Instant Pot Coconut Chicken Curry is one of the easiest Indian Chicken Curry recipes that is packed with flavors in every bite. It takes just 5-10 minutes and the end-result is worth it. It is similar to my Creamy Coconut Chicken Curry, just that it is made in an Instant Pot. Serve with Jasmine rice or Naan bread or Paratha.
Basic spices, easy steps, and just a simple curry recipe that is perfect for busy moms and dads. If you are in a hurry and you want to make something satisfying, filling, and comforting. Don't think twice about making this recipe. My secret ingredient is a pinch of coconut sugar right at the end to make this taste lip-smackingly delicious. Two days back I made Chicken Vindaloo in Instant Pot. Make sure you give that a try as well.
Don't confuse this with Thai Coconut Chicken Curry that uses Red Curry paste. This recipe for Coconut Curry Chicken in Instant Pot
This was inspired by my Crockpot Coconut Lime Chicken. I love the combination of Chicken and Coconut. In my repertoire of India recipes, there is another recipe - Malabar Chicken Curry with Coconut Milk that is quite similar but not same.
Coconut and Chicken goes so well together. The nutty sweetness of coconut and the creaminess of coconut milk adds depth of flavor to a traditional chicken curry.
Moreover, when you cook it in an Instant Pot, you cut down the cooking time by half. I made this recipe in less than 30-minutes. Within 30-minutes the dinner was served.
Jump to:
- Ingredients for making Coconut Chicken Curry
- Instructions for Instant Pot Coconut Curry Chicken with Step By Step Images
- Substitutions
- Variations
- Storage
- Make-Ahead Instructions
- Slow Cooker Coconut Curry Chicken Recipe
- Serving Suggestions
- More Indian Chicken Recipes
- Recipe Card
- Instant Pot Coconut Curry Chicken
Ingredients for making Coconut Chicken Curry
These are the Ingredients required to make Instant Pot Coconut Chicken Curry.
- Chicken Thighs - can be replaced with chicken breasts
- Unsalted Butter- can be replaced with ghee.
- Onions - you can use yellow onion or red onions.
- Ginger Garlic Paste or freshly chopped ginger and garlic
- Tomato puree - Don't like canned food. Just chop 2-large fresh tomatoes and add it to your curry.
- Spices - Turmeric Powder, ground cumin, ground coriander, smoked paprika, garam masala, and salt.
- Coconut Milk
- Coconut Sugar
- Freshly chopped cilantro and dessicated coconut - for garnish
See the recipe card for quantities. Also check out the video for a visual.
Instructions for Instant Pot Coconut Curry Chicken with Step By Step Images
Step 1: Sauté Onions, Ginger, and Garlic
Put your Instant Pot in Sauté mode and add ghee or butter. If you want, you can add some coconut oil along with butter for more flavor. Sauté onions, garlic, and ginger on low heat. I have used Ginger garlic paste (which is easily available in the market) you can use fresh ginger and garlic or the paste.
Step 2: Add Chicken
In this recipe, I have used bone-in skinless chicken thighs. You are free to use chicken breasts cut into small 1-inch cubes or chicken drumsticks for this recipe. Toss lightly and sear chicken for about a minute or two.
Step 3: Add Tomato Puree, Spices and Cook
Add Tomato Puree, Turmeric Powder, Smoked Paprika, Ground Cumin, Ground Coriander, Garam Masala, and Salt. Toss lightly and cook the spices completely. This takes about 2-3 minutes.
Step 4: Pour Coconut Milk and Add Coconut Sugar
Now pour coconut milk and add coconut sugar. If you don't want to add coconut sugar you can skip it. Give it a good mix. Pour some water and then, cover your Instant Pot with lid. pressure cook for 3-4 minutes. Once done, do a quick pressure release. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley or cilantro. Serve with rice or naan.
Hint: I like to add a little more water than required since we are cooking in an Instant Pot. And, in an Instant Pot, if you don't add enough water either your food will burn or your Instant Pot won't work.
Substitutions
This recipe for Instant Pot Coconut Chicken Curry is Keto-approved and Low-Carb friendly.
Whole 30 & Paleo - To make this recipe Whole 30 and Paleo-friendly you can leave out Coconut sugar. Anyway, it is totally optional to add Coconut Sugar to this recipe. Secondly, replace Butter with Ghee.
Variations
- Chicken Breasts - Instead of Chicken thighs you can use chicken breasts cut into small 1-inch cubes.
