Calories in Chicken Tikka Masala: Takeaway, Rice and Naan

A 400 g takeaway portion of chicken tikka masala, without rice, has about 580 to 625 calories. That range comes from UK government food data: 145 calories per 100 g for the average takeaway chicken curry and 156 for supermarket chicken tikka masala. Add a cup of plain rice and the meal comes to about 785 to 830 calories, and with rice and a naan it passes 1,000.

Below are the calories in chicken tikka masala by portion, its full nutrition, what rice and naan add, a homemade estimate and the swaps that save the most. USDA’s generic food entries have no tikka masala dish, only branded products, so the curry numbers come from the UK’s official dataset, CoFID, and the rice and naan numbers from USDA.

Calories in chicken tikka masala by portion

CoFID, the UK’s food composition dataset, is published on GOV.UK. Two of its entries fit:

• Supermarket chicken tikka masala: 156 calories per 100 g, from 11 chilled and frozen products, reheated.
• Takeaway chicken curry: 145 calories per 100 g, the average of 50 takeaway samples, 10 each of korma, tikka masala, dhansak, jalfrezi and dopiaza. It covers the meat and sauce only, with no rice.

Portions vary a lot and there is no official takeaway size. We use 300 g for a small portion, 400 g for a typical takeaway and 500 g for a large one. These are our assumptions, so weigh your usual order once if you can.

Portion, curry only	Supermarket tikka masala	Takeaway curry average
100 g	156	145
1 cup (240 g)	374	348
Small (300 g)	468	435
Typical takeaway (400 g)	624	580
Large (500 g)	780	725

Each number is calories per 100 g × grams ÷ 100. For example, 156 × 400 ÷ 100 = 624. The cup uses USDA’s weight for a cup of chicken curry, 240 g.

These are averages, and the takeaway figures come from a 1997 analysis reviewed in 2013. A curry house that uses more cream, butter or ghee will be higher.

Chicken tikka masala nutrition: protein, carbs, fat and salt

Here is the nutritional information for supermarket chicken tikka masala in CoFID:

Nutrient	Per 100 g	Per 400 g portion
Calories	156	624
Protein	12.4 g	49.6 g
Carbohydrate	4.9 g	19.6 g
of which sugars	3.6 g	14.4 g
Fat	9.8 g	39.2 g
of which saturated	3.3 g	13.2 g
Fibre	1.4 g	5.6 g
Salt	0.55 g	2.2 g

Salt is CoFID’s sodium (220 mg per 100 g) × 2.5, the ratio the NHS uses on food labels, where 0.6 g of sodium equals 1.5 g of salt.

The takeaway curry average has similar protein (11.7 g per 100 g), the same fat (9.8 g) and fewer carbs (2.5 g). It has more salt, though: 0.89 g per 100 g, or about 3.6 g in a 400 g portion. The NHS says adults should have no more than 6 g of salt a day, so that portion alone is more than half.

Tikka masala with rice and naan

Rice and naan can add as many calories as the curry itself. The totals below use 624 calories for a 400 g portion of curry, the supermarket figure. For the takeaway average, take 44 off each total.

Meal	Sides	Total calories
Curry + 1 cup plain rice (158 g)	205	829
Curry + 2 cups plain rice (316 g)	411	1,035
Curry + 2 cups pilau-style rice (326 g)	492	1,116
Curry + 1 naan (90 g)	262	886
Curry + 1 large naan (177 g)	550	1,174
Curry + 1 cup plain rice + 1 naan (90 g)	467	1,091
Curry + 2 cups pilau-style rice + 1 large naan	1,042	1,666

How we worked out the sides, all from USDA data:

• Plain boiled rice: 130 calories per 100 g, and 1 cup is 158 g, so about 205 calories. We use 2 cups as our assumption for a takeaway tub.
• Pilau-style rice: USDA’s white rice cooked with oil stands in for pilau. It has 151 calories per 100 g, and a cup is 163 g, about 246 calories.
• Naan: USDA weighs a plain store-bought naan at 90 g, with 291 calories per 100 g, so about 262. Its other naan entry has 311 per 100 g and weighs a whole 10-inch naan at 177 g, about 550. UK data is close: CoFID lists retail naan at 285 per 100 g.
• Garlic or butter naan: we assume 1 teaspoon of butter brushed on top (a third of USDA’s 14.2 g tablespoon), which adds about 34 calories.

