Indian food has become my very favorite type of food to eat. Ironically, it was my teenage son who really got me interested in it. I don’t really think of Indian Cuisine as being popular with teenagers, but my son and his friends love to go out to several of the nearby Indian restaurants. They especially love the lunch buffets. They can eat their fill, plus try some new foods.
One of my favorite Indian dishes is the ever popular Chicken Tikka Masala. I love the contrast of sweetness and spice in it and the richness from the cream. I haven’t really done much Indian cooking at home because it seems so foreign to me, but when I saw this slow cooker Chicken Tikka Masala recipe on Pinterest, I thought- That’s something I can make.
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And it turned out fabulously well. The sauce is wonderfully thick and rich, with loads of flavor. The chicken pieces are moist and tender and almost just become a part of the sauce. The only change I might make would be to add a little more chicken. If you want it to have a significant amount of chicken, maybe use 3 or 4 pounds instead of two. But let’s face it, people who like Chicken Tikka Masala like it for the sauce, not the chicken.
Of course Tikka Masala must be served with some warm Na’an to mop up the sauce and some rice, preferably Basmati or Jasmine.
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Watch the short video below to see how to make Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala.
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup plain greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons garam masala
- 2-3 inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
- 2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 10- ounce bag frozen peas, thawed
- rice
- cilantro
- In a large bowl, combine chicken, ground coriander, cumin, and salt. Toss to combine. Stir in yogurt, coating chicken evenly. Marinate for at least 10 minutes.
- In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add half of chicken and cook until browned on both sides. Transfer to slow cooker. Repeat with remaining chicken.
- In same skillet, add 1 more tablespoon olive oil. Add onions, garlic, and red pepper flakes and saute until onions are softened and translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add 1 teaspoon salt ,garam masala, and ginger and cook 1 more minute. Add tomatoes and sugar, turn heat to high, and bring to a boil. Pour over chicken in slow cooker. Cover and cook for 5-6 hours on LOW.
- Whisk together cornstarch and 1/4 cup heavy cream and add to crockpot along with remaining heavy cream and peas. Stir to combine. Cover and continue to cook 10 minutes on HIGH.
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from A Dash of Cinnamon
More Slow cooker recipes
Can you add diced potatoes and can peas instead of frozen peas
I’ve made this a couple times. It’s great! I add a little more ginger than the recipe calls for but that’s personal preference. Re: the question of using breast meat instead of thighs I think the might tend to dry out since they have less fat?
Glad you liked the recipe Mike! I agree that chicken breasts won’t stay as moist as thighs.
This recipe was so good. My wife loves tikki marsala, and she claimed that recipe was the the best she’s ever had. I did add a little turmeric and ground cordamom to the recipe.
This recipe is total crap. What’s the point of using a slow cooker if you have to cook the dish 90% of the way beforehand??)
I’d like to eliminate the sugar. Will that affect the taste of this recipe much?
Hi! Would this work for 2-3 hours on high instead of 5-6 on low? Thanks!
Yes, that sould be fine to cook it on high.
I love Tikka Masala, but have never tried to cook it at home. I’m going to prepare this for 8 guests for a dinner party/poker game on Saturday. Have you or anyone tried to cooking this with chicken breasts instead of thighs? Also, what do you think about putting the chicken under the broiler briefly in lieu of the skillet to get that nice char coloring you see at restaurants?
Thank you so much! I can’t wait to try this.
I looked forward to making this recipe for weeks, and when I finally did, it didn’t disappoint. The prep was very simple, ingredients easy to find, and instructions spot on. The dish wasn’t too spicy or too bland, just right. And the consistency of the sauce and tenderness of the meat was better than some Indian restaurants (I’m Indian). I only have a 4-quart slow cooker, so I did reduce the amount of sauce that I poured over the chicken (to keep the food level at 2/3 full). My family loved this dish and I’m looking forward to making it again!
So happy your family loved this meal Aarti! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
I got ahead of myself and added the cream to the crockpot to cook for the 5 hours. Do you think it will still turn out?
I hope so!!
I’ve no Coriander, but I’ve fresh Cilantro. Can I just mince the Cilantro finely instead? If so, would I use more or less? Even Google cant tell me if they’re the same thing, and interchangeable, or not! LOL I hope you can! 🙂
(I’m only hesitant to COOK Cilantro, only because I once added it to filling I made for beef enchiladas, and it tasted terrible cooked, then baked in – even though we love it raw!)
I’ve made this recipe several times, now, and it comes out spectacular every time! I’m usually a wimp when it comes to spicy foods, but I would honestly probably put a little more crushed red pepper (personally). I accidentally bought diced tomatoes, instead of crushed, but it still came out wonderful! Just had more chunks of tomato.
I love this, as it make a HUGE crock pot full of deliciousness, and it freezes exceptionally well! Make some basmati rice and/or naan (which also freeze well), and you’ve got frozen homemade meals whenever you want!
Very tasty and easy to make!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I can’t stop making this… I make a double batch and freeze 1.5 of them in mason jars and they are perfect for our family if 2 to pull out on busy days! Thank you! You’ve expanded my cooking horizons 🙂
So glad you enjoyed it and glad to know it freezes well.
Very nice recipe . I replaced the cream for coconut cream. It was fantastic !
I bet it was even better with cream of coconut!