- Shrimp - If you want, you can replace chicken with shrimps and make shrimp coconut curry. In that case, you would need to reduce the cooking time considerably.
- Coconut Oil - Although this is totally optional but just to improve the flavors you can use 1 tablespoon of coconut oil along with ghee or butter.
- Caramelized Onions - Again, this is completely optional. You can garnish your Instant Pot Coconut Curry with Caramelized Onions. It would add a sweetish crunch to your dish.
- Sour Cream or Yogurt - Just to make your recipe creamier you can combine the spices in a bowl with sour cream or thick greek yogurt. Give it a good stir and then pour it into your Instant Pot Coconut Curry Chicken.
Storage
You can allow this curry to cool down completely and then transfer this to an air-tight container. This can be refrigerated for 2-3 days if stored appropriately. I don't recommend freezing this.
To reheat, transfer this to a microwave-proof dish and microwave in a preheated oven at 180°C OR 350°F for 5-7 minutes or until completely heated through.
Make-Ahead Instructions
This recipe for Instant Pot Coconut Curry Chicken takes hardly any time. Seriously, this is the perfect recipe for busy moms and dads. Therefore, I don't think there is any need to make this ahead of time.
Just dump everything into an Instant Pot and close the lid. Within 5-minutes your chicken curry is ready.
Slow Cooker Coconut Curry Chicken Recipe
To make this recipe in your crockpot you can sauté onions and garlic along with the chicken in a skillet. You can add the spices along with tomato paste and cook the sauce in the skillet so that the spices don't remain uncooked. Then just pour everything into a slow cooker and cover the lid. Cook on High for 2 hours or on Low for 3-4 hours. When there are just 30-minutes remaining for the cooking to get done, you can open the lid and pour coconut milk and coconut sugar. Give it a quick stir and cover with a glass lid. Cook for the remaining 30-minutes and your Slow Cooker Coconut Curry Chicken is absolutely ready. See this recipe for Slow Cooker Butter Chicken and you will know how it is done.
Serving Suggestions
Instant Pot Coconut Chicken Curry goes best with rice. Any sort of rice such as Jeera rice or Coconut rice or Mexican Cauliflower Rice or Mediterranean Saffron Rice or Thai Lemongrass Coconut Fried Rice.
More Indian Chicken Recipes
Indian Spiced Spinach Chicken | Spinach Chicken | Murg Saagwala
Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe - Slow Cooker
Chicken Korma Recipe || Shahi Chicken Korma
if you are making this recipe, then please leave a rating below. Also, take a snap and share it on Instagram with #recipemagik. Tag me @recipemagik and let me know how it went.
Recipe Card
Instant Pot Coconut Curry Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 pound bone-in skinless chicken thighs excess fat trimmed (can be replaced with boneless skinless chicken breasts)
- 1 stick unsalted butter can replace with 2 tablespoon Ghee
- 1 cup onions yellow or red (finely chopped)
- 2 tablespoon ginger garlic paste or 2-3 cloves of minced garlic & 1-inch ginger finely chopped
- 1 cup Tomato Puree or 2 tomatoes finely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika can replace with ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon salt or as per taste
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon coconut sugar OPTIONAL
- ¼ cup water
- freshly chopped cilantro for garnish
- shredded unsweetened coconut for garnish (OPTIONAL)
Instructions
- Put your Instant Pot to Sauté mode and add 1 stick of unsalted butter. Instead of butter, you can use Ghee as well. Once butter melts, add 1 cup chopped onions along with ginger garlic paste. Sauté until onions turn soft.
- Add chicken pieces and toss lightly for about 30-seconds.
- Add Tomato puree, Turmeric Powder, Smoked Paprika, Ground Cumin, Ground Coriander, Garam Masala, and Salt. Toss well and cook for about a minute or two.
- Pour coconut milk and stir well. Add 1 teaspoon coconut sugar to balance the heat and add a sweetish touch to the curry. Toss lightly and pour ¼ cup water into the instant pot.
- Cover your Instant Pot with a lid and pressure cook for 4-minutes. Once cooked, do quick pressure release and then open the lid and garnish with freshly chopped cilantro and shredded unsweetened coconut.
Alyssa Green says
I think this is the best coconut chicken curry recipe I have ever made! Loved it with basmati rice!!
Gina Smith says
This is the best coconut chicken curry recipe there is!! Truly authentic indian flavors! Felt like I am in an Indian restaurant enjoying this 😀😀😀