Instant Pot Butter Chicken
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Jul 1, 2025 
This Instant Pot Butter Chicken recipe is vibrant and packed with succulent pieces of tender chicken in a creamy tomato based sauce. The best part is that’s ready in just minutes using your pressure cooker!
Sommer’s Recipe Notes
Butter. Chicken. Were there ever two words more perfect together?
Although I can think of a lot of names to better describe this classic Indian favorite, Perfect Butter Chicken Curry is definitely the most tantalizing title.
This instant pot recipe uses the “Pressure Cook” setting on the Instant Pot which allows you to pack in hours of slow-cooked flavor in minutes! You get all the complexity of restaurant-made Butter Chicken, in a speedy recipe you can make in a pinch. You’ve got to love that.
Why You’ll Love Instant Pot Butter Chicken
- Bold flavors – This curry dish is loaded with layers of bold Indian spices, flavors and vibrant colors.
- One-pot magic – I love that this comforting butter chicken recipe is made in one pot, your pressure cooker, which means easy clean-up!
- Meal-prep hero – Make sure to make big batches of this dish and enjoy it for lunch or dinner throughout the week.
Butter lovers unite! Our Instant Pot Butter Chicken Curry is going to rock your dinner table tonight.
Ingredients and Tips
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs or chicken breast – Make sure to cut the chicken up into bite-sized pieces.
- Butter – Use unsalted butter or ghee.
- Vegetables – Use peeled and chopped onion, garlic and minced ginger.
- Spices – You’ll need curry powder, garam masala and smoked paprika.
- Tomato sauce – Use a canned tomato sauce or tomato puree.
- Heavy cream – A regular full-fat or skim-option heavy cream works.
- Cilantro – For a fresh garnish, use chopped cilantro.
Recipe Variations and Dietary Swaps
- Dairy-free – Use coconut oil or non-dairy butter spread instead of the butter/ghee, and thick canned coconut milk (or coconut cream) instead of the heavy cream.
- Vegetarian – Swap the chicken with chickpeas.
- Veggies – Mix in some chopped bell peppers, cauliflower, green beans or potatoes for a veggie boost.
- Paneer – Swap or add in paneer, which is like an Indian cottage cheese, for extra texture.
- Extra heat – Sprinkle a dash of cayenne pepper for extra spiciness!
How To Make Instant Pot Butter Chicken
This restaurant-style Instant Pot Butter Chicken is so easy to make at home, and in less than 30 minutes you’ll have the MOST comforting bowl of curry to dig into!
Find the full Instant Pot Butter Chicken recipe with detailed instructions and storage tips in the printable form at the bottom of the post!
Tips For Success
- I recommend using boneless skinless chicken thighs for super tender butter chicken. Since it has a higher fat content, it won’t dry out as quickly as chicken breast will, resulting in juicier chicken pieces.
- Cut the chicken into even cubes to make sure that they all cook through around the same time.
- Don’t skip the butter! After all, this is butter chicken. It may seem like a large amount of butter, but all that butter is important for the smooth, creamy texture and flavor!
Storage Notes
- Storing Leftovers – Store cooled down leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 days.
- Reheating Leftovers – Place leftovers in freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Freezing Leftovers – Reheat in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly and add a splash of cream if the curry is too dry.
Serving Suggestions
Serve a generous portion of Indian Pot Butter Chicken with a classic side of fluffy basmati rice. If you want to make this meal a little bit more nutritious, pair it with brown rice, cauliflower rice or quinoa.
I love to scoop up this butter chicken curry using fresh naan or homemade roti. You can add a dollop of yogurt as a garnish for an extra refreshing zing.
Instant Pot Indian Butter Chicken
Video
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts cut into bite-size pieces
- 4 tablespoons butter, or ghee
- 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
- 8-10 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 2 teaspoons Garam Masala
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 15 ounces tomato sauce
- 1 cup heavy cream
- chopped cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Place the butter, chopped onions, garlic, ginger, and all spices in the Instant Pot. Set on Sauté for 5 minutes. Stir to make sure the ingredients don't burn. Once the onions are soft, turn off.
