Chicken · Slow cooker adaptation

Nadiya Hussain's Easy Chicken Tikka Masala | This Morning

Nadiya admits she's failed at chicken tikka masala more times than she'd like to count. But this version strips it right back, garlic, ginger, onion, tomato soup, and just two spice mixes, proving you don't need a cupboard full of jars to get the real thing right.

R By Richard · Adapted from This Morning · Published 8 May 2026
👁 1.2M source views ❤️ 11.7k source likes
⏱Prep 20 min
🍲Slow cook 5 hr (Low) / 3 hr (High)
🍽Serves 5
✓Confidence 55% (review pending)
Nadiya Hussain's Easy Chicken Tikka Masala | This Morning

Source video by This Morning on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules and is marked for human review.

Nadiya Hussain demonstrated this fuss-free chicken tikka masala on This Morning, using curry powder and garam masala as the spice base and a tin of tomato soup as the secret to that classic red, slightly sweet sauce. The original is a quick hob curry that simmers for 30 minutes, but it translates beautifully to the slow cooker because the spices and aromatics still need that initial frying off to develop flavour. Brown your aromatics and bloom the spices on the hob, then transfer everything to the slow cooker to bubble away gently. Serve with basmati rice, couscous, or a crispy poppadom.

Slow cooker notes: Original is a 30 minute hob simmer; adapted to a longer slow cook on Low or High. Aromatics, spices and chicken are still fried off first because slow cookers do not brown or bloom spices. Water reduced compared to a hob simmer because slow cookers retain liquid. Quantities for chicken, onion, soup tin and water were not stated in the transcript so sensible amounts have been inferred for 5 servings.

Ingredients

Curry base
  • 4 tbspvegetable oil
  • 2 tbspgarlic and ginger paste
  • 2 mediumonions, finely chopped
  • 1 tspsalt
  • 2 tbsptomato puree
Spices
  • 2 tbspcurry powder
  • 1 tbspgaram masala
Main
  • 800 gboneless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks
Sauce
  • 400 gtinned tomato soup
  • 100 mlwater
To serve
  • 300 gbasmati rice, rinsed

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat, enough to cover the whole base of the pan. Add the garlic and ginger paste and let it sizzle.

    ~1 min

  2. Add the chopped onions, the salt and the tomato puree. Stir through and cook down for 5 to 10 minutes until softened and translucent.

    ~8 min

  3. Stir in the curry powder and garam masala. Cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring, until the spices are cooked out and you see a little coloured red oil rising to the surface. This step is essential, slow cookers will not bloom dry spices.

    ~5 min

  4. Add the chicken pieces and stir to coat in the spice mixture. Cook for a few minutes until the chicken is sealed and the mixture looks sticky and glossy.

    ~4 min

  5. Tip the contents of the pan into the slow cooker. Pour in the tinned tomato soup and the water, and stir well.

    ~2 min

  6. Cover and cook on Low for 5 hours or on High for 3 hours, until the chicken is tender and the sauce is rich and red.

    ~300 min

  7. While the curry finishes, cook the basmati rice. Put the rinsed rice in a pan and add water to roughly 3/4 inch above the rice. Bring to the boil with no lid until the water has just disappeared, then turn the heat to low, put the lid on and steam for 2 to 3 minutes.

    ~15 min

  8. Taste the curry, adjust salt if needed, and serve with the rice, couscous or crispy poppadoms.

    ~2 min

Frequently asked

Why use tinned tomato soup?
Nadiya uses it to give the sauce that classic deep red colour and a touch of natural sweetness, without any food colouring. It does not taste like tomato soup in the finished curry.
Do I really need to fry the spices first?
Yes. Slow cookers steam rather than fry, so dry spices will taste raw and gritty if added straight to the pot. Cooking them in oil until you see coloured oil rising is what gives the curry its proper depth of flavour.
Can I use chicken breast instead of thigh?
Yes, but thighs hold up better to slow cooking and stay tender. If using breast, lean towards the shorter cooking time on High to avoid it drying out.
Can I make this dairy-free?
Yes. Unlike many tikka masala recipes there is no cream or yoghurt in this version, the sauce is built entirely on tomato soup and spices, so it is naturally dairy-free.
Will it freeze well?
Yes. Cool the curry quickly, portion into containers and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat thoroughly until piping hot.
Extraction notes (transparency): Transcript describes the method clearly but gives almost no quantities. Chicken weight, onion count, garlic/ginger amount, oil volume, spice quantities, soup tin size and water amount were all inferred. Salt mentioned (a pinch) and tomato puree mentioned (no amount). Reviewer should verify all quantities before publishing.