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Whether you call it butter chicken or tikka masala, you are going to love this easy, flavorful slow cooker recipe! It's the perfect weeknight meal with very little hands on cooking time!

Slow Cooker Butter Chicken

You’ll love this homemade butter chicken (also known as chicken tikka masala) cooked in the slow cooker with an easy to make sauce. It’s the perfect weeknight meal with very little hands on cooking time!

  • Total Time: 6 hours 20 minutes
  • Yield: 6 1x

Ingredients

Scale

Instructions

  1. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onion, jalapeno pepper, garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes or until the onion is softened. Stir in the garam masala, chili powder, cardamom, coriander, salt and pepper and cook for another 30 seconds until fragrant.
  2. Remove from the heat and scrape everything into a blender. Add the chicken broth and tomato paste and blend until smooth.
  3. Place the chicken breasts into the crock of a slow cooker and pour the sauce over top. Cook on low for 4-5 hours, or high for 2-3 hours, or until the chicken is cooked through.
  4. Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and shred it with two forks (or chop it into bite sized pieces if you prefer). Return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker along with the cream and butter. Stir to combine.
  5. In a small bowl, whisk together the corn starch and water and stir it into the slow cooker. Cook on high for another 30 minutes (while the rice cooks).
  6. Serve the chicken and sauce over hot, cooked rice, garnished with chopped cilantro if you like.

Notes

  • You can also chop the chicken before cooking it, and let it cook already cut up in the sauce in the slow cooker, but I prefer to cut it up (or shred it) after itā€™s cooked as it tends to stay a bit more moist.
  • If you donā€™t like your food spicy at all, use just half a jalapeno pepper as they sometimes can give the dish a bit of heat even without the seeds.Ā  I only use half when my kids will be eating it, although the adults here like a bit of heat!
  • This meal freezes well if you have leftovers, just place it in a ziplock bag or freezer safe container after it cools.Ā  You can defrost it in the fridge overnight and then warm it on low in a saucepan or for an hour or so on low in the slow cooker.Ā  You can also make just the sauce and freeze it, then proceed with the rest of the recipe when you are ready to use it.

Adapted from Melā€™s Kitchen Cafe.

  • Author: Rosie
  • Prep Time: 20
  • Cook Time: 360