Instant Pot Butter Chicken recipe--a creamy, tangy chicken recipe with Indian spices made in the instant pot. Serve this Butter Chicken over white rice and a side of naan bread, and enjoy. If you love this Instant Pot Butter Chicken, be sure to check out all of my Instant Pot Mini recipes.
Can we talk a bit about food budgets?
I just wrapped up final recipe testing for cookbook #4, and took a quick look at my books. On average, I spent $100 every 3 days at the grocery store for 4 months. And honestly, that was just the last round of recipe testing; I don't have the heart to go back and track it beyond 2018.
This latest book was 2 years in the making, and it's a blessing that I had so much time to work on it.
If you're wondering: it will be more dinners for two with a release date of April 2019. I'll keep you updated: here's the pre-order link.
It's not that the book contains complicated recipes that have long ingredient lists (you know from my book Sweet & Simple that I'm a 10-ingredients or less kind of cook). It's that I made everything at least 3 times, and I'm a chronic over-buyer. I buy a bunch of cilantro and parsley every time I step in the grocery store, just in case the one in my fridge isn't perky enough for food photography.
I came out of the experience with an overstuffed freezer, a fridge full of food, and an overflowing pantry. (And then I landed right in 'book edits land', which is its own level of hell; ask me in 5 years and I'll tell you the story of this book).
I'm currently playing Grocery Games with myself each night, and coming up with recipes to use everything I have on hand. I've only been to the grocery store twice this month, and it was for toddler basics (Camille needs these 3-ingredient pancakes like I need coffee every morning).
Why Instant Pot Chicken Thighs are better than breasts:
With a small bag of frozen boneless chicken thighs, a messy spice rack, and partially full containers of heavy cream littering my fridge, I made this instant pot butter chicken in my instant pot mini.
Chicken thighs are absolutely the way to go when it comes to the instant pot because they stay moist. I used chicken breasts in my Instant Pot Salsa Chicken, because the starch from the rice helps with moisture in the pressure cooker. When I make Instant Pot Chicken Stock, I use bone-in skin-on thighs. Oh, and my Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings also uses chicken thighs.
When it comes to chicken, I'm an instant pot chicken thighs kind of girl it seems!
Instant Pot Butter Chicken, a list of reasons to love:
I love that this recipe is gluten free; I love that it's creamy, comforting and faster than take-out. Plus, I made you a video to show how fast this recipe is! Scroll up to see it, or check the side bar, where it sometimes lives. :)
Also, let's be honest--my favorite Indian restaurant is 25 minutes away. But, giving Camille a taste of pappadams and a cooling mint raita is on my summer bucket list. (Your summer bucket list is all food related, yes?)
There are a lot of recipes for instant pot butter chicken on the internet, and they're mostly too watery. Even though I closed the lid on thick tomato sauce barely clinging to cut up chicken thighs, I always opened the lid to a watery sauce. As a result, I eliminated the canned tomatoes, chicken broth and water commonly used in this recipe. I still thicken my final sauce with a bit of cornstarch, but it's entirely optional now.
Serve this Instant Pot Butter Chicken with chopped fresh cilantro, basmati rice, and a side of warm naan bread. If you have a minute to brush the naan bread with melted butter and finely chopped garlic, even better!
Instant Pot Butter Chicken
Instant Pot Butter Chicken made so fast!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- ½ of a red bell pepper, diced
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1" of ginger, peeled
- 1 teaspoon garam masala spice blend
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt
- pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
- 14-ounce can of tomato sauce
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat and cut into 2" pieces
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- fresh cilantro, for serving
- cooked basmati rice, for serving
Instructions
- Remove the lid from an Instant Pot 3-quart mini machine, and press 'SAUTE.'
- Add the butter to the pot, and let it melt.
- Next, add the diced onion and bell pepper, and stir to coat.
- Using a microplane, grate the garlic and ginger into the pan, and stir again.
