Journey to India Chicken Tikka Masala

EDITOR’S NOTE: This review is from 2025. Aldi is selling the same chicken tikka masala the week of March 4th, 2026, for the same price of $6.49 for 16 ounces. 

Aldi has sold a few different types of Indian-inspired foods over the years. Some are better than others. The best Indian-style meal I’ve had from Aldi is a frozen butter chicken that was introduced in 2023. It occasionally comes back to Aldi for short periods, and I always grab a few boxes to stock my deep freezer.

Then, in the early spring of 2025, Aldi sold a frozen chicken tikka masala that is in a similar style to that frozen butter chicken. (Both of these entrees are packaged in a plastic bag that you heat by boiling in water on the stovetop.)

Of course, I had to try the chicken tikka masala. The package states this features “succulent pieces of boneless chicken breast in a sauce of tomatoes, ginger, garlic, cream, & authentic spices.”

Journey to India Chicken Tikka Masala is an Aldi Find. That means it’s in stores for a limited time only. Each store gets a single shipment, and it’s not restocked after that is sold out, unless Aldi decides to bring it back later. Aldi does not offer online ordering if this is out of stock at your local store.

We buy Aldi products for review using our own funds. I paid $6.49 for a 16-ounce package of Journey to India Chicken Tikka Masala at my local store in March of 2025. Aldi later advertised it in March of 2026 for the same price.

This is a product of Canada. It is halal certified, fully cooked, and contains chicken that antibiotics were not used on.

If you’re looking out for allergens, this contains milk. (In 2026, it lists allergens as milk, cream, and carrageenan.)

The ingredients list looks pretty good, with mostly easily recognizable ingredients.

This does have its share of fat and sodium. One package has two 1-cup servings. One serving has 250 calories, 19 grams of total fat (10% DV), 3.5 grams of saturated fat (8% DV), 510 mg of sodium (10% DV), 6 grams of total carbohydrates (3% DV), 4 grams of total sugars, 1 gram of added sugars (1% DV), and 17 grams of protein.

As mentioned earlier, when you open the box, you’ll find a bag of frozen chicken tikka masala inside. The box has directions for heating this. Pour approximately 6 cups of water into a medium saucepan and bring it to a boil. Submerge the bag of frozen chicken tikka masala into the boiling water and boil uncovered for 13-15 minutes. Using tongs, carefully remove the bag from the water. Cut open the bag and transfer the contents to a serving dish. Ensure the temperature is above 165 degrees before serving.

I boiled this for about 15 minutes, but when I cut open the bag and poured it into a serving dish, some of the chicken was still cold. I fixed it by microwaving it in increments for a total of 1 minute and 15 seconds. The same issue with cold chicken happened when I prepared the Journey to India Butter Chicken from Aldi a while back as well. If you opt to boil this in the bag, just know you’ll probably need to boil it for longer than the directions indicate.

I’m not a big fan of boiling food in plastic bags, so if I have the time, I prefer to thaw meals like this in the fridge. Then, it’s a simple job to pour the contents into a heated skillet or saucepan and heat it that way. Alternatively, you could also pour the thawed contents into a microwave-safe dish and heat it that way.

As for how this tastes, it’s medium spicy, as the image of the two peppers on the box indicates. It is well seasoned and is pretty good for store-bought chicken tikka masala. I served this with some tikka-style rice I bought from Aldi a while ago. It would also be good served with naan and/or samosas.

I think the butter chicken is still my favorite of these frozen Indian meals, but this one is good, too. I’d buy it again.

The Verdict:

Journey to India Chicken Tikka Masala features tender chicken breast chunks in a sauce made with tomatoes, garlic, cream, and various spices. It’s moderately spicy. It’s also quite good for grocery store Indian food.