Chicken Tikka Masala, a restaurant favorite, is a rich-creamy tomato-based curry with chicken marinated in yogurt, red chili powder, turmeric, and garam masala.
Chicken Tikka Masala is a restaurant-favorite Indian Curry with chunks of marinated chicken in a rich-creamy tomato-based sauce. Traditionally, the marinated chicken is grilled in a tandoor oven before adding it to the creamy curry. Many places like Northern India, Scotland, and the United Kingdom claim to be the birthplace of this curry. It has also been declared Britain’s National Dish and popularly known as Tiki or Tikki Masala in the US!
Instant Pot
So why do I like to cook Chicken Tikka Masala in the Instant Pot? Here are just a few reasons:
- I have been making Chicken Tikka Masala with the traditional method for years. And everyone who has will agree that it involves multiple steps and uses multiple pots and pans. The bigger problem to me, many times I ended up with dry, overcooked chicken. With Instant Pot, the chicken is tenderly cooked every single time.
- With Instant Pot, I can cook the sauce and the chicken at the same time! HUGE TIME SAVER!! I like to cook the chicken on a tall trivet and not in the sauce directly to maintain the traditional texture and consistency of this dish.
- The sauce cooked in the main pot is then pureed to a creamy consistency using an immersion blender in the pot itself! No need to transfer the hot curry into a blender.
- Lastly, if you miss that smoky char-grilled flavor, simply broil the cooked chicken in the oven or using an air-fryer lid.
Note: If you don’t own an Instant Pot I’ve got you covered. Here’s my easy Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala.
Tips
Here are my PRO tips for no-fail Chicken Tikka Masala in the Instant Pot:
- Use plain, full-fat, or greek yogurt for the marinade
- Pat dry the chicken to avoid extra liquids in the marinade
- Marinate for 4 hours or overnight
- Discard any leftover marinade or brush on the chicken for spicier curry
- Can substitute 1.5 cups of pureed or diced tomatoes for fresh tomatoes
- Homemade garam masala brings out the authentic flavors
- Can substitute any mild red chili powder for Kashmiri red chili powder
Steps
Here is my easy Step by step recipe:
Step 1: 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 it to marinate for 20 minutes or refrigerate if marinating ahead of time. Marinating chicken for 4-5 hours or overnight works well (photos 1 – 4).
Step 2: Set the Instant Pot to Sauté mode and melt butter or oil. Add onions and saute for 2 minutes. Next, add ginger, garlic and mix well, followed by tomatoes, turmeric, salt red chili powder, and garam masala. Mix well, and then press Cancel. Add 2 tablespoons of water. Deglaze the pot if needed (photos 5 – 8).
Step 3: Place the tall trivet in the main pot and 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 minutes natural pressure release (photos 9 – 10).
Step 4: Open the Instant Pot. After that, take the chicken and the trivet out. Using an immersion blender, blend the sauce until smooth and bring the sauce to boil on saute mode (photos 11 – 14).
Step 5: Stir in cream, fenugreek leaves, and sugar. Note the optional step is to broil the cooked chicken for 5 minutes to get some char marks. Cut the chicken into 2-inch chunks and add it to the sauce. 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 (photos 15 – 16).
Serving
Serve with warm naan or homemade Parathas. For a gluten-free Indian meal, serve it with Cumin Rice, Steamed Basmati rice, Brown rice. Pair it with cooling Beet Raita to make a complete meal. And don’t forget the super-easy Mango Lassi drink to make it a 5-star meal!
Tip – I LOVE the naan from Trader Joe’s – both frozen and not frozen ones. Also, the fresh naan at Whole Foods are delicious
Video
Enjoy Indian curries? Here are some of my popular Instant Pot curry recipes:
- Healthy “Butter” Chicken
- Prawn Masala
- Weeknight Staple Chicken Korma Curry
- Mom’s Authentic Chicken Curry
- Indian Fish Curry
- Quick and Easy Kheema Curry
- Royal Mughlai Chicken Korma
- Spicy 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.
Recipe
Chicken Tikka Masala – Instant Pot
Ingredients
Marinate:
- 1.5 pounds chicken breasts
- 1.5 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
- 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 to 2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1/2 cup cream
- 1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves kasoori methi
- 2 teaspoons sugar optional
- 1/2 cup cilantro chopped for garnish
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 and bring the sauce to boil on saute mode.
- Stir in cream, fenugreek leaves, and sugar. Note the optional step is to broil the cooked chicken for 5 minutes to get some char marks. Cut the chicken into 2-inch pieces and add them to the sauce. 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.
Video
Notes
- Use plain full fat or greek yogurt for the marinade
- Pat dry the chicken to avoid extra liquids in the marinade
- Discard any leftover marinade or brush it on the chicken for 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
Nutrition
Note: The original recipe posted in Apr 2018 has been updated with detailed step by step photos.
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Mallika Rangarajan says
Hi Archana!
This maybe a stupid question, but is the Instant Pot the same as a Pressure Cooker? I just have a Slow Cooker. Can that be used instead?
Thank you for your time dear!
Blessings!
