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Baked Coconut Chicken Tikka Masala. Indian-inspired tikka masala made with a variety of spices and creamy coconut milk. This dish has just the right amount of spice and cream, plus it’s filled with warming Indian-inspired flavors. Made in the oven, in just one pan, in under an hour. It has a rich and creamy butter sauce that is so flavorful. Serve this creamy masala chicken over bowls of basmati rice with golden turmeric chili butter and cucumber ginger salad.
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When I have family I’m cooking for, an Indian-inspired dish is always on the table as an option. I learned a few years ago that my brothers adore butter chicken, chicken curry, and anything with harissa sauce.
They love a little spicy! I make my butter chicken recipe all of the time, but Chicken Tikka Masala is always forgotten. Honestly, the two dishes are very similar. Generally butter chicken is sweeter with less spice and less tomato. Chicken Tikka is usually is a bit spicy with a chunkier sauce and more tomato.
I make my butter chicken pretty spicy, so they end up being similar. But this Chicken Tikka is unique; it’s not traditional.
I bake the chicken and the sauce in the oven. It’s completely no fuss. In return, you get a rich, creamy sauce. This could not be easier!
I love to serve this Chicken Tikka Masala over rice with naan, a cucumber salad, and homemade turmeric chili butter. It’s all so good!
These are the details
Chicken Ingredients
- small chicken breast or thighs
- plain Greek Yogurt
fresh grated ginger, or use pickled ginger
garam masala, turmeric, cayenne pepper
tomato paste
salted butter
onions
canned coconut milk
sesame seeds
steamed rice and naan, for serving
Cucumber Salad Ingredients
Persian cucumbers
pickled sushi-style ginger
cilantro or mint
sliced jalapeños
lemon juice
Turmeric Butter Ingredients
- salted butter
- chili flakes
- turmeric
I know this feels like a lot of ingredients, but I promise it will come together quickly!
Special Tools
Just a great baking dish, bowl, and small skillet.
Steps
Step 1: season the chicken
I use a mix of boneless, skinless chicken thighs and breasts. Make sure the chicken is evenly sized to prevent different cooking times.
In a baking dish, toss the chicken with Greek yogurt and all of these spices: garam masala, cumin, turmeric, cayenne, garlic, and ginger.
You can marinate the chicken for 30 minutes, or if you have time, overnight in the fridge. Ideally, overnight, but I pretty much never do and the chicken is still great!
Step 2: – add everything else
Now add the onions, the tomato paste, and the coconut milk. Arrange the cold butter slices over the chicken and add the sesame seeds.
Start baking. I don’t usually stir the chicken during the baking process. Just bake for 30 minutes, and it should be just perfect!
Step 3: the cucumber salad
This is pretty straightforward but so delicious. Cucumbers with sushi-style ginger, cilantro, jalapeños, and lemon juice.
Step 4: the turmeric butter
I mixed up a quick turmeric butter using butter, chili flakes, and turmeric. It makes the dish just a touch more special. Plus extra sauce and spice are always welcome with my family.
Step 5: serve
First, I make rice, then the chicken tikka, and then the sauce. Next comes the cucumber salad. I then spoon over extra tikka sauce and add that turmeric butter.
And I always finish with naan. I like to squish it into the rice and add a sprinkle of fresh cilantro. Oh, lemon juice can be great too.
Absolutely DELICIOUS!
Looking for other Indian-inspired dinners? Here are my favorites:
30 Minute Spicy Indian Butter Chicken
30 Minute Butter Chicken Meatballs
Super Simple Coconut Chicken Tikka Masala
Gingery Coconut Sweet Potato and Rice Stew with Chili Oil
Lastly, if you make this Baked Coconut Chicken Tikka Masala, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Baked Coconut Chicken Tikka Masala
Ingredients
- 2 pounds small boneless chicken breasts or thighs
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
- 2 tablespoons garam masala
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper, use to your taste
- salt and black pepper
- 1 can or packet tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 1 can (14 once) full-fat coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 2 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup pickled sushi style ginger
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro or mint, chopped
- 1 jalapeño, sliced
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- steamed rice and naan, for serving
Golden Turmeric Butter
- 2 tablespoons cold salted butter, sliced
- 1-2 teaspoons chili flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
Instructions
- 1. In a baking dish, toss together the chicken, yogurt, garlic, ginger, garam masala, turmeric, cayenne pepper, and 1 teaspoon salt. Let sit for 5 minutes.2. Preheat the oven to 400° F.3. To the chicken, add the onion, then pour over the coconut milk. Add the tomato paste. Stir until creamy and well mixed. Arrange the butter slices over the chicken. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Top with cilantro.4. Meanwhile, in a bowl, toss the cucumbers with the ginger and 1-2 tablespoons of the ginger juice from the jar. Add the cilantro, jalapeño, and lemon juice – season with salt. 5. For the golden butter, melt all ingredients together in a skillet over medium heat. Cook until the butter is browning.6. Serve the chicken and sauce over bowls of rice with the cucumber salad, golden butter, and naan. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Loved this recipe. Definitely on our regular recipe roster.
