Lighter Chicken Tikka Masala | Lite Cravings | WW Recipes (2024)
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It took me years, but I have finally found a way to make Lighter Chicken Tikka Masala that tastes just as complex and creamy as it does at my favorite Indian restaurant! And even better–I was able to cut back on some of the richer ingredients to make this popular dish a little easier on the waistline.
I’ve tried so many variations of this recipe, but none of them quite get there. The curry either comes out too bland or too heavy on the tomato flavor. After lots of research and tons of failed attempts, I figured out some key steps to a better tikka masala at home.
How to make lighter chicken tikka masala
Step One: Marinate your chicken for at least two hours, but preferably overnight. This will tenderize the chicken breasts and impart a lot of flavor.
Step Two: Broil the chicken until you get a dark char. This will add a layer of flavor that you can’t mimic by just sauteing the pieces. If you must saute them in a skillet, make sure they get very dark around the edges, like this:
Step Three: Caramelize your onions, probably longer than you think you should. Notice all of those browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Those are going to add tons of flavor to the tomato sauce that we add next.
Another important part of this step is to add the ginger, garlic, and spices to the onions towards the end of cooking them. This way the spices will toast and release their flavor before adding the liquid.
I’ve also added an unconventional ingredient to add depth of flavor in a short amount of time–chili powder. The same stuff you’d add into a Mexican dish. It deepens the flavors even more!
Step Four: Reduce your tomato sauce A LOT. It should be almost the consistency of tomato paste before you add in your half and half.
This will make the curry taste like it has been cooking all day, but we’re only cooking it for 45 minutes, tops!
As for lightening up the recipe, I wanted to make sure this tasted as close to the restaurant version as possible, so I decided to use regular half and half instead of something that would cut the calories a lot more, like greek yogurt or fat free and half half. I’ve tried it with those ingredients and just don’t like how it comes out.
I think half and half is a good compromise, though, since most authentic recipes include heavy cream and a lot of butter. Half and half provides just the right amount of richness–I couldn’t even tell the difference without the butter.
This all might sound difficult at first, but I promise this is a very easy recipe to follow. These are just minor steps that will result in one of the best Chicken Tikka Masala dishes you’ve tasted!
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5 from 27 votes
Lighter Chicken Tikka Masala
A slightly lighter version of the classic dish that tastes just as good as any you’d get in an Indian restaurant!
2lbsboneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into one-inch cubes
1cupplain nonfat greek yogurt
3clovesgarlic, minced
1tbspginger paste (I find tubes of this in the produce section of my grocery store)
2tspgaram masala
1tspturmeric
1tspground cumin
1tspchili powder
1tspkosher salt
FOR THE MASALA
1largeonion, diced (about 2 1/2 cups)
3clovesgarlic, minced
1tbspginger paste
1 1/2tspgaram masala
1tspground cumin
1tspturmeric powder
1tspground coriander
1tspchili powder
1/4-1tspcayenne pepper, depending on how spicy you like your curry
15ozcan tomato sauce
1tspkosher salt
1 1/2cupshalf and half
1tspsugar
Instructions
Mix marinade ingredients in a medium bowl, then add chicken and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours, but preferably overnight.
On the day you want to cook, preheat your broiler and place marinated chicken on a lined cookie sheet, greased with nonstick spray. Broil chicken for 10-12 minutes, or until you see some charred bits (see recipes notes).
Spray a large pan with nonstick spray. Cook the onions until soft and lightly browned, about 7-10 minutes. Scrape up any browned bits stuck on the bottom of the pan.
Add garlic and ginger and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant, then add garam masala, cumin, turmeric, coriander, chili powder, and cayenne. Cook for about 30 seconds until fragrant, stirring constantly.
Pour in the tomato sauce and salt. Let simmer for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until sauce thickens and deepens in color. It should be about the consistency of tomato paste.
Stir the half and half and sugar into the tomato reduction. Add the chicken and its juices back into the pan and simmer for an additional 8-10 minutes until chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thick and bubbling.
Notes
Click hereto determine your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe (if you are logged in to your WW app, it should calculate for you automatically).
WW Green SmartPoints: 7 for 1 1/2 cups, or 5 for 1 1/4 cups
WW Blue SmartPoints: 4 for 1 1/2 cups of the recipe
WW Purple SmartPoints: 4 for 1 1/2 cups of the recipe
So, instead of cream, I use yogurt and butter (cream's close cousin) to get that rich and velvety tomato gravy for my Chicken Tikka Masala. If you are one of those people who love cream in their Chicken Tikka, then swap out the yogurt and add it. It's all good.
Is Chicken Tikka good for weight loss? Chicken Tikka's main ingredients are lean meat, spices, and yogurt, making it ideal for consumption even if you're on a weight-loss diet plan. To make it healthier with low-carb content, do away with extra oil and salt, and exclude heavy cream.
It's one of the most-ordered entrees at Indian joints. But like many Indian dishes that were originally low fat, the modern recipe for chicken tikka masala is anything but. An average portion has whopping 1,249 calories and 90.8 grams of fat. A lot of that comes from the ghee and heavy cream.
Add more spices: Store-bought curry sauces often lack the depth of flavour that homemade sauces have. To remedy this, you can add more spices like cumin, turmeric, coriander, and garam masala. Use fresh ginger and garlic: Fresh ginger and garlic add a lot of flavour to curries.
Depends on what taste you're trying to achieve with yogurt. If it is a sour taste you want, you can use tomatoes instead of yogurt. If you are looking to make the curry mildly spicy and creamy, you may use milk/cream instead. If you like to just make the curry mild, you may use coconut milk.
Dishes like daal (lentil curry), chana masala (chickpea curry), and rajma (kidney bean curry) are excellent vegetarian options that provide essential nutrients while keeping calorie counts reasonable.
Consuming foods with tikka masala flavors may reduce your risk of developing conditions like: Tikka masala spices boost your fiber intake, which promotes regular bowel movements and may help treat or prevent constipation.
Regarding nutrition, Butter Chicken and Tikka Masala are high in calories, fat, and sodium. Butter Chicken has more fat and calories than Tikka Masala due to the use of cream and butter in the sauce.
**Sodium Content**: Many restaurant or pre-packaged versions of chicken masala can be high in sodium due to the use of salt and store-bought sauces or spice blends. Excessive sodium intake can contribute to high blood pressure and other health issues.
Butter chicken is a healthier option than tikka masala. Tikka masala has a shocking 400–500 calories per serving on average, but a serving of butter chicken may have 438 calories. If you're concerned with the amount of fat it has, you can always switch to low-fat substitutes for butter and heavy cream.
Everyone loves this dish worldwide. It is a delicious combination of marinated chicken with a creamy tomato-based sauce. So, it's not hard to understand why it's become so popular Indian dish. The aromatic herbs and unique mix of flavors make this dish genuinely one-of-a-kind.
1. Half-and-Half and Butter. A combination of half-and-half and butter makes the best all-around heavy cream substitute. Both heavy cream and half-and-half are made from cream — the distinction is that half-and-half is a mixture of cream and milk and has about a third as much as fat.
For this recipe, I replaced the cream with milk and yogurt. Switching cream for milk makes this easy Chicken Tikka Masala healthier and it turns out delicious every time. I found my takeaway right in my own kitchen and the leftovers are even better!
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