If you are looking for a warm and hearty meal this winter, one of my top choices is this Instant Pot Chicken Curry. I am such a fan of my Instant Pot, and I love having the ability to throw all of my ingredients into one pot and walk away while it’s cooking. It’s one of the best additions I’ve made to my kitchen in recent years, and it makes my life that much simpler.
After a busy day at work or spending time with my family, sometimes the last thing I want to do is cook a big meal. However, I always feel so guilty for serving fast food or something unhealthy! The Instant Pot is such a blessing for busy moms and dads and makes feeding my family and friends much easier and quicker.
With winter fast approaching, I’m looking to expand my recipe collection to incorporate more filling dishes that are ideal for the whole family. The holidays are always such a hectic time of year, so the Instant Pot is the perfect way to try new dinners out, without wasting precious shopping and family time. If you are stuck for ideas for any of the grown-ups in your family, I think the Instant Pot would also be a fantastic holiday gift. Anyone who receives it will thank you for years to come for the hours that they will save in the kitchen!
This chicken curry recipe I’m sharing today is one of my all-time favorite dishes to create in the Instant Pot
It takes just fifteen minutes of prep time, and fifteen minutes to cook, so it is an easy meal to create any night of the week. In my opinion, curry is always best served with rice or naan bread, but it can also be served in a bowl by itself.
Curry originated from India but is now found in countries throughout Asia and the world. It can easily be adapted to suit local ingredients and tastes, and nowadays you find incredible curries anywhere you travel. Curries combine spices and herbs to make an exciting and rich dish with plenty of heat and flavor.
There are so many different types of curry that you can create, and I’m planning to try some more recipes in my Instant Pot soon. It’s the best device for trying new things in, as you don’t waste the endless hours you might otherwise trying out new recipes that might not turn out as you had hoped!
Many traditional Indian curries take hours to make at home, with various ingredients added at different times to create the deep flavors usually associated with the dish. That’s why I love this recipe so much! It still creates a rich and flavorful curry, without spending hours of your day in the kitchen. Using the pressure cooking setting on the Instant Pot condenses hours of cooking time down into just minutes.
Related: Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe – Easy Party Appetizer
Curry always seems like such an exotic dish, but in fact, its ingredients are incredibly simple, and you probably have them lying around your home already. The great thing about curry is that you can adjust its heat level to fit those you are serving.
So if you are preparing this for children, just reduce the amount of curry powder or cayenne pepper you add. On the other hand, if you love spicy food and like a little kick in each bite, add additional amounts of these two ingredients until you reach your desired spice level.
With the addition of carrots, potatoes, and onion, it’s a hearty meal with plenty of goodness. Adding coconut milk to the tomato base of the sauce makes the curry rich and creamy, and makes for a perfectly satisfying winter dinner.
Top Tips for Cooking our Instant Pot Chicken Curry
Before we get into the main recipe, here are a few of my top tips for cooking and serving this dish:
- If you are using bigger pieces of chicken, increase the pressure cooking time. This gives you the option to use chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts.
- Adjust the spice level to fit your needs. Simply reduce the curry powder and cayenne pepper accordingly to suit your tastes. This recipe is for a mild chicken curry, so if you enjoy spicy curries, add extra of these ingredients.
- Different curry powders can vary in taste and quality. Try to find a high-quality curry powder for this dish.
- This curry recipe isn’t as thick as some you may find in restaurants. If you want to thicken the sauce even further, add more coconut milk, heavy cream, or cashew butter.
- For the perfect finishing touch, garnish the dish with finely chopped cilantro.
Instant Pot Chicken Curry
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Ingredients you will need for this Instant Pot Chicken Curry:
- 2 chicken breasts (8-12 oz), diced
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 3 tablespoons curry powder
- 2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
- 1.5 tablespoons regular soy sauce (or low sodium if you prefer)
- 2 medium carrots, sliced
- 2 medium russet potatoes, cut into quarters
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
- 8 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger paste
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ¼ cup of coconut milk
Step by Step Instructions for our Instant Pot Chicken Curry
1. Turn your Instant Pot on to sauté mode. Once your Instant Pot gets hot, add your oil and then add your chicken. Add salt and pepper to your chicken to lightly season it. Continue to stir your chicken around to cook thoroughly and to ensure your chicken doesn’t stick. If you find that your chicken is sticking more than it should be, you can add another tablespoon of oil.
