I love simplifying recipes and making them accessible for the average everyday American cook, with simple ingredients and simple prep, but I think went too far with the original version of this Slow Cooker Tikka Masala recipe. When I made it again recently I thought, “yeah, I can do better than this.” So I got back in the kitchen and started tweaking and testing. I’m happy to say that this new and improved version is richer, has more spices, a more complex flavor, and is far less “tomato-y.” But don’t worry, if you’re a fan of the original, there is a link to download the old version of the Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala below. ;)
Recipe Updates
So what did I do to improve this chicken tikka masala recipe? A few very important things…
The spice mix: I beefed up the spice mix a bit to make the flavors more complex, adding some cumin, turmeric, and smoked paprika to give extra smoky flavor that mimics the fire licked flavor of traditional chicken tikka masala.
Searing: I decided to add an extra step to this process, which might seem fussy to some, but it totally changes the flavor. Searing the seasoned meat before it goes into the slow cooker adds a ton of flavor from the maillard reaction and from toasting the spices. Likewise, sautéing the onions also changes their flavor and soaks up any bits of spices and chicken flavor left over in the skillet. Do NOT skip this step. It goes fast, I promise.
Less Tomato Sauce: One of the most common criticisms of the old recipe is that it tasted way too tomato-y. Upon remaking the recipe, I agreed so I reduced the tomato sauce by half, and the result was PERFECT. 👍Good call, everyone!
And if you love the old recipe, click here to download the pdf.
Recipe Substitutions and Options:
Chicken: You can use chicken breast in place of the chicken thighs, although it tends to not be as tender or juicy. I suggest cutting it into cubes before seasoning with the spices to maximize the flavor.
Cream: You can use full-fat yogurt or full-fat coconut milk in place of the cream.
Tomato Sauce: Tomato sauce is a common product in the U.S., but I know it’s not readily available in other countries. The closest product would probably be passata. You may need to add a bit more salt at the end if using passata, as tomato sauce contains salt.
Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala
Servings 6Ingredients
- 1.5 Tbsp garam masala ($0.45)
- 1/2 tsp cumin ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp turmeric ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne (optional) ($0.02)
- Freshly cracked pepper ($0.02)
- 2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs ($5.78)
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
- 1 yellow onion, diced ($0.32)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced ($0.24)
- 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger ($0.11)
- 1 15oz. can tomato sauce ($0.50)
- 1/3 cup heavy cream ($0.32)
For Serving
- 4 cups cooked rice ($0.70)
- 1/4 bunch fresh cilantro ($0.17)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the garam masala, cumin, turmeric, smoked paprika, salt, cayenne, and some freshly cracked pepper (about 10 cranks of a pepper mill). Sprinkle the spice mix over both sides of the chicken thighs, coating them liberally.
- Heat the cooking oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the seasoned chicken and cook for about 3 minutes on each side, or until well browned (the chicken does not need to be cooked through). Transfer the seared chicken to the slow cooker.
- Add the diced onion to the skillet and continue to cook until the onions are soft and slightly browned on the edges. Remove the skillet from the heat. Add the onions to the slow cooker, then add 1/4 cup of water to the skillet and stir to dissolve the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Pour the water into the slow cooker.
- Add the minced garlic, grated ginger, and tomato sauce to the slow cooker with the chicken and onion. Briefly stir, then place the lid on top, and turn the slow cooker on. Cook on high for 3 hours or low for 6 hours.
- After 3 hours on high or 6 hours on low, the chicken should be fall-apart tender. Turn the slow cooker off, then add the heavy cream. Stir gently to combine the cream with the tomato sauce. Taste the sauce and add salt if needed.
- To serve, spoon the chicken and tomato sauce over cooked rice and top with fresh cilantro.
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Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala – Step by Step Photos
Start by preparing the spice mix. In a small bowl, combine 1.5 Tbsp garam masala, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (leave out if you want it mild), and some freshly cracked pepper (about 10 cranks of a pepper mill).
Sprinkle the seasoning mix over both sides of 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Make sure they are liberally coated.
Heat 1 Tbsp cooking oil in a large skillet, over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the seasoned chicken, and cook for about 3 minutes on each side, or until well browned. The chicken does not need to be cooked through. Transfer the chicken to the slow cooker.
Add the diced onion to the hot skillet and sautée for a few minutes more, or just until the onions are soft and a little browned on the edges. The onions will pick up some of the spices left behind by the chicken, which is a good thing, but we want to get ALL the flavor left behind. So, transfer the onions to the slow cooker, remove the skillet from the heat, add 1/4 cup water, and stir to dissolve all the browned bits off the bottom of the skillet. Pour that water into the slow cooker.
Also add 3 cloves of minced garlic and about 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger to the slow cooker.
Finally, pour 15 oz. tomato sauce into the slow cooker and give everything a brief stir.
Close the slow cooker and cook on high for 3 hours or low for 6 hours.
The chicken should be fall-apart tender after cooking.
Add 1/3 cup heavy cream to the slow cooker and give everything a gentle stir.
Give the sauce a taste and add salt, if needed. Remember, salt can magnify flavors, sometimes adding just a pinch can be a game changer.
