This 21 Day Fix Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala is an easy and insanely delicious (and healthy!) make-your-own-take-out dinner! It's perfect for meal prep and gluten-free!
Hi! This was originally posted on January 4, 2019, but I've updated it to include stovetop instructions for those of you without Instant Pots!
Hey guys!! So I'm crazy excited today because this 21 Day Fix Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala (say that 3 times fast!) is my first official recipe of the year and I just KNOW that you're going to fall head over heels for it.
If you're trying to eat healthier but don't want to eat plain baked chicken, I've totally got you with this one. Well, and this one, and this one, and this one... you get it. But seriously with this Chicken Tikka Masala, you guys. You NEED to make it asap.
Anyway, I tested this one a zillion times because I wanted it to be perfect. I tested different spice combos, different tomato products, the whole nine. I never tired of it though. I'm convinced that you just can't tire of this dish. Like maybe this is one of those "if you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life what would it be" kind of things. I could totally do that.
Indian food is life, people. And chicken tikka masala has always been one of my favorite Indian dishes what with all of it's spicy, aromatic, creamy deliciousness and all.
Oh, and can we talk thighs for a minute? Because I just can't do chicken breasts in the Instant Pot unless they're shredded. I don't know what it is, but I've tried every trick in the book and the texture is just freaking weird. Is it just me?
Are Chicken Thighs 21 Day Fix approved?
While chicken thighs aren't in the 21 Day Fix book, or on any 21DF food list that you'll find, after doing some research (which you can read in my Instant Pot Chicken Teriyaki post if you're interested), I came to the conclusion that there's really no reason why we can't have chicken thighs on the 21 Day Fix, stats wise.
I think thighs just get a bad rap, honestly. If you do a good job trimming the fat off of them, they're perfectly fine to have. Which, btw, is why I always buy boneless, they're SO much easier to trim!
Some quick notes about this 21 Day Fix Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala:
- This recipe calls for the thick cream at the top of a can of full fat coconut milk. When I'm shopping for coconut milk, what I like to do is give the can I'm looking at a little shake, if I can feel/hear the coconut milk sloshing around, I keep looking until I find one that doesn't do that. Then I don't have to worry about trying to remember to stick it in the fridge the night before to get the cream to set.
- This recipe calls for fresh ginger. Fresh ginger is SO amazing and a key component to this dish. What I usually do is buy a large one, peel it and throw it in the freezer. Then when I need it, all I have to do is pull it out of the freezer and grate the amount that I need using the small side of my box grater. It lasts forever that way!
- This recipe also calls for fresh garlic. I just wanted to share with you my favorite garlic-mincing gadget, because it saves me SO much time and I think you'll like it. The Garlic Twister (affiliate link).
- You can serve this with some brown rice, or you can do what I prefer and serve it with my Garlic-Cilantro Cauliflower Rice so you can have some whole wheat naan or pita bread with it. SO GOOD!
- Lastly, please don't let the long ingredient list discourage you. Many of the ingredients are just spices, and many of them are listed twice (because they're used in both the marinade and the sauce) to avoid confusion. This really is such an easy, delicious meal!
Want to add some other tasty, Indian-inspired dishes to your meal plan? Check out my quick and easy Skinny Saag Chicken, this delish Indian-spiced grilled chicken, and this Cardamom Chia Seed Pudding with Mango. That chia seed pudding makes a great snack OR dessert! And if you're looking for more Instant Pot meal prep recipes, I've got you covered, click here!
I really hope you guys get obsessed with this one like I have!! And I hope you're having the best start to the new year ever!
Save this 21 Day Fix Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala to Pinterest! ↓↓
Just FYI – this recipe has only been tested in the Instant Pot 6-quart duo (which you can check out here! <- affiliate link) – If you have an 8 qt, you may need to add more liquid.
If you make this 21 Day Fix Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala recipe be sure to snap a pic and tag me @thefoodieandthefix or use #thefoodieandthefix on Instagram so I can check it out! I love watching your stories! It makes me ridiculously happy to see what you guys are making 🙂
📖 Recipe
21 Day Fix Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala
Ingredients
- 2 - 3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (2 lbs for 4-5 servings, 3 lbs for about 7 servings**), trimmed and cut into 1" cubes
Marinade:
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt (0%, 1% or 2%) - or dairy-free yogurt if you're DF (just be sure to adjust 21 Day Fix counts if necessary)
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoon of grated fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Sauce:
- 1 ½ cups of chopped onion (1 medium onion)
- 1 Tbs tomato paste
- 1 can (14.5 oz) no-salt-added diced tomatoes
- 2 Tbs water (½ cup for stovetop version)
- 6 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 Tbs garam masala
- 2 teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon salt (only ¼ teaspoon for stovetop version)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Finishing Ingredients:
- the thick cream from the top of 1 can of full-fat coconut milk (should be about ⅔ cup)
- ½ Tbs garam masala
- chopped cilantro (as much as you like!)
