Chicken Tikka Masala Curry

  • 10MINS
  • 40MINS
  • Serves 4
  • 359KCAL

This Chicken Tikka Masala Curry is the perfect slimming friendly Indian Fakeaway whether you're calorie counting or following a diet plan like Weight Watchers.

  • Batch Cook pinchofnom.com
  • Everyday Light pinchofnom.com
  • Fakeaways pinchofnom.com
Easy Peasy Chicken Tikka Masala Curry pinchofnom.com
4

NutritionPer Serving

  • Calories359
  • Carbs17g
  • Protein31g
  • Fat3g
  • Saturates1g
  • Sugars7g

Chicken Tikka Masala Curry - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

For the full list of ingredients and comprehensive instructions, please see the recipe card below. Before you scroll, there’s important stuff in the blurb!

Our slimming friendly Chicken Tikka Masala Curry is much lower on Points and calories than the one that you’d pick up at your local takeaway – and we think it tastes even better too!

We’ve used red peppers in our Chicken Tikka Masala Curry, but you can add pretty much whatever vegetables you want and you can also adjust the spice level by adding more or less chilli powder.  We like quite a kick to our food, but if you don’t want a hot and spicy curry then you can even just leave the chilli powder out completely – the other spices add flavour, not heat!

What diets is this Chicken Tikka Masala Curry suitable for?

This recipe is suitable if you’re gluten free!

You can make this Chicken Tikka Masala Curry suitable for dairy free diets by swapping out the following ingredients for dairy free alternatives;

  • Fat free Greek yoghurt

Please make sure to double or triple check all of your ingredients if you’re cooking for people with allergies.

Do you need any special ingredients to make Chicken Tikka Masala Curry?

There are no fancy ingredients in this recipe – you’ll be able to pick up everything you need at the supermarket.

Hints & Tips

Below we added some of our communities most common hints and tips. We hope you find them useful.

NEW TIP
So easy and tasty.
If using tinned tomatoes I use a spoon of sweetener to take the tartness off the tomatoes.
1
Indulgent curry night
This is my daughters favourite takeaway meal so thought I would give it a go. But to give it the takeaway sweetness I swapped the yogurt for light coconut milk. I also blitz the tomato, onion and coconut milk to get a creamy sauce. Delicious
1
Amazing flavours and so easy to prepare and cook 😋
Grilled marinated chicken on skewers in air fryer for 12 minutes then added to the pan with rest of ingredients. Served with cauliflower rice and naan. Absolutely delicious, beats and takeaway 🥰
1
Preparation counts
Get all your ingredients, spices etc., ready and in your counter saves times later.
Lush alternative to a takeaway!
Deliciously lovely! What a great healthy alternative to a takeaway! We used alpro Greek yoghurt as an alternative and left to marinate overnight! We also used brown rice!
Serving
Serve with sides such as naan bread and rice and this curry can go further than serving 4 or you could freeze the leftovers.
1
curry night
Stick to the recipe. It works. Alternatively swap out the meat for fish.

We love hearing from you, submit any tips or tricks you have for this dish and we’ll review them and add some of them here. Just click here.

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‘Easy to make and so tasty got a huge thumbs up from hubby.’

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How many calories are in this Chicken Tikka Masala Curry ?

There are 359 calories in each portion of our slimming friendly Chicken Tikka Masala Curry which means it falls into our Everyday Light recipe category.

This recipe is perfect if you’re following a calorie controlled diet and fits well with any one of the major diet plans such as Weight Watchers.

As a guide, an average man needs around 2,500kcal (10,500kJ) a day to maintain a healthy body weight. For an average woman, that figure is around 2,000kcal (8,400kJ) a day. Obviously, if your goal is to lose weight then you might want to adjust these slightly! You can read more about these recommendations on the NHS website.

Step 1

Add the yogurt, lemon juice and marinade spices into a large bowl. Dice the chicken and add to the marinade. Cover and pop in the fridge for around 2-4 hours.

