Instant Pot Butter Chicken
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Yes, you can EASILY make restaurant-quality butter chicken right in your pressure cooker! The flavors are amazing and the chicken is perfectly melt-in-your-mouth tender! Serve with rice and naan for the best home-cooked meal ever.
It’s been so good to be home.
With endless cuddles with Butters. And his hot, rancid fish breath right in front of my face.
It’s been absolutely great. That and having this butter chicken in bed.
The best part about it though?
The Instant Pot, of course!
The chicken comes out perfectly every single time, with all the flavors melding just right.
No, wait. I lied.
The best part is all the toasted naan that you get to dip in the leftover sauce.
Instant Pot Butter Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 cup basmati rice
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- ½ sweet onion, diced
- 1 small red bell pepper, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoons garam masala
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, optional
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
- 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
- ½ cup chicken stock
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Instructions
- In a large saucepan of 2 cups water, cook rice according to package instructions; set aside.
- Set a 6-qt Instant Pot® to the high saute setting. Add butter, onion and bell pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in garlic, ginger, garam masala, turmeric, paprika, cumin and cayenne pepper, if using, until fragrant, about 1 minute; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Stir in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken stock and chicken.
- Select manual setting; adjust pressure to high, and set time for 10 minutes. When finished cooking, quick-release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions.
- In a small bowl, whisk together heavy cream and flour; set aside.
- Select high sauté setting. Stir in heavy cream mixture and cook, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in cilantro; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately with rice.
Did you make this recipe?
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Hello! I have an 8qt pot – Do I need to add more chicken stock or heavy cream? If so, should i adjust anything anything about the recipe? Thanks!
Don’t normally write reviews.. this was easy, delicious.. and my kids are it up! This is a keeper!
Made this tonight! The chicken turned out perfectly cooked. I do think there is a little something missing here, maybe sweetness as one other reviewer commented. I would definitely make it again with some broccoli for some added greens!
Absolutely delicious. Made it exactly as written. Will definitely make again.
Excellent recipe. Easy to do and quick.
Maria
Look no further for a butter chicken recipe. This is the one. Absolutely delicious and easy to prepare – our new favorite! I always use chicken thighs so that’s the only deviation I took on this recipe. Can’t wait to make it again!
WOW This was the third meal I made in my Instant Pot. We love Indian food but I had never attempted it at home before. My husband said this is just as good as what we get at our favorite local restaurant and I agree. The chicken was tender and the flavor profile was perfect. Using two pounds of chicken, I should have had leftovers but that didn’t happen. Highly Recommended!
I can’t wait to try this but quick question as I’m new to the instant pot. If I double the recipe do I change my cook time?
I read thru the mostly positive reviews and there were a few that said there as no flavor. I’m not sure what they did wrong. This is delicious. Just as it is. And so easy. Thanks for all the yummy recipes!!!
I think it was super flavorful but I felt it needed a little hint of sweetness to round out the other flavors… so we added a little bit of brown sugar and it helped. But I think I may try adding chopped pineapple to the pot when we’re sautéing the ginger and spices next time. What I’m the most excited about is that I didn’t F up the chicken! I’m new to instant pot and the chicken turns out perfectly cooked in this recipe! This was definitely delish and I will be making this again! My family loved this!
Gonna try this tomorrow, do you think it would be a problem to sub an equal amount of coconut milk for the heavy cream?
FANTASTIC!!!!PERFECT!!!!I did sub coconut milk for the heavy cream ,worked perfect..
Fantastic and this is the friendly version of my excitement. I chose this recipe because of the ratio of tomato sauce to diced tomatoes helped with the consistency; it wouldn’t come out watery. I did add
Fenugreek spice as an addition. I also cite the chicken breasts into cubes and added salt and pepper for 10 hours, but two hours would be suffice. This recipe is easy and delicious. It tastes just like the dish from a restaurant. Spectacular flavors. Thank you!
OMG. This was the best first attempt recipe I have ever made in my entire old lady life. We love Indian food and have few options where we live so I am absolutely giddy with the realization that I can make great Indian food right in my own kitchen. I included the cayenne pepper (will increase a little next time) and skipped the cilantro because my husband doesn’t like it; I used thighs instead of breast with good result and I will double the chicken for more meat density next time, but otherwise it is just perfect. Another reviewer wondered about extra veggies; I blackened red and yellow peppers which paired well.
Made this for dinner last night, and it was amazing! It was so simple and easy to make with spices already in the pantry. We ate this with Trader Joe’s naan and it was comforting, warm and delicious. The only step I’ll switch up next time will be to salt/pepper the chicken before it goes into the Instant Pot. Thank you so much for this excellent recipe!
This recipe calls for “1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves, divided.” But I only see one place in the recipe where cilantro is used – where it’s stirred in at the very end. I’m making this recipe this week, and just want to make sure that I’m not missing a step somewhere that explains for what purpose the cilantro is divided.
You are correct, Liddy. The cilantro is stirred in during step 6 only. 🙂
Okay, thanks! I actually decided to make this for last night’s dinner, so I went ahead and stirred the cilantro in just before serving. My husband and I loved the way the butter chicken turned out! So good! Your recipe blog is my favorite, and I recommend it to friends often. I’ve got some chicken thighs I need to use, so tonight’s dinner will be your Instant Pot Lemon Chicken Thighs recipe, along with baked potatoes and roasted brussel sprouts!
Sounds so amazing, Liddy!
I want to add veggies to this for extra nutrition. Which would you recommend and can I cook the veggeis with the chicken, or should I steam or sautee them separately?
It may be best to steam/saute separately as they may get overcooked with the chicken but as always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications. Good luck, Lia! 🙂
Looking to make this soon! Any recommendations on how to prepare w/o onions? Celery for the texture and onion powder for flavor
Absolutely! What great modifications, Rose! 🙂
This was easy and absolutely delicious!
This was absolutely delicious! Can’t wait for leftovers tomorrow!
This is the a family favorite!!!! I make this at least 2-3 times per month. Super easy and delicious.