Chicken Tikka Masala – at home – on the couch – with just 5 ingredients – in 30 minutes. THIS IS HAPPENING.
Let me first start by saying I would never want to trick you into wanting to try a recipe. Never ever. Not even the most creamy, luscious, medium-spicy, must-have-it chicken tikka masala.
Sooo when I say five ingredients, what I actually mean is that there are more than five ingredients that go into this, otherwise how would it even taste good? I’m cringing like oh my gosh do you hate me for pulling you in like this? I promise I have good reasons and I promise this can work.
In order to approach this as a five ingredient recipe – which I absolutely do when I make it roughly 300x per week – you need to accept that one of the five ingredients is a MASALA PASTE with lots of fragrant and punchy and deeply flavored ingredients. You will make this masala paste once, it will be done in about 5 minutes, and then it will live in your freezer so that forevermore you will have the ability to make this chicken tikka masala as a quick and easy five ingredient recipe.
Are you following?
So the first order of business here is making the masala paste. Today. Right now. End of story. One 5 minute batch of masala paste = many batches of this five ingredient CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA with hardly any thought or effort. The paste is the very necessary flavor base that brings the other four ingredients together. Have a look.
Chicken Tikka Masala Ingredients
- Chicken
- Masala Paste
- Plain Yogurt (for marinating the chicken)
- Tomato Puree
- Coconut Milk
See? that wasn’t even bad at all.
How to make our Chicken Tikka Masala (1 min):
Guys, I need to confess something. One of the main reasons I need an easy recipe such as this chicken tikka masala in my life is because I went to the Justin Beiber concert last night WHATTTT
I seriously did. I am a 30 year old fan girl. I’ve listened to all the music, I saw the movie – THE MOVIE, you guys, and as of last night I am an official concert attendee. Lines have been crossed. Boundaries have been ignored. There is no going back.
Fortunately (but is this really fortunate?) there are some snaps still on my snapchat story from the concert so if you’re reading this on the day it’s posted, THERE’S STILL TIME to peep our concert shenanigans, or more importantly, sneak a peek at the Beibs to decide for yourself if he is as strangely cool / frustrating as he seems. Not that you guys would ever be into that though, right? No. We’re super mature on this blog.
Alright, focus.
We were marinating chicken in yogurt and masala paste.
We were creating a magical witches’ brew of a sauce with tomato puree and more masala paste and coconut milk like whoa.
If you can, if you will, if you need good 5-ingredient recipes that taste like your favorite Indian restaurant came into your house, please make that masala paste which will transform into this sauce which will cover this chicken which makes the simplest chicken tikka masala happen in your life, in your very own home, on your very own couch in your very own sweats because HELLO. Masala requires this of us.
I’ve described everything you need including the masala paste in the recipe section of this post, so no need to have two recipe tabs open at once and feel frazzled with all the ingredients. It’s all here because streamlined = efficient = winning.
Chicken Tikka Masala wants to love you.
Chicken Tikka Masala
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6–8 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Chicken Tikka Masala – creamy, perfectly spicy, and ready in 30 minutes! you won’t believe how easy it is to make this at home!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1/4 cup masala paste (see notes)
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1 1/2 cups tomato puree
- 1 14 ounce can regular coconut milk
- rice and cilantro for serving
Instructions
- PREP: Make the quick masala paste (or maybe – hopefully – you already made this and have it in your freezer?! you’re a rock star).
- MARINATE CHICKEN: Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces. Marinate with 1 tablespoon of masala paste and the yogurt for about 30 minutes in the fridge.
- SIMMER: Heat a large, deep skillet over medium high heat and add the remaining masala paste. Stir fry for a few minutes to get all the spices going. Add the chicken/yogurt mixture and saute until the chicken is mostly cooked. Add the tomato puree and coconut milk to the pan with the chicken and simmer for 15 or so minutes. Season with salt. Let stand for a while so the sauce will thicken up a bit. Serve over rice with cilantro!