The NHS says an average woman needs 2,000 calories a day and an average man 2,500. The full takeaway in the last row, at about 1,670, covers most of a day for either.

Takeaway curry calories: why they vary

The sauce and the portion move the number most.

• Fat in the sauce. A tablespoon of oil adds about 120 calories, ghee about 123 and butter about 102. In our recipe below, ½ cup of heavy cream adds about 405 to the pot.
• Portion size. Going from a 300 g to a 500 g portion adds about 290 to 310 calories.

Large chains have to show calories. In England, food businesses with 250 or more employees must put calories on their menus, a rule in force since 6 April 2022. In the US, restaurant chains with 20 or more locations have had to since 7 May 2018. Smaller independent curry houses don’t, so use the ranges above.

If you track meals in MacroScout, Pro lets you snap a photo of your takeaway, or scan the menu before you order to see which dishes fit the calories you have left today. On the free plan, you can type in the numbers from this page yourself.

Homemade chicken tikka masala: our estimate

To see what the sauce does, we built a 4-serving recipe from USDA ingredient values, in a classic version with cream and butter and a lighter one with yogurt.

Ingredient (serves 4)	Classic	Lighter
Chicken, skinless and boneless, raw, 600 g	714	714
Plain whole-milk yogurt marinade, ½ cup (122.5 g)	75	75
Oil: 2 tbsp (27.2 g) classic, 1 tbsp (13.6 g) lighter	240	120
Butter, 1 tbsp (14.2 g)	102	0
Onion, 1 large (150 g)	60	60
Tomatoes, 3 medium (369 g)	66	66
Heavy cream, ½ cup (119 g)	405	0
Extra yogurt in place of cream, ½ cup (122.5 g)	0	75
Whole pot	1,662	1,110
Per serving (¼ of the pot)	416	278

Each line is the USDA value per 100 g × the amount. For example, ½ cup of heavy cream is 119 g × 340 ÷ 100 = 405 calories. Spices, garlic, ginger, lemon and salt are left out because they add few or no calories.

By our estimate, a classic serving has about 416 calories, 35 g of protein, 9 g of carbs and 26 g of fat. The lighter one keeps the 35 g of protein with about 278 calories and 10 g of fat, a saving of about 138 calories. In the classic pot, the oil, butter and cream supply about 78% of the fat.

UK double cream is richer than US heavy cream. CoFID lists it at 496 calories per 100 g, against USDA’s 340, so using the same 119 g of double cream brings a classic serving to about 462.

We give these per serving, not per 100 g, because cooking drives off an unknown amount of water, which changes the weight but not the calories.

How to make chicken tikka masala lighter

For Indian takeaways, the Northern Ireland government’s nidirect site suggests lower-fat dishes such as tandoori or madras, and steering clear of creamy curries like korma, pasanda or masala. It also suggests plain rice and chapatti rather than pilau rice and naan, plus vegetable side dishes or dhal.

If you still want tikka masala, these swaps save the most:

• Eat half and save the rest. A 200 g portion instead of 400 g saves about 290 to 310 calories.
• Pick rice or naan, not both. Skipping a 90 g naan saves about 262 calories, and a large one about 550.
• Swap naan for a chapati. A medium 40 g roti has about 120 calories, 142 fewer than a 90 g naan. See calories in 1 roti.
• Choose plain rice over pilau. That saves about 41 calories a cup, or 81 for a 2-cup tub.
• At home, use yogurt instead of cream. Our lighter recipe saves about 138 calories a serving.

Ordering biryani instead? See calories in chicken biryani. For another takeaway favourite, see calories in fish and chips.

This article is for general information and is not medical advice. Talk to your doctor before changing your diet, especially if you have a health condition.