Step 1 pinchofnom.com

Step 2

Once the chicken has marinated, heat a large frying pan on a moderate heat. Spray with low calorie cooking spray and cook the onion until soft – this will take around 5 minutes.

Step 3

Add the tomato puree to the onions and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the crushed garlic, and garam masala, cook for another couple of minutes and stir in the tinned tomatoes. Keep on a low heat.

Step 3 pinchofnom.com

Step 4

Take the chicken pieces out of the marinade, setting the remaining yoghurt and spice mix aside. Add the chicken to a separate frying pan. Once the chicken has browned slightly on the outside, add to the tomato sauce. Mix to combine and leave to cook on a low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step 5

Add the sliced peppers and cook for another 10 minutes or until the chicken has cooked through.

Step 6

Making sure the hob is set to a low heat, stir in the remaining yogurt marinade and fresh coriander. Leave to cook through for 5 minutes. Serve with your choice of accompaniment!

Chicken Tikka Masala Curry - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

What should you serve with Chicken Tikka Masala Curry ?

Any of the following go really well with curry. It’s the perfect Indian Fakeaway so would work well with any of these suitable accompaniments;

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Whatever accompaniment you choose, don’t forget to account for the extra calories and/or other nutritional values.

How do you know when this Chicken Tikka Masala Curry is cooked?

You should cook this curry until the chicken is completely cooked through, and the sauce is piping hot once you have added the remaining marinade.

This should take approx 40 minutes on the stove.

Standard advice here in the UK is to cook food until it has reached 70°C and stayed at that temperature for 2 minutes. This is to keep your family safe.

How long can you keep Chicken Tikka Masala Curry in the fridge?

Once you’ve served it, ideally you should eat this dish within 4 hours.

If you allow any leftovers to cool, make sure to refrigerate in a container with a lid and chill. You can keep leftovers of this curry in the fridge for approximately 3 days or so.

Can I freeze Chicken Tikka Masala Curry?

Yes you can! This recipe can be frozen, but please remember to do the following;

  • Freeze it as soon as it is cold enough.
  • Use a container or bag that is suitable for freezing.
  • Defrost thoroughly before reheating.

Don’t forget to add a label with what it is, and on what date you put it in the freezer!

How do I reheat Chicken Tikka Masala Curry ?

This recipe is best reheated very gently on the hob for around 10 minutes. If you heat it too rapidly, it may split. Microwaving this curry is possible, but you are more likely to split the sauce.

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Chicken Tikka Masala Curry

This Chicken Tikka Masala Curry is the perfect slimming friendly Indian Fakeaway whether you’re calorie counting or following a diet plan like Weight Watchers.
  • Prep Time
    10 MINS
  • Cook Time
    40 MINS
  • KCals 359
  • Carbs 17G

Ingredients

For the marinade

  • 250 g fat free Greek yogurt
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 3 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp garlic granules
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp chilli powder
  • ½ lemon juice only

For the sauce

  • 4 large chicken breasts
  • 400 g canned tomatoes
  • 3 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 1 red pepper sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic crushed
  • 1 tbsp garam masala
  • 4 tbsp fresh coriander chopped
  • low calorie cooking spray

We use a fan assisted oven for all of our recipes. Check out our oven temperature conversion guide.

Please do not screenshot this. Recipes are updated often

Instructions

  1. Add the yogurt, lemon juice and marinade spices into a large bowl. Dice the chicken and add to the marinade. Cover and pop in the fridge for around 2-4 hours.
  2. Once the chicken has marinated, heat a large frying pan on a moderate heat. Spray with low calorie cooking spray and cook the onion until soft - this will take around 5 minutes.
  3. Add the tomato puree to the onions and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the crushed garlic, and garam masala, cook for another couple of minutes and stir in the tinned tomatoes. Keep on a low heat.
  4. Take the chicken pieces out of the marinade, setting the remaining yoghurt and spice mix aside. Add the chicken to a separate frying pan. Once the chicken has browned slightly on the outside, add to the tomato sauce. Mix to combine and leave to cook on a low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Add the sliced peppers and cook for another 10 minutes or until the chicken has cooked through.
  6. Making sure the hob is set to a low heat, stir in the remaining yogurt marinade and fresh coriander. Leave to cook through for 5 minutes. Serve with your choice of accompaniment!

