This Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala is super flavourful! It’s a great hands-off dinner idea that cooks all day in the crockpot on low.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Butter – or a butter substitute of your choice like margarine or even olive oil.
- Yellow onion – white onion or shallots would also work.
- Chicken – you can use chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts or swap it out for another protein like tofu, chickpeas, lentils or stewing beef.
- Garlic – freshly minced garlic is best but jarred minced garlic will work in a pinch.
- Gingerroot – if you don’t have any fresh ginger, use 1 tsp. ground ginger powder instead.
- Brown sugar – make your own brown sugar using white sugar and molasses.
- Garam masala – the garam masala is pretty essential to this dish. You can try using curry powder or more cumin in its place, but the flavour won’t be the same.
- Turmeric – saffron would be the best substitute here or you can leave the turmeric out altogether.
- Cumin – add in some extra garam masala, curry powder or even chili powder.
- Chili powder – mix together paprika, cumin and cayenne in a pinch.
- Salt – to taste.
- Crushed tomatoes – diced tomatoes can be used instead.
- Sour cream – canned coconut milk or 1/3 cup heavy cream would also be good.
- Cilantro – leave this off if you’re not a fan of cilantro.
- Naan – you could also serve your tikka masala with pita or leave this out to cut down on the calories.
How to make chicken tikka masala in the slow cooker
Step 1: Add everything to the slow cooker.
Add everything but the sour cream to the slow cooker.
Step 2: Cook on high for 3 hours or low for 6 hours.
Step 3: Make the rice.
While the chicken tikka masala cooks, make the rice in a rice cooker or on the stovetop.
Step 4: Stir in the sour cream and serve.
Serve over rice and garnish with cilantro.
What to serve with chicken tikka masala
You can eat this slow cooker chicken tikka masala on its own or serve it with some sides. Here are some of my favourite options:
Frequently Asked Questions
If you want to use frozen chicken for this recipe, you'll need to defrost the chicken first, as it's not safe to add raw chicken to the slow cooker.
Yes! You can double this recipe as long as you don't go over your slow cooker's maximum line, and the cooking time should remain the same. If you have a smaller slow cooker, you might need to cook it in batches or have more than one slow cooker going at the same time.
If you want to make this recipe dairy-free, substitute the butter for your favourite dairy-free substitute for margarine. You can leave the sour cream out entirely or substitute it for a can of full-fat coconut milk, although the flavour will be slightly different.
This slow cooker tikka masala has a bit of spice to it, but it's not overly spicy. To reduce the spice, use less chili powder. If you want to give it even more heat, add in some red chili flakes or cayenne pepper.
This recipe is for slow cooker chicken tikka masala, but if you're looking for a faster option, you can try my Instant Pot chicken tikka masala recipe.
Storing and reheating
This chicken tikka masala recipe is great for meal prep and will last in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can store individual serving sizes in the fridge. That way, when you’re ready to enjoy your dish, all you have to do is pop a container in the microwave for 2 to 3 minutes then dig in. Easy-peasy!
Can you freeze chicken tikka masala?
Some curry dishes freeze better than others. Because coconut milk can separate when frozen, coconut milk-based curries don’t freeze well. Luckily, this chicken tikka masala has a tomato-based sauce, so it freezes beautifully! It’ll last in the freezer for up to 3 months in airtight glass containers or Ziploc bags.
When you’re ready to enjoy this dish, just remove it from the freezer and let it defrost overnight in the fridge. If you've frozen it in microwave-safe meal prep bowls, you can reheat individual serving sizes right from frozen in the microwave for 7 to 8 minutes, stirring halfway through.
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More delicious slow cooker recipes
Meal Prep Tools
- Order some garam masala if you can't find it at your local grocery store.
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Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 lb chicken, diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp gingerroot, grated
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 (796mL) can crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- Fresh cilantro, for garnish
- Naan bread (optional)
Basmati rice
- 1 1/4 cup water
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1 tsp butter
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Add all ingredients except for sour cream, rice, cilantro and naan to slow cooker in the order they are listed above and cook on high for 3 hours, or on low for 6 hours.
- Remove lid and stir in sour cream. Add rice to large bowls and top with chicken mixture, then garnish with cilantro and serve with naan (if desired). Serve and enjoy!
Basmati rice
- Add all ingredients to a rice cooker or on the stove top and cook according to package directions.
Comments & Reviews
Nichole says
Would there be enough sauce if I double the chicken or would I need to double the entire recipe?
Taylor Stinson says
I think you would be ok if you were to double the chicken but not the sauce 🙂
Gyan says
For the first time, I made chicken tikka masala by following this recipe, I have been trying to make chicken tikka masala for a long time. Every time I cook I miss one of the ingredients and overcook. The taste of the recipe didn’t come like this. Thanks for the excellent recipe. I made it today because of your article. Good Job!
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you enjoyed!
Nikki says
Hello! I’m making this today but notice the directions call for a total of 9hrs. Is this correct?
Taylor Stinson says
You cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 6 hours.
Nikki says
Oh goodness, I’m sorry I read that wrong! Well I finally made it today and it was delicious and so easy to make, thank you!
Caroline says
How bad is it going to be that I have the sour cream in my crockpot while it cooks currently?
Do I need to toss it?
Taylor Stinson says
I have never tried this before so unfortunately cannot advise.
Jo says
Made this tonight for dinner & it was delicious! It definitely doesn’t taste like Tikka Masala from an Indian restaurant but it’s still very delicious! I froze about half and can’t wait to enjoy it again in the future!
Trond Brattland says
When you say “slow cooker low” what is the exact temperature?
Taylor Stinson says
Usually it’s a pre-set button on your slow cooker that says “low”.
April says
Thoughts on replacing the sour cream with yogurt?
Taylor Stinson says
Hi April! You could, but personally I don’t care for the taste of yogurt in place of sour cream. I find the taste is different, but if you have done it in other recipes and have an understanding of the tastes between each then you can definitely go for it!