- cayenne, to taste (my fam can't take the heat, so I leave this out but it still has a kick from the garlic and ginger!)
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Mix together all of the marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add the chicken and coat with yogurt mixture. Put in a gallon-size ziploc bag (or any lidded container) and refrigerate an hour or more (just fyi, I've forgotten to do this ahead before and it only sat in the fridge for about 20 minutes while I prepped the rest of this dish and it still came out great!).
- Spray the liner of your Instant Pot with olive oil cooking spray and turn on your saute function. Saute the onions for 3 or 4 minutes, stirring occasionally (these don't have to completely soften as they'll finish cooking under pressure). Stir in remaining sauce ingredients. Put the chicken with the yogurt mixture on top of the sauce, don't stir. This helps prevent burning. Cook on manual (or pressure cook) for 8 minutes with a quick release after cooking.
- Remove lid, then remove the chicken and put into your serving dish and cover with foil, leaving as much of the tomatoes and onions in the pot as possible. Pour everything left in the pot into a blender* with ½ Tbs garam masala and blend until smooth. Give it a taste, if you want more heat, add cayenne to taste. Add the coconut cream and blend again. Pour the sauce over your chicken, stir and serve with the chopped cilantro!
Stovetop Instructions:
- Mix together all of the marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add the chicken and coat with yogurt mixture. Put in a gallon-size ziploc bag (or any lidded container) and refrigerate an hour or more (just FYI, I've forgotten to do this ahead before and it only sat in the fridge for about 20 minutes while I prepped the rest of this dish and it still came out great!).
- Spray a large saute pan with olive oil cooking spray and heat to medium. Saute the onions until softened. Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute, then stir in the remaining sauce ingredients. Bring to a bubble, then stir in the chicken with the yogurt mixture. Bring to a bubble again, put the lid on (turning the heat down to medium-low and cook for about 10 minutes).
- Remove the lid, turn the heat back up to medium, stir and let simmer until chicken has fully cooked and sauce has thickened, another 5-10 minutes. Add the finishing ingredients and serve! (FYI, I don't blend the sauce for the stovetop version because it doesn't need thickened as much the way the IP version does. However, you can if you like)!
Notes
- *I don't like to use an immersion blender for this because occasionally some of the sauce will stick to the bottom of the pot and you don't want to bring up any burnt sauce with the immersion blender.
- **I've found that once trimmed and cooked, 1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken thighs ends up being between 2 and 2 ½ Red (¾ cup each) servings of protein.
- *** If using 3 lbs of chicken instead of two, this does create a little extra liquid and you may need to cook the liquid down a bit and/or add extra seasonings.
21 Day Fix Container counts per serving: 1 Red, ½ Green, ¼ Blue
Weight Watchers Link for Personal Points: Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 7 Serving Size: ¾ cup of chicken, ½ cup of sauceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 305Total Fat: 13g
Freya says
I made this twice both time with the stovetop method. The first time I added coconut milk and the second time I didn't. I absolutely love this recipe without the coconut milk added! This is so delicious. This recipe is a keeper.
Stephanie says
Yay! Glad you enjoyed it without the coconut milk!!
Karen says
I would really like to make this (stovetop) and I have all but one of the ingrediants, the chicken! I do have chickpeas. Have you tried this with chickpeas? I'm not sure how well they will marinate.
Stephanie says
Hi! I would just skip the marinade like I did for the "Cheater's Chickpea Tikka Masala" in this post - Easy Healthy Pantry Meals {Budget-Friendly!} - it turned out delicious! (You can always throw a little yogurt in the sauce, but I didn't for this one and I still loved it! Hope this helps!
LeAnne says
This was absolutely delicious! We’ve been craving Indian, and since we’ve been staying home it’s been hard to get. I decided to try this, and my family (including my 2 yr old) ate it all! Thanks for such a great recipe!
Stephanie says
This made my day, I'm so happy it was helpful and enjoyed!!
Carla says
Hi! Could I sub chicken breasts for thighs?
Stephanie says
Yep, I think that should work fine!
Serena says
Hi! I love Indian food and would love to try this, but I hate coconut in all it’s iterations. Any suggestions on a sub for the coconut cream?