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Chicken Tikka Masala - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

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97 comments

See what others have to say

MoragSunday 18th August 2019

Thank you for this recipe. Made this yesterday and I actually marinaded the chicken overnight in the fridge and it was delicious. I did split the yoghurt but this was because I was too impatient browning the chicken and had the heat too high. Lovely spicy tikka which to me is the way it’s supposed to be.

Reply

    Emma TMonday 23rd September 2019

    So glad you enjoyed it!

    Reply

TamiSunday 21st July 2019

Hello – I have just made this and … WOW – AMAZING! Thank you so much. I had previously tried a SW curry recipe and it was awful so I was not sure what to expect! As always, your recipe hit the spot! Husband and fussy Teenager both loved it too! Thank you :0) x

Reply

    Emma TWednesday 25th September 2019

    Ahhhh, so glad you enjoyed it! ????

    Reply

ShellWednesday 10th July 2019

Can I use normal fat free yogurt or does it have to be Greek??

Reply

    Holly LevellWednesday 13th May 2020

    Hi Shell, normal fat free yogurt will work fine for the Chicken Tikka Masala Curry

    Reply

KateFriday 31st May 2019

This was delicious! So much nicer than a takeaway. Will definitely make again.

Reply

LyndaSunday 12th May 2019

I’m going to try this recipe today, if I want to make it with just 2 chicken breasts, should I half all of the ingredients also?

Reply

    CateFriday 31st May 2019

    If you enter the amount of servings you want in the recipe card at the bottom it will recalculate all the ingredients for you:)

    Reply

KatieTuesday 30th April 2019

I made this curry today but it was quite gritty. Im bot quite sure what went wrong. What do you recommend?

Reply

    Emma TThursday 20th June 2019

    Hi Katie,

    It’s sounds as though you may have overheated it, causing it to split and the yoghurt to become grainy. Keep it on a low heat at the end when the rest of the yoghurt is added ????

    Hope that helps!

    Reply

KerryFriday 12th April 2019

Hi,

I’ve made this today and although nice it was way too spicy (for me) to be a tikka masala. Any ideas for a milder version similar to the original but still with the added flavours please? ????????

Reply

    CateSaturday 13th April 2019

    Hi Kerry!

    You could leave out the chilli powder and serve with an extra dollop of natural yogurt, it will make it milder but still tasty!

    Hope that helps 🙂

    Reply

PeterSaturday 9th March 2019

Great recipe, I put the marinated chicken on skewers and cook them either under the grill or in a screaming hot oven. It gives it a lovely chargrilled flavour similar to that of a tandoor. Plus it makes it a little bit healthier as there is even less frying.

This also really works well as with salad and wraps so you don’t even need to make the sauce!

Reply

SharonWednesday 27th February 2019

Hello, I made this for the first time today but found it extremely salty and I love salt. Is it definitely 2 tsp of salt in the marinade. I didn’t put much black pepper in as am not keen on pepper.

Reply

Louise BiddingtonFriday 22nd February 2019

Hello!

Loving this recipe but I’m vegetarian. How would you convert this to a veggie curry? Would you marinate the vegetables like the chicken or just skip this stage entirely and out all the ingredients in together once you’ve cooked the vegetables?

Thanks,
Louise

Reply

LolMonday 11th February 2019

Hi, I’m making the tikka masala later. I’m worried about the yogurt splitting, what can I do to stop this happening?

