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    Home » Instant Pot Recipes

    Instant Pot Butter Chicken

    Published: Jan 26, 2017 · Modified: May 11, 2022 by Archana · This post may contain affiliate links · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases · 200 Comments

    3778 shares
    Jump to Recipe

    Butter Chicken! Is it possible to enjoy "healthy" butter chicken without compromising on the authentic flavors? Yes!! Read on for an EASY authentic tasting butter chicken recipe in your Instant Pot that is ready in 30 minutes with an option to cook rice at the same time. Serve with rice and naan for a perfect home-cooked meal!

    Butter Chicken Served on rice in 2 bowls and naan on the side

    Punjabi Murg Makhani is also known as butter chicken and is one of the most popular Indian dishes across the globe. Smoky flavorful chicken, grilled in the tandoor with the heavenly aroma of the garam masala and fenugreek, dunked in a creamy sauce with an orangish hue from the red chili powder and turmeric - is how I reminisce this dish!

    Jump to:
    • Origins
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions
    • Serving
    • Storing
    • Recipe

    Origins

    What is the difference between Butter Chicken and Chicken Tikka Masala

    Butter Chicken is a Classic Indian restaurant/roadside Dhaba dish that is cooked in a buttery tomato-based sauce until the chicken is tender, fall-off-the-bone. Indian Butter Chicken is also a sweet and mild curry compared to Chicken Tikka Masala.

    Chicken Tikka Masala, on the other hand, is more British than an Indian dish. A national dish of England, chicken tikka masala is made by marinating chicken in warm spices mixed with yogurt and then grilling it in the tandoor-clay oven. The cooked chicken is then simmered in an onion and tomato-based creamy tangy sauce.

    I recently purchased my Instant Pot electric pressure cooker and have been loving the one-pot cooking experience! Not much cleanup, no babysitting for the food and so many healthy dishes that can be cooked in no time.

    instant pot butter chicken served over  basmati rice

    Ingredients

    • Skinless and boneless chicken thighs
    • Yellow onions, fresh ginger, and garlic paste
    • Fresh tomato puree or canned tomato puree
    • Spices - turmeric, Kashmiri red chili, garam masala, and dried fenugreek leaves
    • Coconut milk and ghee
    Instant Pot butter chicken ingredients in bowls

    This Butter Chicken recipe uses unsweetened coconut milk and ghee to get the same authentic creamy taste without having to use cream and butter. Best of all the butter chicken is ready in 30 minutes and there is no need to marinate the chicken. Try this paleo-friendly recipe and I promise it will become your new GO-TO recipe for easy weeknight dinners as well as hosting.

    instant potpal butter chicken served with basmati rice  and naan

    I am so excited to post my first Instant pot recipe! Here is my EASY Instant Pot butter chicken recipe that is now on repeat in my house.

    Instructions

    Here are step-by-step instructions with photos to show you each step. All of the steps and the ingredients are in the printable recipe card just a little further down in this post.

    Step 1: sauté onions & spices

    Set the Instant Pot on Sauté mode and heat ghee. Add onions and salt. Cook until onions are soft and translucent for 2-3 mins (with a glass lid on to speed this process). Add ginger, garlic, turmeric, and red chili powder. Mix well and cook until fragrant for 2 mins (photos 1 - 2)

    steps showing sautéing onions & spices

    Step 2: Add chicken and tomato puree

    Separate the coconut cream and water. Keep the coconut cream aside. Add only the watery portion of coconut milk and pureed tomatoes mixing with spices and deglazing the pot if needed so there is nothing sticking at the bottom. Add chicken and mix well (photos 3 – 4). 

    steps showing chicken and curry sauce

    Step 3: Optional Pot in Pot Rice

    This is an optional step to make pot in pot rice with butter chicken: To make rice, place a tall trivet over the chicken in the instant pot. Place a stainless steel pot with white rice, water, and salt over the trivet. 

    Step 4: Pressure Cook

    Close the Instant Pot lid with the steam release handle to the sealing position. Pressure cook for 8 minutes followed by a quick release. (Note: If using chicken breasts, pressure cook for 5 minutes followed by 5 mins Natural Pressure Release) 

    Step 5: Finishing ingredients & Garnish

    Open the Instant Pot, and stir in coconut cream, tomato paste, garam masala, fenugreek leaves, sugar, and half of the cilantro. Add more salt if needed. Turn the Instant Pot to Sauté mode. Cook without the lid to allow the curry to thicken for 5 minutes. If the sauce starts to splutter, set adjust to Saute(Less). Garnish with remaining cilantro (photos 5 – 8).

