A plate with low FODMAP chicken tikka masala with rice and spring onion in the middle

Low FODMAP chicken tikka masala

This low FODMAP chicken tikka masala has been a popular recipe on Karlijnโ€™s Kitchen for years. And I am not surprised about that because it is a delicious spicy curry. 

Are you not a fan of spicy food? No worries! If you simply add a little less chilli powder, you will make the curry less spicy. Like that you can adapt the recipe to your taste.

I have thought my entire life that chicken tikka masala was an Indian dish, but apparently it originated in Great-Britain. Or at least this specific dish was created in Great-Britain, but it has Indian influences they say.

Other sources, however, say that chicken tikka masala is simply a variation on butter chicken and is an Indian recipe.

One thing is for sure, it does taste Indian, it is very tasty and easy to make. And that is most important ๐Ÿ˜‰

Masala paste

The basis of this recipe is a homemade masala paste. I have to say that making curry paste from scratch used to stop me from making low FODMAP curries.

If you can buy a ready-made curry pasta in the supermarket that is a little bit quicker. But believe me, making curry paste from scratch is actually not that difficult.

The only thing that you have to do is to put the different fresh and dried herbs and spices and other seasonings together in a bowl.

Blend them with an immersion blender or food processor and then your masala paste is done.

The nice thing about this masala paste is that you make serveral servings at once. This recipe makes 120 gram masala paste and for a dish for two persons you need 40 gram masala paste.

So you can freeze the leftover 80 gram of masala pasta and make two more low FODMAP chicken masala curries for two persons with this. And because you have the masala paste ready, the dish will be super quick to make the next time! 

Low FODMAP chicken tikka masala with rice on a plate with a fork in it

The ingredients of the chicken tikka masala

The most important ingredient of the chicken tikka masala is the masala paste. This consists of the following herbs and spices:

  • Garam masala mix. Make sure you use a low FODMAP garam masala mix. This mix I use contains: cilantro seeds, ground cumin, ground paprika, black pepper, cinnamon, ground cilantro, cardamom, bay leaf, clove and cayenne pepper.
  • Fresh ginger
  • Ground turmeric
  • Chili powder. I use ยฝ tbsp chili powder. If you donโ€™t like spicy, you can use ยฝ tsp.
  • Salt
  • Clove
  • Ground paprika
  • Cumin
  • Fresh cilantro. You can leave this out if you donโ€™t like cilantro. 
  • Lemon juice
  • Water
  • Spring onion, only the green part.

It is quite an amount of herbs and spices, but believe me, this will really give the dish flavour! 

You use the homemade masala paste to marinate the chicken. You mix the masala paste with 50 ml lactose-free yoghurt and stir in the chicken. Leave this in the fridge to marinate for half an hour.

The rest of the recipe is super simple. You boil white rice. While the rice is cooking, you fry the chicken in a frying pan.

Then you add a red bell pepper and bake this for a few minutes until it is softened.

To this you add the sieved tomatoes and coconut milk. Leave the sauce to simmer until it thickens. This combination makes the sauce super creamy.

You serve the chicken tikka masala sauce with white rice and some fresh cilantro, if you like.

Low FODMAP chicken tikka masala with rice on a plate with cutlery next to it

Adding extra vegetables to this dish

The original version of chicken tikka masala doesnโ€™t contain any vegetables, except for the sieved tomatoes (tomato passata).

I added a red bell pepper to the dish, to have some vegetables in the dish.

Next to that, I serve this curry with a green salad on the side. For example a simple salad with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, black olives and a dressing.

Like that, you can enjoy this delicious curry and get your veggies in.

If you want, you can also add extra low FODMAP vegetables to the curry itself. Such as oyster mushrooms, canned mushrooms or broccoli (max. 100 gram per person).

More low FODMAP curry recipes?

If you liked this curry, you might also want to try these recipes from Karlijnโ€™s Kitchen:

Low FODMAP chicken tikka masala with rice on a plate
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Low FODMAP chicken tikka masala with rice on a plate

Low FODMAP Chicken Tikka Masala


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4.4 from 11 reviews

  • Author: Karlijn
  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 mins
  • Servings: 2 1x
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Description

A spicy low FODMAP chicken tikka masala with homemade masala paste, white rice and cilantro. Also easy to make less spicy. Gluten-free and lactose-free.


