Chicken Tikka Masala is an Indian-restaurant favorite rich-creamy tomato-based chicken curry. Made with tender cooked chicken marinated in yogurt, red chili powder, turmeric, and garam masala, this EASY recipe is cooked in just 30 minutes using the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker.
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Minstry of Curry
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "Archana,I followed your recipe exactly and had excellent results. Your directions and your serving calculator to adjust for number of people you are feeding is so helpful. You are such an amazing lady. I love that you are so generous and share tips and your Mother’s Garam Masala recipe. Truly a wealth of sharing! In my humble opinion you are the “Julia Child” for Indian Cuisine. You are helping teach Americans how to make your wonderful and delicious Indian Food with amazing results and to do it with ease. Thank you so much! Keep on with your wonderful Ministry of Curry! I made your Chicken Tikka Masala and had 20 guests who thought you were there cooking in my kitchen for me. It made me feel so good to be able to cook your recipe and have it come out THAT good! Thank you!" - K.D.
This Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala is made with a few basic Indian spices and is so easy and flavorful, you might just skip takeout for good! It cooks in under 30 minutes, and the best part—only one pot to clean. If you love tender, juicy chicken in a creamy, spiced sauce, you have to give this recipe a try. And if you’re craving the same bold flavors with a more traditional touch, don’t miss my Stovetop Chicken Tikka Masala.
Love Instant Pot Cooking? Try my Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala, Salmon Tikka Masala with Canned Tomatoes, and other Easy Instant Pot recipes.
Jump to:
Ingredients
Note: A recipe card with exact ingredient measurements and instructions is available at the end of this post. The ingredient photo and details included here are just to give you a clear visual reference of what you’ll need for the recipe, ensuring you know exactly what to gather before you start.
- Chicken Breasts - Boneless skinless chicken breasts are traditionally used. You can also use chicken thighs instead with the same pressure cooking time as that for the chicken breasts.
- Ground Spices - Kashmiri red chili powder, turmeric, garam masala, and salt for marinating the chicken as well as in the sauce. These basic Indian spices add the perfect amount of heat, flavor, and a beautiful red hue to the dish.
- Ginger and Garlic - fresh ginger and garlic are used for both the chicken marinade and the sauce.
- Lemon Juice - adds brightness and helps with marination.
- Yogurt - unsweetened plain yogurt is traditionally used to marinate. You can also use plain Greek yogurt.
- Onion - I use yellow onions for most Indian curries as they lend a mildly sweet flavor when cooked, you can also use red onions instead.
- Tomatoes - Ripe plum tomatoes are perfect to make the gravy or you can substitute them with good quality boxed chopped/diced/pureed tomatoes. Store-bought diced or pureed tomatoes will add more vibrant color to the curry.
How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala
Marinate the Chicken
- Using paper towels, dry any excess moisture on the chicken. Make 2 to 3 slits in the chicken breasts and apply salt and lemon juice (photo 1)
- Mix yogurt, red chili powder, garam masala, ginger, and garlic. Apply evenly to the chicken breasts and allow them to marinate for at least 20 minutes or refrigerate overnight if marinating ahead of time. Marinating chicken for 4-5 hours or overnight is recommended (photo 2)
- Set the Instant Pot to Sauté mode and melt butter or oil (photo 3)
- Add onions and saute for 2 minutes (photo 4)
- Next, add ginger, and garlic and mix well, followed by tomatoes, turmeric, salt red chili powder, and garam masala (photo 5)
- Mix well, and then press Cancel. Add 2 tablespoons of water. Deglaze the pot if needed (photo 6)
- Place the tall trivet in the main pot and the marinated chicken over the trivet (photo 7)
- Baste the chicken with oil. Close the Instant Pot with the pressure valve to sealing. Pressure cook for 8 minutes followed by 10 minutes of natural pressure release (photo 8)
- Open the Instant Pot and take the chicken and the trivet out. Optional step - broil the cooked chicken in a preheated oven for 5 minutes to get some char marks. Cut the chicken into 2-inch chunks (photo 9)
- Using an immersion blender, blend the sauce until smooth and bring the sauce to a boil on saute mode. Stir in cream and fenugreek leaves (photo 10)
- Add the chicken to the sauce (photo 11)
- Set the Instant Pot to saute mode and bring the sauce to a gentle boil. The sauce will thicken further as it cools down. Garnish with cilantro (photo 12)
Serving
Serve with roti, Parathas, or Naan. For a gluten-free Indian meal, serve it with Cumin Rice, Steamed Basmati rice, or Brown rice. Pair it with cooling Beet Raita or cucumber raita for a complete meal. And don't forget the super-easy Mango Lassi drink to make it a 5-star meal!
