Lean chicken breasts are slowly cooked in a flavorful sauce made with tomato paste, coconut milk, ginger and garam masala to create a lightened up version of the popular Indian dish, chicken tikka masala.
Why is Indian food so delicious? Oh wait, I know. Because most of our favorite dishes made in Indian American restaurants are full of butter and heavy cream. Dangit!!
Fortunately, I’ve found a way to boost up the flavor with low calorie, high impact ingredients such as fresh ginger, garam masala (an Indian spice blend) and light coconut milk. While this dish is often made with chicken thighs, I find that slowly cooking the lean chicken breasts makes them completely juicy and tender. Plain yogurt is added for added tenderization and tanginess (plus a hefty boost of protein and calcium!)
To serve, be sure to whip up a quick batch of Cucumber Yogurt Raita, a cool and delicious cucumber yogurt sauce that helps balance the richness of the dish. Fun Fact: if you used the full amount of cayenne to make the dish a bit spicy, the yogurt sauce in the cucumber raita will help combat the heat unlike water which only exacerbates the burn.
Of course, if cilantro isn’t your thing, simply leave it out at the end but I am 100% team cilantro so there is never enough garnish on my dish.
Your fork is waiting.
Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts - cubed
- 1 medium onion diced
- 15 oz can coconut milk light
- 1 cup plain yogurt low fat
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons grated ginger root
- 2 cloves garlic grated
- 2 tablespoons garam masala
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne optional
- 1/4 cup minced cilantro optional garnish
- cucumber raita and brown rice to serve yogurt sauce
Instructions
- Place cubed chicken breasts and diced onion in the bottom of a slow cooker.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together coconut milk, yogurt, tomato paste, ginger, garlic, garam masala, cornstarch, salt and cayenne. Pour mixture over the chicken and onion and stir well.
- Cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 4 hours. Serve with brown rice and cucumber raita on the side.
Recipe Notes:
My family loves this recipe! We served it to a large crowd at my daughter’s baptism and it was a hit. So many people asked to shared the recipe with them. Thanks again!
I’m so glad to hear it thank you so much for letting me know!
Is this tikka masala quite creamy? We love tikka masala but prefer it to be more tomatoey than creamy! Cant wait to try it though!
No it’s more tomatoey than creamy! :)
I tried this recipe. I’m Indian so I adjusted the recipe to try mimic the non crock pot one.I added 1 tsp Cumin powder and 1 tsp paprika for an extra kick!Oh and also a little extra garlic and ginger. Chicken was moist and came out amazing! Very close to the real stuff!
Oh I’m so glad you liked it and honored it was even remotely close to authentic!! Thank you so much!
Thanks for this great recipe! I made it today. The heat level is absolutely perfect. :)
Can I cook for two hours in the slow cooker on high and then finish it off in the oven for 30-45 mins? I was a bit late getting it into the slow cooker lol
Cheers.
I would actually finish it on the stove top! Let me know how it turns out!
Remember that slow cookers do not cook at the same speed – some of the overcooking/undercooking, burnt comments can be related to using a slow cooker that is too large for the amount of ingredients or has a different cooking heat than another., is a different material, has a different venting system etc.
Great point Debby!!
Is it possible to use frozen chicken breast in this recipe?
Absolutely!
Liz, I tried your recipe last night as I recently bought a slow cooker and wanted to try this out. As a Desi (someone from India), I have to say it was awesome! I have sent the link to your recipe to both my daughter and her mom (now I am sharing recipes with the women in my life!)
I made a couple of small changes. Firstly, I used 2-3 Tbl spoons of ginger-garlic paste (we use these in a lot of Indian recipes and so had that around) instead of the fresh grated stuff and secondly, I added a few strands of Saforn after reading some of the comments just to make sure it was red/orange in color. Oh, and I doubled your suggested cayanne with 1 Tbl spoon of chilli powder. :-)
Lastly, I used store bought garam masala. But next time I will try our home made garam masala (which consists of cloves, cardamom and cinnamon).
Oh my goodness I am so truly honored that you enjoyed my Americanized version of a classic!! Love your tips and substitutions. I have used ginger/garlic paste before but can’t always find it. Sounds delicious!! Thank you so much!
I’m so excited to try this tomorrow! I make tikka often for the fam but started working for a family in the evenings and don’t have time to cook and am relying on crock pot meals! I’m happy to be able to do one of our favorite dishes without it being time consuming!
I so hope you enjoy it!!!
Can I replace the milk products with anything? I am on a diet that doesn’t allow me to eat any dairy.
Coconut milk!
Do you think all the ingredients could be put into a freezer bag and frozen to be made at a later time? I’d love to make this and have on hand for those busy weeks.
Plan on making this next week !
Hmm…I hate to say it but I don’t think that would be the best idea. I would actually COOK the chicken and then freeze it as a cooked meal. :)
Instead of using chicken can I use beef? We just had chicken curry today so I am trying to serve something different tomorrow but this recipe really looks good! Can I also use Greek yogurt instead of plain yogurt?
Yes I bet you could!! Greek yogurt can be used but I would thin it out a little with maybe a couple tablespoons of water.
First time making an Indian dish at home that turned out. So easy. Delicious and my hubby whom I could never convince to even try Indian cuisine had seconds. Thanks!
So thrilled to hear it!
I’m making this for my wife, I think she’ll like it. Is the sauce suppose to be light? I made the mixture to the T and it’s not really red like in the picture? I put it in the fridge and I’m going to put it in the crockpot before work. Does it get darker as it cooks maybe?
