Chicken Tikka Masala is a super delicious and flavorful curry that you can now make keto! You can serve this on its own and it’s an amazing dish, though you can pair it with some sides to “bulk” it up in a sense. I decided to serve this with cauliflower rice, with a 1/6 serving per person.
The cauliflower rice was just riced cauliflower sauteed in a dry pan. Once the cauliflower was dried out, I added butter, cumin, and coriander. Upon finishing, I added salt and pepper to taste (to keep moisture leakage lower). You can also add different ingredients depending on your mood, though this “rice” is an awesome keto side dish in its own regard. Another great addition is to cook frozen spinach and to wring out as much moisture as possible. Add it into the slow cooker with about 10 minutes left, allowing it to soak up any extra flavor from the curry.
I played around the with the recipe a few times, eventually getting to this formula. Originally I had added fresh onion to the mix, but I didn’t find a large difference in flavor between the onion and the onion powder. The raw onion essentially disintegrates and adds too many extra carbs to be considered for the flavor profile.
I definitely don’t recommend skipping the cilantro. It adds the perfect bite of freshness that’s needed in such a rich and hearty dish. Sprinkled over the top, it’s a fantastic addition to the recipe at the end.
Yields 5 Servings
The Preparation
- 24 ounces bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 16 ounces boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
- 5 teaspoons garam masala
- 4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 10 ounces canned diced tomatoes
- 3 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup unsweetened carton coconut milk
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon guar gum
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped, for garnish
The Execution
1. De-bone chicken on the bone-in chicken thighs. Chop all chicken pieces into bite sized pieces. Make sure to keep the skin on for the pieces that have it. I prefer to use kitchen shears here as it makes cutting the chicken very fast and easy.
2. Add chicken to slow cooker and grate 1 inch knob of ginger over the top.
3. Add all dry spices into the slow cooker and mix well.
4. Add canned diced tomatoes,olive oil, and tomato paste into slow cooker, then mix well again.
5. Lastly, add 1/2 cup coconut milk and mix together thoroughly. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours.
6. Once the slow cooker is done, add the remaining coconut milk, heavy cream, and guar gum and mix thoroughly into the chicken. It should help the curry thicken well; serve over cauliflower rice or vegetable of your choice.
This makes a total of 5 servings of Keto Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala. Each serving comes out to be 726 calories, 62.5g fats, 5.9g net carbs, and 35.3g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 24 ounce bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs | 1701 | 151.9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 85.1 |
| 16 ounce boneless, skinless chicken thighs | 649 | 40.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 76.9 |
| 1 tablespoon fresh ginger | 5 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 1 | 0.1 |
| 5 teaspoon garam masala | 39 | 1.3 | 9.1 | 5.2 | 3.9 | 1.3 |
| 4 teaspoon kosher salt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 teaspoon onion powder | 16 | 0.1 | 3.7 | 0.7 | 3 | 0.5 |
| 2 teaspoon smoked paprika | 13 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 0.7 |
| 10 ounce canned diced tomatoes | 45 | 0.7 | 9.8 | 5.4 | 4.5 | 2.2 |
| 3 teaspoon fresh garlic | 13 | 0 | 2.8 | 0.2 | 2.6 | 0.5 |
| 2 tablespoon olive oil | 239 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 tablespoon tomato paste | 40 | 0.2 | 9.3 | 2 | 7.3 | 2.1 |
| 1 cup unsweetened carton coconut milk | 45 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 cup heavy whipping cream | 809 | 85.9 | 6.5 | 0 | 6.5 | 6.8 |
| 1 teaspoon guar gum | 16 | 0 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 0 | 0.2 |
| 2 tablespoon fresh cilantro | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 3630 | 312.3 | 48.6 | 18.9 | 29.6 | 176.5 |
| Per Serving (/5) | 726 | 62.5 | 9.7 | 3.8 | 5.9 | 35.3 |
Keto Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala
Ingredients
- 24 ounce bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 16 ounce boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger grated
- 5 teaspoon garam masala
- 4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 10 ounce canned diced tomatoes
- 3 teaspoon fresh garlic minced
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 cup unsweetened carton coconut milk
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon guar gum
- 2 tablespoon fresh cilantro chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Debone the chicken thighs as necessary and chop all the chicken into bite-sized pieces, leaving the skin on the pieces that have it. Kitchen shears work very well here.
- Add the chicken to a slow cooker and grate the ginger over top.
- Add the garam masala, salt, onion powder, and paprika in the slow cooker and stir well.
- Add the canned diced tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, and tomato paste. Stir well.
- Finally, add half of the coconut milk and mix together thoroughly. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours.
- Once the curry is done cooking, add the remaining coconut milk, heavy cream, and guar gum, mixing them into the chicken thoroughly to thicken it. Serve alone or with a side of choice.
