Instant pot butter chicken over white rice in a round white bowl on a round white plate with a stainless steel fork next to a white and gray towel with a second bowl behind all on a wooden surface (with logo overlay)

Butter Chicken in the Instant Pot

Use the instant pot for a quick and easy version of the Indian dish Butter Chicken. You can have delicious dinner on the table in one hour.

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I’ve never been one to eat much traditional Indian food. Usually, it’s spicy and spicy foods don’t agree with me. But, when I heard about butter chicken, I wanted to give it a try. I love cream sauce. And butter chicken is covered in a tomato and cream sauce.

Oh, and of course, there’s butter. Lots of butter. I’m a Southern girl, I like a lot of butter!

Traditionally, the chicken is marinated for hours in the spices. It’s also usually cooked in a clay oven. But I don’t have one of those.

But I do have an instant pot pressure cooker! And I’ve been learning to use it more and more lately. I like that it’s versatile, so I can melt the butter and prepare the sauce on a saute setting. Then set it to pressure cook to finish the meal quickly.

The only reason I had to use a second kitchen gadget was to cook the rice. It’s not necessary, but the sauce was delicious with the rice, so I highly recommend it! I used my rice steamer to cook the rice while the instant pot cooked the chicken.

Step by Step

Gather the ingredients for your butter chicken.

Ingredients for butter chicken in the instant pot: stainless steel bowls with chicken, butter, tomatoes, garlic, seasonings, cream, and diced onion all on a wooden surface

Set the instant pot to the saute setting and melt 6tbsp of butter. Add the chicken and cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side. The chicken will start to brown but won’t be cooked in the middle.

Chicken with melted butter in an instant pot on a wooden surface

Add the ginger, curry powder, garlic, cumin, salt, turmeric, cayenne, tomatoes, and onion to the instant pot.

Chicken with sauce and onions in an instant pot on a wooden surface

Close the lid and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, start the rice if you are using a rice steamer.

Let the instant pot stand for 15 minutes after cooking to slowly release the pressure. After 15 minutes, manually release any remaining pressure. Open the lid and stir in the cream and remaining 3 tbsp of butter.

Chicken and sauce with cream and butter in an instant pot on a wooden surface

Remove the chicken from the pan and set the instant pot to saute to bring the sauce to a boil. Stir occasionally while boiling for 5-7 minutes to thicken the sauce.

Butter chicken sauce sauteing in an instant pot over a wooden surface

Serve the butter chicken over the cooked rice smothered with the tomato cream sauce.

Instant pot butter chicken over white rice in a round white bowl on a round white plate with a stainless steel fork next to a white and gray towel with a second bowl behind all on a wooden surface (vertical)

Leftovers

I kept the cooked rice and chicken separate from the sauce in a divided container. This way the sauce didn’t saturate the rice when it was in the refrigerator. To reheat, I placed everything in the microwave until it was warm. This took about a minute. You could also mix it all in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring often.

Recipe

Originally Published On: September 11, 2020

Instant pot butter chicken over white rice in a round white bowl on a round white plate with a stainless steel fork next to a white and gray towel with a second bowl behind all on a wooden surface

Butter Chicken in the Instant Pot

Use the instant pot for a quick and easy version of the Indian dish Butter Chicken. You can have delicious dinner on the table in one hour.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Pressure Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course:
Main Dish
Cuisine:
American
|
Indian
Keyword:
chicken
|
heavy cream
|
instant pot
|
tomato
Dietary Needs:
Egg-Free
|
Nut-Free
Meat:
Chicken/Turkey
Cooking Method:
Instant Pot
Servings: 6
5 from 1 vote

Ingredients

  • 9 tbsp salted butter
  • 2 lb chicken breast (boneless, skinless)
  • 1 tbsp ground ginger
  • 1 tbsp curry powder
  • 3 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 14.5 oz diced tomatoes (undrained)
  • 1/2 yellow onion (chopped)
  • 2 cups white rice
  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Recommended Equipment

Instructions

  • Set the instant pot to the saute setting and melt 6tbsp of butter
  • Add the chicken and cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side
  • Add the ginger, curry powder, garlic, cumin, salt, turmeric, cayenne, tomatoes, and onion to the instant pot
  • Close the lid and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes
  • Meanwhile, start the rice if you are using a rice steamer
  • Let the instant pot stand for 15 minutes after cooking to slowly release the pressure
  • After 15 minutes, manually release any remaining pressure
  • Open the lid and stir in the cream and the remaining 3 tbsp of butter
  • Remove the chicken from the pan and set the instant pot to saute to bring the sauce to a boil
  • Stir occasionally while boiling for 5-7 minutes to thicken the sauce
  • Serve the butter chicken over the cooked rice smothered with the tomato cream sauce
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Nutrition Facts
Butter Chicken in the Instant Pot
Amount Per Serving (1 g)
Calories 642 Calories from Fat 261
% Daily Value*
Fat 29g45%
Saturated Fat 16g80%
Cholesterol 169mg56%
Sodium 345mg14%
Potassium 826mg24%
Carbohydrates 55g18%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 2g2%
Protein 38g76%
Vitamin A 986IU20%
Vitamin C 9mg11%
Calcium 77mg8%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.

18 thoughts on “Butter Chicken in the Instant Pot”

  1. I’m an Indian and I have all the knowledge about Indian spices and this is how exactly butter chicken is made but I’m surprise that you made this so quickly. Like wow!! If it would be me, it would have taken more than an hour atleast.

  2. We love butter chicken! We actually asked one of our Indian friends to teach us how to make it but we were intimidated by the very long cook time and her recipe had TONS of cream. Awesome that you can use the instant pot for yours and only have half a cup of cream. Definitely trying, perfect for this cooler weather.

  3. Wow! This looks delicious. I am getting a new instant pot and I would love to have this as the first dish I am going to prepare. Bookmarking this for reference. Thank you for sharing the recipe.

  4. it sounds so easy! I always wondered how they make butter chicken and sauce like that. never thought you simply need to remove the chicken. will be making it next week

  5. 4 stars
    The Dish looks amazing. However as a native Indian, I don’t know where this word “Curry” came from. There is no such thing as curry/curry powder in Indian cuisine. Every dish has a separate base which is unique blend of different spices, tomatoes and onion. In butter chicken too, we don’t use any curry powder.

    One more suggestion will be try White butter, that is made from fat from milk by hand/mixer. You are gonna thank me later. Since your passion is cooking, you will enjoy its authentic taste, though it will increase your prep time.

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