Hey Pat,
Wonderful! Thank you so much for making this recipe, love to hear it was a hit! Have the best weekend:)
Editing my previous post I did not mean I cooked the dish vegan but t was dairy free😊
I made it vegan (coconut yogurt) and did not use the butter sauce and I let the chicken sit overnight before baking and it was amazing! My family said it was the best thing I have made in a long time. Thank you!
Hi Marjorie,
Awesome! So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for giving it a try! xxT
Hi! I was wondering what a “can” of tomato paste would be as I’ve seen it in different sizes – would a 6 oz can be optimal? Thank you!
Hi Sydney,
Yes, you will want to use 6 oz of tomato paste. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
This recipe is legit, I was not certain what to expect but this was excellent and so easy. My wife and I both said this could have been taken away Tikka masala.
Hey Dave,
Fantastic! Love to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! Have the best week:) xxT
This was delicious! Could it be in the crockpot all day?
Thanks so much, Jenn! Sure, you could do that, you could also just follow this recipe:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/crockpot-creamy-coconut-chicken-tikka-masala/
I hope this helps! xT
I thought I had chicken in the freezer but I don’t. I do however have a ton of shrimp. Do you think I should use that and cut the cooking time in half?
Thanks,
Rachel
Hi Rachel,
So sorry, I am not sure shrimp would be the best option here. I haven’t tested this. I would maybe trying making the sauce from this recipe and then adding the shrimp. I think that will work better just because shrimp cooks so quickly and you won’t want to over cook it.
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/chicken-tikka-masala/#wprm-recipe-container-83140
I hope this helps! xx
Another winner! Loved the flavors and the cucumber salad!
Hey Meghan,
Fantastic! Thanks so much for making this recipe and your comment, so glad it turned out nicely for you! Happy Sunday! XxT
VERY tasty!!! I didn’t make the cucumber salad, because the weather was super cold here. I’m a little weird about eating cold food, when it’s cold. LOL! I made coconut cilantro lime rice instead of white rice. This will definitely be in our meal rotation.
Thanks so much, Kerri! Love to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Hope you are having a nice weekend! xT
This is another great recipe, super fast and tasty. Had a little trouble figuring out what weight a ‘can’ of tomato paste is (I live in Ireland) but I got there in the end!
Hey Cathy,
Thanks so much! So glad to hear this recipe was a hit, I appreciate you making it! Have a great Friday! xxT
I don’t think I’ve ever left a comment before, but this recipe has warranted a first. WOW, this is incredible!! I feel like I made something I would get at a restaurant. No changes except I went on the low side of the cayenne and it’s still very spicy. Delicious!!! Thank you for sharing this!
Hey Jill,
Yay!! So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it and your comment! xx
Wow! Delish! This is definitely going into my dinner rotation. I loved the ease of having it in a baking dish.
Thanks so much, Jennifer! Love to hear this recipe turned out nicely for you, I appreciate you making it! xT
This was good! Would add some coconut cream to make it creamier. Also wild how rude people are about a free recipe. If you don’t like it don’t make it! Thanks for the recipe Tieghan!
Hey Alyssa,
Fantastic! Thanks so much for trying this dish, love to hear it was a winner! xxT
This was fantastic as always! I had just enough ingredients on hand to make 1.5x the recipe and it came out perfectly. I skipped serving it over rice and ate it sort of like a stew with lots of toppings. This will be on regular rotation because it’s so easy to put together and just throw in the oven. I would love to be able to add pics to our reviews!
Thanks so much, Autumn! So glad to hear this recipe turned out nicely for you, I appreciate you making it! xT
Loved this recipe ! It turned out so delicious ❤️ and satisfying both to my tummy and soul. Loved the cucumber/ginger combo as a the veggie side – it was refreshing to the palate. And loved the brown butter sauce for the rice ! All seasonings were on point !
Hey Sandi,
Fantastic! Thanks so much for trying this dish, love to hear it was a winner! xxT
We are in Costa Rica and I did not have all the ingredients. No sesame seeds. Couldn’t find turmeric, but did find curry powder. Cobbled it together the best I could – it still turned out delicious! Was definitely a hit. Will make it properly when I get back to Canada!
Thanks so much, Kathy!! So glad to hear this turned out for you:) xT