Instant pot butter chicken is made from a buttery cream sauce with the perfect amount of Indian spices. It is kid friendly and easy to make!
Spiced to perfection with lovely aromatics, this butter chicken is a dish the entire family will love. I love that it can be made quickly in the instant pot when I need a quick and easy weeknight dish. For more tasty Indian inspired dishes try Chickpea Curry or Lentil Curry.
Delicious Indian Cuisine!
Butter chicken is named such because it is prepared with makhani (butter) gravy. This tasty sauce, which incorporates butter and cream, is poured over tender cuts of chicken and cooked in a mildly spicy tomato sauce.
It is similar to Tikka Masala as both have complex flavor profiles, however butter chicken is more “kid friendly” and tastes mostly like butter.
Ingredient Tips
Chicken: Most recipes use chicken thighs, but you could also use chicken breasts for a leaner cut. It will have a slightly different texture.
Whipping Cream: Instead of traditional whipping cream you could use coconut cream, which is a non dairy option and also gives a great flavor! If you just don’t have whipping cream you can use heavy cream or half and half.
What Is Garam Masala? It is a mix of ground spices that is popular in multiple Asian countries.
Making Butter Chicken in the IP
SAUTE. Turn Instant Pot to SAUTE mode. Once hot, add the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the onion and saute for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the garlic and ginger, cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
COMBINE. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, garam masala, coriander, both paprika, cumin, tumeric, salt, and pepper. Cook for 3 minutes, then add in chicken thighs and chicken broth.
PRESSURE COOK. Place lid on and lock. Check to ensure the valve is set to sealing. Turn Instant Pot on MANUAL mode (high pressure) for 15 minutes. Once fully cooked, release pressure manually by carefully switching the valve to the venting position. Once the float valve pin drops, carefully remove the lid.
CREAM. Turn the Instant Pot on SAUTE mode. Add cream and let sit for 5 minutes.
SERVE. Serve immediately, garnish with fresh parsley.
Crockpot directions: Mix together the chicken broth and spices in the crockpot before adding the chicken. Cook it on low for 4 hours. Right before serving, add in the cream and stir until combined.
Serving and Storing
What to serve with:
- Steamed veggies!
- Chickpeas (roasted or in salad form)
- Rice (We love basmati rice or coconut rice!)
- Naan Bread
STORE your chicken in the fridge in an airtight container; it will last for 4-5 days.
You can REHEAT the chicken in a pot on the stovetop or in the microwave. Put your butter chicken on the stovetop and rewarm on medium heat for about 15 minutes. Or zap it in the microwave for 3 minutes in 30 second intervals until it’s warmed through.
You can FREEZE this cooked or uncooked. Either way make sure to put it in an air-tight and freezer safe container for up to 3 months. You can defrost it and then bake it. Or bake from frozen and add a couple more minutes.
For more Indian dishes, try:
Instant Pot Butter Chicken Recipe
Recommended Products
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 yellow onion - thinly sliced
- 8 cloves garlic - minced
- 1/2 tsp ginger - freshly grated
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tablespoon coriander
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp kosher sea salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tbsp parsley - freshly chopped
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot to SAUTE mode. Once hot, add the butter. When the butter is melted, add the onion and sauté for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the garlic and ginger; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, garam masala, coriander, both paprikas, cumin, turmeric, salt, and pepper. Cook for 3 minutes, then add in the chicken thighs and chicken broth.
- Place the lid on and lock. Check to ensure the valve is set to sealing.
- Turn the Instant Pot to MANUAL mode (high pressure) for 15 minutes. Once fully cooked, release the pressure manually by carefully switching the valve to the venting position. Once the float valve pin drops, carefully remove the lid.
- Turn the Instant Pot back to SAUTE mode. Add the cream and let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Serve immediately and garnish with fresh parsley.
This is a family favorite! Delicious!
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing butter chicken recipe! Will surely have this again! It’s really easy to make and it tasted so delicious! Highly recommended!
Absolutely fantastic! I will absolutely make this again!
This is so good!! Everyone at my house really loved it!
This was delicious! All we were missing was some garlic nan bread. My husband kept saying that it tasted like I had gotten it from a restaurant.