This post may contain affiliate links. See our disclosure policy.
Chicken Tikka Masala is one of our favorite Indian dishes of all time. Tender chicken in a creamy, flavorful, tomato sauce is so easy to make at home. A must try!
Featured with this Recipe
Chicken Tikka Masala first came into our lives years ago while we were living in California and some dear friends made it for us. Later we tried the same dish at an Indian Restaurant called The Bombay House in Provo, Utah. This recipe tastes exactly the same! Warm, creamy, and slightly spicy, this signature Indian meal can be made at home with ingredients and spices that you may already have in your kitchen! You can have an authentic Indian dinner in minutes without ordering take-out or spending a fortune at a restaurant.
Ingredients in Chicken Tikka Masala
Marinade
- Yogurt – not Greek yogurt, just regular plain yogurt
- Lemon Juice
- Cumin
- Cinnamon
- Garam Masala
- Cayenne Pepper
- Ground Pepper
- Fresh Ginger
- Salt
Chicken Tikka Masala
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts – you can also use boneless skinless chicken thighs, you can also use other protein like shrimp
- Butter
- Garlic Cloves
- Cumin
- Paprika
- Garam Masala
- Chili Powder
- Salt
- Tomato Sauce
- Heavy Cream
- Fresh Cilantro
- Optional Sides – naan bread, basmati rice, raita
Chicken Tikka Masala History
The dish Chicken Tikka Masala gained popularity in an Indian restaurant in Glasgow, Scotland of all places, even though it was originally created in India. The Ali family who owned the restaurant came up with the creamy chicken recipe in the 1970s and word has it that it went on to become the most popular dish in British restaurants.
The chicken is first marinated in yogurt and spices, and then grilled on skewers. The next step is to add the chicken to the perfectly seasoned, creamy tomato sauce. We love that it is mild enough for our kids to enjoy, but spicy enough for the adults. If you’re looking to broaden your dinner horizons, try this recipe; you will love it!
Garam Masala
You’ll notice garam masala is listed as an ingredient in this Chicken Tikka Masala recipe. If you’ve never heard of garam masala, it is a ground spice blend traditionally used in Northern Indian dishes. When purchased, the blend can include cardamom, ground coriander, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, pepper, and turmeric. You can also make your own garam masala blend, but it won’t taste the same if you just mix use a mix of these powdered spices. Garam masala is so flavorful because the whole spices or seeds are first toasted before they are grounded and blended together. This brings out the the richest flavor and fragrance in the spices.
What to Serve with Chicken Tikka Masala
For a delicious Indian dinner, serve Chicken Tikka Masala over a bed of rice with warm naan bread or a simple green salad. You can also try a few of these tasty sides:
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, place the chicken skewers on a baking sheet lined with foil. Place on the top rack and broil at 390 degrees for 20 minutes, turning once.
Tikka Masala is a tomato based sauce that is creamy, earthy, and spicy.
This recipe is not spicy at all. You can make it more spicy by adding cayenne pepper.
Read Next: 35+ Quick and Easy To Follow Dinner Ideas Your Family Will Surely Love
More Chicken Dinner Recipes
Need a little variety to your chicken dinners? Try these delicious chicken meals:
- Chicken Massaman Curry
- Coconut Curry Grilled Chicken
- Chicken Panang Curry
- Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce and Cool Cucumber Salad
- Jared’s General Tso’s Chicken
How to Make Chicken Tikka Masala
Chicken Tikka Masala
Video
Ingredients
Marinade:
- 1 cup yogurt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces
- 5 wooden skewers
Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garam masala (optional)
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Optional Sides:
- 6 pieces Naan Bread
- 3 cups rice cooked
- 1 cup cucumber yogurt (see recipe HERE)
Instructions
For the Marinade
- In a large bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, cumin, cinnamon, garam masala, cayenne, pepper, ginger, and salt. Stir in chicken, cover, refrigerate 1 hour.
- Preheat a grill for high heat. Lightly oil the grill grate. Thread chicken onto skewers and discard marinade.
- Grill chicken skewers 5 minutes on each side.
For the Sauce
- Melt butter in a large skillet or dutch oven over medium heat. Saute garlic for 1 minute.
- Season with cumin, paprika, garam masala, chili powder, and salt. Stir in tomato sauce and cream. Simmer on medium low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes.
- Add grilled chicken to the sauce, and simmer for 5 more minutes.
- Sprinkle with fresh chopped cilantro. Serve with rice, naan bread, and cucumber yogurt.
Notes
- I am not a fan of onions, so I didn’t include them in this recipe. However, you can add a diced yellow onion and saute it with the garlic.
- Want Chicken Tikka Masala on the table quicker? Try our Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala recipe.
- For a more authentic taste, use a can of full fat coconut milk instead of heavy cream.
Is their a substitute for the heavy cream? Half and half or milk maybe? Heavy cream upsets some of our tummies 😥
Thanks In Advance
Absolutely! Half and half or milk is totally fine. You can also add some Greek yogurt if you need to thicken it up. Hope this helps!
My husband and I LOVE this recipe. We just got an instant pot for christmas so I was curious; Have you tried to make this in an instant pot yet? I’m curious as to how it would turn out and how you’d do it!
I like your thinking! We will put it on our list of recipes to make in the future. I will experiment around and see what I come up with. Keep checking back 🙂
Ok, so I am about 6 years late to this party…but THANK YOU for this recipe!! This is one of my family’s favorite dinners!! I love that it doesn’t call for Garam masala, which is not easy to find in my area. I have many Indian restaurants in my area, but it’s nice to have an inexpensive option that I can make at home (and that isn’t spicy for the kiddos).