    Steps showing final steps for Instant Pot butter chicken

    Serving

    Serve the butter chicken with Homemade Parathas or naan, Basmati Rice or Cumin Rice, and a cooling beet cucumber raita.

    Murgh Makhani served with rice and naan

    Storing

    Any leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. You can also freeze the curry for up to 2 months.

    Did you enjoy Butter Chicken? Here are some popular Indian chicken recipes to try:

    • Chicken Korma
    • Chicken Tikka Masala
    • Mom's Chicken Curry
    • Kadai Chicken
    • Shahi Chicken Korma

    Butter chicken is always a big hit and I often make this one-pot meal when friends come over. It's quick, easy, and delicious. A gathering is not complete without dessert, so finish off the meal with a batch of Almond flour brownies. Your friends will love you for it!

    Recipe

    Tried this recipe? We love your feedback.Please click on the stars in the recipe card below
    instant pot butter chicken
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Saved!
    4.71 from 105 votes

    Instant Pot Butter Chicken

    Butter chicken is a flavorful chicken curry with heavenly aroma of the garam masala and fenugreek, in a creamy sauce with orangish hue from the red chili powder and turmeric
    Prep Time10 minutes mins
    Cook Time25 minutes mins
    Total Time35 minutes mins
    Course: Entree
    Cuisine: Indian
    Servings: 6
    Calories: 381kcal
    Author: Archana Mundhe

    Equipment

    • Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

    Ingredients

    • 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 2-inch pieces
    • 2 tablespoons ghee or coconut oil
    • 1 large yellow onion finely chopped
    • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger grated
    • 1 tablespoon fresh garlic minced
    • ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
    • 1 tablespoon Kashmiri red chili powder
    • 3 plum tomatoes pureed
    • 1 can unsweetened full fat coconut milk allow these to separate - DO NOT shake. Best if left in fridge overnight
    • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
    • 1 teaspoon garam masala
    • 2 tablespoons dried fenugreek leaves
    • 2 teaspoons sugar skip for paleo
    • 1½ teaspoon kosher salt
    • ½ cup cilantro chopped, for garnish

    Instructions

    • Set Instant Pot to Saute mode and heat ghee. Add onions and salt. Cook until onions are soft and translucent for 2-3 minutes (with a glass lid on to speed this process)
    • Add ginger, garlic, turmeric, and red chili powder. Mix well and cook until fragrant for 2 minutes.
    • Separate the coconut cream and water. Keep the coconut cream aside. Add half a cup of the watery portion of coconut milk and pureed tomatoes mixing with spices. Add chicken and stir well.
    • Close the Instant Pot lid with steam release handle to sealing. Pressure cook for 8 minutes followed by quick release. (Note: If using chicken breasts, pressure cook for 5 minutes followed by 5 minutes of natural pressure release)
    • Open the Instant Pot, stir in coconut cream, tomato paste, garam masala, fenugreek leaves, sugar, and half of the cilantro. Add more salt if needed.
    • Turn the Instant Pot to Sauté mode. Cook without the lid to allow the curry to thicken for 5 minutes. If the sauce starts to splutter, adjust to Saute(Less).
    • Garnish with remaining cilantro. Serve the butter chicken with Homemade Parathas and Basmati Rice or Cumin Rice and  Cucumber Raita. For a low-carb meal serve with Cauliflower Cumin Rice.

    Video

    Notes

    Notes:
    1. Instead of coconut milk, you can use ½ cup of water to pressure cook the chicken and then add heavy cream in the end to garnish 
    2. ¾ cup of store-bought puree can be used instead of homemade tomato puree 
    3. Skip tomato paste if you do not have it, tomato paste adds vibrant red color and thickness to the butter chicken 
    Vegetarian Options:
    • Check out my Paneer Makhani recipe that uses the same sauce for a delicious vegetarian option

    Nutrition

    Calories: 381kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 156mg | Sodium: 791mg | Potassium: 697mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 860IU | Vitamin C: 8.2mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 3.9mg
    Tried this recipe?Share your photo and tag @ministry_of_curry or tag #ministryofcurry

    ♥ 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.

    Author: Archana

    Hey there! I am a techie turned recipe developer, cooking instructor, and food blogger. I love food and enjoy developing easy and healthy recipes for busy lifestyles. I live in New Jersey with my husband and two sons.
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    Reader Interactions

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    1. Erin Fraser says

      April 18, 2019 at 2:07 pm

      I am sooooo excited to try this! One question, if I wanted to add something like frozen peas and carrots (like the little chopped up frozen ones in a bag), when during the process would I do that? Would they overcook and turn to mush if they were in during the pressure cooking?

