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 boneless skinless 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 – make your own using 1 tablespoon cumin, 1.5 teaspoons coriander, 1.5 teaspoons cardamom, 1.5 teaspoons black pepper, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon cloves and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg.
- 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 flavors will be slightly different.
This slow cooker chicken tikka masala recipe 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 an airtight container 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 skip the refrigeration and 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.
- Glass meal prep bowls are so great for microwaving and reheating your food safely.
- A rice cooker will automatically cook the side dish of rice for you.
- Restock your freezer with free-range poultry from Butcher Box.
- These bento box containers are perfect for packing the rice and curry separately in the same container.
- **Get my full list of tools here**
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
Jennifer says
Taylor – this was delicious. Thank you for creating it! My feedback is that I felt the protein to sauce ratio was a little off. I could have doubled the chicken from 1 lb to 2 lbs and still had plenty of delicious sauce to soak up with rice or naan. Next time I make it, I plan to do that. Thanks again!
Roselyn Volkmer says
Does the nutritional value for each serving include rice or is the 400+ calories just for the tikka masala?
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Roselyn – it includes the rice!
Patricia Pellegrino says
i put the frozen chicken in cold water. Then I cut it into pieces. .Then I took the onion and cooked it in oil , added the chicken for a few minutes. Put it into the crock pot with all the other ingredients. cooked it for 6 hours,. It was wonderful. Thank you.
Taylor Stinson says
So happy you enjoyed!!! Thank you for reporting back 🙂
Patti says
Hi Taylor. I love your recipes. Thank you. This one looks really good. My chicken breasts are frozen. Should i defrost them first , or can i cut them up frozen and ad them to the pot?
Taylor Stinson says
Thank you so much Patti 🙂 You should definitely defrost your chicken first, it’s not safe to slow cook frozen chicken. Sometimes I will defrost quickly in the microwave at 30-45 second intervals. Hope that helps!
tara says
hi taylor! i have to make chicken tikka masala for 50 people tomorrow night 🙈 i was wondering if i could triple this recipe just by truly 3x each ingredient? and then i will probably use 3 crockpots haha. i would love to know your thoughts on increasing the serving size of this! thanks!
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Tara – wow that’s a lot of people!! You probably could actually triple the recipe in one crockpot and then have 3 crockpots going all at once. As long as you’re using standard size 6 quart crockpots you will be fine 🙂
Rosie says
Can you make this in the instant pot?
Taylor Stinson says
You sure can! Here’s a similar recipe with more exact instructions: https://eatinginstantly.com/instant-pot-chicken-tikka-masala/
Matt says
Hello! Was wondering can I replace the chicken with pork? Would it be ok adding some carrots and or other veggies. Would cooking time change with pork or adding other veggies.
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Matt – I’m really sorry but I don’t have much experience cooking pork in the slow cooker so I couldn’t advise on cook time changes. Most things cook in the slow cooker within 8 hours though so I imagine it would be fine but I just can’t guarantee the results. Same with the veggies – I think carrots would be fine but you may be better off cooking the veggies you plan to add separately so they don’t get overcooked or soggy.
Matt says
Thanks so much for the help. I’m dieting and a little tired of chicken. Your recipe looks great tho.
Taylor Stinson says
Thank you so much!!! 🙂 Happy to help! You could also try diced up chicken thighs…I know it’s still chicken but with it being a different cut you do get a different flavour and it works really well with this recipe.
Matt says
Wonderful idea! I do prefer thighs and legs. thanks and have a great day🙂
Taylor Stinson says
Happy to help! 🙂
Jaime says
How would you make this recipe spicy? Cayenne pepper?
Taylor Stinson says
Either that or red chili flakes would work 🙂
Jason says
I’ve seen some tikka dishes with jalepenos. I threw one in with seeds and that gave it some heat. long reds would also work.
Lauren says
What if you’re dairy free? Is the sour cream necessary. As for the butter I’d just substitute earth balance vegan butter since it’s not too much to notice a difference-and I guess I could use kitehills almond milk yogurt if the sour cream is neccessary for creamy-ness…what are your thoughts?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Lauren – you could leave out the sour cream but it really does add that extra creaminess that you’re looking for with tikka masala. You could also try mixing in 1 can of full-fat coconut milk at the end.
Maria says
Any chance you have the nutritional values?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Maria – it’s up there now 🙂