Notes
Instant Pot Instructions: Same ingredients and instructions, but throw it all together in the Instant Pot in step 3. Cook for 8 minutes on manual and use the quick release. Check out the video above to see how it’s done! You can buy canned tomato puree at a lot of grocery stores. Otherwise just use canned tomatoes and run them through the food processor or blender till smooth. The idea is just plain pureed tomatoes without seasoning. For extra lusciousness, add a little bit of heavy whipping cream or use whipping cream in place of some of the coconut milk. Light coconut milk can be used but does not yield the same thick and creamy results. Masala Paste: 2 onions (I used one yellow, one purple, together totaling about 3 cups when chopped) 5 cloves garlic a 2-inch piece of fresh ginger 3 tablespoon garam masala 1 tablespoon chili powder 1 tablespoon turmeric 1 tablespoon cumin 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves 2 teaspoons salt ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper a small pile of of cilantro stems a fistful of almonds juice of one lemon Run everything through the food processor as-is until mostly smooth (see picture) and you’re done. Make this paste once and keep it in the freezer and you’ve got what you need for 5 ingredient Chicken Tikka Masala FROM SCRATCH for many happy days. Makes about 1 1/2 cups of paste.
Nutrition Facts are for 6 servings, not including rice.
One more thing!
This recipe is part of our collection of best healthy gluten-free recipes. Check it out!
Yummy!
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Haha, I will totally not judge you for going to a Beibs concert but only because you made this ridiculously amazing super easy tikka masala! 😉
I’m definitely making that masala paste because I need this in my life now!
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Ok – LOVE tikka masala with all my heart and soul so I’m excited to give this a whirl! Just to clarify though – what exactly are we doing to make the paste? Blending? Food processor? No toasting of the spices, right?
Just pulsing through the food processor! When I’ve done curry pastes, I have toasted the spices and roasted the onions, but in this one I just kept it super simple and literally just added everything to the food processor raw. Not sure that it’s entirely traditional or accurate but it’s how I’ve been making it for almost a year and it’s still delicious! 🙂 The flavors come alive in step one when you stir fry the paste.
If this recipe uses “masala paste” then this is not a 5 ingredient recipe, then you need to make first the masala paste and then the chicken tikka masala.. so no, this is not a 5 ingredient recipe 😛
anyway, i love chicken tikka masala, so i will make this “more than 5 ingredients” recipe and then will comment <3
If only she’d said so in the second paragraph, right? 😉
Hey David! I actually mentioned that right away at the beginning of this post. Also, once you make the paste, it does, for all practical purposes, become a 5 ingredient recipe. Go make that paste and you’ll be set for many 5 ingredient batches of chicken tikka masala! 😛
I am such a big fan of Indian food but get nervous when experimenting with the flavors at home. This recipe makes it look totally doable though! I want to try this but with tofu instead 🙂
http://www.sprinklesandsaturdays.com
I love that the masala paste is just a few aromatic ingredients. It always seems like too much work to make to make Indian food at home, but this recipe dispels that myth! This is on the menu this week, YEAH!
Love love Indian food! I will have to give this n once a try! !!
I love that you went to Justin Beaver! (Thank you, Ice Cube.) And that you TOLD us about it! My mom and I went to see Hanson 5 or 10 years ago because they are talented and wonderful. We should never be apologetic or embarrassed about whatever music we like because, well, that’s what it’s there for. High five!
Also, I adore chicken tikka masala. This looks marvelous with the coconut milk instead of heavy cream. Saving.
BEAVER! hahahaha. And yes – Hanson! I am a fan.
Hello! I just love Indian food, but my husband is allergic to coconut anything. Is there a good substitute for the coconut in Indian recipes?
Heavy cream would be the traditional way to thicken the sauce! 🙂 yum!
Wowsa looks great, would love to have some of this in the freezer. Quick question…
Looks like you are using 1/4 cup of masala paste in the 5-ingredient recipe. About how many 1/4 cup servings of the paste do you end up with if you make the paste recipe as listed?