Can the chicken marinate overnight?
Do you have to cook the chicken?
You don’t have to Mary. You may want to add a little time to the slow cooking time if you skip browning the chicken in a pan. Good luck!
Good to know, I just put this on and didn’t brown the chicken first.
Could I substitute the heavy cream with coconut milk?
Yes, I think that would work really well.
I just made this dish & I loved it. However my family’s pallet islimited & did not enjoy it as much as I did.
Well, glad that at least the cook enjoyed it!
What if I don’t have constarch?
You can leave it out. The cornstarch just helps thicken it up.
Made this tonight, directions very easy to follow. I will definitly be addeding this to our meal plan fairly often. Tiki Masala is one of my favorites, nice to know it is so easy to make. Highly recommend this recipe
this is amazing!!!! thank you!!!!
Made this today and my husband loved it!! Thanks!
Where can I find garam masala? Thanks!
You should be able to find it at a well-stocked grocery store or here is a link to some on Amazon- https://www.amazon.com/McCormick-Gourmet-Collection-Garam-Masala/dp/B00IA7YS1C/ref=sr_1_1_s_it?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1486170003&sr=1-1&keywords=garam+masala+mccormick
I’m making this now and am confused about the heavy cream. In the ingredients portion you say I’ll need 1.25 cups of it, but then in the directions you only say to use 1/4 cup.
In the directions, it says to mix 1/4 cup together with the cornstarch and then to add that AND the remaining cream to the crock pot. You can mix the cornstarch into the entire amount of cream, but it is much easier to get all the lumps out when you are mixing it into a smaller amount of liquid.
Thanks! I mustve not read it correctly cause it definitely says that now that I re-read it ???? 30 min before it’s done (west coast over here!) can’t wait to eat it!! ❤️
Is the cilantro used only for garnish? I don’t see it mentioned in the instructions.
Yes, I just sprinkle some on before serving.
Can you marinate the chicken overnight?
Do you think it would be OK if I cooked everything the night before in the skillet, but left it in the fridge in the pot over night to cook it in the crock pot the next day?
For food safety reasons, I might be a little hesitant to do that.
As long as you cool it down quickly, there is no risk in that. The “danger zone” is 39 – 140 degrees, so cooking properly, cooling it down before putting a top on it in the fridge and then warming it in the crockpot past that temp. is perfectly fine!
it is fine as long as it is properly stored and handled
Hello!
Maybe I missed it but I don’tt remember seeing anythng about how long you cook in the crock pot. I have used boneless chicken in a crock before and found the texture to be more like the glue you used in grade school. I have madde this dish on top of the stove the old traditional way using bnls chicken and it came out really good. I’d like to try it in the crock pot so how long would you recommend to cook it?
Stephen P. Evans
Cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours Stephen. Hope you enjoy it.
In the crockpot now! Excited to try it. If only I could send smells to my guy while he’s working!! Thanks so much.
Hope you both enjoy it!
Hi, recipe says pour the sauce over the chicken but not to stir it in then?
I usually give it a little stir, but the sauce does a good job of working its way down and around all the chicken.
Made this tonight and it was delicious. I forgot to add the cilantro which was a bummer. I did add more salt than stated because it needed it (that’s coming from someone who doesn’t like salt at all).
Because of the chicken to sauce ratio, next time I am going to use 1 1/2 cans of crushed tomato instead of 2 OR add another pound of chicken
The abundance of sauce it was makes it this dish.
When do you add the ginger and are you cooking the chicken completely in the skillet or just browning and it finishes cooking in crockpot? Thank you
I only browned it to not dry out the chicken
Add ginger in Step 4 and you are just browning the chicken.
Do you discard the yogurt after you take the chicken out? Or do you add it to the crockpot? Looks delicious! Making this today!
Great question…I’m wondering the same. Did you have your question answered??
I don’t scrape any of the yogurt off the chicken when adding it to the pan to brown. Whatever yogurt is left behind, I just discard.
I tried this recipe last night and wow! It turned out just like the photos and was absolutely delicious! I followed the recipe exactly and would say it is spot on. I used 2 heaping tbsp. of ginger/garlic paste instead of fresh. I left out the red pepper flakes since we like it mild and added lots of cilantro (love that stuff) to the slow cooker while it cooked for 6 hours on low. It really came together at the end with the heavy cream. We have a ton of leftovers and it will be great for the week, however, I will most likely cut the recipe in half the next time I make it since it’s just the two of us. Thank you so much for this delicious recipe!
this recipe is amazing! made this for dinner tonight, big hit. I would say tho, it’s not necessary to cube the chicken before browning. the meat shreds in the crackpot as its cooking.
Can it be frozen after cooking everything on the stove before it goes in the crockpot? Then cooked in the crockpot?
Hi! My fiance can’t eat dairy- could I substitute the heavy cream for something else? What would you suggest. The greek yogurt should probably be fine.
Hmmm… maybe you could try coconut milk. The thick kind that comes in a can.
I was wondering the same…..what could be substituted for the cream to make it healthier & less calories???
You could try using half-and-half instead. It will still be fairly high in calories, but definitely a lot less than using heavy cream.
Thank you for the delicious recipe, I’m saving this one in my family recipe book <3
Is it cooked on low or high for five hours?
Why is there no mention of the ginger in the recipe?
Thanks for catching that! Fixed it.