How to Store
Chicken Tikka Masala is a perfect dish to make ahead as the flavors continue to develop. Any leftovers can be refrigerated for 2 to 3 days or frozen for 2 months. I would also recommend making a double batch of the sauce and freezing half of it for later.
Tips for Best Chicken Tikka Masala
- Use plain, full-fat, or Greek yogurt to marinate the chicken
- Pat dry the chicken to avoid extra liquids in the marinade
- Marinate for 4 hours or overnight
- Discard any leftover marinade or brush it on the chicken for a spicier curry
- Can substitute 1.5 cups of pureed or diced tomatoes for fresh tomatoes
- Homemade garam masala brings out authentic flavors
- Can substitute any mild red chili powder for Kashmiri red chili powder
Why Make Chicken Tikka Masala In Instant Pot
✔️ Cooked in under 30 minutes
✔️ Juicy tender cooked chicken every single time
✔️ No more multiple steps or pots and pans
✔️ Cook the sauce and the chicken at the same time using the pot-in-pot method! HUGE TIME SAVER!!
✔️ Puree the sauce directly in the main pot using an immersion blender. No need to transfer the hot curry into a blender
✔️ Miss the smoky char-grilled marks? Go ahead and broil the cooked chicken in the oven for a few minutes
More Indian Chicken Curry Recipes You'll Love
- Butter Chicken
- Chicken Korma
- Mom's Chicken Curry
- Kheema Curry
- Mughlai Chicken Korma
- Homestyle Chicken Karahi
Looking for vegetarian options or trying to include more plant-based meals in your diet? Then check out my easy vegetarian recipes for dinner.
★ Tried this recipe? I’d love to hear how it turned out! Leave a comment and let me know, or snap a quick pic and upload it—I love seeing your creations. If you’re on Instagram, tag @ministry_of_curry so I can check it out. Your feedback means so much to me and makes all the time I spend perfecting each recipe totally worth it. Thank you!
Recipe
Seriously Good Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala
Recipe Video
Ingredients
Marinate
- 1½ pounds chicken breasts
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
- 2 teaspoons Kashmiri red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 2 teaspoons ginger grated
- 2 teaspoons garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon oil for basting
Sauce/Curry
- 2 tablespoons butter or oil
- 2 medium yellow onions diced
- 1 teaspoon ginger grated
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- 3 plum tomatoes chopped or 1.5 cups diced or pureed tomatoes
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 to 2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
- ½ to 1 teaspoon garam masala
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
Garnish
- 1 tablespoon kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves) kasoori methi
- ½ cup cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Make 2 to 3 slits in the chicken breasts. Apply salt and lemon juice to the chicken breasts. Mix yogurt, red chili powder, garam masala, ginger, and garlic. Apply evenly to the chicken breasts and allow to marinate for 20 minutes or refrigerate if marinating ahead of time. Marinating chicken for 4-5 hours or overnight works well.
- Set the Instant Pot to Saute mode and heat butter or oil. Add onions and saute for 2 minutes. Add ginger, garlic and mix well. Add tomatoes, turmeric, salt red chili powder, and garam masala. Mix well. Press Cancel. Add 2 tablespoons of water. Deglaze the pot if needed.
- Place the tall trivet in the main pot. Place the marinated chicken over the trivet. Baste the chicken with oil. Close the Instant Pot with the pressure valve to sealing. Pressure Cook for 8 minutes followed by 10-minute natural pressure release.
