An easy chicken tikka masala recipe has been on my to-do list for a while now. My husband Sean loves Indian food but there aren’t any take-out places near us in the suburbs. So I was on a quest to remedy this situation.
Making Easy Indian Food at Home
Most curries I’ve tried have been too spicy for me personally. Though I am a wimp when it comes to spice. So I figured attempting a tikka masala would be something I could handle but also something my husband would love to eat.
However, when I started researching recipes, I realized there were a ton of ingredients needed to make a tikka masala as well as some intermediate technique. But I knew there had to be a way to make an easy chicken tikka masala recipe.
As luck would have it, I checked out the prepared sauce section at Aldi and found a variety of Indian simmer sauces. One being a Tikka Masala simmer sauce. Jackpot.
Was an Aldi tikka masala sauce a risk? Maybe, but the instructions on the back looked pretty simple and it was only $1.99 so what did I have to lose? I asked Sean what other ingredients were in Indian dishes that he liked and he mentioned sweet potatoes and red bell peppers.
With that info and my Aldi tikka masala simmer sauce in hand, I developed my version of Chicken Tikka Masala. It’s delcious and simple and my whole family loves it.
My Easy Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe
Easy Chicken Tikka Masala
This delicious Chicken Tikka Masala comes together quick with using a store-bought tikka masala simmer sauce. By adding some fresh ingredients it gives it a homemade taste any Indian food lovers will devour.
Ingredients
- 16-ounce jar Tikka Masala simmer sauce (I love the Aldi brand one!)
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cubed
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1/3 cup cilantro, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cups Basmati Rice, prepared
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Place sweet potatoes in a small sauce pot and cover with water. Bring to boil and add 1 tsp of salt. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and boil cook until tender, about 8-10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to 6-quart dutch oven, or any large deep-sided sauce pot, and put over medium heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to dutch oven. Cook for 4 minutes and then turn pieces over and cook for another 3-4 minutes until cooked through. Remove chicken and put on a plate.
- Add onions and peppers to Dutch oven. Add an additional tablespoon of olive oil to the pot if needed. Season onions and peppers with salt and pepper and saute for 5-6 minutes until soft. Add garlic and saute and for 30 seconds.
- Return chicken to the veggies and any juices that may have accumulated on the plate. Turn heat to medium-low and add the jar of Tikka Masala sauce. Scrape up any brown bits that may still be on the bottom of the pan and incorporate into the sauce.
- Add sweet potatoes to the mixture and stir lightly, as to not mash up the potatoes. Add about half of your chopped cilantro and turn off heat.
- Serve chicken tikka masala over Basmati rice and garnish with more cilantro. Enjoy!
It’s not too spicy but it packs a bunch of flavor. Honestly, this chicken tikka masala has become one of my favorite dinners. It’s just complex and spicy enough to please Sean but it’s mild enough for me to enjoy.
If you’re a lover of Indian food, or you just like stews with a lot of flavor, give this easy chicken tikka masala recipe a try! I’ve also made Chicken Korma and Chicken Jalfrezi with their respective Aldi simmer sauces and they were very good as well. I just personally love the chicken tikka masala the best. We had it last week in fact!
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This was delicious. I am a spice wimp and it had a bite, but didn’t burn my mouth. I could TASTE the ingredients and enjoyed it. Husband ate it for days since it’s just the two of us. Has requested me to make it several times.
Thanks.
What happened to the actual recipe? I can’t find it anymore.
Hannah I am so sorry about that! There was a glitch in the recipe software I use, it’s fixed now,
Thanks for fixing it 🙂 this is a recipe I come back to often – you’d think I had it memorized by now!