- Pour 1/2 cup water into the pot. Then use a wooden spoon to scrub the debris off the bottom of the pot. (This ensures the burn notice will not go off!)
- Add the chopped chicken thighs and canned tomato sauce. Lock the lid into place and turn the Instant Pot on Pressure Cook High for 7 minutes. Once finished, turn the Instant Pot Off, then perform a Quick Release to release the steam pressure. Once the valve button drops, unlock the lid and remove.
- Stir in the heavy cream. Set the Instant Pot on Sauté again and simmer for 2-5 minutes to thicken the sauce. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve with basmati rice.
Notes
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
Butter chicken, also known as murgh makhani, literally means chicken with butter. So, butter chicken is made in a sauce that uses a larger amount of butter for a silky, rich sauce. Chicken tikka masala is similar since it is a tomato-based sauce with lots of bold Indian spices, but it uses less butter and is usually a bit spicier than butter chicken!
No instant pot? No problem! You can easily make this butter chicken in the slow cooker! Follow step 1 on the stovetop, then transfer the onions and spices to the crockpot of your slow cooker. Add the tomato sauce and chopped chicken, and stir. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Then, stir in the heavy cream and serve warm!
It’s delicious, but when I was cooking it in my instapot, I got an error code which meant I needed to add more fluid. I added 4 oz of water. So it wasn’t as thick as I thought it would be.
Delicious! Smart and simple (if only there were a nifty efficient tool to mince garlic, chop onions, and grate ginger…) and soooo good
Trader Joe’s sells garlic and ginger cubes in the frozen section. My go-to!
Use the tube garlic and ginger.
Yummmm!!! I did get the burn notice but I just used my plastic spatula to scrape off the bottom + some olive oil and it ended up cooking just fine!
Does using coconut milk instead of heavy cream make it taste different??
Hi Miss Vee,
Yes, it will take slightly different, but will still be delicious!
Nothing I like more than being critical, but not this time! Possibly the best thing I’ve ever cooked. I mean it. Of course I subbed full fat coconut milk for the heavy cream, and threw the entire contents in because I didn’t want leftovers. And I used garlic-ginger paste. But as much as the sauce was the star, equal billing goes to the chicken thigh bites. I cooked it for 8 minutes. 9 might not have hurt, because I used more chicken than called for too.
Butter chicken is one of my SO’s favorite foods, and I surprised him with this one night and he thought it was SO GOOD. The flavors are perfect and they get even better when eaten as leftovers! So easy and so delicious! He has requested this as his birthday meal :)
Has anyone doubled this recipe successfully??
I increased by 50% and it worked well.
I made this butter curry chicken it took me 10 minutes prep time and seven minutes to cook in the Insta pot pressure cooker best butter curry chicken I’ve ever had thank you so much for the recipe. I even cut the recipe in half and made serving size for two . I substituted coconut milk for the cream very delicious 🤗😘🤗
So good! I added to diced red bell peppers in with the onions –
Will be making this again soon!
Can you use tomato paste instead of tomato sauce? If yes, how much tomato can be used? Thanks!
Hi Lei,
Yes, you can mix tomato paste with water to make tomato sauce if needed. Usually, you mix 1 part tomato paste with 1 part water. So in this case, you would need 7.5 ounces of each. Hope this helps!
Thank you so much for this recipe! It was so easy and super delicious! I didn’t have ginger and used half and half instead of cream and it was still terrific. Next time I’ll be sure to have all the ingredients on hand.
Wow Sommer this recipe is AMAZING. Butter chicken is my S.O.’s favorite food, and when I presented this to him for dinner he was blown away. He said, “this is the best thing I’ve eaten in… a month. At least.” and said “It wins all my awards” . The chicken was so tender and the flavor was so full and smooth. We LOVED it!
Hi Margaret,
Oh I’m so glad to hear it. Thanks for reporting back!! :)
Amazing! Nailed it on my first try. Thank you for such a simple recipe! I had to make my own masala. I didn’t cut up my thighs and doubled cooking time. Used tomato sauce and half can of water. All our friends raved about how good it was. Very authentic.