- Open the Instant Pot. Take the chicken and the trivet out. Using an immersion blender, blend the sauce until smooth.
- Stir in cream and fenugreek leaves.
- Broil the cooked chicken in a preheated oven for 5 minutes to get some char marks (Optional). Cut the chicken into 2-inch pieces and add them to the sauce.
- Set the Instant Pot to saute mode and bring the curry to a gentle boil. The sauce will thicken further as it cools down. Garnish with cilantro.
Notes
- Use plain full-fat or greek yogurt for the marinade. You can also use dairy-free yogurt if you like
- Pat dry the chicken to avoid extra liquids in the marinade
- Discard any leftover marinade or brush it on the chicken for a spicier curry
- 1 cup of pureed tomatoes can be substituted for fresh tomatoes
- Homemade garam masala brings out the best flavors
- Any mild red chili powder can be substituted for Kashmiri red chili powder
- Dair free cream can be used in place of heavy whipping cream
Nutrition
♥ We LOVE to hear from you! Did you try this recipe? Please share your food photo with hashtag #ministryofcurry on Facebook or Instagram, so we can see it and our followers can enjoy it too! Thank you and Happy Cooking ♥ Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for tasty and easy video recipes. Looking for more Instant Pot recipes? Check out our delicious Instant Pot Recipe board on Pinterest.
Bina Thakkar says
Love your recipes Archana
Archana says
Thank you!!
mariam says
Hi Archana! This looks so good? I just recently got my instant pot so I only have the trivet that it comes with - have not had a chance to order more accessories. Is there a way to make this without the trivet or with the instant pot trivet?
Archana says
Hi Mariam, Yes the chicken will be touching the sauce ingredients but should still work.
Erin says
I made it this way and it was still amazing?
Archana says
So glad to hear
Archana says
Hi Mariam, Yes the chicken will be touching the sauce ingredients but the trivet that came with the Instant pot will work.
SR says
Made this yesterday, big hit! Will def. be making it regularly. Thank you, Archana! If I wanted to make a large quantity and bake the chicken in the oven, any idea what temp/time I should bake it for?
Archana says
Hi! Thank you for your feedback. Cut chicken into 2 inch cubes before marinating. Then bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 15 mins.
Aliyah says
Love your blog! If I didn’t have an immersions blending how else would I be able to do It?
Archana says
You can allow it to cool down and then use regular blender to blend the sauce.
Timmy Guyon says
I'm not seeing a "pressure cook" button on the instant pot. Is it labeled differently?
Archana says
Hi Timmy, Its either Pressure Cook or Manual Button
ET says
This one is killer! The sauce is beautiful.
Archana says
Thank you!
Marina says
For the chicken Tikka masala, I didn't realize we were supposed to keep the chicken whole. I already cut them up into cubes and marinated it. Any advice? The chunks are too small to sit on top of the trivet.
Archana says
Put an aluminum foil on the trivet or place them in a glass or stainless steel bowl
Asma Sethi says
Will the cook time be different if it is cut up into smaller pieces?
Archana says
Yes, for smaller pieces I usually do 5 mins of pressure cook time with 10 min natural pressure release
Asma Sethi says
This came out amazing! Tasted better the next day! Using more cream that what was prescribed to make it more creamier. Will make again!!!
Archana says
Thank you for your lovely feedback. I think Indian food always tastes better the next day
Mrunmai says
I got my first IP as mother's day gift from our 5 months old daughter 🙂 I just started using it and stumbled across your food blog. I tried this recipe yesterday night and my husband just could not stop praising me. This was the first time I made chicken tikka masala at home, we both loved the taste and thought the amounts listed here are just perfect especially for every single ingredient. Thank you for the best recipe.
Now, I am inspired to try all the other recipes you perfected and listed here. You earned a new fan!! 🙂
Archana says
Hi Mrunmai! Congratulations on your new Instant Pot. What an amazing mothers day gift. Now you will have more time to spend with your daughter and need less time cooking. Thank you for your lovely feedback on the Chicken tikka masala recipe. Looking forward to your feedback on my other recipes. Feel free to contact me with any questions.