Ingredients

Scale

For the masala paste

  • 3 tbsp garam masala (make sure there are no high FODMAP ingredients in it)
  • 2 tbsp fresh ginger, in small pieces
  • 1 tbsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tbsp chilli powder (this is for a spicy version, use 1/2 tsp for a milder version)
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp ground cloves
  • 1 tsp paprika powder
  • ยฝ tsp cumin
  • One small handful of fresh cilantro
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 4 stalks spring onion (the green part only)

For the chicken tikka masala

  • 200 g chicken breast, in pieces
  • 50 ml lactose-free yoghurt
  • 1 green bell pepper*
  • 160 g white rice
  • 150 ml coconut milk
  • 100 g sieved tomatoes
  • More fresh cilantro for garnish

Instructions

  1. Cut the ginger into small pieces and cut the spring onion and cilantro in rings/pieces. Put this together with all other spices, the lemon juice and water into a bowl. Use a food processor or blender to mix this into a paste.
  2. Take 40 gram of the paste, this is what you need for two persons. You can freeze what is leftover for later. Put the masala paste together with the lactose-free yoghurt into a bowl. Stir in the pieces of chicken breast and leave it to marinate in the fridge for at least half an hour. The longer the better.
  3. Bring a pan with water to boil. Boil the rice for 15 minutes in water with a bit of salt. Drain the rice after cooking and leave it to rest in the pan with the lid on.
  4. In the meantime, fry the chicken until it is done on all sides. Because you have already marinated the chicken it is not necessary to add oil to the pan.
  5. Cut the pepper into pieces and fry for a few minutes with the chicken until it softens.
  6. Add the sieved tomatoes and the coconut milk to the chicken. Leave the sauce to simmer for 15 minutes, until it has thickened a bit more.
  7. Serve the chicken tikka masala with the white rice and some more cilantro.

Notes

*Bell pepper has been retested in 2022. Red bell pepper is low FODMAP up to 43 gram and green bell pepper is low FODMAP up to 75 gram per serving. If you are still in the elimination phase, I advise using green bell pepper.ย 

  • Prep Time: 45 mins
  • Cook Time: 30 mins
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Cooking
  • Cuisine: India

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 serving
  • Calories: 562
  • Fat: 16
  • Carbohydrates: 69
  • Fiber: 3
  • Protein: 34
Low FODMAP chicken tikka masala with rice on a plate

Looking for some more yummy low FODMAP dinner inspiration? Then make sure to check out my blog with 33 low FODMAP dinner recipes, where this chicken tikka masala is also featured in! 

Together we go for a calm belly!

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Will you let me know if you have made this recipe? I would love it if you would let me know what you think about the recipe by leaving a comment and a rating below. You can also share your creations with me by tagging me on Instagram @karlijnskitchen or by using the hashtag #karlijnskitchen.ย 

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54 Comments

  • Alicia says:

    Yum!! Thank you, Karlijn, my family and I had this tonight (tripled your sauce recipe and the amount of meat, and used the full marinade) and loved it! Found your blog recently and am excited to try some more recipes ๐Ÿ™‚ Thanks again!

  • Shirley says:

    Hi! You forgot to put CHICKEN in the recipe ingredients. Ha!

    • I see that I forgot it in the recipe card indeed, i am going to add it. Thanks for noticing! The recipe in the text (above the recipe card) has chicken included ๐Ÿ˜‰

  • Caroline says:

    What a fantastic recipe. I just loved it. Thank you for bringing exciting tastes back to my cooking.






  • Laura says:

    This looks delicious! But in my country (England) chilli powder has garlic powder in! It’s so annoying, garlic powder is in a surprising amount of foods. Thank you for sharing your recipes ๐Ÿ™‚

    • Oh that’s annoying! I use pure chilli powder and that is really only red chilli. Don’t you have anything like that?

    • Kai says:

      Aha! I reacted to this a bit, but I figured it was just the spice (Karlijn, I apparently didn’t heed your warning well enough…). Turns out the chili powder I use has dehydrated onion in it. Guess I’m going to have to freeze this for after I’m done reintroduction. Too bad – it’s delicious!






