Slow cooker chicken tikka masala

Put your crockpot to good use by making this slow cooker chicken tikka masala! Simply dump all the ingredients into your slow cooker, go and enjoy your day and come back home to a delicious chicken curry. This is the dump-and-go recipe you need in your life!

I think everyone loves a tasty curry, and this slow cooker chicken tikka masala is a winner! With a rich tomato flavour, warming spices and a little heat from the chilli, this tikka masala is the perfect meal to warm up a cold winter's evening.

Not only is it tasty, but this tomato-based chicken curry is extremely easy to make! All you have to do is tip the ingredients into the slow cooker and leave it alone for a few hours to turn into the most amazing chicken curry. Once cooked, stir in some Greek yoghurt and double cream for a final touch.

And here's a great time-saving tip for food prep! Mix a double batch of the raw ingredients, cook half and transfer the remainder into a freezer bag. Then when you're craving a curry all you have to do is take the bag from the freezer, tip it (still frozen) into the slow cooker and leave it to cook. I'd be inclined to add an extra half-hour or so to the cooking time to allow time for it to defrost though.

This chicken curry has all the great taste you'd expect from a tikka masala but with far less effort. It has the same creamy taste and spices, but you don't have to spend time grilling the chicken beforehand. I simply add a little smoked paprika instead to get the extra flavour!

If you'd like to try a more authentic recipe, where the chicken is grilled before being added to the curry, you could try this homemade chicken tikka masala instead.

Jump to:

• Serving suggestions
• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Tips for a successful outcome
• Equipment
• Storage
• FAQ
• Save for later
• Related recipes
• 📋The recipe

Serving suggestions

I like to serve chicken tikka masala with white rice (or pilau rice) and a helping of peas. I know peas are not normally served with curry, but I like the sweetness they add. You could top the curry with mango chutney instead, which would be slightly more traditional!

If you don't want to go to the trouble of cooking rice, this chicken tikka curry is delicious when spooned over a crusty bread roll or stuffed into a pita bread! I'm thinking here of a South African bunny chow - which is a traditional South African street food served in a hollowed-out bread roll!

Ingredients

This recipe will easily feed 4 people.

• Chicken breast - the chicken should be cut into bite-sized cubes. I've used chicken breast fillets, but you could use skinless thigh fillets instead.
• Red peppers (capsicums) and onions - the peppers should be cut into 1-inch pieces and the onions quartered and separated into petals.
• Flaked almonds - add a delightful flavour and slight crunch to the tikka masala.
• Tomato passata - this can be bought in most supermarkets and is normally sold either in cartons or in bottles. It is made from tomatoes, which have been strained to remove the seeds and skin.
• Tomato puree - adds additional tomato flavour to the sauce.
• Spices - these are the spices I used - you can substitute these spices with your favourite curry blend if you prefer. However, commercially blended curry does not normally contain paprika so if you want the slightly smoky tikka flavour you may want to add the paprika.
  • garam masala
  • cumin
  • coriander
  • turmeric
  • paprika
  • chilli flakes - adjust the quantity you add to get the heat of the curry to your liking.
• Greek yoghurt - this is stirred into the chicken just before serving. It adds a slightly sour tang to the dish. Substitute with natural thick yoghurt.
• Double cream - for a final touch of creamy indulgence and to balance the flavours.
• I haven't included salt in the image, but I find a little salt improves the flavour. Season to your own taste.
• I haven't included this in the image, but I like to add a small amount of sugar to the curry to cut through the tartness of the tomatoes.

**You can find the exact ingredient measurements on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**

Instructions

Tips for a successful outcome

Here are my top tips to ensure your slow cooker chicken tikka masala turns out perfectly. (It's such an easy recipe - there aren't all that many tips to give you!)

• When you add the ingredients to the slow cooker, make sure you mix well to distribute the spices evenly.
• Add the yoghurt and cream only once the chicken has cooked. Then leave the slow cooker on high for a few minutes to allow the cream and yoghurt to heat through.
• The chicken will be cooked when its internal temperature has reached 74C or 165F.
• Note - there is more than sufficient liquid in the tomatoes so you won't need any stock for this recipe. The yoghurt and cream will combine with the liquid in the slow cooker to form a delicious thick gravy.
• Taste the finished dish and add extra salt and/or sugar if needed.

Equipment

This recipe is for slow-cooker chicken tikka masala, so you will need a slow-cooker. The only other pieces of equipment you will need would be a sharp knife and a chopping board for cutting up the onions and tomatoes, and a spatula for stirring the curry.

Storage

If you intend to freeze the raw ingredients as part of your meal prep, I would suggest that you combine all the ingredients except the yoghurt and cream before freezing. Only stir in the yoghurt and cream once the curry has been cooked.

Leftover cooked curry (including yoghurt and cream) can be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator and reheat it either in a saucepan on the stovetop or in the microwave.

You can also store leftover chicken tikka masala in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and reheat as above.

If you want to prepare this dish in advance, you can cook it in the slow cooker, but do not add the yoghurt and cream. Allow it to cool and store it in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to three days. When you are ready to eat it, reheat it in a saucepan and then stir in the yoghurt and cream.

FAQ

Save for later

If you would like to try this slow cooker chicken tikka masala, why not save the recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily? Just click the image below

Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.

Related recipes

Visit my curry recipes page for other delicious ideas for curry. Here are a few curried chicken recipes you might enjoy:

📋The recipe

If you made this recipe and enjoyed it, I'd love it if you could give me a star rating in the comments below. And if you'd like to get in touch, you can email me at [email protected]. I'd love to hear from you. And don't forget to subscribe to my mailing list so you can grab yourself a copy of my FREE COOKBOOK!

If you'd like to continue browsing, just click on this link to all my recipes.