Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: A skillet of creamy chicken tikka masala simmering on the stove will fill your home with warm smells of coconut curry. With lots of exciting spice and healthy vegetables, you’ll find yourself craving this restaurant style dish often.
How long it takes: 1 hour, 20 minutes, plus 1 hour to marinate chicken
Equipment you’ll need: large skillet
Servings: 6
Skillet Chicken Tikka Masala
Tender bits of marinated chicken, accompanied by carrots, peas, peppers, and onions bathed in a curry spiced creamy tomato sauce, makes a meal you won’t soon forget. I like to serve tikka masala on fluffy white rice or yellow rice so every bit of the warm sauce can be enjoyed. If you don’t want to cook rice, serve tikka masala with garlicky naan bread.
Chicken tikka masala is truly an international dish. With origins in the East but so popular in Great Britain, tikka masala has made its way across the ocean as well. There are as many recipes for tikka masala as there are cooks. The basics are roasted marinated chicken and a tomato-based creamy curry sauce.
And guess what? I’ve made the recipe a bit easier! I’m sure you’re not surprised by that because that’s what we do here at Rachel Cooks. In fact, you could call this a one pan meal if you decide to serve it with naan. This tikka masala may not be entirely traditional but it is more accessible and that’s a good thing for most of us today, right?
Warm up to chicken tikka masala! Its bright spices and creamy curry will satisfy more than just a hungry tummy.
How To Make Chicken Tikka Masala
Traditionally, the chicken in this dish is marinated in curry spiced yogurt and baked slowly on skewers. This is where I depart from the traditional in favor for the quick and easy. For this recipe, you’ll still marinate the chicken (without the yogurt) but you’ll brown it right in the skillet where everything else will be cooked.
Make the spice mixture. To get started, prepare a blend of garlic, fresh ginger, and lots of ground spices: turmeric, garam masala, coriander, cumin, and cardamon. Could you use curry powder? Sure, but it’s like aroma therapy to open all those little jars, and you can control the amounts of each.
Marinate the chicken. Only half of the spice mix will go into the marinade so make sure to reserve half. The marinade is comprised of spices and lemon juice. Add boneless skinless chicken breasts (thighs would work, too), cut into one inch pieces. The chicken can marinate for an hour, or up to 4 hours.
Brown the meat and veggies. You’ll need a nice big skillet to cook your tikka masala. Slice up some onions, green peppers, and carrots. Heat your skillet, add oil, and brown the chicken. It doesn’t need to be completely cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan, and sauté the veggies.
Add the sauce and simmer. Add the remaining spice mixture, red pepper flakes, and tomato paste. Stir that around for a couple of minutes, then add a big can of tomatoes, and a can of coconut milk. You’ll let the tomato “gravy” simmer a bit, then add fresh cilantro and the chicken back to the pan, and finish simmering your tikka masala. Stir in green peas right before serving, along with another handful of fresh cilantro.
It smells so good when it’s simmering, you won’t even believe it!
Is tikka masala British or Indian?
There appears to be no definitive answer to that question. It’s a very popular dish in Britain and you’ll usually find tikka masala on the menus of Indian restaurants. There’s also a good chance the dish originated in Glasgow, Scotland, when a tired restaurant owner placated a patron who complained his chicken was dry by covering it with curry-spiced tomato soup.
How spicy is chicken tikka masala?
The dish is moderately spicy but you can easily adjust the heat level by increasing or decreasing the amount of red pepper flakes you add.
Chicken tikka masala is great leftover. Simply store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days. Reheat gently on the stove or in the microwave.
More Chicken Recipes
Easy Chicken Tikka Masala
Ingredients
- 4 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
- 1 tablespoon grated peeled ginger root
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ cup lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed into 1 inch pieces (boneless skinless chicken thighs can be substituted if you prefer)
- 2 tablespoons ghee or coconut oil
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
- 1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
- 2 medium carrots , thinly sliced (about ¾ cup)
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 can (28 oz.) whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 can (13.66 oz.) coconut milk
- ¾ cup chopped cilantro, divided, plus extra for garnish
- 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
- steamed rice or naan, for serving
Instructions
- Combine garlic, ginger, turmeric, garam masala, coriander, cumin, and cardamom in a small bowl.4 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed, 1 tablespoon grated peeled ginger root, 2 teaspoons ground turmeric, 2 teaspoons garam masala, 2 teaspoons ground coriander, 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- For marinade, whisk lemon juice, salt, and half of spice mixture in a small bowl. In a gallon size resealable bag, add chicken and marinade, making sure all of the chicken is coated in marinade. Chill for 1 to 4 hours. Refrigerate remaining spice mixture.¼ cup lemon juice, 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Heat ghee or coconut oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and brown, about 8 minutes; remove to plate. Chicken will not be fully cooked.2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed into 1 inch pieces, 2 tablespoons ghee or coconut oil
- Add onion, green pepper, and carrots to same pan, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes.1 medium onion, thinly sliced, 1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced, 2 medium carrots , thinly sliced
- Add tomato paste, red pepper flakes, and remaining spice mixture and cook, stirring often, about 3 to 4 minutes.¼ cup tomato paste, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Add tomatoes with juices, crushing them with your hands as you add them. Scrape up browned bits from bottom of pot; add coconut milk and half the chopped cilantro. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until sauce is beginning to thicken.1 can (28 oz.) whole peeled tomatoes, 1 can (13.66 oz.) coconut milk, ¾ cup chopped cilantro, divided, plus extra for garnish
- Add chicken, and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, 20 minutes.
- Stir in peas and remaining cilantro.1 cup frozen peas, thawed
- Serve with rice, naan, and additional cilantro, if desired.
Notes
- Shortcut: Use your favorite curry powder in place of the ground spices.
- Nutrition information does not include rice or naan.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
This dish was absolutely delicious. The spices were perfect. I have been wanting a curry dish of some kind and I found it in this dish.
Thank You
So glad you liked it! It’s one of my recent favorites too. Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
thank you, never knew this recipe could be this easy (have never tried to make Indian food) and one pan is wonderful, thank you!
It’s definitely a shortcut but so so so delicious!!!
sounds delicous. Haven’t had tikka masala for a while.
It’s so flavorful and delicious!