This paleo and Whole30 slow cooker chicken tikka masala recipe is every bit as easy as it is delicious. It’s a truly set it and forget it recipe that only requires a few simple ingredients, chicken and a crock pot. The end result is a tasty, healthy and family friendly weeknight dinner or meal for meal prep for the week! It’s gluten-free, dairy-free and keto, so it’s great for any type of eater in your family! We love this recipe just as much as our local Indian restaurant’s menu option!
Whole30 Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala Ingredients
Making this Whole30 tikka masala is incredibly easy. The majority of the flavor comes from the spices you’ll need to use. While this cannot be a truly authentic tikka masala because we’re using coconut milk for the creamy consistency, the spices are the typical Indian spices. These include garam masala, turmeric, cinnamon, coriander, and a few other more common ones.
All of the spices needed are available at all major grocery stores, on Amazon, or at a discount from Thrive Market, which is where I usually buy the bulk bags, and most are under $3. I also get a lot of my canned goods there too, including the coconut milk, ghee and tomato paste needed in this recipe.
The other ingredients include boneless, skinless chicken. Breasts or thighs work for this chicken tikka masala recipe. Thighs tend to have an end result that’s a bit more juicy and full of flavor while diced chicken breast tends to hold up better in the bite size pieces. You’ll also need a fresh lemon for the lemon juice, ghee and then arrowroot flour to thicken if you want a thicker sauce and then cilantro to garnish and add a pop of flavor.
Related: Whole30 Grocery Items at Target & Whole30 Grocery Items at Walmart
How to Make Slow Cooker Tikka Masala
There’s only a few simple steps to prepare this recipe and get it going in the slow cooker. First you’ll dice up the chicken and onion and add them both into the slow cooker. From there, you’ll add in all of the spices, the lemon juice, garlic, ginger, ghee, broth and tomato paste. Quickly give it a good stir to combine the spices with the liquid and to coat the chicken.
Cover and cook the Whole30 chicken tikka masala on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4. Once the chicken is cooked, go ahead and add in the canned coconut milk. This is also when you’ll add in the arrowroot if you’re wanting the sauce to be thicker. Stir it all to combine and place the cover on again. Turn it down to low if it isn’t already, and let it sit for 10-15 minutes to let the coconut milk heat up and incorporate into the sauce.
Serve this tikka masala over cauliflower rice (or basmati rice if you eat it!), garnish with cilantro and enjoy! This recipe does freeze well, but when heating up after it’s been frozen the sauce will need to be stirred well to incorporate the coconut milk again, which separates when frozen.
Other Whole30 Recipes You’ll Love:
Instant Pot Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry
PrintSlow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala: Whole30, Paleo, Keto, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free
This paleo and Whole30 slow cooker chicken tikka masala recipe is every bit as easy as it is delicious. It’s a truly set it and forget it recipe that only requires a few simple ingredients, chicken and a crock pot. The end result is a tasty, healthy and family friendly weeknight dinner or meal for meal prep for the week! It’s gluten-free, dairy-free and keto, so it’s great for any type of eater in your family!
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or thighs), diced in bite size pieces
- 1 medium diced white onion
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 1 tbsp minced ginger
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 3 tsp garam masala
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 (6 oz can) tomato paste
- 1 (14 oz can) unsweetened coconut milk, full-fat
- 2 tsp arrowroot flour dissolved with water to thicken, if desired
- Cilantro to garnish, if desired
Instructions
- Add the diced chicken and diced onion into the slow cooker with all of the ingredients except for the coconut milk, arrowroot and cilantro. Stir to combine the spices with the broth and to coat the diced chicken.
- Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4.
- When the chicken is cooked, add in the coconut milk (shake can well prior to opening) and stir to combine. If you’d like the sauce to be thicker you can now add the arrowroot dissolved in a tiny bit of water to thicken.
- Turn down to low if it’s not already on it and place the cover back on. Let sit for an additional 10-15 minutes to heat the coconut milk. Serve with chopped cilantro, and over cauliflower rice if desired.
This Whole30 Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala post may contain some links that are affiliate links, though products are ones I use personally and recommend. When you purchase anything using my links, it costs you absolutely nothing extra, but it does give wholekitchensink.com a little financial support which helps to keep this blog running. Thank you for your continued support, both with your dollars and your interest.
free whole30 ebook
sign up for my newsletter and receive my 20 best Whole30 recipes!
By using this form you agree with this site's privacy policy.
Melissa says
I modified slightly. Instead of dumping everything into the slow cooker, I melted the ghee and sautéed the onions in my Instant Pot, then pressure cooked it all on the chicken setting. Next time, I’ll increase the chicken to 2 lbs, as this was not enough for my family of 5. It was absolutely delicious!
claire says
Such a delicious recipe! The spice combination is on point. We even devoured some before remembering to add the coconut milk and still thought it was really good. Can’t wait to finish the leftovers.
MG says
Made this for the first time and my boyfriend kept going on about how good it was. I even tweaked things a bit for what I had or didn’t have on hand! Turned out great! Thanks Bailey for all your amazing recipes!
Anna says
Cooked this tonight and it is absolutely delicious!! I’d love to make it a staple meal for us. What are the nutritional values for this??
Co says
I have made this dish twice now and love it! I’m currently cooking my 3rd batch and added some cayenne to spice things up a little more. My 7 year old gobbles it up!
paleobailey says
I’m SO happy to hear this!! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and leave a review – I really appreciate it! <3 - B
Marissa says
This is a regular dinner in my family now. We have multiple food allergies and a hubs with celiacs and this is one we can all enjoy. Perfect for those nights when the kiddos have activities. We always use thighs and I don’t bother dicing them as this recipe always gives us fall apart tender chicken. Thanks so much for sharing this!
Kate says
So good! My husband agrees it’s delicious. Adding this to the regular rotation. Thank you!
Jackie says
Quite good, Next time I will add some spice to add a little heat.
Jim says
My wife wants this every week now! Doubled it fits in an eight-quart slow cooker easily. At the moment, we’re making another double batch with four times the chicken (3 pounds thighs, 3 pounds breasts)…
paleobailey says
I’m SO glad to hear this!! It’s a staple at my house, too! Thank you so much for giving it a try, and taking the time to come back and leave a review!
Katie says
I made this for my my family of 4. My 3 year old and 5 year old enjoyed it! No complaints from either of them, which I was shocked because there are a lot of spices in here. Very rich flavor and easy to put together. Definitely saving this recipe for the future!
Heather says
Delicious! This was my first time making this dish and it was easy and fantastic! I posted the before and after on Facebook, so thank you Baily!
Christy says
This is delicious! I added sweet potato to the slow cooker as well. Turned out great!