2. Once your chicken has completely cooked, remove it from the Instant Pot and set aside for now.
3. Next, add your onions to the Instant Pot. Continue to stir the onions frequently to prevent sticking. Sauté them for about 2 to 3 minutes until they are caramelized.
4. Once your onions are done cooking, add the chicken broth curry powder, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, cayenne, and tomato paste to the Instant Pot. Stir the ingredients together well. (Note: this recipe is for a mild chicken curry. If you would like it to be spicier, add another half teaspoon until you’ve reached your desired spice level.)
5. In your Instant Pot, there will be some stuck-on chicken and onion from the previous steps. Using a wooden spoon or spatula and scrape the bottom of the Instant Pot to make sure that anything leftover is removed. This prevents your food from burning, as well as your Instant Pot from giving you the “burn” signal while you are cooking.
6. Add in your cooked chicken to the chicken broth and spices. Mix everything together well.
7. Add in your diced potatoes and sliced carrots to the mixture and stir everything together until combined.
8. Place the lid on your Instant Pot. Close the valve by pushing it away from you. Set your Instant Pot to the high-pressure setting for 5 minutes with a 10-minute natural release.
9. Once your Instant Pot has finished releasing naturally after 10 minutes, manually release the device by using a hot powder towel. Bring the valve toward you to release the remaining pressure.
10. Finally, add in your coconut milk to the curry and stir until it is well combined. Place the lid back on and allow the flavors to continue to cook with the coconut milk for another five minutes.
11. There you have your delicious Instant Pot Chicken Curry. You can serve it with cilantro as a garnish. For a complete meal, eat it with basmati rice or naan bread, or it can be served by itself in a big bowl! Enjoy!
This Instant Pot Chicken Curry is going to be one of my weekly staple dishes this winter, and it’s so easy to pull together on even the busiest of nights. The dish is not too heavy, and since you can adjust the spice level to your preference, it’s perfect for any occasion. Teenagers especially will enjoy this exotic dish, and this mild recipe is a great introduction to curry for anyone who hasn’t tried it before.
There are so many different varieties of curry available, that I think this is just the start for me experimenting with my Instant Pot curry recipes. I hope you enjoy this delicious Instant Pot Chicken Curry, and we’ll see you again soon for more great Instant Pot recipes.
Instant Pot Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 2 chickenbreasts (8-12 oz), diced
- 1 cup cup chicken
- 3 cups tablespoons curry powder
- 2 tbsp tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
- 1.5 tablespoon regular soy sauce (or low sodium)
- 2 medium carrots, sliced
- 2 medium russet potatoes, cut into quarters
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
- 8 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger paste
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/4 cup coconut milk
Instructions
- Turn your instant pot on to sauté mode. Once your instant pot gets hot add your oil and add your chicken. Add salt and pepper to your chicken to lightly seasoned it. Continue to stir your chicken around to cook thoroughly, without your chicken sticking. If you find that your chicken is sticking more than your liking, you can add another tablespoon of oil.
- Once your chicken has completely cooked, remove from the instant pot and set aside.
- Next, add your onions. continue to stir frequently to prevent sticking of the onions. Sauté them for about 2 to 3 minutes until they are caramelized.
- Once your onions are done cooking, add to the instant pot your chicken broth curry powder, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, cayenne, and tomato paste. Stir well. (Note: this recipe is for a mild chicken curry. If you would like it to be spicier, add another half teaspoon until you’ve reached your desired spiciness.)
- There will be some stuck-on chicken and onion from the previous steps. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, scrape the bottom of the Insta pot to make sure that anything leftover is removed. This prevents your food from burning, as well as your instant pot from giving you the “burn” signal.
- Add in your cooked chicken to the chicken broth and spices. Mix well.
- Add In your diced potatoes, and sliced carrots. Stir.
- Place the lid on your instant pot. Close the valve by pushing it away from you. Set your instant pot to high pressure for 5 minutes with a 10-minute natural release.
- Once your instant pot has finished releasing naturally after 10 minutes, manually release by using a hot powder towel, and bring the valve toward you to release the remaining pressure.
- Add in your coconut milk. Stir. Place the lid back on and allow the flavors to continue to cook with the coconut milk for another five minutes.
- You can serve with cilantro as a garnish, and you can eat with basmati rice or non-bread, or by itself! Enjoy!
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