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Gosh, I want to say maybe it makes about 1 1/2 cups paste, so 5-6 batches of tikka masala at least!
I just mixed up my first batch and it gave me exactly 9 servings at a slightly heaped 1/4C each. Really looking forward to making this tomorrow (and hopefully many times after)…I love chicken tikka masala but the recipe I’ve used in the past is too time consuming to make regularly.
How do you like to thaw the paste from the freezer? Then do you just refreeze every time until it’s gone? Thanks!
Hi Victoria! We usually like to freeze this in individual portions so we only need to thaw what we need!
I have found the most lazy way to do this is to pour it into a freezer zip lock back and then flatten so it is thin and then you can break off frozen chunks to use.
This sauce looks so creamy and delicious, I might be tempted to slather it on everything!
I came in skeptical of this being a 5 ingredient recipe, and I don’t even mind you misleading us poor innocent readers. The way you framed the masala paste was perfect, I am so excited to make this in bulk!
This looks so yummy. It is on my To Try new recipes list. We have really liked the recipes I have tried so far.
I believe it’d be fair to name you The Queen of Sauces. Your chicken tikka masala looks mighty fine, but oh, that sauce!
Thanks Rebeca! That is the ultimate compliment. 😉
What do YOU consider chili powder? Did you use chili powder that is used for chili and Mexican dishes or straight chili powder like dundicutt chilis? I wouldn’t think that the oregano in Mexican chili powder would be compatible here….so I just want to make sure.
I just used the same chili powder I use for everything else. 🙂 When I made yellow curry paste, I did use whole dried chilis that were soaked and then crushed which seems to be more traditional for Indian food, but in this case it was just a bottle from the spice section labeled “chili powder”.
This looks fabulous, but you didn’t really give any directions on how to make the paste. I’m an experienced cook, but not with Indian food, so I need some help with the method.
Hi Mary Jo! There is another full post that is linked in the recipe here that gives all the directions in detail. With the list of ingredients in the notes here, you would just put them all in a food processor and turn it on until you get an even paste, similar to curry paste that you would buy from the store. Again, for more detail and more pictures please check out the other related post dedicated to the masala paste : https://pinchofyum.com/life-changing-30-minute-masala-sauce
Tikka masala is one of my favorite Indian dishes in the world!!! However, I’m lactose intolerant–what do you think is the best substitute for the yogurt?
Omit! 🙂 I have made this plenty of times without the yogurt and it’s still good. As far as I understand, yogurt is traditional for tikka masala, but we’re not too attached to tradition around here.
love your stuff. Is there any way you could give an estimate on size of onions for the masala paste in either approximate diameter or weight? Onions vary so much in size that I don’t like relying on unit count. Thank you!
Good question JDP I will add a note about that!
My kinda meal Lindsay! 5 ingredients, where do I sign up. Totally putting this onto the weekly rotation. It is winter here in Australia, so will totally warm the family up for sure.
This food looks yummy, wouldn’t mind a go at it.
Hahaha nothing wrong with being a 30 year old fan girl! I am glad you had an awesome time!
https://thedogtribe.com/2016/06/20/100-burpee-shred-workout/
thanks Michelle! 🙂 no shame!
This looks so good! Unfortunately, I don’t eat meat , so is there something you’d recommend instead of chicken? Sweet potato maybe?
Paneer!!! It’s Indian style cheese, kind of similar in texture to tofu but more firm and more creamy. I wanted to make a paneer version of this but opted for chicken this time around.
also – try veg meatballs! https://pinchofyum.com/30-minute-vegetarian-meatballs
The veggie meatballs with the masala sauce were awesome! My entire family loved them. They froze great.
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I just discovered your blog, and I must say that your recipes look absolutely delicious ! And as an indian food lover, I’m going to make this as soon as I have the ingredients !
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Considering I order chicken tikka masala way to often from my local indian restaurant down the street, I need to make this recipe ASAP.
This looks so delicious but all I can think to say is… Justin Bieber has a movie?
HAHAHA yes – it came out a few years ago. Never Say Never!