Burman’s Tikka Masala Curry Sauce

Aldi has sold several variations on jarred tikka masala sauce since we first started writing about the grocer ten years ago. If you’ve been following our blog for any length of time, you may remember that way back then, Aldi sold an excellent tikka masala sauce under its Journey to India house brand. We thought it was the best jarred tikka sauce of anything we found at any grocery store.

Then, something happened.

The Aldi recipe was tweaked several times, and not for the better. At one point, we saw three different formulas of tikka masala sauce under the Journey to India brand at our local Aldi stores. They all had different calorie counts, and the ingredients lists were all slightly different. We’re guessing the adaptations were due to changes in suppliers.

Later, another version of the sauce was sold under the Cook House house brand. Finally, Aldi settled on selling the sauce under its Burman’s house brand.

The recipe has still gone through a few changes even in more recent years, and while it’s better than some of the tweaked versions we saw at Aldi years ago, it’s still ultimately inferior to that original Journey to India jarred sauce.

Anyway, it’s been a while, so we decided it was time to take another look at this sauce. It’s currently called Burman’s Tikka Masala Curry Sauce. The label states this is “a tomato based simmer sauce with ginger and coriander.”

Burman’s Tikka Masala Curry Sauce is a Regular Buy or Core Range item. That means it’s in stores year round. You’ll typically find it stocked near the various sauces, marinades, and salad dressings at Aldi.

We paid $3.69 for a 15-ounce jar in 2026. That comes out to about 25 cents per ounce. We buy Aldi products for review using our own funds.

This is a product of the United Kingdom.

Nutrition Facts and Ingredients:

If you’re looking out for allergens, this contains milk. It may contain peanuts, tree nuts, and coconut.

Ingredients are water, concentrated crushed tomato, yogurt (whole milk, skimmed milk solids, yogurt culture), tomato paste, modified food starch, cream (milk), canola oil, ground spices (cilantro, paprika, cumin, turmeric, ginger, fenugreek, black pepper, cinnamon, fennel, chili, clove), and 2% or less of dried onion, sugar, ginger puree, garlic puree, salt, lactic acid, whey protein concentrate (milk), paprika oleoresin (color), cumin seed, and dried cilantro leaf.

One jar contains about six 1/4-cup servings. One serving has 50 calories, 3 grams of total fat (4% DV), 0.5 grams of saturated fat (3% DV), 190 mg of sodium (8% DV), 6 grams of total carbohydrates (2% DV), 0.1 grams of dietary fiber (0% DV), 3 grams of total sugars, 1 gram of added sugars (2% DV), and 1 gram of protein.

Preparing and Serving the Tikka Masala Sauce:

The jar label states this sauce is best for sautéing, roasting, or slow cooking. It gives some directions and tips for preparing a meal. To sauté, “add to a wok or skillet for a quick and easy flavor enhancer!” To roast, pour on top of your roast before placing it in the oven. To slow cook, add to your slow cooker with protein and/or veggies and simmer.

The label also gives more detailed instructions for cooking this in a skillet or saucepan. Heat oil in a pan. Season chicken with salt and pepper and brown evenly in hot oil. Add onions and other vegetables along with the entire jar of simmer sauce. Cover the pan and simmer over low heat for 10-12 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Enjoy with rice.

The jar also recommends shaking well before use. Once opened, refrigerate any leftover sauce and consume within three days.

Our Thoughts:

I’ve tried cooking this a few different ways, including in my slow cooker. My family’s preferred way is in a skillet on the stovetop. I heat a little cooking oil, then add two diced chicken breasts with salt and pepper. When the chicken is no longer pink, I add one full jar of sauce and simmer until it’s fully heated.

Or, when Aldi sometimes sells boneless lamb legs, I cook the lamb in my slow cooker. Once the lamb is cooked, I remove it from the slow cooker, dice it, and add it back to the cooker with a jar or two or tikka masala sauce. I continue to cook on low heat until the sauce is thoroughly warmed. Serving lamb tikka masala at home feels like a treat.

No matter how I make this or what protein I make it with, I serve this alongside basmati rice or riced cauliflower and naan (all from Aldi). Aldi sometimes sells mini samosas as a limited-time Aldi Find, or I can buy mini samosas from Trader Joe’s year round, and we like to enjoy those with this meal as well.

This is labelled as medium heat, but we think it’s mild, and it’s really not very spicy. We like this sauce, and my kids are always happy when they see this is on the dinner menu. I usually keep a couple of jars stocked in the pantry because it’s easy to whip up a meal with.

Is it as good as what you’d get at a restaurant? No. Is it as good as the original sauce Aldi sold many years ago? Also no. In fact, we don’t even think it’s the best of the jarred Indian-style sauces at Aldi. (The best would be the butter chicken sauce.) But this tikka masala sauce is good on its own merits.

The Verdict:

The jarred tikka masala sauce has gone through many changes over the years at Aldi. The current version in stores is Burman’s Tikka Masala Curry Sauce. It’s decent, and we like to serve it with diced chicken breast, rice, and naan. However, nothing will compare to the original Journey to India tikka masala sauce Aldi sold years ago.