Tender and juicy low FODMAP tandoori chicken is an easy low FODMAP chicken recipe filled with all kinds of Indian-inspired flavors! It’s also gluten-free and dairy-free.
Friends, this may be my new favorite low FODMAP chicken recipe. It’s super tender and oh-so-flavorful! And, it’s part of my Around the World Wednesday series where I am aiming to bring you a FODMAP-friendly recipe inspired by a dish somewhere around the world every Wednesday.
Low FODMAP Tandoori Chicken
If you’re not familiar, tandoori chicken is a popular Indian dish filled with all kinds of flavor from spices like coriander, cumin, ginger, and more. At many Indian restaurants at least here in the US, you’ll easily spot the tandoori chicken, as it’s typically bright red-orange in color (from added food coloring).
This recipe is really easy to make. You just mix the marinade ingredients (a lot of which you might already have on hand), add chicken, marinate, and then grill. To make it even more simple you can even mix everything in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag, seal it, place it in the fridge until you’re ready to cook. Easy peasy!
Recipes for tandoori chicken usually call for yogurt as a base marinade ingredient. So, to make it a little bit more FODMAP-friendly (and dairy-free for folks like me), I’ve swapped out the yogurt for canned coconut milk instead. The coconut milk adds a nice creaminess to the marinade and also helps keep the chicken really tender. Serving this chicken with lime wedges also helps add some tang which the yogurt also typically adds. It’s delish!
Now, as I mentioned before, tandoori chicken is commonly served as a bright red-orange dish. You’re welcome to add food coloring to the marinade if you’d like to achieve that color, but for my low FODMAP chicken tandoori, I’ve opted for the more natural yellow-orange hue from antioxidant-packed turmeric.
Serving Suggestions:
Typically tandoori chicken is served with rice and an Indian flatbread called naan. As many types of rice are low FODMAP, rice would be a great side dish to have with this low FODMAP tandoori chicken.
Basmati, white, brown, and red rice are all low FODMAP in 1 cup servings. If you have an Instant Pot, try making my Instant Pot Low FODMAP Basmati Rice. 🙂
Naan, however, is usually made with wheat flour and yogurt. So unless you can find a FODMAP-friendly option (and if you do, please let me know!), it’s best to avoid naan while low FODMAP-ing.
I would also recommend serving this with a side of FODMAP-friendly veggies to help create a more balanced meal. My personal favorites are broccoli (low FODMAP in ¾ cup servings), carrots, and red bell pepper.
Low FODMAP Tandoori Chicken
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 8 hours + 20 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
This tender and juicy low FODMAP tandoori chicken is an easy low FODMAP chicken recipe filled with all kinds of Indian-inspired flavors! It’s also gluten-free and dairy-free.
Ingredients
- ½ cup canned coconut milk (I use full-fat)
- 2 Tbsp. garlic-infused olive oil
- 1 Tbsp. ground paprika
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. ground coriander
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. ground ginger
- 1 tsp. ground turmeric
- ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper, optional
- 1 (1.25 lb.) pkg boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
- Lime wedges, for serving
Instructions
- Whisk together coconut milk, olive oil, paprika, salt, coriander, cumin, ginger, turmeric, and optional cayenne pepper. Add chicken and stir to mix. Cover and place in refrigerator. Ideally, marinate for 8 hours.
- When ready to cook, preheat grill or broiler. Remove chicken, discarding any remaining marinade. Grill chicken until cooked. Serve warm with lime wedges.
Notes
Canned coconut milk: A low FODMAP serving of canned coconut milk is ¼ cup or 60 grams.
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Grill
- Cuisine: Indian
Keywords: dairy-free, low FODMAP, chicken, grilled, marinade
Sara says
Cant wait to try this! It looks sooo delish. I’m thinking of making paleo naan with this — I found it on the Lovely Culinary blog and made it once and it’s a great alternative! (:
Em Schwartz, MS, RDN says
Nice! Thanks for the recommendation, Sara!
Debra says
What a fantastic recipe. I opted not to use the cayenne pepper and it was plenty spicy. My coconut milk was Chao Thai Coconut Cream Powder which I always have on hand (purchase through Amazon). I used chicken breast strips and allowed it to marinate overnight. The chicken was extremely moist and tender, packed a flavor punch, and my body is happy. Served with jasmine rice and small helping of sweet potatoes. I plan on using the spice mix as a substitute for garlic powder. It’s really extraordinary. Thanks!
★★★★★
Em Schwartz, MS, RDN says
Thank YOU, Debra! I appreciate you taking the time to share your experience with this recipe. Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Eryn says
OMG – made this tonight and used fresh ginger because that is what I had on hand and it is SO freaking good! Tastes like butter chicken. I had to force myself to stop eating it haha!
★★★★★
Em Schwartz, MS, RDN says
Thanks, Eryn! Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Marlene says
OMG! This is so incredibly delicious. Who knew Low FodMap recipes could be so flavourful!
Thank You for sharing.. this will become a regular on my menu.
★★★★★
Emiliana says
Hi thanks for this great recipe. Do you think you can freeze the chicken in the marinade?
★★★★★
Emily says
Hi Emiliana! Great question! I am 99% positive it will work, but I haven’t tried it yet. It’s on my list of things to test. 🙂
Ilene says
We grilled this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! I marinated the chicken overnight and it came out so flavorful. I will definitely be making this again.
Emily says
Glad you enjoyed it, Ilene! Thanks for sharing!
Dalin Rowell says
Hi there – I’m currently doing a low FODMAP diet for my IBS, and this was the first thing I decided to cook! The only question I have is that I’ve seen that coconut milk on the Monash app (at least with inulin) is considered a no no for the diet, do you have a specific kind of coconut milk you suggest?
Emily says
Hi Dalin, I use canned coconut milk which has a low FODMAP serving on the Monash app. It was mentioned in the narrative above the recipe, but I see I forgot to include that clarifying detail in the recipe itself. It’s now updated. Thanks! And, I hope you enjoy it.
Misty says
I had this last night and it was so hard to not go back for seconds. This is going into my regular rotation.
Served it with basmati rice and sautéed Swiss chard/grape tomatoes. So. Good.
★★★★★
Emily says
Yay! I’m so glad you loved this, Misty! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Jane Mulloy says
Cooked this last night and served it with vegies. Easy to make and very tasty. Will definitely have again. Thank you Emily.
★★★★★
Emily says
Thanks for sharing, Jane! Glad you enjoyed it!!