I’ve noticed that the color of the sauce varies depending on brands of spices. Don’t worry about the color as long as the flavor is there!
Hi! I’m thinking about making this recipe tonight. Do you think it will work well if I keep the chicken breasts whole? Your chicken wasn’t dry even though you cubed it?
Thanks!
It would be fine if you kept it whole! Either way it never dries out because water (or any liquid) doesn’t evaporate in a slow cooker. :)
Tikka masala is a favorite in our house, so pinning this recipe for sure! Team Cilantro forever.
Was really looking forward to this dish but when I got home and looked in the slow cooker it was half burnt and the other half curdled, followed the recipe, disappointed :(
Oh dear!! I’m so sorry to hear that KP!! We make this dish regularly and that has never happened. Did you happen to make any substitutions or changes to the recipe at all? I would love to help you figure out a way to make this work!! Thank you for letting me know either way and again, I’m so sorry it didn’t work out for you.
Could I use minced ginger in a jar?
Absolutely!
I’m so happy I found this I have been following a diet that is similar to the paleo and I’m DYING for a curry! The only thing is that I can’t have cornstarch, would I be able to replace this with coconut flour or almond flour? Or could I leave it out?
You could use arrowroot instead! I *believe* it’s paleo?! You could also leave out. :)
MMMMMM! Incredible!!! I was sooo happy to find this recipe!!!! I’ve got this love affair going on with Indian food, and have a local buffet that I’ve frequented way too often!!! This recipe is definitely going to help me break that habit. This is every bit as good as that restaurant’s!
Question, though: Looking at the nutritional information, it says serving size is 2 cups, but that there are 4 servings. I know I used a little less than a full pound of chicken… but I only got a total of 4 cups. Is two cups really the serving size?
Thank you so much! A friend told me just 2 weeks ago maybe about your blog – to date I’ve tried this and the Turkish Red Lentil Soup – keep these incredible recipes coming!!!!
I’m so glad your friend told you about my site!! And I’m thrilled you’ve enjoyed the recipes so far!! :) And oh my goodness I’m so sorry – that should definitely be one cup!! I just updated the recipe. Please forgive my type-o!!
No problem!!! Thank you for the quick response, I wasn’t expecting to hear back this fast! :)
I was so excited to try this! It came out fantastic but it def is NOT Chicken Tikka Masala. I’m fine with it because it was actually very good but it was not what I thought I was making lol.
Oh no – I’m sorry it wasn’t what you expected! It’s definitely a lot lighter than the traditional version made with heavy cream. The goal was to create a healthy version of the Indian classic that can enjoy regularly without the guilt. :)
Hi, I just bought a slow cooker, I thought that youghurt wasn’t suitable for slow cooker and that it will seperate….same with the coconut milk….?
Since it cooks slowly, it works out well! I use yogurt and coconut milk all the time in my slow cooker!
This turned out great! I noticed NO difference with the low fat ingredients. I combined your recipe with another recipe I found because I had these extra ingredients lying around:
•1 tablespoon cumin
•1/2 tablespoon paprika
•3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
•3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
•2 bay leaves
It WAS delicious but I noticed that it didn’t have that slight sweetness to it like I’ve had at the restaurants so I added a bit of sugar to taste. It was PERFECT. Thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!! Love what you did to it!
Made this tonight for my husband and sister-in-law. Used the high setting for 4 hours with chicken thighs. The chicken just melted in your mouth. I thought proportions of spices were right on. Color wasn’t as bright but who cares, taste was awesome. Husband licked his plate clean. One of my new favorite recipes. Thank you.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it and it came out well!!!
Found this recipe randomly on google. Decided to give it a shot. Turned out awesome. And I’ve grown up eating Indian food my whole life!
Wow I’m so thrilled to hear that Jerry!! So glad you enjoyed it!!
Nice recipe!
To give it a boost of authentic tikka masala flavor, try mixing in a bit of dried fenugreek leaves immediately before serving, and you can even sprinkle some on to instead of cilantro or parsley as a garnish… Adds virtually no calories with this addition but nice flavor!
That is a brilliant idea Cliff!!!
Should the chicken be cooked when it goes into the slow cooker? Thanks! Looking forward to trying this recipe; looks delicious.
Nope – raw! I hope you enjoy!!
Thanks!
Just finished this. I think you have way too much garam masala. Followed to a T and it was not orange/red like the picture (turned brown) and it tasted solely of that spice. Maybe do half or less of it. Also, in a 3.5 quart slow cooker the chicken was over cooked in 7 hours.
Hi Collin – I’m sorry to hear the dish didn’t turn out as you had hoped! I do know that garam masala spice blends tend to differ quite a bit based on the brand you use as well as how old the spices are that were used to make the spice blend. Regardless, that doesn’t take away your experience so I truly apologize. I hope you try another recipe!! Thank you again for your feedback and Happy New Year!
Liz, you are right about different garam masalas available at your local Indian grocery stores. I am thinking of adding a couple of strands of safron to give it the red color. I will let you know how it turns out. Thanks for the recipe.
So glad you enjoyed it!!
Hi! Gonna try this soon. Is it possible to double up on the ingredients to the slow cooker so that I can serve 8?
Yes absolutely!! Enjoy!
I’m very excited to try this recipe. However, I’m not a morning person (at all) so the thought of pulling this altogether before work sounds a little daunting. Do you think it’s okay to do all the prep the night before, store it in the fridge, and then throw it into my slow cooker first thing in the morning?
Absolutely!! Or cook on high for 4 hours!