Indian Tomato Chicken

by Sabrina Snyder

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9 Comments

5 from 1 vote
4 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
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Indian Tomato Chicken is an easy, one pot dinner made in under an hour! Chicken simmered in a flavorful, kid-friendly mild tomato curry.

Chicken Tikka Masala is one of the most well-loved Indian Recipes with it’s mild, creamy tomato sauce that everyone can enjoy. This dairy-free tomato curry is just as full of flavor and crowd pleasing!

Sabrina’s Indian Tomato Chicken

This flavorful mild curry dish is a great recipe for a weeknight dinner that kids love. This chicken curry comes together in minutes and then its hands off for about a half an hour. Once its done, serve over rice and an easy vegetable side for a healthy, family friendly chicken dinner with savory flavors that adults like too!

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

Indian Tomato Chicken Recipe

Indian Tomato Chicken is an easy, one pot dinner made in under an hour! Chicken simmered in a flavorful, kid-friendly mild tomato curry.
Yield 4 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine Indian
Author Sabrina Snyder
Chicken in rich tomato sauce in a pot
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 1 large onion , chopped
  • 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 pound chicken breasts , boneless skinless, cut into 1" chunks
  • 28 ounces crushed tomatoes

Instructions

  • Add onion and butter to a dutch oven on medium heat.
  • Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent, about 5-6 minutes.
  • Add the cumin, turmeric, salt, black pepper, cinnamon, ground ginger, sugar, ground cloves, nutmeg and bay leaves to the pot and stir well, cooking for 1 minute.
  • Add in the chicken and stir into the spices.
  • Cook the chicken for 3 minutes, then pour in the crushed tomatoes.
  • Bring tomatoes to a simmer and lower heat to medium-low heat.
  • Cook for 30 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 333kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 124mg | Sodium: 1045mg | Potassium: 1279mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 665IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 97mg | Iron: 4mg

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Table of contents

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About This Recipe

Tomato curries and tomatoes in curry are nothing new, in fact a lot of Indian curries are tomato based besides this recipe. What sets this chicken curry apart is that there is no cream or coconut milk, making a more zesty, robust tomato flavor. The spice blend has no garam masala, garlic, or heat added, making a curry sauce that is warm and slightly sweet.

Chef’s Note

You can always play with the seasonings, depending on your taste, but this chicken curry recipe was made to be as kid friendly as possible. Its a great recipe for picky eaters who aren’t fans of curries heavy in garlic or spicy seasonings like cayenne pepper and hot chili flakes. If you need some inspiration to add more bold or spicy flavors, check out the variations section of this post.

Can This be Made Ahead of Time?

Yes! This curry is an easy, budget-friendly, slow cooker and freezer meal! There are slow cooker instructions later in the post and freezing ahead is as simple as cooking, cooling, and storing for up to 3 months. Try this freezer trick for saucy chicken dinners like this one.

  • Place the chicken curry in freezer safe bags.
  • Lay flat on a baking tray and freeze until solid.
  • Stack to store.
  • Reheat in the slow cooker or on the stove top.

What to Pair With

There’s nothing quite like creamy Indian Raita drizzled over Chicken Tomato Curry, it’s like the sour cream on enchiladas… ya gotta have it! Along with the Raita, serve Indian Tomato Curry with steamed white rice or brown rice and roasted broccoli for a flavorful healthy dinner. Make some pita chips to dip in the extra tomato curry sauce and Raita too! For another classic Indian dish, you can also make Massaman Curry and Chicken Biryani.

How to Store

  • Serve: Curry can be at room temperature for up to 2 hours before it needs to be stored.
  • Store: Store cooled tomato chicken in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
  • Freeze: You can cool and freeze in a sealed container or freezer safe bag for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or reheat in a slow cooker from frozen.

Slow Cooker Directions

  • In a large skillet, melt butter and sauté onions over medium high heat until translucent.
  • Toast spices for 1 minute in hot skillet. Remove pan from heat.
  • Toss chicken in spices until just coated, add to slow cooker.
  • Deglaze skillet with ¼ cup water or chicken broth, just enough so you get all the remaining spices to pour into the slow cooker.
  • Top the chicken and onion mixture with tomatoes, stir a few times.
  • Cover with lid and cook on low for 4-6 hours or on high for 2-3 hours.

Variations

  • Veggies: Make this healthy curry more healthy and hearty with veggies! Use vegetables like carrots, green beans, peas, bell peppers, mushrooms, pearl onions, or spinach.
  • Potatoes: Potatoes and curry are a perfect pair. Serve over Mashed Potatoes, or add diced red potatoes, gold potatoes, or sweet potatoes to the broth. You can also add a can or two chickpeas.
  • Meat: Swap chicken breasts for boneless chicken thighs. You can also make tomato curry with boneless pork, jumbo shrimp, or baked tofu.
  • Creamy: Make curry creamy by adding a cup of heavy cream, full fat coconut milk, or plain yogurt in the last 5 minutes of cooking. Make sure dairy is room temperature and temper by whisking in 2-3 tablespoons hot curry before adding.
  • Spices: Adjust the spice blend by adding spices like cardamom, garam masala, curry powder, paprika, or cayenne pepper. Add ground spices a ¼ teaspoon at a time, tasting each time until you get the flavor you like.

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Collage with simmer tomato chicken in a pot and served on a plate

Photos used in previous versions of this post

Tender chicken simmered in tomato curry sauce
Chicken in tomato sauce plated with rice and chickpeas
Chicken and tomato sauce in a Dutch oven

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. This dish was so good! I also added some vegetables that were un my fridge, cauliflower, mushrooms and broccoli. I served it over rice.
    Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

  3. Looks great but my question is if it’s possible to use fresh tomatoes? I have a bunch I’m trying to use up.

    Reply

      1. I can’t seem to find in the ingredients listed how much minced garlic. No mention there.
        Just about to make this. I’m sure it will be great as all your recipes are wonderful.

        Reply

        1. Hi Linda sorry I missed this comment until now. No garlic in this recipe, I adjusted the card. If you’d like to add some (I did in different stages of recipe testing), I would suggest 3 cloves, minced added in step 3.

          Reply