Instant Pot Butter Chicken

Make restaurant-style Instant Pot butter chicken with authentic taste following this Indian butter chicken recipe. This is a quick and easy Butter Chicken recipe. It’s rich, creamy, not too spicy, buttery, and packed full of flavors. 

Jump to:

• Butter chicken instant pot
• Spiced you’ll need to make instant pot butter chicken
• Ingredients you’ll need
• How to make butter chicken recipe instant pot
• To make it whole30 complaint
• Expert tips
• More curry recipes
• 📋Instant Pot Butter Chicken
• Recipe Notes

Butter chicken instant pot

This buttery tomato-base curry is a favorite side dish at any Indian Restaurant. Chicken cooked in rich butter sauce packed with amazing flavors! Everybody LOVES BUTTER CHICKEN.  Making butter chicken at home is easier than you think. Spices used in the recipe can be easily found at Indian stores.

Instant Pot butter chicken is the ultimate comfort food. This decadent butter chicken curry is one of the greatest recipes from Indian cuisine.

This recipe is as authentic as it can get. You are about to cook THE most delicious and authentic Butter Chicken recipe.

If you are looking for a short cut, quick and easy chicken curry using curry powder, you should try this everyday chicken curry recipe.

Curry powder is great, but it definitely lacks the complex flavors that a curry should have like what you would find in Indian restaurants.

Indian cooking is not too complicated as one might think. Yes, the array of spices used is a bit elaborate but trust me each one of the spices adds a layer of taste to the curry. 

If you see a recipe use coconut milk and not cream you must know it’s not authentic recipe! In India you won’t find any restaurants or house holds making this curry with coconut milk!

Also if there is no butter, I’m not sure if it deserves to be called ‘butter chicken’!!! Butter chicken with NO BUTTER?! A big no corn starch to thicken the curry sauce, no way!

Spiced you’ll need to make instant pot butter chicken

Few spices are MUST –

• Red chili powder (can be substituted with cayenne pepper if you can’t get Indian spices)
• Cumin powder
• Coriander powder (don’t skip this)
• Turmeric powder (don’t skip this as well, for that gorgeous vibrant curry)
• Garam masala (this is a special Indian masala powder, added at the end of cooking)
• Kasuri Methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

Alternatively use just these 3 spice powders together-

• Curry powder (store-bought or homemade)
• Chili powder
• and Garam masala powder

Ingredients you’ll need

You’ll need –

• Onions
• Butter
• Ghee (this is Indian clarified butter, optional to use, use double the amount of butter if you skip ghee)
• Chicken (thighs boneless, skinless are great, you  can use chicken breasts as well)
• Tomato puree + paste (canned tomatoes or fresh homemade tomato puree)
• Ginger + Garlic
• Red chili powder (can be substituted with cayenne pepper if you have hard finding Indian spices)
• Cumin powder
• Coriander powder (don’t skip this)
• Turmeric powder (don’t skip this, for that gorgeous vibrant curry)
• Garam masala (this is a special Indian masala powder, added last to the curry)
• Salt to taste
• Fresh cream (to adapt this recipe to Whole 30 complaint use coconut milk in place of fresh cream).
• Cilantro leaves

I have seen chives/green onions used for garnish. As an Indian, I can assure you we don’t use green onions for garnish especially when it’s not one of the ingredients. And no sesame seeds too, please!

How to make butter chicken recipe instant pot

1. Heat butter and ghee in an instant pot in saute setting.
2. Sauté finely chopped onions with constant stirring until onions turn pale pink color.
3. Cook ginger + garlic paste.
4. Add tomato puree and tomato paste, and, cook with constant stirring for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add all the spice powders except garam masala and dried fenugreek leaves.
6. Add chicken pieces and stir well to ensure chicken is coated well in sauce.
7. Pour ¾ cup of water, close lid, and cook using Poultry setting set for 10 minutes.
8. Natural release of pressure for 10 minutes in resting mode.
9. Open the lid, add cream, stir, simmer for 3 minutes.
10. Sprinkle garam masala. Smash dried fenugreek leaves between both palms, and add them to an instant pot of butter chicken. Stir well.
11. Garnish with cilantro leaves!

Viola thick, creamy, rich, perfect butter chicken curry is ready.

Butter Chicken is best served with rice cooked in Instant Pot and fresh homemade naan.

To make it whole30 complaint

To adapt this delicious butter chicken recipe to whole30 complaint, please replace the following ingredients with the mentioned whole30 compliant ingredients. We missed out on this section earlier. So updated as per a comment from a reader.

Replace

Dairy clarified butter(ghee) and butter with dairy free butter

Diary cream with full-fat coconut milk

Expert tips

1. Onions and tomatoes are the base of this curry with loads of other flavors from ginger, garlic, and spice powders. Use fresh vegetables. Do NOT use onion powder, ginger powder, or garlic powder.
2. Use a mix of butter and ghee for an aromatic, rich curry. Double the amount of butter if you are not using ghee.
3. Garam masala is one of the main spice powders in this curry. It has to be added at the end of cooking!
4. Whole spices can be added to curry for robust flavors. Add one small bay leaf, 2 whole cardamom and, ¼ inch piece of cinnamon stick to melted butter just before sautéing the onions.
5. I highly recommend using tomato puree and tomato paste instead of whole tomatoes. Adding tomato puree will help thicken the curry.
6. Always use freshly pound ginger-garlic paste. The aroma and taste of fresh ground pasta are a whole lot better than store-bought paste.
7. Fresh cream should be added after the chicken is fully cooked with Instant Pot turned off. The cream will splutter and split if you add it to boiling curry.
8. No corn flour, please. This curry is naturally thick enough, from finely diced onion, and tomato puree.
9. Chicken thighs(boneless, skinless) work great. It keeps the pieces moist. Chicken breasts can also be used.
10. Dried fenugreek leaves are a traditional Indian dried spice/herbs used extensively in curries. Usually, it’s crushed between palms and added to butter chicken in the end. Skip if you can’t find it.

OTHER INSTANT POT FAVORITES –

You must also try our other favorite Instant Pot recipes –

• INSTANT POT APPLE CIDER
• EASY-TO-PEEL INSTANT POT HARD BOILED EGGS
• INSTANT POT SWEET POTATOES
• INSTANT POT GENERAL TSO CHICKEN
• HOW TO BOIL PEANUTS IN INSTANT POT
• INSTANT POT CHICKEN PARMESAN MEATBALLS
• INSTANT POT BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP
• INSTANT POT CHICKEN STEW
• SPICY CAJUN INSTANT POT CHICKEN AND RICE
• CREAMY INSTANT POT CHICKEN MARSALA
• INSTANT POT ROASTED POTATOES
• INSTANT POT SPINACH AND CHICKEN CURRY
• CREAMY INSTANT POT MAC N CHEESE
• HOW TO COOK RICE IN INSTANT POT

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