To serve your Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala, spoon over cooked rice and top with fresh cilantro. Or, serve with naan bread on the side. Creamy and delicious!!
Any suggestions on how I could adapt this to be prepped and frozen before cooking? I have a friend whose mother passed and I wanted to make him “slow cooker freezer meals” – pre-prepped meals stored in a gallon ziplock baggie in the freezer that can be thawed and thrown in a crockpot without any extra effort. Any suggestions for adapting? Can I still sautee the onions? Should I skip browning the chicken? Thanks!
Hmm, that might be tricky. Unfortunately I’m not very good with that type of pre-prepped meal because I don’t really ever do that, so it’s hard for me to guess what the best method would be. Browning the chicken is a really important step, so I definitely wouldn’t skip that.
Could we use bone-in, skin on thighs?
Bone-in would work, but the skin will probably get kind of soggy in the slow cooker (it’s a wet cooking environment). So if that bothers you, you may want to remove the skin first.
Has anyone tried making this in an instant pot? What settings/time frame if so?
What I do is cut up chicken thighs, then let that sit overnight in greek yogurt. Put the chicken in the instant for 10 minutes on high pressure. While it’s cooking I just cook the onions and then follow the recipe. It’s amazing!
This has become a staple dish for me during lockdown! I add a bag of frozen veggies (usually stir fry mix) when I add the cream and then leave it on the warm setting while I make the rice. I swear it tastes just like like the tikka masala from my local take away! Now if Beth could magic up a recipe for samosas that was this easy…
Love this recipe. The sauce was amazing. Definitely brown the seasoned chicken first. Can’t wait to try more recipes from this site😊
Wow, this one knocked it out of the park! I made the recipe exactly as written and it was absolutely delicious, easy to prepare, and my kitchen smelled amazing all day while this was cooking! Thanks for another winner, Beth!
This is hands down my husband’s favorite meal. He’s thrilled every time I make it and asks for it for his birthday dinner.
I happen to be making it today… When he came through the kitchen on his way out to work and saw my setup, he exclaimed, “it’s happening!” He’s at work now and literally just texted as I’m writing this review, “I’m so excited for dinner.” This recipe never gets old. We enjoy it with jasmine rice and naan.
I make it as is with just a few tweaks for personal preference that doesn’t really stray from the recipe. I throw in more garlic because we love garlic, use prepared ginger in the tube because I’m lazy, and Greek yogurt instead of heavy cream because I use Greek yogurt in almost everything, especially instead of sour cream. Also I get tomato sauce in 8 oz cans from Aldi so it’s slightly more than the recipe calls for and I leave out the cilantro because I’m still lazy.
I’m a huge fan, love Beth to death, and cook pretty much exclusively with Budget Bytes recipes.
Loved the recipe! Will add it to our rotation. Hubby said – looks and tastes better than in Indian restaurant. The only tweak I made – in the very end I added 1 table spoon of flour. Thank you!
Just kinda meh in my opinion. Made this and felt like it needed something more… thicker sauce? Richer flavor? Spicier blend? It definitely wasn’t bad but I wasn’t blown away by it and probably won’t make it again.
Just curious if you happen to know how old your garam masala and turmeric were? If they were expired, or something you’ve had in the back of your shelf for awhile they will lose flavor. Garam Masala especially needs to be a very good brand and pretty fresh. Just a thought. Then again we all have different tastes. :)
What size Slow Cooker should I use. I have a 3qt. Frownie Face
That should work. I believe mine is a 5 qt. and it wasn’t even half way full. :)
What I make this with tofu instead of chicken?
Tofu would likely fall apart in a slow cooker. If you’re looking for something with similar flavors but vegetarian, check out my Easy Cauliflower and Chickpea Masala. :)
Holy crap. I will make this again and soon. I did add three homegrown tomatoes that were sitting in my kitchen and I like it. The extra work of frying the chicken thighs is worth it. It was wonderful.
Serve with an IPA to really enjoy the food coma.
I’ve made this twice and would recommend using real cream if you have it. The flavor was totally different when I subbed coconut milk, nothing like the classic tikka masala.
Good lord… I don’t think I’ve had Indian food this good that wasn’t take-out. I’m in shock. The chicken was delectable and fall-apart good, almost like pulled pork. And the spices… everything was just perfect. I’m in shock!!! Thank you, Beth!
I admit I messed with this. I’m not fond of people who review recipes and say “I replaced the chicken with styrofoam and it was awful.” I think BudgetBytes will forgive me.
We don’t keep heavy cream and in fact don’t use a lot of liquid dairy. I keep UHT milk in quarts and cups (sippy boxes). So milk it was. I deglazed the pan with Chardonnay instead of water because, well, it was in my hand. *grin* I used big dices of chicken breast instead of thighs because 1. that’s what I remember from British pubs when I lived in Yatling and 2. that’s what we had in the freezer. My subs put me down on fat (milk v. cream and breasts v. thighs) so I pitched in about 1 Tbsp of butter.
Despite my liberties the solid foundations of Beth’s recipe shone through. Nicely done and in our keeper file.
Made this tonight and it was amazing! Spiced to perfection. We decided to have it over roasted cauliflower but can’t wait to have the leftovers with rice!