Crock Pot Tikka Masala

It took me a long time to finally try Indian food.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to or didn’t think I would like it. It’s just that Nick and I live in a very small town.

There’s only one Indian restaurant near where we live and it just took us a while to try it out.

But when we finally did go? I fell in love.

First of all – any place that serves Naan is okay with me.

Second – the entire restaurant smelled incredible. I like food that doesn’t shy away from spices or flavor.

And third – they had amazing tikka masala.

If you’ve never tried it yourself, 1. Shame on you, and 2. tikka masala is a mixture of bite size chicken cooked in a spiced, creamy sauce.

It is creamy and delicious and perfectly balanced with spice, heat, salt, and cream.

I’d been wanting to try it myself, but I wanted to make it as easy as possible. Some recipes I saw just seemed like way too much work and I knew as long as I used the right spices, I could make it work.

One of my favorite things about fall and winter is being able to pull out the crock pot again. I love cooking, but some days, it’s nice to walk into the house and have dinner waiting on you instead of the other way around.

But I have a few requirements when it comes to using my crock pot. The main one is that I don’t want to have to do much to prepare besides throwing everything in the crock pot and turning it on. If a crock pot recipe calls for browning a ton of meat first or sauteeing vegetables for 10 minutes, I’m probably not going to try it or I’ll do it my own way. Crock pots are my way of saving time, which means I like to be as lazy as possible whenever I use them. I think that’s fair – the crock pot is offering to do the work for me, so I let it.

Even without browning the chicken or cooking the onion, this tikka masala turned out perfect.

Just throw it all in and let it go! You’ll be happy when you get home and have this waiting for you.

 

Crockpot Tikka Masala

Makes: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

  • 1 and 1/2 pounds chicken breast, diced
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp ground coriander seed
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cans (15 oz) crushed tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup cream or half and half

Directions:

  1. Place the diced chicken in a crock pot and toss together with the cumin, coriander, garam masala, salt, and pepper.
  2. Add the diced onion and crushed tomatoes and cook the mixture on low for 5-7 hours.
  3. Once the chicken is tender and cooked through, pour in the cream and let the mixture cook for another 5-10 minutes.
  4. Serve with rice or Naan.

 

20 comments

  1. Indian food is the absolute best although I am a bit ashamed to say that I’ve never eaten tikka masala even though people claim that it was invented here in the UK! I really should rectify that because this looks delicious and a much more natural colour than it come sometimes look.

  2. Always looking for new crock pot recipes! Ive only had Indian food once and had a bad experience-I have to give it another go. This dish sounds like the perfect start

  3. I’ve always avoided Indian food because of all the spices (maybe I’ll build up the courage to try it one day!) but I am a BIG fan of Naan bread. It’s so doughy and delicious. Pure carb heaven! :-D

  4. A-FREAKIN-MEN.

    Lady, this was meant for my soul, mouth and belly.

  5. Yum! I need to try this! Love my crock pot :)

  6. My squeeze is nuts for chicken tikka masala, but I’ve never screwed up the nerve to try to make it at home! (You’re always worried about disappointing, ya know?) You may have just given me a little confidence, though. Now I just have to get a crock pot…

    • it’s SO good! you could definitely just make this in a skillet, too. I would cook the onion and spices in little bit of oil, then add the chicken and let it cook about halfway. Stir in the tomatoes and let it simmer until the chicken is cooked through, then stir in the cream before serving.

  7. I love Indian food. I was lucky enough to have my brother marry a girl who is half Indian, so the first time I had Indian food was at a party before their wedding and it was FEAST. I can’t believe I was so scared of it before that, but now I could eat it once a week. And speaking of, I am totally making this. Thanks!

  8. yum! we make curry at home all.the.time and use low fat coconut milk instead of cream. it’s the only place i actually like anything coconut!

  9. I love Indian food! This looks great!

  10. mmmm i love Indian food! and i totally agree with you on the crockpot thing, if the recipe calls for searing, etc. then usually it defeats the “easiness” of the crockpot for me and i move on haha. this recipe sounds really great though, and super easy too!

  11. ooh, i’ve been wanting to try my own version, maybe this will be it :)

  12. Sounds wonderful! And I love that it’s a crock pot recipe. Love using my crock pot these days… :)

  13. I’m not a huge fan of Indian food, but I do like tikka masala and naan! Looks great!

  14. Love, love, LOVE Tikka Masala! :-) Never tried it in the crock before – shocking, considering my over-obsession with it.

  15. i’m getting major use out of my crockpot lately–it’s perfect for busy times!! bookmarking this because though I love Indian food, i’ve never tried chicken tikka masala!

  16. LOVE Indian food and think the idea of making this in a crockpot is pretty awesome. I love making lamb vindaloo, but it IS a bit of a pain if you’re grinding all the spices. If not, easy peasy :)

    Hope you’re doing well!! I’m trying to get back into my regular blog reading mode after settling into my new job :)

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