  • Recently been medicallu told to be on low fodmap diet
    Need all the help I can get
    Many thanks

    I am sorry But did not say it before ..new to they site…Thanks again

  • Heddwen says:

    You have missed out the Chicken and mentioning it required marinating before hand (possibly overnight or during the day in the fridge) and also the Lactose Free Yogurt is omitted from the ingredients list. I have now made this several times in the Slow Cooker and it tastes amazing. Because I am sensitive to spice I just use a teaspoon or a Tablespoon of Mild Chilli Powder and find it easier to use something like the Lazy Ginger or KTC MInced Ginger Paste (available in Supermarkets ‘world food’ aisles). I make up a big batch using up all the paste mix and freeze the marinating chicken ready to dump in the Cook-pot with the fresh tomatoes, Lactose Free Yogurt (I find Yeo Valley Organic is a good one if you can tolerate a little Lactose) and the Corriander fresh and it is all ready to serve by the time I am ready to eat it and it fills the house with a gawjus smell to welcome you home with!






    • Hi, I don’t exactly understand what you mean. Both chicken and lactose-free yoghurt are listed in the ingrediรซnts list and I also mention that the chicken should be marinated for at least half an hour.

  • Jess says:

    I made this and believe me 1 tbsp of chilli powder is eye watering and blistered my tongue. Please if you’re not a spicy person just use half a teaspoon to 3/4






  • kathleen says:

    the ingredients are not complete on the recipe card. am trying tonight.

  • Rebekah Glassy says:

    This is so yummy! I am going back on the Low FODMAP diet because my body didnโ€™t like reintroduction. I have made this before and whenever Iโ€™m in the mood for an easy meal, I go to this because you can make the paste and use frozen leftovers for a few more times. I canโ€™t eat tomatoes so I just leave them out and it is still SO good! Thank you for the recipe ๐Ÿ™‚

  • Claire says:

    Can this recipe be cooked in a slow cooker ?

    Thanks

  • Chelsey says:

    Do you mean full fat coconut milk from a can, or a drinkable carton kind?

  • Tinna says:

    Coconut milk is not fodmap safe. Please be careful with the ingredients list!

    • Karlijn says:

      Hi Tinna, coconut milk is FODMAP safe, just not in large amounts. In this recipe I use 75 ml per person. In the Monash app it says that coconut milk for cooking contains moderate amounts of sorbitol at 120 ml per serving or more. So using 75 ml per person is a low FODMAP serving of coconut milk ๐Ÿ™‚

  • Sarah says:

    Just made this. New to whole FODMAP thing and am so proud I made it all from scratch-getting into the cooking thing too!! Loved it! Thank you for sharing easy and yummy meals for people in a tough place!!

  • Lena Dyveke Weber says:

    Looks really good!! I was thinking of making the marinara for the chicken and skewer them and put them on the BBQ Indian kebab ๐Ÿ™‚

  • Lauren says:

    I’m having a really hard time finding a dairy based lactose free yogurt. Do you think a cashew/almond based yogurt would work? I’m just stating the fodmap diet and finding it very difficult to give up my favorite type of food!

  • Kenny says:

    This was my very first meal on the low FODMAP diet. I was worn out from being sick. I came home from work and my fiance had made your recipe for me. So very satisfying and delicious. Tasted like love! Thanks for the great recipe!






  • Jacin says:

    Made this last night but going to give this a second try. I found the 1/3 part of the paste marinade very confusing. Why is this in there if you don’t use the whole thing? I used it all. I used the multiplying feature in the recipe to triple it. I won’t be tripling the clove next time. And actually, I noticed the Garam Masala I used already has clove in it, so I may not add any at all. So check you Garam Masala before adding clove. For some reason, it didn’t multiply the lemon juice in the paste which I felt it should have. Be careful if you have folks in your family who are sensation to spicy foods. I made this using the mild guidelines and only doubled the cayenne pepper versus tripling. My 3 daughters couldn’t eat it because of the level of heat. I may also tone down the chili powder next time as well. I don’t triple the salt and the saltiness was good. However, with all of that said, I’m grateful to be able to make this dish for my FODMAP-sensitive wife. It is great! Just be careful when scaling up the recipe.