- Add all of the spices (garam masala, turmeric, paprika, cumin, and salt) and stir. Add a dash of cayenne pepper if you want it spicy.
- Stir everything in the pot together very well, and then turn OFF the Instant Pot.
- Add the tomato sauce and chopped chicken thighs to the pot. Stir to coat everything.
- Next, press 'PRESSURE COOK' on the Instant Pot, and toggle to 'HIGH.' Place the lid on the Instant Pot, turn the dial to 'Sealing,' and set the timer for 10 minutes.
- Once the pot comes to pressure, the 10-minute countdown will begin. Consult your Instant Pot manual for any troubleshooting.
- When the 10 minutes is up, do a 'forced pressure release' by covering your hand with a thick kitchen towel, and turning the sealing valve to 'venting.' Be careful--lots of steam will pour out of the valve.
- When the pressure is done releasing, the float valve will drop, and it's safe to open the lid.
- Meanwhile, whisk together the heavy cream and cornstarch very well. Remove the lid from the Instant Pot, and stir in the heavy cream and cornstarch mixture.
- Let the mixture thicken a bit with the residual heat, and then serve over white rice and with chopped cilantro on top.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 815Total Fat: 45gSaturated Fat: 22gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 21gCholesterol: 348mgSodium: 1962mgCarbohydrates: 47gFiber: 6gSugar: 12gProtein: 62g
Heather says
Can i dohble this recipe for a family dish? I am going to try it tonight and hope for the best.
Christina Lane says
You can! I doubled it and made it in my small 3-quart Instant Pot. What size Instant Pot do you have?
T says
I just bought an Instant Pot and this is the first recipe I tried. My husband said it's the best meal I've ever made. Thanks for putting it up!
Lori says
I made this and love it. I had more sauce than I expected but it is so good. I even ate the left overs for lunch (and I usually don't like leftovers). I hope to see a instant pot mini cookbook from you!
Dino M. says
How many lbs of boneless thighs? My son is trying to make this with a butter chicken spice packet. Most college boys don't have a drawer of spices!; ) The packet calls for 1 lb but needs to know if he'll need more. He plans to try as many of your recipes as he can before heading back to his new apartment. Cant wait to get your book! Thanks
Christina Lane says
Tell him to check the weight on the package of chicken thighs. Usually, a package has 4 thighs, and the weight will be right there next to the price.
Sam says
THANK YOU for this recipe! I have been making my own butter chicken since I was a teenager and it just never came out right - too watery, bland, or powdery from adding too much spice. This is about as close to the real deal as from Indian restaurants. It's so good it makes me so happy!
Just my own personal notes: the tomato sauce I used already had plenty of salt in it, so I left out the extra salt in the recipe. I paired it with basmati rice infused with a couple cardamom pods and star of anise to give it a little more diverse flavour. Amazing!
AJ says
I'm excited to try this recipe. Thank you! While I do understand the many advantages to chicken thighs, me and my family do not care for the thigh meat at all. How many lbs of chicken breast do I need for this recipe?
Christina Lane says
Same amount as chicken thighs, about a pound. Enjoy! I think it would be great with chicken breast too!
Gaius Gracchus says
Hello, It is nice to find recipes for the mini pot. We have been researching books for the mini pot on the internet and have found nothing to buy. Most of the ones we found have multiple errors and fake reviews.
Does anyone know a book for the 3 quart pot we can get that actually works? We are new to the IP and don't know how to convert recipes for larger pots to ours.
Adam says
This looks like a great recipe, but it's a lot of spices to buy for one recipe. Any idea how to simplify it without sacrificing too much flavor?
Claudia says
Just made this with organic chicken breasts, that’s what I had in freezer. Forgot to buy ginger so I used a tsp of ground ginger. It was so easy and dee-licious! I want to drink the sauce! Thank you! My first ever instant pot meal was a big success!
S says
What would you recommend to use if a substitute for heavy cream is needed?
Christina Lane says
canned coconut cream--yum!