Instant Pot Butter Chicken
Tender chicken and veggies swim in a creamy, perfectly spiced sauce in this easy Instant Pot Butter Chicken recipe. This spin on a treasured Indian dish is the best for busy weeknights because it’s made with ingredients you can find at any grocery store!
Why You’ll Love This Easy Instant Pot Butter Chicken Recipe
- Incredibly Flavorful. Like my Chicken Tikka Masala, this Instant Pot butter chicken recipe is filled with rich, complex flavors that practically beg you to take another bite. If you aren’t familiar with butter chicken, imagine tender chicken in a creamy, mildly spiced curry sauce so delicious, you catch yourself running a finger along the bottom of the bowl to guarantee you don’t miss a drop.
- Easy Yet Impressive. With simple, easy-to-find ingredients and fab flavor, this creamy butter chicken recipe is a perfect choice for casual dinners at home or when you want to seriously impress your friends.
- The Instant Pot is Ideal for Indian Cooking. While I love my Slow Cooker Butter Chicken and Stovetop Indian Butter Chicken recipe, this Instant Pot recipe takes just one hour and is hands-free. I love making Indian Instant Pot recipes (like Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala and this Instant Pot Lentil Curry) because the pressure cooker consolidates flavors in a way that mimics the effect of all-day stovetop cooking, which makes it accessible for an easy weeknight meal.
5 Star Review
How to Make Butter Chicken in an Instant Pot
The Ingredients
- Chicken. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts become tender, juicy, and flavorful in the sauce. I think boneless skinless chicken thighs would also work well for this recipe.
- Garlic + Onion. Fresh onion and garlic cloves help build flavor from the beginning.
- Ginger. Fresh ginger is the move here.
- Spices. A mix of curry powder, garam masala, and chili powder help create the deep flavor of the sauce.
- Chicken Broth. Helps deglaze the pot and add flavor to the sauce.
- Tomato Sauce. Tomato is an important flavor component in our butter chicken sauce.
- Cauliflower. I added cauliflower to the mix to make it half chicken/half veggie. I love how the cauliflower breaks down and absorbs the flavor of the butter sauce. The cauliflower mimics the texture and appearance of the chicken too, so you almost don’t realize you are eating vegetables.
- Butter. Adds richness and buttery flavor (this is butter chicken after all!).
- Half-and-Half. To keep the butter chicken calories low, I swapped the commonly used heavy cream for half-and-half. It tastes just as luscious and rich. If you prefer, you can make this Instant Pot butter chicken with coconut milk; use full-fat, not light.
- Greek Yogurt. Helps thicken the sauce and adds tanginess.
The Directions
- Sauté. Cook the onion with the ginger, garlic, and spices. Add the broth.
- Add the Tomato Sauce and Cauliflower. Lay the chicken on top, then add the butter pieces.
- Pressure Cook. Cook on HIGH for 12 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes (no quick release!).
- Cut the Chicken. Stir in the half-and-half and yogurt. ENJOY!
Leftover Ideas
Tuck leftover butter chicken into pita bread for a scrumptious, handheld meal.
What to Serve With Instant Pot Butter Chicken
- Naan. A side of Homemade Naan is excellent with any Indian dish.
- Rice. Whether you pair this dish with basmati rice, brown rice, or cauliflower rice, it will be delicious! Turmeric Rice would be fantastic too.
- Vegetables. Roasted Cauliflower or Air Fryer Green Beans would be tasty. For more variety, try my Oven Roasted Vegetables.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Forgot to Thaw? No worries! You can use frozen chicken and even frozen cauliflower florets for this recipe. Your Instant Pot will just take longer to come to pressure before the cooking time begins.
- Build Big Flavor. Don’t be tempted to skip those initial sautéeing steps! They’re essential for building deep flavor, especially once you’ve added the spices. Cooking the spices helps make their flavors more pronounced.
- Choose Your Spice Level. Butter chicken is not spicy in the sense of being “hot;” rather it is fully flavored with layers of Indian spices and ingredients like ginger, tomato, curry, and coconut milk. However, if you enjoy your butter chicken with a kick, feel free to add cayenne pepper to taste.
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Instant Pot Butter Chicken
The best Instant Pot Butter Chicken recipe! The pressure cooker makes authentic Indian butter chicken easy to recreate at home.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 20 minutes minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes minutes
Total Time 1 hour hour
Servings 6 servings
Calories 336kcal
Author Erin Clarke / Well Plated
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 small yellow onion diced (about 1 cup)
- 4 cloves minced garlic about 4 teaspoons
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 1 ½ tablespoons curry powder
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- Splash of water or low sodium chicken broth
- 1 (28-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 small cauliflower or ½ large head, cut into florets (about 4 ½ cups)
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into small pieces (use coconut oil to make dairy free)
- ½ cup half-and-half or full-fat coconut milk, do not use light coconut milk, as it will water down the sauce
- ½ cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt or non-dairy yogurt to make dairy-free
- Prepared brown rice or Turmeric Rice, quinoa, or Homemade Naan, for serving
- Chopped fresh cilantro for serving
Instructions
- Add the coconut oil to the Instant Pot and set to SAUTE. Once hot, add the onion and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, curry, garam masala, chili powder, and salt. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Turn the Instant Pot to OFF. Add a splash of water or chicken broth and stir, using a sturdy plastic or wooden spoon to scrape loose any browned bits that have stuck. Make sure you remove all of the stuck-on bits so that you don't trigger a burn warning.
- Add the tomato sauce and cauliflower florets and stir to combine. Lay the chicken breasts on top, then scatter the butter pieces over the top.
- Close and seal Instant Pot. Cook on Manual (HIGH) pressure for 12 minutes. Once the time is up, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then vent to immediately release any remaining pressure.
- Carefully open the lid and transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Cut into bite-sized pieces, then return to the sauce. Stir in the half-and-half or coconut milk. Let cool a few minutes, then stir in the Greek yogurt (do not stir it in immediately or it will curdle). Serve with rice and a sprinkle of fresh cilantro.
Video
Notes
- TO STORE: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- TO REHEAT: Gently rewarm leftovers in a pot on the stovetop over medium-low heat or in the microwave.
- TO FREEZE: Freeze butter chicken in an airtight freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
- TO MAKE IN THE SLOW COOKER: Use this recipe for Slow Cooker Butter Chicken!
Nutrition
Serving: 1(of 6), about 1 1/2 cups butter chicken and sauce, plus 1/2 cup prepared brown rice | Calories: 336kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 115mg | Potassium: 1354mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 921IU | Vitamin C: 50mg | Calcium: 100mg | Iron: 3mg
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