It’s never too late to comment! 🙂 So glad you like it!!
Is it possible to use anything in place of the yogurt? Lactose allergy… thanks
I don’t know what would be a good substitute– you could probably just leave it out if you need to!
This is a super easy and yummy recipe! I add Curry powder to it and it adds to the flavor! Thank you!
Making this tonight.. problem is i dont have cumin powder.. i dont know how it’ll turn out but i will let you know
Hopefully it will still be ok, let us know how it turns out!
Mine is in the final stage of cooking and the aroma is amazing! Can’t wait to eat!
Delicious!!
We love Indian foods and this really tasty. I made it pretty close. I added some cauliflower to the chicken/marinade and broiled both (didn’t feel like going out to the grill). I also added some chopped onion to the sauce, thought about a bell pepper but forgot. I tossed some turmeric in the marinade and a little cinnamon in the sauce.
Such an easy-to-make and tasty dinner. We have awesome lunches tomorrow
Oh adding cauliflower is a wonderful idea! Good thinking! So glad you liked it!
This recipe is nearly identical to a recipe on allrecipes that I love. I have several recipes on your site that I love, but you never seem to give credit where credit is due.
Sorry Katie, this recipe actually came from my cousin’s wife, which was a family recipe of hers. I’m sure that we have many recipes that are going to look similar to others online just due to the fact that there are a lot of similar recipes out there. Most of our recipes are from our family or ones that we have created. If we do use another online recipe as a resource we always credit them back. We have been posting for almost 8 years now and when we update a recipe it pushes the date up, so some of the ones you may be seeing online are copies of our originals too.
Hi I used your coconut korma recipe and it was amazing!! My boyfriend asks for it at least once a week! I want to try out this recipe but I’m from the uk and we don’t have cans of tomato sauce here! I know this was posted a long time ago so not sure if I’ll get a reply but any idea what I can use as a substitute? Thanks!
Hi Leah- Do you have tomato paste? Send me an email at contact [at] favfamilyrecipes [dot] com and I can try to help you figure you a way to make this recipe a success for you!
Excellent tikka masala recipe. I’ve tried a few others, lost hope then the hubby requested Indian food this evening. I followed the recipe to a “t” but cooked my chicken under the broiler. Delicious. Paired it with cauliflower rice for a wonderful low carb meal. Thank you for posting this will become a staple in our home.
Thank you!!! I love your idea with the cauliflower rice! yum!
And the spice level here tastes like the mild version of their Tikka Masala? Bc I don’t do great with spicy foods, but I LOVE their Tikka Masala (mild).
WOW what a recipe! I’ve made this like 3 times now since I found it. But I have to say I didn’t like white boneless chicken (when we eat out, we found it usually dry and bland), so I used bone in pieces and it tasted AAAAAmazing!!!!! My husband loves Indian Food, and since we’ve been having two little kiddies, eating out is more of a nuisance than an enjoyment so I started looking up recipes of our favorite Indian dishes. So far this is a definite keeper! Thank you for sharing. Because of this recipe I don’t feel like Indian cooking is a mystery nor is it beyond my reach anymore 🙂
I tried your recipe last night with my family. I’ve been an avid fan of food from the Bombay House, and I’ve spent that last two or three years learning to cook Indian Food. Your recipe was really good and my kids really enjoyed it. It’s simple and something you can do from home. However… it did NOT taste exactly like the Bombay House version. I’m not sure if that’s even possible, but I’m pretty particular in specificity. This was a great sauce, might even taste better, but it wasn’t the same. For one thing, I know the Bombay House includes Bell Peppers and Onions in their sauce (it says right on the menu). Great job though, I am going to be trying a lot more of your recipes and endorsing you to other chefs!
I know, I left the onions out on purpose because I hate them. 🙂
This is just the BEST chicken tikka masala I have ever eaten and, as it is my very favorite Indian dish, I have tried it all over the world. SO grateful to have found a recipe that I can make at home that tastes authentic. Thank you, ladies!!
Thank you for a delicious recipe! Made it tonight and me whole family loved it.
I love indian food! this is amazing! I love Bombay House (I’ve only tried the one in SLC), but I love spicy indican food, so my question would be, what spice, chili, do they use to make it hot? is it just cayenne pepper? I would love to try it, but all my family would request spice! I know it, and I am going to try to prepare Naan, basmati rice so we have the whole experience. Thanks!
If you want to kick up the spice, you can add red pepper flakes, but I would use siracha hot sauce.
This looks amazing! Just wondering how many this recipe serves. Thanks!
This serves about 4 to 6, depending on serving sizes.
Initially saw this recipe pinned and thought I had to try it! I made it last week and it was so delicious! Thanks for the great recipe. I am now looking for more!
This is the first time I’ve grilled chicken (I’ve made a point of not knowing how to do it so my husband would have to make dinner sometimes…) : ) but I got tired of waiting to have this recipe and did it myself.
So, here’s my question: Was the chicken supposed to cook all the way through on the grill, or does it finish cooking while it is in the simmering sauce for 10 minutes?
Thank you so much for your website! I LOATHE cooking dinner night after night after night after night and you guys make it bearable (and even fun — don’t tell)!
SO YUMMY!!! Third recipe I’ve made from your site and all three were a home run! I’m so excited to make more!! Thank you so much for all your hard work. We LOVED the change of pace with this indian dish.