Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe – Slow Cooker Budget Batch Cook

This budget-friendly chicken tikka masala recipe has become a firm favourite in our family. The sauce is thick, tasty and there’s plenty of it with the same flavours you’d get in a restaurant from affordable ingredients.

Slow cooking the chicken makes a cheaper leg meat deliciously tender. It also makes this chicken tikka masala one of my easiest recipes. Add the ingredients to your slow cooker and come home to a delicious dinner that costs just 59p per person.

Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe - Slow Cooker Budget Batch Cook

Ingredients to Make Chicken Tikka Masala

1.8 kg Chicken Drum Fillets £7.98
500g Yogurt 55p
300ml Double Cream £1.29
150g Ground Almonds £1.19
10g Cumin 16p
10g Paprika 17p
20g Curry Powder 22p
1kg Onions 80p
600g Peppers £1.59
1 Bulb Garlic 22p
70g Chillies 55p
130g Ginger 99p
200g Tomato Puree 59p
4 Chicken Stock Cubes 23p

Total Cost = £16.53

Makes 28 servings = 59p per serving

This chicken tikka masala recipe uses full packs of most of the ingredients. This means that there is absolutely zero food waste. No leftovers in the fridge to throw out later. No guilt. And no wasted money.

Look out for wonky or budget vegetables. They might be a bit misshapen or uneven but they are just as fresh and tasty as their premium counterparts. You won’t be able to tell the difference once they are cooked but you will notice the difference in your bank balance.

Food purchased from Aldi. Prices correct at time of publishing.

Cooking Equipment You Will Need to Make Chicken Tikka Masala

You do not need a lot of equipment to batch cook Chicken Tikka Masala. You can get started with tools you probably already have in your kitchen.

To make Chicken Tikka Masala you will need:

Kitchen Knife
Chopping Board
Large Pan
Storage Containers

There are some tools that will make batch cooking quicker and easier.

This Chicken Tikka Masala is much easier to make if you do it in a slow cooker. You can make it in a pan but you’ll need to be around to watch the pan while it cooks, stirring it every now and then to stop it from burning. With a slow cooker you can sling all of the ingredients into the pot and get on with your life. You can go out and completely ignore your batch cooking.

I like to use a garlic press but you can mince your garlic with a knife if you prefer.

A micro planer is great for mincing ginger. It is possible to chop it with a knife, it just takes longer and leaves larger pieces of ginger which isn’t tp everyone’s taste.

How To Marinade Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces.

Pop it in the slow cooker – I’m going to leave it in there to marinade instead of making more washing up. You can prepare the chicken the day before and put it in a tub or covered bowl to marinade overnight or for a few hours in the fridge. The longer the chicken is left to marinade (up to about 12 hours) the more intense the flavour will be.

Peel and mince the ginger. You can use a tea spoon to remove the skin from the ginger. Then mince it with a micro-planer. Alternatively, chop it into very small pieces with a sharp knife.

Mince the garlic. You can chop it into very small pieces with a sharp knife or push the cloves through a garlic press.

There are a few different ways to mince garlic. Give them a try and find your favourite.

Dice the chillies too and add them all to the slow cooker with the chicken.

Next add the spices, quarter of a tub of curry powder, quarter of a jar of cumin and a quarter of a jar of paprika.

Pour the full tub of yogurt over the chicken and spices.

Give it a stir and leave it to marinade in the fridge. I like to leave mine overnight.

How To Cook Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala

The next day start by chopping the onions.

Fry the onions until they’re soft, add them to the slow cooker.

Chop the peppers, add them to the slow cooker.

Add the ground almonds and tomato puree to the slow cooker.

Add the chicken stock. I use homemade chicken stock if I have any availible. If not I use four chicken stock cubes.

Give it all a good stir.

Cook on low for about 8 hours. If you’re in a rush you can cook this on high for 5 hours instead.

At the end of the cooking time stir in the cream and portion up the curry ready for the freezer. Make sure you let them cool completely before freezing.

How to Store Chicken Tikka Masala

Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

How to Freeze Chicken Tikka Masala

Portion your cooked Chicken Tikka Masala into freezer tubs.

These are the freezer tubs I use for most of my batch cook meals. They are a little better quality than some of the cheaper ones I’ve tried. I generally get about 5 years worth of use out of them.

Label the lids with a permanent marker. I’ve tried a few different ones but nothing beats the Sharpie brand markers. The marks easily wash away with a little pressure and a wet cloth.

Place the lids loosely on your tubs and leave them to cool.

Once your Chicken Tikka Masala has cooled down put the tubs into your fridge. Once they are chilled pop them in your freezer to freeze.

How to Defrost Chicken Tikka Masala

For best results (as they say) take your tub of Chicken Tikka Masala out of the freezer a day or two before you plan to eat it.

I like to plan my meals a few days in advance and choose from the defrosted meals on the day. That way there’s still some room for spontaneity.

But don’t worry if you forget, you can defrost your Chicken Tikka Masala in the microwave. Just pop it on defrost for about 10 minutes.

In a real pinch you could cook this Chicken Tikka Masala from frozen. Ease the frozen mixture out of the freezer tub and into a pan. Gently heat it on the hob until it’s piping hot. You will need to stir it pretty much constantly which is difficult with a solid frozen block. You’ll usually end up having to break it up in order to stop it burning.

How to Serve Chicken Tikka Masala

My kids love this Chicken Tikka Masala with plain white boiled rice. It’s also fab with homemade chips. But my favourite way to eat Chicken Tikka Masala is poured over a crispy jacket potato.

Take a look at this recipe and learn how to make perfect jacket potatoes, quickly and easily.

I do hope that my Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe has inspired you to cook up a batch for your own family.

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More Budget Batch Cook Recipes

Budget-Friendly Chicken & Mushroom Stroganoff Recipe

Batch Cook Meatloaf Recipe

Chinese Chicken Curry Batch Cook Recipe

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A Note on Food Safety

Freezing and defrosting food really isn’t complicated. But it terrifies me how many people aren’t familiar with basic food hygiene so if you’re new to cooking from scratch and freezing please follow these safety guidlines.

The important things to remember are:

Wash your hands and anything else that has been in contact with raw meat.

Meals should last for about 3 days in the fridge.

Do not defrost your meals at room temperature.

Do not refreeze meals you have already defrosted.

Consume food before the use by date.

A Little Bit About Me . . .

Hey there I’m Bridie, a busy mum to two amazing humans, a spirited border collie puppy and a pair of sweet guinea pigs. We homestead in a cherished Edwardian terrace in not so sunny Lancashire, England.

When I’m not spending time with my children and menagerie, I’m usually to be found in my craft room creating and blogging or in the kitchen cooking up a big batch of something tasty. I’m always looking for thrifty hacks to save money on my crafts and recipes. Crafting doesn’t have to cost a fortune!

I have been batch cooking for about 30 years (yikes that makes me feel old!) I’m sharing all my batch cook recipes, in depth batch cooking tutorials and all my tips and tricks to help you slash your food bills.

Each week I cook up a big batch of a single meal. Most of it goes in the freezer, then it’s just defrost and reheat or sling it in the oven. Even on busy school nights my family get to enjoy healthy home cooked meals that my kids actually eat.

Each week I share a new recipe on my blog. Most of my meals cost less than £1 per portion.

I really hope that my ideas can help you to stretch your budget.

I’ve included links to my favourite retailers for the products I’ve used to make my crafts. Click on any of the product images and links for full details. If you decide to buy any of these products I may get a small percentage of what you spend. There’s no cost to you at all.

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