Instant Pot Butter Chicken Using Chicken Thighs - Instant Pot Mini Recipes (2024)

Instant Pot Butter Chicken recipe--a creamy, tangy chicken recipe with Indian spices made in the instant pot. Serve this Butter Chicken over white rice and a side of naan bread, and enjoy. If you love this Instant Pot Butter Chicken, be sure to check out all of my Instant Pot Mini recipes.


Instant Pot Butter Chicken Using Chicken Thighs - Instant Pot Mini Recipes (1)

Can we talk a bit about food budgets?

I just wrapped up final recipe testing for cookbook #4, and took a quick look at my books. On average, I spent $100 every 3 days at the grocery store for 4 months. And honestly, that was just the last round of recipe testing; I don't have the heart to go back and track it beyond 2018.

This latest book was 2 years in the making, and it's a blessing that I had so much time to work on it.

If you're wondering:it will be more dinners for two with a release date of April 2019. I'll keep you updated: here's the pre-order link.

It's not that the book contains complicated recipes that have long ingredient lists (you know from my book Sweet & Simple that I'm a 10-ingredients or less kind of cook). It's that I made everything at least 3 times, and I'm a chronic over-buyer. I buy a bunch of cilantro and parsley every time I step in the grocery store, just in case the one in my fridge isn't perky enough for food photography.

I came out of the experience with an overstuffed freezer, a fridge full of food, and an overflowing pantry. (And then I landed right in 'book edits land', which is its own level of hell; ask me in 5 years and I'll tell you the story of this book).

I'm currently playing Grocery Games with myself each night, and coming up with recipes to use everything I have on hand. I've only been to the grocery store twice this month, and it was for toddler basics (Camille needs these 3-ingredient pancakes like I need coffee every morning).

Instant Pot Butter Chicken Using Chicken Thighs - Instant Pot Mini Recipes (2)

Why Instant Pot Chicken Thighs are better than breasts:

With a small bag of frozen boneless chicken thighs, a messy spice rack, and partially full containers of heavy cream littering my fridge, I made this instant pot butter chicken in my instant pot mini.

Chicken thighs are absolutely the way to go when it comes to the instant pot because they stay moist. I used chicken breasts in my Instant Pot Salsa Chicken, because the starch from the rice helps with moisture in the pressure cooker. When I make Instant Pot Chicken Stock, I use bone-in skin-on thighs. Oh, and my Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings also uses chicken thighs.

When it comes to chicken, I'm an instant pot chicken thighs kind of girl it seems!

Instant Pot Butter Chicken, a list of reasons to love:

I love that this recipe is gluten free; I love that it's creamy, comforting and faster than take-out. Plus, I made you a video to show how fast this recipe is! Scroll up to see it, or check the side bar, where it sometimes lives. :)

Also, let's be honest--my favorite Indian restaurant is 25 minutes away. But, giving Camille a taste of pappadams and a cooling mint raita is on my summer bucket list. (Your summer bucket list is all food related, yes?)

There are a lot of recipes for instant pot butter chicken on the internet, and they're mostly too watery. Even though I closed the lid on thick tomato sauce barely clinging to cut up chicken thighs, I always opened the lid to a watery sauce. As a result, I eliminated the canned tomatoes, chicken broth and water commonly used in this recipe. I still thicken my final sauce with a bit of cornstarch, but it's entirely optional now.

Instant Pot Butter Chicken Using Chicken Thighs - Instant Pot Mini Recipes (3)

Serve this Instant Pot Butter Chicken with chopped fresh cilantro, basmati rice, and a side of warm naan bread. If you have a minute to brush the naan bread with melted butter and finely chopped garlic, even better!

Yield: 2 servings

Instant Pot Butter Chicken

Instant Pot Butter Chicken Using Chicken Thighs - Instant Pot Mini Recipes (4)

Instant Pot Butter Chicken made so fast!

Prep Time30 minutes

Cook Time20 minutes

Total Time50 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 small yellow onion, diced
  • ½ of a red bell pepper, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1" of ginger, peeled
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala spice blend
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
  • 14-ounce can of tomato sauce
  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat and cut into 2" pieces
  • ⅓ cup heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • fresh cilantro, for serving
  • cooked basmati rice, for serving

