Instant Pot Butter Chicken

This deliciously flavorful Instant Pot Butter Chicken is made in your pressure cooker in about 30-minutes! Tender pieces of chicken in a buttery sauce – yum!

Instant Pot Butter Chicken

So, this Instant Pot Butter Chicken is my husband’s new favorite dish! His birthday is coming up and this is what he requested.  That’s fine by me! It’s so flavorful (but not spicy) and is ready in about 30-minutes!  My kinda recipe!

Serve it with brown or white rice and some warm naan for the kids – and EVERYONE is happy and content.

I just love my Instant Pot because you can make such easy meals in so little time! We also put this Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese on our meal plan a lot!

My one recommendation, double the recipe because your family is going to want seconds. Plus, it’s ahhhmazing reheated for lunch the next day!

Oh, that savory, buttery spice filled sauce.  Dreamy!

What is Butter chicken

You may be asking yourself what exactly is Butter Chicken?  Well, it’s a modern Indian dish of tender chicken in a tomato, butter and cream sauce – with a handful of spices. What’s not to like about that!

They say it was developed in the early 20th century in Delhi as a way to use leftover tandoori chicken. All I know is it’s evolved into an american favorite as well.  Just ask my husband 🙂

What Spices Go In Butter Chicken?

Along with the garlic, this recipe has some flavorful and healthful spices.  Usually in a Butter Chicken Recipe, you use the following spices:

• garam masala
• coriander
• ginger
• cumin
• paprika
• chili powder
• turmeric
• salt

Personally, I think it’s the garam masala that gives this recipe such good flavor, but all the spices come together to make this Indian dish so addictively good.

You’ll want to take a piece of naan and wipe up all that sauce!

How Do You Make Butter Chicken In Your Instant Pot

Ok, you’re going to love this recipe.  When you can have such a great tasting meal on the table in 30 minutes, you can’t go wrong.

Tip: If you’re new to pressure cooking, see your manufacturer’s guide for detailed instructions on how to use your Instant Pot.

Here we go…

Step 1

First, turn your Instant Pot to the sauté setting and press start. Place your butter in the pot and let it melt.  Now, add the garlic and ginger and sauté for a minute or until the garlic becomes aromatic. (don’t overcook your garlic or it will become bitter.)

Step 2

Next, add the tomato sauce and tomato paste to the Instant Pot and stir. Now, add the garam masala, coriander, cumin, paprika, turmeric, chili powder, and salt to the Instant Pot, stir and cook for approximately 3 to 5 minutes.

Step 3

Add the chicken thighs, water and stir. There should be enough liquid in the pot to cover the chicken, add more water if needed.

Step 4

Next up, close and seal the Instant Pot lid. Set the Instant Pot to the Pressure Cooker or Poultry setting and set the time for 5 minutes.

Step 5

Wait until the natural release cycle is finished, should take roughly 10 minutes. You can also follow the manufacturer’s guide for quick release. Open and remove lid.

Step 6

Now, with the lid off, put the Instant Pot on the sauté setting. Add the heavy cream and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce will thicken slightly.

Step 7

Finally, turn off the Instant Pot and garnish with fresh parsley. Serve warm over rice and with naan.

Instant Pot Butter Chicken With Coconut Milk

I’ve made this instant pot recipe with both coconut milk and cream and they are both delicious, so use whatever type of milk you prefer or diet allows.

Tips for Making Instant Pot Butter Chicken

• Sometime I throw some sliced onions of peppers in the pot while the garlic is simmering to give it more texture and flavor.
• Can I Make this Butter Chicken with Frozen Chicken?
  • Yep! You can use frozen chicken, but your Instant Pot will take a little longer to come to pressure before the cooking time begins, but the dish will still be deeeelicious.
• To make the recipe a little more healthy, swap half of the heavy cream for greek yogurt.
• As an option, you can use chicken breasts instead of thighs.

If you’ve tried this Instant Pot Butter Chicken or any other recipe on Suburban Simplicity, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how it went in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious food, fun crafts + DIYs and what I’m up to on a daily basis!

Print Pin

5 from 6 votes

Instant Pot Butter Chicken

This deliciously flavorful Instant Pot Butter Chicken is made in your pressure cooker in about 30-minutes! Tender pieces of chicken in a buttery sauce - yum!

Course dinner

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 6

Calories 555kcal

Author Erin Henry

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter unsalted
• 6 large cloves garlic minced
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger finely grated or minced (or paste)
• 1 cup tomato sauce or puree
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3 teaspoons garam masala
• 1 tablespoon coriander ground
• 1 teaspoon cumin ground
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 pounds chicken thighs boneless and skinless cut into pieces
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons parsley chopped

Instructions

• Turn your Instant Pot to the sauté setting and press start. Place your butter in the pot and let it melt.  Now, add the garlic and ginger and sauté for about a minute or until the garlic becomes aromatic. (don't overcook your garlic or it will become bitter.)
• Add the tomato sauce and tomato paste to the Instant Pot and stir. Now, add the garam masala, coriander, cumin, paprika, turmeric, chili powder, and salt to the Instant Pot, stir and cook for approximately 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add the chicken thighs, water and stir. There should be enough liquid in the pot to cover the chicken, add more water if needed.
• Close and seal the Instant Pot lid. Set the Instant Pot to the Pressure Cooker or Poultry setting and set the time for 5 minutes.
• Wait until the natural release cycle is complete, should take roughly 10 minutes. You can also follow the manufacturer's guide for quick release. Open and remove lid.
• With the lid off, put the Instant Pot on the sauté setting. Add the heavy cream and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce will thicken slightly.
• Turn off the Instant Pot and top with fresh parsley if desired. Serve warm over rice and with naan.

Notes

Recipe will keep in the refrigerator for about 5 days. 

Nutritional information is approximate and was calculated using a recipe nutrition label generator.

★ Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to give it a star rating below!

Nutrition

Calories: 555kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 46g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Cholesterol: 217mg | Sodium: 833mg | Potassium: 620mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 37.4% | Vitamin C: 9.1% | Calcium: 7.7% | Iron: 15.2%

We love this recipe!  I hope you do, too!

Join for a FREE 5 Day Series to Simplify Your Life

Plus DIYs, crafts, recipes and helpful tips delivered directly to your inbox!

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

First Name

Email Address

We use this field to detect spam bots. If you fill this in, you will be marked as a spammer.

I'd like to receive the free email course. Subscribe Powered by ConvertKit