Tandoori Chicken
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Craving tandoori chicken? This easy recipe brings that restaurant-style flavor home with everyday spices and a quick yogurt marinade.
Tandoori chicken isn’t just delicious—it’s a total stunner, too, thanks to all those bold spices and its vibrant color. This version, adapted from Food & Wine, gets its deep, warm flavor from a mix of toasted spices, yogurt, and citrus. The chicken turns out tender and juicy with crisp skin and just the right amount of char—and you don’t need a tandoor oven to make it.
Instead of making a traditional green chutney, I like to serve tandoori chicken with store-bought mango chutney—it adds a touch of gingery sweetness that pairs beautifully with the warm spices. For a complete meal, serve the chicken with naan, basmati rice pilaf with dried fruits and almonds (or simple basmati rice), and a refreshing cucumber mint salad. It’s a dish the whole family will love—even the kids!
“This is the best tandoori chicken recipe you will find. It is definitely restaurant quality, or better.”
What You’ll Need To Make Tandoori Chicken
- Paprika, garam masala, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and cayenne pepper: This blend gives the chicken its warm, bold flavor and vibrant color. Traditional tandoori chicken uses ground Kashmiri chili, but paprika makes a great and easy-to-find substitute.
- Fresh ginger and garlic: These aromatics are the foundation of the marinade and pack in a ton of flavor.
- Greek yogurt: The base of the marinade—the acidity in it tenderizes the chicken and helps the spices cling to the meat.
- Lime zest and juice: Adds fresh citrusy brightness to balance the bold spices.
- Chicken drumsticks: Juicy, flavorful, and great for high-heat cooking. You can also use bone-in thighs; breasts tend to dry out too easily with this cooking method.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Toast the spices. Combine the spices in a small skillet and toast over medium heat for a few minutes, just until fragrant.
Pro Tip: Don’t walk away—spices can go from perfectly toasted to burnt in seconds. As soon as they smell aromatic, they’re ready.
Step 2: Make the marinade. In a mini food processor or blender, combine the toasted spices with the ginger, garlic, yogurt, lime juice and zest, oil, and salt. Blend until smooth.
Step 3: Prep the chicken. Use a sharp knife to slash the drumsticks—this helps the marinade soak deeper into the meat. (Cut deep enough to get through the skin and into the meat, but not so deep that the drumsticks fall apart while cooking.)
Step 4: Marinate the chicken. Toss the drumsticks with the marinade, cover, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight. (In a rush? You can cook them right away and they’ll still be tasty.)
Step 5: Arrange on a rack. Line a baking sheet with foil and top with a greased oven-safe rack. Place the chicken on the rack, leaving space between pieces. The rack lets the hot air circulate and helps the skin crisp up instead of steaming in its own juices.
Step 6: Roast then broil. Bake at 450°F for 45 minutes, flipping once, until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is crisp. Turn on the broiler and broil the chicken for about 5 minutes, until the skin is super crisp and lightly charred. (Keep an eye on the broiler—things move fast. You’re looking for darkened edges and blistered skin.) Serve the chicken with mango chutney and lime wedges and enjoy!
More chicken recipes to Love
Tandoori Chicken
This tandoori chicken looks as good as it tastes—juicy, charred, and full of warm spices.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon garam masala (substitute curry powder if you can't find it)
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (use ¼ teaspoon for less heat)
- 3 tablespoons peeled and roughly chopped fresh ginger (see note)
- 7 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
- ¼ cup whole milk Greek yogurt
- Zest and juice from one lime (about 1 teaspoon zest and 2 tablespoons juice)
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2½ teaspoons salt
- 12 chicken drumsticks (about 4 pounds)
- 1 (9 ounce) jar mango chutney, for serving (optional)
- A few sprigs cilantro, for garnishing the platter (optional)
- Lime wedges, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- In a small pan over medium-low heat, combine the paprika, garam masala, cumin, coriander, turmeric and cayenne pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes, until spices are fragrant.
- Add the spices to a blender or mini food processor, along with the ginger, garlic, Greek yogurt, lime zest and juice, oil and salt; process until smooth.