Instructions

  1. Remove the lid from an Instant Pot 3-quart mini machine, and press 'SAUTE.'
  2. Add the butter to the pot, and let it melt.
  3. Next, add the diced onion and bell pepper, and stir to coat.
  4. Using a microplane, grate the garlic and ginger into the pan, and stir again.
  5. Add all of the spices (garam masala, turmeric, paprika, cumin, and salt) and stir. Add a dash of cayenne pepper if you want it spicy.
  6. Stir everything in the pot together very well, and then turn OFF the Instant Pot.
  7. Add the tomato sauce and chopped chicken thighs to the pot. Stir to coat everything.
  8. Next, press 'PRESSURE COOK' on the Instant Pot, and toggle to 'HIGH.' Place the lid on the Instant Pot, turn the dial to 'Sealing,' and set the timer for 10 minutes.
  9. Once the pot comes to pressure, the 10-minute countdown will begin. Consult your Instant Pot manual for any troubleshooting.
  10. When the 10 minutes is up, do a 'forced pressure release' by covering your hand with a thick kitchen towel, and turning the sealing valve to 'venting.' Be careful--lots of steam will pour out of the valve.
  11. When the pressure is done releasing, the float valve will drop, and it's safe to open the lid.
  12. Meanwhile, whisk together the heavy cream and cornstarch very well. Remove the lid from the Instant Pot, and stir in the heavy cream and cornstarch mixture.
  13. Let the mixture thicken a bit with the residual heat, and then serve over white rice and with chopped cilantro on top.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving:Calories: 815Total Fat: 45gSaturated Fat: 22gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 21gCholesterol: 348mgSodium: 1962mgCarbohydrates: 47gFiber: 6gSugar: 12gProtein: 62g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

Instant Pot Butter Chicken Using Chicken Thighs - Instant Pot Mini Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Why does my Instant Pot chicken come out rubbery? ›

Some things to keep in mind when cooking chicken:

If your boneless chicken breast winds up with a weird, rubbery texture, it probably means that you need to cook it longer. In general, the Instant Pot does better with longer cook times for meat.

What's the difference between butter chicken and tikka masala? ›

Butter chicken is a traditional Indian dish that is rich and creamy with a subtle smoky flavor. At the same time, tikka masala is a British Indian dish with a more complex flavor profile with tangy and spicy notes. Butter chicken is generally sweeter and milder in spiciness, while tikka masala is tangy and spicy.

Can I stack chicken thighs in Instant Pot? ›

Yes, you can definitely stack chicken in the Instant Pot. The only thing you'll need to be wary of is to make sure each piece is seasoned well before you stack them on top of one another. Otherwise, you may have unevenly seasoned chicken.

Is it possible to overcook chicken in Instant Pot? ›

It is very easy to overcook chicken breast in pressure cooker, as we cannot check the temperature and level of doneness during the cooking process.

Which is better chicken tikka or butter chicken? ›

If you don't have a problem with spices and the kick that come with it, you should try tikka masala. On the other hand, if you enjoy a creamy curry with a less intense spice flavor, the best option is butter chicken. But definitely give both dishes a shot!

Is butter chicken healthier than chicken tikka? ›

Butter chicken is a healthier option than tikka masala. Tikka masala has a shocking 400–500 calories per serving on average, but a serving of butter chicken may have 438 calories. If you're concerned with the amount of fat it has, you can always switch to low-fat substitutes for butter and heavy cream.

What does tikka tikka mean? ›

/ˈtɪk.ə/ /tiːk.ə/ in South Asian cooking, a mixture of spices and yogurt (= slightly sour, thick milk) used in preparing meat, cheese, etc. for some dishes and in the names of these dishes: chicken tikka. in South Asian cooking, meat in small pieces.

Do instant pots release pressure while cooking? ›

The pressure decreases without doing anything.

Your Instant Pot will automatically switch to the Keep Warm setting. As soon as it switches to Keep Warm the pressure will begin to drop. The time it will take to release all the pressure depends on the ingredients and the amount of liquid in the pressure cooker.

How do you keep chicken from getting rubbery in an air fryer? ›

Just follow the instructions and make sure you keep an eye in the temperature of the chicken in the final minutes. Since the Air Fryer works with convection heat, there is no need to cook chicken at very high temperatures, as it may quickly dry out and turn rubbery.

Why is my cooked meat rubbery? ›

Yup, cooking most meat too long is a bad thing. Cooking lamb too long like that will result in rubber. Its also possible that you accidentally cut with the grain instead of against it - which would result in a very chewy, rubber like texture. You end up with long proteins that are harder to chew.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Geoffrey Lueilwitz

Last Updated:

Views: 5956

Rating: 5 / 5 (60 voted)

Reviews: 83% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Geoffrey Lueilwitz

Birthday: 1997-03-23

Address: 74183 Thomas Course, Port Micheal, OK 55446-1529

Phone: +13408645881558

Job: Global Representative

Hobby: Sailing, Vehicle restoration, Rowing, Ghost hunting, Scrapbooking, Rugby, Board sports

Introduction: My name is Geoffrey Lueilwitz, I am a zealous, encouraging, sparkling, enchanting, graceful, faithful, nice person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.