      Reply
      • Archana says

        April 18, 2019 at 4:08 pm

        I would stir frozen peas and carrots in the end along with coconut cream to avoid over cooking

        Reply
    2. Bridget Booth says

      July 19, 2019 at 5:07 pm

      Hi hope to make tomorrow. Even got the fenugreek but now realize I don’t have right red pepper mentioned. Is there another pepper that would be comparable?

      Reply
      • Archana says

        July 19, 2019 at 5:12 pm

        Hi Bridget! Yes you can use any mild red chili pepper or paprika. If you have hotter chili pepper put only half or 1/4 the amount mentioned. You can always add more in the end. Basically Kashmiri red chili powder gives a bright orange hue to the curry without making it spicy

        Reply
        • Bridget Booth says

          July 20, 2019 at 3:56 pm

          I have ancho, cayenne, chipotle and aleppo

          Reply
          • Archana says

            July 20, 2019 at 10:18 pm

            I would add little bit if cayenne

            Reply
    3. Shiby George says

      July 28, 2019 at 6:47 pm

      Hiii. So I have a 3QT Instant Pot. I just purchased the Global Belly kit for this recipe and I wasn't sure if I would be able to make the full serving size in my 3QT Instant Pot. Please advise 🙂

      Reply
      • Archana says

        July 28, 2019 at 7:16 pm

        Hi! Yes you can make the servings as suggested in the kit in a 3Qt instant pot. Can’t wait for your feedback.

        Reply
    4. Monica says

      August 05, 2019 at 1:37 pm

      Hi Archana,

      Can I use greek yogurt instead of coconut milk? If yes, how can I alter the recipe for this change?4 stars

      Reply
      • Archana says

        August 06, 2019 at 11:14 am

        Hi Monica, yes you can use greek yogurt. Add few tablespoons of hot curry to the yogurt so the yogurt will be warm and then stir it in the curry. Also remember to add yogurt in the end after the pressure cooking cycle is complete.

        Reply
    5. Deb says

      August 13, 2019 at 2:29 pm

      Will this recipe freeze well? I want to make freezer meals for my daughter who will be on maternity leave.

      Reply
      • Archana says

        August 14, 2019 at 8:18 am

        Hi Deb, Yes freeze in smaller portions. Congratulations to you 🙂

        Reply
    6. Meghan Bennett says

      August 20, 2019 at 9:41 pm

      This was amazing. I am currently eating it for dinner right now. My daughter loves it, and my husband went in for seconds! Delicious!!!! Thank you!

      Reply
    7. Lauren says

      September 01, 2019 at 6:23 pm

      I made the sauce according to the recipe but added leftover oven roasted chicken my family did not want to eat as leftovers. I pressure cooked the bone in chicken 5 minutes before adding the coconut cream, tomato paste, etc. turned out wonderfully and I will do this again when I have leftover chicken. Perfect spices! Thanks for the recipe5 stars

      Reply
      • Archana says

        September 02, 2019 at 11:43 am

        Thank you for the lovely feedback Lauren!

        Reply
    8. Allyson says

      September 09, 2019 at 7:00 pm

      I am trying to make this but realized I am out of coconut oil! Can I use butter?

      Reply
      • Archana says

        September 09, 2019 at 7:10 pm

        Yes butter works

        Reply
    9. Ann says

      September 22, 2019 at 11:48 pm

      I made this today
      I did not have tomato paste but followed the rest of the recipe
      My family loved it!!
      Thank you

      Reply
      • Archana says

        September 23, 2019 at 9:52 am

        Thank you for the feedback ❤️

        Reply
    10. Jennifer Loveridge says

      September 27, 2019 at 6:22 pm

      Delicious. The family loved It. I did not do the additional saute to thicken because my instapot overcooks the chicken. Instead, a add a bit of cornstarch/water mix to thicken. I will make it again.5 stars

      Reply
    11. Leah says

      October 17, 2019 at 7:37 pm

      Umm...yeah...this recipe was FUN to make and the whole family DEVOURED it. I have a 2 and 4 year old. I really like your blog! I had to modify a couple things. I’m looking forward to making this again! But, next time I will make sure I have FRESH cilantro and Fenugreek leaves. I thought I had the Fenugreek but no.

      Reply
      • Archana says

        October 17, 2019 at 8:27 pm

        Thank you! I am so glad your little ones enjoyed it too.

