This Chicken Tikka Masala recipe is super easy and one of my favorite freezer-friendly meals. Creamy, aromatic, and super satisfying it makes for a crave-worthy dinner.

While we are omnivores in our household I see many benefits of eating more vegetable-forward meals. This dish is equally satisfying with or without meat. It is fairly easy to make two versions of this dish simultaneously to satisfy multiple dietary preferences.

Here is a link to a Vegetarian Tikka Masala recipe.

What you need:

Equipment:

dutch oven
sharp knife
vegetable peeler

Time:

40 minutes active cooking
20 minutes simmer
60 minutes total

Produce:

1 head of cauliflower chopped
6-8 carrots chopped
1 onion chopped
6 cloves of garlic chopped
1 bell pepper chopped
2 tablespoon grated ginger

Dairy:

2 tblsp butter (optional)

Meat:

3 lbs boneless skinless chicken cubed into bite-size pieces

Pantry:

3-5 tablespoon Olive oil for cooking
3 teaspoon garam masala (spice)
3 teaspoon turmeric
3 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 28oz cans of tomatoes
1 6oz can of tomato paste
1 15.5oz can of coconut milk
2 cups chicken stock
1-2 15.5oz cans of chickpeas

To start, drizzle a little olive oil (1-2 tsp) in the bottom of a Dutch oven set at medium-low temperature. Allow the oil to heat up and cook the onions on medium-low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, occasionally stirring. If I have time, I try to cook my onions closer to 10 minutes or longer, but if I’m in a rush, I do 5 minutes. You at least want the onions to soften a little before adding anything else.

Turn the heat up to medium-high and add the cubed chicken breast to the pot. Cook the chicken breast until it is slightly browned, roughly 9-12 minutes. Mix the pieces of chicken around to try and get some browning on all sides.

Next, lower the heat to medium-low and add the chopped garlic and carrots. Cook the mixture for 5-7 minutes, stirring relatively frequently so the garlic does not burn.

coconut milk, chopped bell pepper, grated ginger, ground masala, chili powder, turmeric, canned tomatoes, and chickpeas

chicken brown on each side in frying pan — If you wanna make a batch that is half vegetarian and half with chicken: While you are cooking all the other ingredients, heat a frying pan with foil on medium-high heat and cook the chicken separately. Let the chicken brown on each side and put it aside.

Now it’s time to add the tomato paste and actively stir for 2 minutes so that it fully coats the garlic, onions, and carrots. Next, add the grated ginger, garam masala, chili powder, and turmeric, again actively stir for 2 minutes so that it coats the veggies. This gives spices time to fully develop over the heat before adding in the liquid.

Add the chicken stock, coconut milk, chopped bell pepper, canned tomatoes, and chickpeas, gently mixing them all together. Cover the pot and cook at an active simmer for about 20 minutes.

At this point, add the cauliflower and cook for another 5 minutes. I like to add the cauliflower towards the end of the process so that it doesn't get too soft.

For the final touch, stir in 2 tablespoons of butter. I know this might seem a bit over the top, but trust me, it’s not that much butter and there is something about the fat in the butter that helps bring out all the richness of the spices.

This Chicken Tikka Masala makes for an absolutely scrumptious meal at the end of a long day and is freezer-friendly for you to serve as a future meal with minimal effort.

If you’ve tried this Chicken Tikka Masal recipe or any other recipe on BalancingBowls, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest to see more tasty meals and anything else I’m up to.

Recipe