- Using a very sharp knife, make 2 or 3 slashes in each drumstick (be careful; they are slippery). Place the drumsticks in a large bowl and toss with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil (for easy clean-up) and set an oven-proof rack over top. Spray the rack with nonstick cooking spray or grease with vegetable oil.
- Arrange the chicken on the rack, leaving a bit of space between the pieces. Spoon any marinade left in the bowl evenly over the drumsticks. Roast for 45 minutes, turning once midway through, until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through (be sure to turn on your exhaust fan as the oven will get a little smoky). Turn on the broiler and broil the chicken about 6 inches from the heat for 3-5 minutes, until lightly charred and crisp all over. Transfer the chicken to a platter and garnish with cilantro sprigs and lime wedges, and serve with mango chutney on the side.
- Note: Check out easy guidance on how to peel, grate, and chop fresh ginger here.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 3 drumsticks (nutritional data does not include chutney)
- Calories: 807
- Fat: 53g
- Saturated fat: 11g
- Carbohydrates: 8g
- Sugar: 1g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 73g
- Sodium: 1884mg
- Cholesterol: 369mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Hello! My chicken is marinating overnight and I can’t wait to cook this tomorrow! However, I just realized that I don’t have a grill grate..can you make this in the oven on a baking sheet? Would it affect the cooking? Thank you!
Hi Stephanie, The cook time would be the same but the skin won’t crisp up unless the chicken is cooked on a rack. (It’ll still be good – just not crispy.) Enjoy!
This recipe is so full of flavor. The spices are so well balanced. I’ve made it many times. I like it best the day it is cooked.
I’ve never had so much success with a single website. Thanks for posting things that work, it saves us so much time!
Toronto, Canada
Hi! This was great. everyone loved it.
Awesome recipe!! I tried them and they came out very well. Thanks for sharing. However I have a question on cooking temperature, if we use frozen chicken drumsticks, which are usually tender and cook very fast, how much temperature adjustment should be made? I tried on 430F for 40 mins, it cooked well but still was wondering about temperature.
Hi Neetika, Are your drumsticks already cooked?
This is absolutely delicious! I made it both times on the gas grill. I marinated it overnight to get the full flavor. Thanks Jen for this yummy chicken recipe!
Very good recipe, Jen. Thank you. The flavours are authentically Indian. I paired it with your basmati rice recipe and it was a hit!
I made this last week because I got tired of cooking drumsticks the same old way. This recipe is delicious and not spicy at all, which was good for the kids. Everyone loved it, thanks for a very enjoyable meal.
The naan bread sounded too good, so I had to make that as well. Hey, look everyone, I can make naan bread. I couldn’t believe I could actually make real naan bread. Everyone at the table made sure they had seconds among the oohs and aaahs. I spread half of them with homemade garlic butter. Mmmmmmm
Hi Jenn,
I made this today for Father’s Day. My son and son-in-law were fighting over the leftovers. My husband grilled it on the barbeque. We will be making it again very soon. I garnished it with mint instead of cilantro because my Turkish son-law is not a big fan of cilantro.
Thank you Jenn for your great recipes.
Karen. Oakville, Ontario, Canada.
Hi Jenn! As always, a fabulous recipe! I thought I’d share a time-saving shortcut, for readers who have this dish in a regular rotation.
The marinade freezes beautifully; you just need quite small airtight containers and to know how much chicken is used for each meal. My measurement is based on 6-8 legs or thighs per meal.
I double the entire marinade recipe. For my use, I can get four batches of marinade, again for 6-8 chicken pieces. Each individually-frozen batch is just shy of 3 oz (yes I use a scale). So today’s double batch will give me enough marinade for tonight’s dinner, plus 3 more batches to go into the freezer for future meals.
Prep time is now virtually zero. Just thaw and start marinating per instructions.
Great tip, Vicky. Thank you!
Made this with chicken thighs and it was great! Did not need to put it under broiler at the end, as the skin was already nice and crispy. Served with the basmati rice pilaf and cucumber salad – definitely a hit!