Mallika
Archana says
Hi Mallika, yes Instant Pot is similar to pressure cooker. Except you do not have to count the whistles. I am actually working on publishing a slow cooker Chicken Tikka Masala right now. You will have the recipe on the website next week. Let me know if you have any questions. Happy Cooking!
Eric says
Used kefir in the marinade and coconut milk instead of cream, and no sugar. Slightly healthier, still amazing. Also used mix of breast and thighs. Excellent flavor. Make sure to add enough salt!
Archana says
Thank you Eric for your detailed feedback. I am going to try with Kefir, what a great idea!
IS says
I did the following:
-Used coconut milk instead of cream.
-Marinated the chicken with Shan’s tikka masala. for 20 minutes. Wished I had more time.
-Since I had used my small chopper for mincing onions and tomatoes, the cooked gravy was smooth. Hence I did not need the immersion blender.
Thank you for the recipe. Came out great. Everyone loved it !!
Archana says
Thank you for the detailed feedback!
Benazir Baig says
Hello,
Any other recommendations instead of cream? Can I use yogurt?
Archana says
You can use coconut cream or cashew cream (simply blend cashews until smooth with water). Yogurt might make it too sour.
Toni Lynn says
I tried this recipe today and it came out excellent! We cut the chicken into chunks to marinate instead of cooking whole breasts. I couldn’t find fenugreek leaves, so I omitted it, and I didn’t add the sugar. Thank you for posting this recipe, I will use it again and again.
Archana says
Thank you so much for taking time for this lovely feedback.
Rema says
I just finished making you recipe and it is excellent! I omitted the fenugreek leaves, do you have a substitute suggestion?
Archana says
Hi Rema, you can skip fenugreek leaves as its just a garnish. There is no good substitute.
Swati says
I usually get the chicken breast tenderloins instead of big breast or thigh pieces. How much do I need to pressure cook those? Will 8 mins make them over cook?
Archana says
Cook for 5 mins. Hope I am not too late to reply.
Sharon says
I made it as is, and it was delicious! My kids (5 year old and 2 year old) devoured it. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Archana says
Thank you for the feedback! So glad your little ones enjoyed it too.
Shri D says
Amazing recipe and really delicious. Loved it.
Hetal says
I have always been hesitant making chicken tikka masala because of how complicated it looks and the amount of dishes. I decided to try this one and it was such a hit! Better than restaurants and so good! The kids loved it as well!
I used chicken tenders and cooked it for 5 minutes with a 6 minute release. Also used a 14oz can of whole peeled tomatoes. I just squished it apart with my hands and then put it into the instant pot. It turned out great!
Archana says
Thank you Hetal
Jennifer says
Hi!
Love your recipes! For this one though, i kept getting the dreaded ‘burn’ no matter what i tried. Could you please let me know why it could’ve happened and maybe suggest a workaround if in case if happens again?
Thanks much!
Jen & Presh
Archana says
Hi Jen, I am so sorry you got the burn. I have used minimal water in this recipe so the sauce is not too watery. Make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot before you start layering the chicken over. Press cancel to get out of saute to the pot does not continue evaporate the liquids inside. Additionally you can add 2 extra tablespoons of water to the onions and tomato and scrape off any browned bits from sautéing .
Shital Lakhani says
I made this tonight and it was a hit! I doubled it in the pot and it fit perfectly. The kids loooved it.
Archana says
Thank you!!
Judy says
Awesome just as it is. Can this be doubled in the instant pot?
Archana says
yes you can double with same cook times.
Anu says
Archana, great recipe. It came out really spicy (husband loved it but Was too much for father in law). Can you recommend a good brand for Kashmiri chili powder? I think mine is just super spicy.
Archana says
Try swad or Rani brand.
Meeta says
Love this recipe!! It was fairly easy to prepare and the flavors are amazing! I’ll definitely be making this again soon!
Angelina Sales says
This was DELICIOUS! Husband’s favorite dish and he loved this version. loved how quick it was. I had a quick questions for nex time… kinda a dumb one too. I normally make Chicken Tikka Masala the traditionally way -char the chicken on skewers then add to sauce. With the Instapot, I know I can char the chicken but just wondering if you char the chicken with the sauce still inside the pot, or do you transfer the sauce out before charing the chicken then return sauce back into thepot? Not sure if leaving sauce in pot will burn it or not.
Thank you
Heather Day says
What a delicious and fun recipe to make in the Instant Pot. A little too spicy for us, will make adjustments next time and will try it with coconut milk too!
Now time to find some other recipes to try.
Thank you
D says
I don’t usually comment on any of the millions of food blogs out there, but this recipe really blew my mind. It’s so good!
I’m going to make a huge batch and freeze it in parts to simply add chicken or potatoes or paneer or whatever sounds good as I need.
I’ve tried a lot of Chicken Tikka Masala recipes and this one is just amazing.
Thank you.
Shru says
This was super yummy n quick .. I used combination of drumstick and cut breast piece.. 5 min + 10 min NPR worked perfect for me …thanks for the recipe meeta
Shruti says
Hi Archana
Yummy and quick .. I used drumstick n breast pieces chunks.. 5 min + 10 wait worked perfect… thank you for the lovely recipe ..