Stephanie says
Hi! I would use a little extra Greek yogurt there instead (you probably won't need the full 2/3 cup though, I would probably start with 1/4 cup and see how it looks/tastes, then add more if necessary).
Sara says
It's not just you with the texture of chicken breasts in the Instant Pot (or even just regular slow cooker)! I've thought the same thing. It tastes like...chicken chalk or powder. Super weird. I'm looking forward to trying this!
Stephanie says
Right? So weird! Hope you love this one!
Evelinne says
Hi! I just recently purchased an instant pot and I’m actually getting back into doing 21 day fix. Can you please explain how I can measure the containers after I cook the meat? For some reason my brain I ant helping me figure out how to measure out my portion. Sorry!
Stephanie says
Hi! That's so exciting! I hope you love your new Instant Pot! The serving size for this recipe is 3/4 cup of the chicken (you can measure it in your Red container if you like), and up to 1/2 cup of sauce. It's kind of a lot of sauce, but it's SO good over rice! Anyway, those amounts will count as 1 Red, 1/2 Green and 1/4 Blue. Hope that helps!
Melissa says
Any suggestions for converting this into a slow cooker recipe? Excited to give it a try!
Stephanie says
Hi! I haven't tested it in the slow cooker (though I definitely should!) but I would probably put all of the sauce ingredients in, put the marinated chicken on top and then cook on low for about 4 hours, pull the chicken out, puree the sauce and finish as directed in the post 🙂
Kathy says
This looks delicious! The recipe shows it makes 4-7 servings. How many servings does the container count represent?
Stephanie says
Hi! The number of servings doesn't change the container counts because the container counts listed are for just one of the servings. 🙂
Yvette says
This is such a yummy recipe! I made the garlic-cilantro cauliflower rice for myself and regular garlic-cilantro rice for my husband. We did feel like this was a pretty time-consuming instant pot recipe compared to many others we've made, but it was tasty enough to be worth it. We have the 8 quart pot and the recipe did burn with the suggested amount of liquid. We added 1/4 more cup of broth afterwards, and it was fine (though it has been pretty runny to heat up as leftovers). Overall, we'll be adding this to our rotation for day when we have extra time on our hands and will remember to use an extra bit of broth to avoid the burn! Thanks for such a delicious recipe.
Stephanie says
So glad you liked it! You can always thicken up the sauce with a little bit of cornstarch if you like 🙂
Jennifer Doschadis says
Finally! A homemade Tikka Masala dish that I LOVE! I have made several different recipes for this and yours was fantastic. I do think you have to have the right Garam Masala spice that you prefer.
Thank you thank you!
Stephanie says
Ah! I'm so happy you loved it!! You're probably right about the Garam Masala, I've always just used the McCormick Organic and I love that one!
Samantha Corbett says
Omg this recipe is AMAZING! I made this for dinner last night and it’s so delicious! It’s just as good left over too! The flavour is perfect! It truly is restaurant quality! I definetly felt like I was cheating on the diet eating this, haha. Very satisfying! Thank you Stephanie!!
Stephanie says
Yay!! You're so welcome, Samantha!! I'm so happy everyone is loving this one as much as I do!
Thanhvan Kang says
Hi, does this recipe work for meal prepping? Our is that not a good idea with the yogurt?
Stephanie says
Hi! It works great for meal prepping! It keeps nicely in the fridge and freezes beautifully, too!
Alexis Blazer says
I just made this tonight and all I can say is WOW...thank you!!! I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out 100% restaurant quality!!!! The aroma, texture and tender bites of chicken were spot on perfection. I can't wait to eat the leftovers tomorrow!!
Sooooo good!
Stephanie says
Ah! I'm so happy to hear that!! I swear it tastes even better the next day!
Karen says
Omg, you guys, if you like Indian food and follow 21 Day Fix meal plan, I HIGHLY recommend this recipe. I spooned up a bit to taste test it since this is my first time making this recipe. It’s amazing! Very authentic flavors!! I think I could eat this every single day and be very happy!
Stephanie says
Karen! I'm so happy you liked it! Thanks for commenting!
Vesna P. says
Made it tonight for the first time, and I have to say this one is a winner! My first from scratch Indian dish and it is soo good! ( the previous ones just came from Trader Joe's jars;) Thank you! I never cooked anything with so many spices, and was a bit worried during cooking as I thought it smelled very strong, but everything came so beautifully at the end, my family was amazed:) Great work Stephanie!
Stephanie says
Ah! I'm so happy to hear this, Vesna!! Thank you for the wonderful compliment!