Meal Bite: Crock Pot Chicken Tikka Masala

Hi Busies!

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day Weekend!  I had planned a nice quiet weekend of movie watching and starting Round 2 of meal prepping (check out Round 1 here), but it ended up being a crazy and fun filled weekend!  From girl’s night out, to a DIY project, to a walk in the park, to a housewarming visit, to a day of lazy river tubing, to hosting a BBQ, I ended up with only Monday to meal prep.  And a large portion of Monday was spent recovering from the weekend…because spending 4 hours floating down a river is (believe it or not) more tiring than it sounds – but also amazingly fun!

Enter Monday night’s dinner, which is one of my favorites – Chicken Tikka Masala.  My love affair with Indian food began in London, and has continued in Raleigh and NYC.  Although I’m still a bit of a wimp when it comes to spice (heat) level, I love the unique flavors that are so different from other things I’ve tried or made.  And there is NOTHING better than sopping up the sauce with a piece of warm, fresh naan.  Especially if it comes at the end of a long weekend.  Eat those Tuesday blues away, Busies.  

My homemade version is somewhat “health-ified.”  I use brown rice instead of white and sub in a combination of fat-free coconut milk and cornstarch for heavy cream.  I’ve also tried using full-fat coconut milk, but didn’t notice enough of a difference in taste to make it worth the extra saturated fat.    Like some of my other slow cooker dishes, like chicken carnitas tacos, I like to add part of the spices at the beginning, and also give a little spice boost at the end of cooking (see note at the end of the recipe).  

Q:  Did I eat double the amount of naan pictured?  A:  maaayyybeeee….

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Crock Pot Chicken Tikka Masala

Tender chicken simmered in a spicy and creamy tomato based sauce. Serve with plenty of naan for dipping!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 8 hours

Servings 4

Author Sam - Busy Girl Bites

Ingredients

• 2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 yellow onion (chopped)
• 4 tsp minced garlic (approx. 4 cloves)
• 2 T grated fresh ginger or 2 tsp powdered ginger
• 1-30 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 T garam masala (divided, see note)
• 2 tsp cumin (divided, see note)
• 2 tsp coriander (divided, see note)
• 3 tsp paprika (divided, see note)
• 1 tsp turmeric (divided, see note)
• 1 tsp cinnamon (divided, see note)
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper (divided, see note)
• salt and pepper
• 1 cup fat free coconut milk
• 1 T cornstarch

Instructions

1. Add tomato sauce and spices to crock pot. Stir to combine.
2. Add chicken and all other ingredients except coconut milk and cornstarch. Stir to combine.
3. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours.

During the last 30-60 minutes of cooking

1. Stir in the remaining spices.
2. In a small bowl, add cornstarch and slowly stir in coconut milk to prevent clumps. Add mixture to crock pot and stir.
3. Cook an additional 20-30 minutes or until sauce is thickened.
4. Serve over rice with warm naan on the side.

Recipe Notes

Note: When slow-cooking with lots of spices, I prefer to add some at the beginning and some at the end of cooking. It doesn't have to be exact - the easiest way I've found is to have a small bowl on hand, and measure out the amount of the spice per the recipe above (for example, 1 tsp). Add 1/2 tsp to the crock pot and 1/2 tsp to the bowl. Cover the bowl and keep it next to the crock pot, then dump it in at the end!

Adapted from The Iron You

Busies, what is your favorite Indian dish?  What did you do over LDW?  Let me know in the comments below!  And tag me at @busygirl_bites or #busygirlbites on Instagram to show me your cooking results!