Last updated on June 6th, 2018 at 02:10 pm
Now you can have restaurant style butter chicken homemade and in only 30 minutes. This Instant Pot Butter Chicken is extraordinary with a rich and creamy sauce and a fantastic blend of spices.
As promised, here’s my super easy butter chicken recipe that’s done in 30 minutes start to finish in an Instant Pot. I am absolutely in love with my Instant Pot and I’m just wondering what took me so long to get one. Doesn’t matter, it’s here to stay and I’m super happy with it, especially when it’s so easy to make my favorite Indian dish, butter chicken.
MY LATEST VIDEOSI’ve made butter chicken before because as I’ve just mentioned, it is my favorite, but it was always something that would take me over an hour. I mean it takes longer to order butter chicken from a restaurant and have it delivered, but as I always say homemade is always better.
I love Indian food in general but for some reason butter chicken is always my go to dish. I think it’s the rich and creamy tomato sauce that I love so much and that chicken that practically melts in your mouth. Which is why I love to use chicken thighs for this dish but chicken breast works as well. Totally up to you.
The great part about using the Instant Pot to make this is that the chicken cooks really quick, 5 minutes to be exact. The reason this takes a bit longer is because you have to wait for the Instant Pot to be cool enough and all the pressure gone so that you can open the lid safely.
The thing that might scare you away from making butter chicken are all the spices. What I usually do is once or twice a month I’ll buy a spice that I don’t have, so within a few months you have all sort of spices and it won’t feel like you had to spend all that money at once. I’ve been doing this for a while now and you should see my spice cabinet. One of these days I’ll take a picture and show you guys. The great thing is that spices do tend to last for a few years, so you have plenty of time to use them all. I recommend storing spices in a cool and dark cupboard, away from direct heat or sunlight.
Check out the video to see just how super easy it is to make this butter chicken and what a great way to use that Instant Pot!
Love Instant Pot recipes? Try these out:
If you try this recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #jocooks on Instagram so we can see it. I always love to see what you guys come up with!
Now you can have restaurant style butter chicken homemade and in only 30 minutes. This Instant Pot butter chicken is extraordinary with a rich and creamy sauce and a fantastic blend of spices.
- 3 tbsp butter unsalted
- 8 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tsp fresh ginger minced (or paste)
- 1 cup tomato puree or passata
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp coriander ground
- 1 tsp cumin ground
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 lbs chicken thighs boneless and skinless, cut into pieces
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 2 tbsp parsley chopped
Turn your Instant Pot to the saute setting. (See your manufacturer's guide for detailed instructions on how to use your instant pot.)
Add the butter and cook until the butter has melted. Add the garlic and ginger and saute for another minute or until the garlic becomes aromatic. Do not cook too long because you don't want to burn it.
Add the tomato puree and tomato paste to the Instant Pot and stir. Add the garam masala, coriander, cumin, paprika, turmeric and salt to the Instant Pot, stir and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes.
Add the chicken thighs, water and stir everything together. There should be enough liquid in the pot to cover the chicken, so add more water if needed.
Close the lid (follow the manufacturer's guide for instructions on how to close the instant pot lid). Set the Instant Pot to the Poultry setting and set the timer to 5 minutes.
Once the Instant Pot cycle is complete, wait until the natural release cycle is complete, should take about 10 minutes. Follow the manufacturer's guide for quick release, if in a rush. Carefully unlock and remove the lid from the instant pot.
Switch the Instant Pot to the saute setting (do not put the lid on). Add the whipping cream and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce should thicken and reduce a bit. You don't want it to reduce too much.
Turn off the Instant Pot and garnish with fresh parsley. Serve warm over rice and with naan.
Recipe Video
I strongly recommend reading the manufacturer's guide for instructions on how to use your Instant Pot before attempting this recipe.
Chicken breasts can also be used.
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
★ Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to give it a star rating below!
Excellent recipe – has become a regular in our Instant Pot rotation. I did some minor tweaking (added a bit more salt, cut chicken into pieces AFTER it was cooked, removed chicken from the pot after cooking – before reducing the sauce, and reduced it for far longer as we like the sauce thicker), but this recipe is fine as is! Thanks VERY much for creating it!
My pleasure, so glad you like it!
Made it according to recipe. Use spanish paprika, hot. Excellent.
This is so easy. Prep time for chicken takes longer than it cooks. Plus it freezes too. As I am single , I will have many meals from this one dish. I love my Instant Pot!!!
The IP is my favorite kitchen tool! It’s amazing. We’re happy you love the recipe!
Delicious!
This looks soooo good and easy! If i wanted to add some yukon gold potatoes (we are a carb-loving family), how would you modify the recipe/cooking times?
Cut them into small bite-sized pieces they will cook in the same time as the chicken.
I just made this today. I used cream of coconut instead of whipping cream. Mine also was kinda runny. But I only made 1/2 of the recipe which was perfect for one person.
This has become a regular recipe in our house. We LOVE this recipe. We follow it exactly as described and serve with rice and a side salad, and for two people this is enough for lunch the next day for both. SO GOOD!
I’m so happy you like it!
First time trying this butter chicken in the instant pot. It is so delicious. I used tomato sauce instead of purée. Used half and half instead of whipping cream. So yummy. Thanks for the recipe
how would i double the recipe?
To double the recipe multiply each ingredient by 2. You can also hover your cursor above the number of servings in the recipe card, and change how many servings you’re looking for.
great recipe! and it’s so fast!
This recipe is absolutely delish! I substituted the 1 cup of cream with a coconut milk and parsley with cilantro, but otherwise perfect. Thanks!
how did it turn out with coconut milk? I want to throw in some coconut oil for some coco flavor…
Very good recipe. Even better than the Butter Chicken I have had in the past. It is definitely on my husband’s approved list!
Yay! That’s what I love to hear. 🙂
This is a frequent go-to recipe for me. I also made it for my college-age daughter when she was home on break, and I had to send the spices with her so she could make it in her own IP! The chicken thighs are truly the magic with this recipe. Sometimes I don’t always have the listed ingredients, so I’ve experimented with adding onions, other veggies, yogurt instead of cream, etc., and it always turns out great. Thanks for the recipe!
so delicious! prep not to bad pother than mincing 8 cloves of garlic and grating 2 tsp of ginger, subbed 1 can of diced tomato and 2 tbsp of ketchup for original ingredients
My husband said this is his new favorite recipe I’ve made. My four children loved it too. I added chopped spinach at the end with the cream. I try to add veggies to everything.
Interesting, I bet the spinach was really nice.
This turned out great! We visit Indian restaurants all the time but I could seriously eat this over most restaurants any day. I had to thicken mine a little. Even setting it on sauté for a while it didn’t reduce down enough. Loved it!
When I need to reduce a sauce like this a little more quickly I just throw in a palmful of basmati rice or stoneground corn grits and let it cook for about 10-15 minutes. Works like a charm.