipe, all because it smells fantastic coming out of the microwave. I am a huge fan of Damn Delicious and while I have never been disappointed with your recipes, this one has to be my favorite.
Delicious and easy- thank you for sharing this amazing dish.
This was so amazing. I was hesitant because of some reviews that said there was too much sauce, but obviously they didn’t have enough garlic naan.
This is spot on.The best curry I’ve ever made.
Thanks.
Fabulous! I used shrimp instead of chicken. Will use chicken next time.
Easy, even though there are more ingredients than I normally cook with, it came together well. Definitely a keeper.
I made this for the first time and it was delicious. I served it with basmati rice flavored with cumin seeds and it was better than the restaurant! My husband ate 3 bowls!
I have made this, the traditional way. It is so easy and tastes rich and flavorful –
BUT, I’m here today to ask if there are any adaptations to make this in the instant pot on slow cooker setting? Sauté the onion then just add everything else? I’m trying to encourage my husband to cook more and he wants to make this dish… in the slow cooker!
I made this for lunch today! Used coconut milk instead of heavy cream. My family loved it so much! thank you for this recipe. Will definitely make it again in the future
Maybe something went wrong with mine, but it ended up tasting more like chicken in tomato sauce. Kinda liquidity.
That being said due to lack of supplied (COVID-19) I had to substitute the heavy cream for half and half since the store had none.
Not sure if I would make it again. I am desperate for a good Chicken Tikka Masala and all business are closed so I have no other choice. But I’d 100% just get takeout once things open up.
Hi, just to say that unless you meant to type it the way you did, it actually does call for 1/2 cup of heavy cream.
It is a very forgiving sort of recipe, delicious with heavy cream, which I don’t usually use, or 1/2, and/or coconut creamer and/or canned coconut milk. Best wishes.
Really good.
Quick and easy recipe but the results rival restaurant quality.
Just made this for dinner and it tasted great!
This recipe is so out of the box for husband and children, but… WE LOVED IT!! Very easy, great instruction and it is absolutely DELICIOUS!
Made this for dinner and it was incredible! Used a pound of chicken breast and cut the cream in half and was blown away by the flavor. This recipe is a huge winner!
This was delicious! We are vegan so I made some substitutions: chickpeas and carrots for the chicken, veggie broth instead of chicken broth and coconut milk for the cream. Still turned out great. Your spice profiles are bang on. Entire family can’t wait to have it again (no leftovers) and the entire thing came together in less than 30 minutes.
We aren’t even a little vegan, but I’ve made chickpea masala with coconut milk too and my carnivorous family loves it. I’ve served it many times and my cavemen all eat multiple servings. 🙂
Chungah, I made this tonight and it was delicious! We are vegan so I made some substitutions: chickpeas and carrots instead of chicken, veggie broth instead of chicken broth and coconut milk for the cream. It turned out perfect! Your spice profile was bang on and the family can’t wait to have this again. Thanks!
I am a lover of Tikka Masala. If we are out at an Indian restaurant, it’s what I get. SonI have had many variations. I found this one to be surprisingly delicious. It tastes like some of the versions I have had out at restaurants. I did not have onions or fresh ginger. Used powdered ginger, and seasoned the chicken with Onion Poser, salt and Pepper. I’ll be making this again as it was quick and easy.
Perfect
I added a little more garam masala and substituted a mix of cayenne and red chili pepper flakes for the chili powder. I also made a roux at first with some butter/ghee and flour before adding my onion and garlic to make more sauce. My family loved it!
I thought it would taste good considering how it looked from the recipe but it was the most tasteless tikka masala I’ve ever had. Even thought it had all of the spices, it didn’t taste like anything. It was terrible. I won’t be making this again.
I’m sorry to hear that. One thing I have noticed with recipies that call for spices is that the quality of the spices either make or break the recipe. Especially Garam Masala. There are some versions that are full of flavorless fillers like paprika. I recommend trying a different brand of spices and maybe give it another try.
Also, if your spices are over 6 months old they begin to lose flavor. If your spices are 2-3 years old, they can be next to flavorless in a dish. Try toasting some fresh whole spices and grinding them in a spice grinder. This should punch up your flavors.
You can also breathe a little life into older spices by blooming them in oil. Basically sprinkle them into the oil for a few before sauteeing the onion and chicken. Much more flavor comes out. Also, you really can’t forget the salt in this dish. It needs some to really make the spices shine and the flavors come together
This was the best easiest recipe that is beyond delicious !!Thank you for sharing. My husband loved it !!
This was amazing. Will definitely be making this recipe again.
I’ve made this three or four times now, and it always works out great. It’s super easy, and I’ve never had problems with it. My friends always enjoy it. I only increase some of the spices to really get the flavor, and most recently I had to substitute ground ginger over fresh ginger, and not surprisingly the ginger aroma and flavor was lower. It still tasted amazing. Great work on this recipe!