Reply

Shannon Did-dellSunday 10th February 2019

Cooking this at the moment, but I don’t have much marinade left in the bowl as it seems to have just gone with the chicken. Do I just add more yogurt to keep the saucy consistency?

Reply

Sarah LewisFriday 1st February 2019

Wow so tasty! My husband said it was the nicest curry he had ever eaten. It will most certainly be our favourite curry recipe from now on thank you!

Reply

TERRY LEWISWednesday 30th January 2019

Wow, this is mind blowing diet food!!! So, so delicious. You guys rock my taste buds, thank you.

Reply

Siobhan IrelandTuesday 29th January 2019

Can I do this curry in a slow cooker please regards siobhan

Reply

VickyMonday 21st January 2019

Hi,
Would you be able to make this recipe in the slow cooker? 🙂

Reply

LauraWednesday 16th January 2019

Can you use cooked chicken ? And marinade before adding and reheating ?

Reply

SerenaSaturday 12th January 2019

I made this curry for the first time this evening. Have to say amazing, my husband was very impressed too.
I have some left overs, how long is is safe to keep in a container in the fridge and reheat for lunch please?
I made this evening and was thinking of taking for lunch on Monday, would this be safe?
Thank you again for this wonderful recipe.

Reply

AnnaFriday 4th January 2019

Hi, I am trying out this recipe today for the first time. I have the chicken marinating in the fridge! Just wondering, is it Garam Masala powder or paste for the sauce later?

Reply

Nicola HolmesTuesday 11th December 2018

Hi can you marinade for 24 hours?

Reply

    CaraWednesday 20th March 2019

    Is it chopped tomatoes or canned plum to tomatoes?

    Reply

      CateMonday 8th April 2019

      You can use either, though chopped is always my preference 🙂

Carol-AnnMonday 12th November 2018

Hi there, will missing out the fresh coriander make much of a difference to the taste? Don’t have any in & would rather avoid going back to the shops. Thanks!

Reply

    SaraTuesday 26th March 2019

    I followed the recipe and it came out to hot ! I thought chicken tiki curry was mild. Any tips to cool it down

    Reply

      CateMonday 8th April 2019

      You can add extra yogurt to cool down a curry thats too hot for you. Try leaving out the chilli powder next time if you like things milder! 🙂

MichaelaSunday 28th October 2018

How are you supposed to remove the chicken from the marinade without taking the marinade with it? The yogurt always splits when I cook the chicken.

Reply

April Sarah brownWednesday 10th October 2018

Can I use natural yogurt or does it hVe to be Greek? Thank you. X

Reply

RuthSaturday 6th October 2018

I made this this evening and , I have to say, it was truly delicious.!!!

This is about the 100th time I have tried SlimmingWorld but, this time, I have you guys making delicious recipes for me to make. It’s the recipes I find on your site that keep me on planning and has re-invigorated my love for cooking.

Thank you and keep up the good work. It really helps!

Reply

paulaThursday 20th September 2018

Hi I dont understand the lemon quantity! Is it 3 quarters of 1 lemon?
Thanks

Reply

AlisonWednesday 22nd August 2018

Bit worried about only cooking the remaining marinade through gently for five minutes considering the raw chicken was in it for 2-4 hours, will there be enough heat/time to cook that through and kill any germs?

Reply

saraTuesday 21st August 2018

can you replace garam masala with curry powder and would you use the same amount ?

Reply

RosieTuesday 14th August 2018

Can I make Tikka Masala in the slow cooker and freeze, just wondering with the yoghurt if it is not possible. Thanks for great website and super advice

Reply

NatalieThursday 2nd August 2018

I did get lost at the beginning of this recipe a little bit ???? I miss this bowl so much, gonna do it again soon~
– Natalie Ellis

Reply

Lorraine HawkinsWednesday 1st August 2018

Always split the yoghurt ???? so silly, I know what I’m meant to do but I clearly have the hob too hot

Reply

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Chicken Tikka Masala Curry - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

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