Chicken Tikka Masala
Marinated in tangy coconut yogurt and a traditional blend of spices and simmered in flavorful tomato sauce, this chicken tikka masala recipe is easy to make at home. Serve it with basmati rice and garnish with cilantro for a delicious, Indian style dinner without the dairy.
Why you’ll love this chicken tikka masala
Since we gave up dairy, I’ve been really nervous to get Indian takeout because it’s normally loaded with yogurt. Thankfully, our local place has tons of vegan options, so we can always get something that works for us, but one of the dishes I missed the most was tikka masala.
Since our favorite restaurant marinates their meat in yogurt, it’s impossible to get this dish modified. Thankfully, It’s easy to make at home, and I’ve tinkered with a few different spices blends to find one that tastes the closest to what we get from the restaurant.
To replace the dairy, I used my favorite unsweetened coconut yogurt in the marinade – the same one I use in my yogurt marinated chicken and my dairy free cheesecake – and I used coconut milk for the sauce. It’s the easiest substitute for heavy cream and I honestly don’t think you can taste it under all of the spices.
Ingredients & substitutions
- Chicken – I like to use a combination of chicken thighs and chicken breast for this recipe, but you can use either on their own. You will need 2 pounds total, but you can get away with up to 3 pounds of meat if you like to meal prep or have a larger family to feed.
- Crushed tomatoes – If you don’t have crushed tomatoes, you can substitute tomato puree (or maybe even diced tomatoes, but you might want to blend the diced before using them).
- Garam masala – This blend of spices is integral to tikka masala, so I don’t recommend substituting it.
- Fenugreek – You can technically make this recipe without fenugreek, but I’ve found that it was the ingredient that made this recipe taste more like restaurant quality than anything else. If you can find it, use it.
- Coconut yogurt – Unsweetened and plain only. We like SoDelicious Coconut Yogurt the best.
- Coconut milk – Full fat coconut milk from a can is what I use, but you could potentially substitute an unsweetened dairy free coffee creamer or a cashew cream if you don’t like coconut milk.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
How to make this chicken tikka masala recipe
Marinate the chicken. Combine the marinade ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Whisk everything together until smooth. Then add the chicken and let it simmer for at least an hour. Ideally, you want to marinate the chicken overnight for the best flavor.
Cook the chicken. When you’re ready to cook, heat a large skillet or Dutch oven to medium-high, and add the chicken with the marinade to the hot pan. Let it cook, stirring as needed to prevent it from burning.
There will be some marinade that sticks to the pan as it cooks, and that is okay.
Make the sauce. Remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and let it get hot.
Then, sauté the onion, garlic and ginger until tender – about 5 minutes. Make sure you’re stirring to prevent from burning.
Next, add the tomatoes and the rest of the spices. Stir to combine.
Simmer in sauce. Return the chicken to the pan and let it come to a simmer. Reduce the heat and let it cook for about 20 minutes.
Then, whisk the coconut milk and cornstarch together until smooth and pour it into the pan. Stir to combine and continue cooking until the cornstarch begins to thicken the sauce.
Adjust seasoning with salt & pepper, to taste and serve with basmati rice and fresh chopped cilantro.
Everything you need to know about this recipe
Chicken tikka masala is a spiced curry dish made from yogurt marinated chicken and uses garam masala and a mix of other spices to season a tangy tomato sauce for simmering the chicken. That creates a tangy, spicy sauce that can sometimes come off as sweet and spicy.
Chicken tikka masala can be spicy, but it’s easily customized to your taste by adjusting the amount of Kashmiri pepper included in the recipe.
Chicken tikka masala is made from yogurt marinated chicken simmered in a spiced tomato sauce that’s finished with cream. The main spice mixture is garam masala, but other spices are included in the recipe.
More chicken recipes you will love
More dairy free mains you should try
Ingredients
- 1 cup coconut yogurt
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon coarse salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon ground fenugreek
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 – 3 pounds boneless (skinless chicken breast/thighs)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 2 garlic cloves (minced)
- 2 teaspoons grated ginger
- 1 15- ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek
- 1/4 teaspoon Kashmiri pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- Salt & pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Combine the marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk until smooth. Add chopped chicken and stir to coat. Cover and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
- Heat a large pot over medium-high. Cook chicken in batches with the marinade until no longer pink. Remove from pan and set sides to make the sauce.
- Heat olive oil in the pan. Sauté the onion, garlic and ginger until tender – about 5 minutes.
- Add the crushed tomatoes and remaining spices and stir to combine.
- Return the chicken to the pan and cover. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat. Allow the chicken to simmer for 20 minutes.
- Whisk coconut milk and cornstarch to create a slurry. Stir the slurry into the sauce and continue to cook until the sauce thickens.
- Adjust seasoning with salt & pepper, to taste.
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