Priya says
Hey Archana! I can’t wait to try this recipe. Can chicken thighs me substituted instead? If so, how much time in IP? Also, the quantity I am making may be too large to sit in a single layer on the trivet. I read the above comments about putting it in foil or glass bowl. Would the chicken cook evenly?
Priya
Archana says
Hi Priya! Yes you can use chicken thighs. You can layer them over each other. Just apply some oil between layers. Same cook time will work for whole thighs that are not cut up into smaller pieces. Let em know how you like it.
Priya says
It came out great. I actually had thigh pieces. I stacked it like you said. 8 min pressure and then QR. Gave it 5 minutes in the broiler. Thank you for your help Archana. Appreciate it.
Archana says
Awesome! Thank you for the feedback.
Angel says
I made this dish over the weekend and it was amazing! Thank you so much for being so generous with your recipes and sharing the love! Your recipes are truly amazing!
Archana says
Thank you for your lovely feedback ❤️
Nat says
Hi, I need to make this in a large quantity for 20 people and I am replacing chicken with panner. how long should I cook it for in IP? 15 mins?
Archana says
Hi Nat, You can make the recipe 4 times but just pressure cook the sauce. Although you are making larger qty, the pressure cook time will still be 8 minutes. And since there is no chicken you can quick release if you like after the pressure cooking cycle is completed. Then proceed to step 7 and after all the remaining ingredients are added, added paneer and cook on saute mode for 5 minutes.
Criss Helms says
May I ask what is the purple and white sauce in the picture?
Archana says
yes! Its my favorite side dish with Indian curries - beet and cuccumber raita - https://ministryofcurry.com/roasted-beetroot-and-cucumber-salad/
Criss Helms says
Thank you!
Criss says
Can you substitute half and half for the cream?
Archana says
Yes!
Criss says
Could you substitute a can of tomato sauce for the fresh tomatoes? I made this last night and it was wonderful! I want to make more today but only have one fresh tomato
Archana says
Yes you can! Use 1/3 cup of tomato sauce and remaining 1 tomato
Justina says
Hi Archana,
I received an instant pot for Christmas and decided to try your recipe for my first instant pot meal. I followed your recipe exactly and it turned out amazing! My family loves Indian dishes and they couldn’t get enough of this chicken tikka masala. Thank you so much for sharing your recipes. I can’t wait to try the others!
Archana says
Thank you for the feedback! I am so glad you enjoyed the chicken tikka masala. So easy in The instant pot right?
Sheela says
Hi I bought bone-in chicken breast by mistake. I have marinated it and plan on cooking it tonight. Is the cook time the same in the IP? Many thanks!
Archana says
I would increase the cook time to 8 mins
Rachelle Peyton says
Archana,
Thank you for your great recipes. We are loving this! I made this and we loved it so much. I did however use canned tomatoes and got burn notice twice. Had to finally finish sauce in a separate pan and only cook chicken in IP. Any suggestions? I have thought about doing the sauce in a separate dish in the instant pot above the chicken. Just checking to see if you have any other suggestions? It was still amazing.
James J Griffin says
We did this one with the naan recipe too. Genius.
Archana says
Thank you
Maggie says
I have followed other chicken tikka Masala recipes and they were NOT this good. Your recipe is legit Perfection! Can you please tell me what kind of fresh tomatoes you used. Were they large or medium sized?
My curry didn’t get your color but I only used 2 large tomatoes, afraid the tomatoes would turn the curry bitter. But next time I will use 3 large tomatoes?
Yasmin says
Loved the recipe so much!! Is there any way though to substitute heavy cream for something with a lower fat content?
Archana says
Yes you can use coconut cream or cashew cream. Simply blend cashews and warm water to make a smooth paste
Sue says
I was not able to find fenugreek leaves. Any substitute? I ended up omitting all together. Hopefully it srill works!
Archana says
Hi Sue, sorry for the delay in replying. If you do not have fenugreek leaves please omit them. They are more of a garnish.