Name: Slow cooker chicken masala | 21 Day Fix Approved
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 4 h
Total time: 4 h 5 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 1 lb chicken thigh; 1 cup coconut milk (I used lite); 14 ounce canned tomatoes, tomato sauce works too; 1 red or orange pepper, chopped; 1/2 onion chopped; 1/2 cup frozen or fresh peas; 1 tablespoon minced ginger; 1 tablespoon lime juice; 2 Tablespoons Garam sala; 1 tbsp turmeric; . 5 Tbsp smoked paprika; Salt and pepper

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A super easy slow cooker chicken masala that's equal parts delicious and low carb. A perfect idea for Sunday meal prep, especially if you're following the Ultimate Portion Fix Meal Plan!

I created this recipe over the holidays - that week between Christmas and New Years where everything feels weird. There's no structure, but there's still lots of eating, drinking and celebrating to be had. Honestly, I'm a little over it.

As much as this week has been great for catching up on blog stuff, I'm ready for the rest of the world to get back to work, too, so I don't feel like I'm the only one plucking away.

Actually, I can't complain. I love love love what I do. Time kinda stands still and I can get completely lost in creating a recipe or shooting it for the blog. It's such a creative passion and it's always something new.

But there's one thing I really am excited to get back too and that's healthy eating. I haven't been too bad this week, but the temptation to nibble on these damn truffles is super real. Thank gawd they're getting handed out as gifts tomorrow.

Slow Cooker Chicken Masala Saves the Day

I created this recipe for three reasons:

It's higher in fat and protein and very low in carbs, which is the #1 way I reduce hunger and sugar cravings.
I've been cooking a TON this week, and this recipe literally took 10 minutes to prep and write. I'm all about the easy here.
Oh, baby, it's cold outside and this is perfect for a mid-week winter meal.

I cannot emphasize enough how easy it is to make, but it does call for Garam Masala which is basically an Indian spice blend. If you don't have it, you can always improvise with the core ingredients. Honestly, just use what you have and find a flavor that works for you, but do your experimentation with the flavors and the coconut milk BEFORE you add the raw chicken to the recipe. Salmonella poisoning would not be a fun way to kick off the new year.

Keeping it Low Carb

There are a couple of ways to eat this. It's almost soup-like consistency, but I like that because there's enough sauce to coat whatever you serve it with. Sure, you could serve it over jasmine rice, and yes, it would be really good that way. But you could also serve it over a cup of cauliflower rice and it would only add about 20 calories to the whole dish and basically no carbs. That's more my speed.

Incidentally, this is a great meal prep option. There are about 5 or 6 chicken thighs in the dish, so one for each lunch of the week, served over cauliflower rice and it's a perfect lunch option to bring to the office. Make it on a Sunday afternoon and enjoy it all week long. The longer it sits in the fridge, the better it tends to taste (within reason of course).

Before you run off and enjoy it. If you're a fan of simple Indian dishes that are low carb, keto-friendly and gluten-free, you might also want to try this Indian-Spiced Eggplant and Tomato Stew. It's packed with flavor and it's a perfectly healthy vegetable side dish.

Are you on the 21 Day Fix or Ultimate Portion Fix Meal Plan?

One serving of slow cooker chicken masala is:

1 red
1 blue
1/2 purple (tomato is a fruit)

Curious what the Ultimate Portion Fix (a.k.a. the 21 Day Fix Meal Plan) is? Click here to learn more.