Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala |Cooking With Amanda

Get ready to give your taste buds a treat. Bringing Indian food into your kitchen is so easy to do thanks to this recipe. Slow cooker meals can tend to be bland, flavorless, and dried out. They tend to get a bad rap, but I promise there are awesome slow cooker recipes out there. And this recipe for slow cooker chicken tikka masala is anything but flavorless. I tend to stay away from slow cooker recipes with a lot of ingredients; however, I was intrigued to try this recipe.

The original recipe from Cooking Light calls for bone-in chicken thighs. I'm not a fan of dark meat, so I took a gamble and used boneless chicken breast. We found that by keeping lots of sauce on the table and adding sauce once we cut our chicken into bite-size pieces that the chicken was perfect. If you don't add the sauce after cutting the chicken, it definitely can lack flavor and taste a little dry. So if you're like me, you can use chicken breast. If you like dark meat, go on and make the chicken thighs!

Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala Picture

I used my KitchenAid Multi-Cooker to cook this meal. Since I knew I would need to simmer the sauce before adding the chicken and turn the slow cooker on, this was the easier less messier route for me to go. I absolutely love all the functions that my Multi-Cooker can do. So if you don't have a Multi-Cooker don't worry you can execute step one in a large pot on the stovetop then transfer to a slow cooker.

I also added in a little extra curry powder and graham masala before serving. The sauce is good, but adding a little more spice at the end freshens it up! Oh, and lots of fresh cilantro! So, so good!

We added a dollop of Stonyfield Greek yogurt on top of the chicken and served it with basmati rice and baked naan. You could also add in this cucumber tomato salad recipe if you want some fresh veggies in the meal!

Many grocery stores now sell naan, making it easily accessible to everyone now. I bake it in the oven for a few minutes because I find that I like it warm. So if you're craving Indian food and don't want to go out to eat--you can make this slow cooker chicken tikka masala in the comforts if your own home!

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Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe

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Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and minced
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 14.5 ounce cans unsalted diced tomatoes
1/3 cup water
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon garam masala, plus 1 teaspoon, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon curry powder, plus 1 teaspoon, divided
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup light coconut milk
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
2 cups cooked basmati rice
plain greek yogurt, for topping

Directions

Preheat the KitchenAid Multi-Cooker to sear mode. Add the olive oil, onion, ginger, and garlic to the cooker, stir occasionally and cook for 5 minutes until golden. Stir in the tomato paste and tomatoes, and cook for 3 minutes.
While the tomatoes are simmering combine 1/3 cup water with the 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour; mix until smooth. Then add that in the Multi-cooker as well as the garam masala, paprika, curry powder, salt, and cayenne pepper. Mix well and cook for 1 minute.
Place the chicken breast in the tomato mixture, and make sure the breasts are completely covered. Cook on high for 4 hours.
Once the chicken is cooked, stir in the coconut milk, and additional teaspoons each of garam masala and curry powder, and cook for an additional 15 minutes.
Stir in the chopped cilantro.
Place a half cup of rice on each plate, carefully place chicken breast on top of the rice.
Ladle sauce on top as well as a dollop of Greek yogurt.
Enjoy immediately.

Notes

If you do not have the KitchenAid Multi-Cooker you can do step 1 in a large pot on the stovetop then transfer to a slow cooker.
If you prefer dark meat you can use bone-in chicken thighs instead of skinless boneless chicken breasts.