        Reply
    12. Ludka says

      October 27, 2019 at 12:58 pm

      Just made this delicious recipe.
      My husband said I can make this more often. I didn’t have cilantro so I used chopped fresh spinach.
      Thank you for sharing this recipe 5 stars

      Reply
      • Archana says

        October 29, 2019 at 12:31 pm

        Thank you for the lovely feedback. This recipe is a FAV in my home too

        Reply
    13. Halima says

      December 17, 2019 at 7:23 pm

      Tried this today, tasted amazing. Will definitely be making it again. Thanks for the recipe5 stars

      Reply
    14. Scott J. says

      January 10, 2020 at 1:41 pm

      Made the Butter Chicken last night and my wife, my Indian wife 😉 , loved it! She thought the sauce was legit and went back for seconds, and she doesn't normally eat that much chicken when we go to Indian restaurants and order their Butter Chicken. We're heading to a friends place tomorrow to watch the NFL playoffs and thought about trying to convert this to a dip served with small Naan pieces. Arachana - any suggestions on how to make this like a Buffalo Chicken dip? Think I might just make the recipe as is, shred the chicken and fold in some yogurt or something to thicken it up. Thoughts?5 stars

      Reply
      • Archana says

        January 10, 2020 at 1:44 pm

        Thank you so much for your lovely feedback! I actually have an awesome pulled butter chicken recipe that's based on the same flavors - https://ministryofcurry.com/pulled-butter-chicken-sandwiches/
        Let me know if you have any questions.

        Reply
        • Scott J. says

          January 10, 2020 at 5:42 pm

          Ah yes that would work, but I think it needs to be heavier on the sauce and less on the chicken so it's more dip-able. And I apologize, Archana, I misspelled your name in my previous post.

          Reply
    15. Bijal says

      February 01, 2020 at 3:51 pm

      We are not a big fan of using coconut milk what can we use instead. Is there a non paleo version

      Reply
      • Archana says

        February 07, 2020 at 12:14 pm

        Yes, you can use heavy cream instead.

        Reply
    16. Tirra says

      February 07, 2020 at 12:32 am

      Made this tonight and it was so good!! I dont have an instant pot though, are there any changes you suggest when just cooking on the stovetop?4 stars

      Reply
      • Archana says

        February 07, 2020 at 12:08 pm

        Thank you! When cooking on the stove, stir it a few times after adding chicken so it cooks evenly and add extra water as needed. Would love a 5-star rating from you 🙂

        Reply
    17. Gail says

      March 06, 2020 at 12:35 pm

      I am making this tomorrow & would like to make Basmati rice - Pot in Pot. Any suggestions if this will work? I would be feeding 4 people.

      Reply
      • Archana says

        March 06, 2020 at 5:30 pm

        Yes! Place a tall trivet over the chicken. Then place the rice bowl. 1 cup basmati rice, 1.5 cups water + 1 teaspoon salt. It will work great.

        Reply
    18. Shloka says

      April 07, 2020 at 9:49 am

      Hi Archana,

      Looking forward to trying this! What is your recommendation if we want to use paneer instead? I have frozen paneer that I would like to use up but unsure of how to add/cook it (time and temp) in the insta pot. Thank you!

      Reply
      • Archana says

        April 07, 2020 at 10:24 am

        Hi Shloka! I just added details to the notes. Hope you find it useful. Its super yummy with paneer.

        Reply
    19. Saba says

      April 08, 2020 at 9:32 am

      Hi Archana,

      Can’t wait to try this recipe! I’m about to cook. How much heavy cream if I don’t want to use coconut milk? Will let you know how it turns out. Thanks

      Reply
      • Archana says

        April 09, 2020 at 10:38 am

        Sorry, just catching up to this. 1/2 cup but more or less depending on how creamy you like

        Reply
    20. kim says

      April 11, 2020 at 6:10 pm

      Is there anything I can substitute for pureed plum tomatoes? I have tomato paste, or tomato sauce, or fresh hot house tomatoes. Everything but!

      Reply
      • Archana says

        April 11, 2020 at 6:34 pm

        Use tomato sauce, if it has salt you may want to adjust the salt a tiny bit in the recipe and if the sauce is too sour, add extra 1 teaspoon of sugar or sweetener to balance it out.

        Reply
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    Hi, I'm Archana: a former software engineer, now a full-time blogger. I am a mother of two boys who share my love for food and cooking. Words I love to hear are, “Mom, what’s for dinner?” The same words I say to my mom every time we speak. I live in the greater New York City Area with my husband and sons.

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