    • Karlijn says:

      Hi Jacin,

      Thank you for letting me know about the triple function not working correctly for the lemon, I have changed it and now it should work fine.
      The reason that I make a little more of the paste is because it has quite a lot of ingredients. So if you make a larger batch, you can freeze it and use it again the next time you want to make the chicken tikka masala ๐Ÿ™‚ It will save you some time later.

  • Niki says:

    Loved this! Cut down the amount of chilli powder and cloves by half… really tasty ? will definitely be making again.






  • Irish girl says:

    It says to use coriander in the pate but it burnt say how much. I have read through tonnes of recipes but nobody else seems to have commented on this – did I miss it?

  • Irish Girl says:

    Sorry, in a hurry, forgot to check for typos! It should have said โ€œcoriander in the paste but it doesnโ€™t say how much?โ€

  • Lili Peters says:

    Hello Karlijn! Canโ€™t wait to try this recipe but I have wanted to use my slow cooker recently… Have you ever tried putting all these ingredients in a crockpot for 6-8 hours on low instead of the different marinating/sautรฉing steps?

    • Karlijn says:

      Hi Lily, I have not unfortunately, I don’t have a crockpot, but I am thinking about getting one… so no experience with it yet!

  • Claudia Flintham says:

    when making this recipe there was a lot of confusion as I changed the scale to x3 because I was cooking for 6 people. This then tripled all the quantities for the marsala paste. In the instructions it then said to use only 1/3 of the recipe for 2 people. All paste was used for the 6 people which made it triple the amount we should have had making the dish very over powering. I have seen the comments now and noticed I am not the only person this has happened too. I think the scale option should be disabled for just the paste recipe.






    • Karlijn says:

      Unfortunately turning the scale option off is not an option. But thank you for the feedback, I will take another look at the recipe and make the instructions more clear!

  • Stacy says:

    After the chicken has marinated do I discard the marinade or add it with the tomatoes and coconut milk?

  • Alene says:

    I assume lactose free milk or lactose free half and half would work in place of the lactose free yogurt. All the stores near me have stopped carrying lactose free yogurt! So annoying! On a side note, I can no longer eat any rice at all anymore. I was diagnosed with arsenic poisoning! I have been using riced cauliflower, but now I can’t even eat that! I am in the early elimination phase, and it’s so frustrating. I am already gluten free and lactose free. That was established a long time ago, but now I’m getting horrific attacks again so I’m going back to the drawing board. I love to cook, but I’m really limiting what I eat in the beginning. Grilled chicken and hamburgers. Oh well. Thank you for all your hard work on this site. Everyone in my boat should really appreciate all that you do.

    • Karlijn says:

      Oh I can imagine it is super frustrating if the things you can eat are getting even more limited ๐Ÿ™ I hope you will figure out what is triggering your symptoms soon. I think half and half might work or something like a lactose-free creme fraiche.

  • Judith says:

    I just made Chicken tikka masala and it is absolutely delicious.
    I did put only a 1/4 tsp of chilli powder and it was just right for us.
    I always have fresh ginger in the freezer which you can grade skin and all. I also have frozen fresh cilantro which can be used. Chop the cilantro put in a ice block container and put a little bit of oil on it and freeze.






  • Ella says:

    How do you find low fodmap garam masala?

  • Sali says:

    Very tasty recipe, thank you very much. I finally managed to do something interesting! ๐Ÿ™‚ It just seems to me that 4 servings are actually 3, either because I like it so much ๐Ÿ˜€ Or it will be because the 400 g of chicken is a bit small for 4 servings ๐Ÿ™‚ Next time I will add a little more, I am happy with the recipe. Thank you very much for your work.






  • Sali says:

    I forgot to add that I was also afraid of amount of cloves, but in the end, after all flavors came together, it worked good. About chilli powder, I put 1 spoon and I barely felt it ๐Ÿ˜€ It really depends on what kind of chili it is. We have some at home where you can’t even use 1/3 a small spoon ๐Ÿ™‚ So I don’t agree that the recipe needs to be changed, We just must thing, when we cook ๐Ÿ˜›






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