These Healthy Chicken Tikka Masala Rice Bowls are a delicious one pot dinner idea that comes together with pantry staples.
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OMG I am all about that bowl life right now, apparently! Be prepared for lots and lots of healthy bowls coming to the blog this year. They are literally the best kind of meal.?
And yes, I have *healthified* Chicken Tikka Masala thank you very much.
All I've really done is add some extra veg to one of my fave Indian-inspired one pot meals. But come on, it's much healthier.
Less butter.
Less cream.
Your waistline and your tastebuds will surely thank me in unison. And maybe your wallet too, especially if you really love Indian food but you don't know how to make it yourself.
You could technically also make this recipe in a slow cooker. My mom makes this incredible slow cooker butter chicken recipe by Canadian Living and it really is the ultimate comfort food.
We pair it with a savoury curried cauliflower and potato scramble called Aloo Gobi and then sometimes, on special occasions, we also pick up some fried vegetable fritters called Pakoras from our local Indian takeout place or the health foods store Goodness Me.
We literally make a night of it, sipping wine and binge watching The Good Wife or Bloodline on Netflix. They're the kind of weeknights you actually look forward to and try to end work early for.
Me, end work early??Okay, that's a lie. I swear I always have good intentions though.
So what else do you need to know about this Chicken Tikka Masala recipe? Well, for one, Chicken Tikka Masala was largely made popular by the British as a play on Indian cuisine. You may see this recipe plastered all over Indian restaurant menus but it's not actually an authentically Indian dish like butter chicken is.
It's fairly similar in taste, however, and you get more tender, yogurt-marinated chicken along with a pop in flavour thanks to the garam masala (you can also sub in cardamom for the garam masala in this recipe).
What I find kinda funny about Indian food though is that there aren't as many vegetables included in the curries themselves like you find in Thai curries and other Asian-inspired stir fries. Or maybe it's just the things I tend to order, like your traditional butter chicken. I do like a sizzling platter of tandoori chicken with peppers and onions though, so I guess maybe there are some veggies in there.
But I digress…
These Chicken Tikka Masala Rice Bowls are the perfect excuse to unload all the veggies from your fridge, much like many of my other bowl recipes. I swear, they really aren't just dumping grounds for veggies. Is it weird that I get excited by vegetables? Okay, fine, I admit, it's weird.?
And I know this recipe may seem like it's complicated and that there are a lot of steps, but it's really quite simple. And did I mention all the leftovers you'll have?! This makes one giant pot of Chicken Tikka Masala!
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls for the leftovers
- I get all my free-range chicken from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen.
- Freeze this recipe in glass microwave-safe bowls up to 3 months
Healthy Chicken Tikka Masala Rice Bowls
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 796mL (28oz) can tomatoes
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1 cup green beans
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
- 2 cups cooked basmati rice
Chicken marinade
- 3/4 cup plain or Greek yogurt
- 4 chicken breasts, cubed
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp ginger, minced
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Tikka Masala spice
- 1 tbsp turmeric
- 2 tsp garam masala (can sub in 1 tsp cardamom instead)
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp coriander
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Mix Tikka Masala spices together. In a large plastic bag, toss chicken with yogurt, salt, garlic, ginger, lemon juice and half of the tikka spice mix (save the other half for another time!). Let marinade sit at least 20-30 min, and start cooking rice according to package directions.
- Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet. Add onions and cook for 2-3 min. Add tomatoes, salt and broth and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 min. Puree mixture with an immersion blender, or pour into a regular blender and let cool a bit before blending (so it doesn't explode everywhere!)
- Add chicken to tomato mixture, and let simmer on med-low heat, covered, for 15-20 min until chicken is cooked through. Add red pepper and green beans within the last 5 min of cooking time. Stir in sour cream or Greek yogurt and serve with basmati rice and cilantro. This meal also freezes well!
Nutrition
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Justine | JustineCelina.com says
Taylor — I just had to stop by to let you know these photos are jaw droppingly beautiful! The recipe looks fab as well. I love Indian flavours in the winter! Cheers, girl.
Taylor Stinson says
Thank you so much Justine!!! 🙂 I have a serious Indian food obsession these days. Thanks so much for the kind words <3
Carol Borchardt says
Beautiful photos! This dish looks absolutely divine! Love that there’s only a touch of the cream for richness. Well done!
Taylor Stinson says
Thank you Carol! 🙂 I try to limit cream whenever I can – I love it but the waistline doesn’t hahaha
Jennifer Deluca says
Can you tell me if the mention whipping cream in the directions is actually the yogurt/sour cream? Can you also tell me when to add the second half of the tikka masala spice mixture?
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Jennifer – sorry for any confusion, this is one of my oldest recipes and I caught a couple typos! The tikka masala mix makes double what you need so just reserve half of it for another time (or other recipe). Then it is the sour cream that is stirred in at the end, not whipping cream. I’ve updated the recipe to reflect this. Again, sorry for the confusion!