Get your Indian fix by making one of my most popular recipes, chicken tikka masala, now adapted for the Instant Pot pressure cooker.
Chicken tikka masala is one of my favorite dishes of all time, and one of the most popular Indian dishes ordered at American restaurants. It goes great with basmati rice to help soak up all of the delicious sauce, or with some slabs of naan bread on the side. I enjoy this dish frequently in various forms, whether it be in a restaurant or just at home with a microwaveable frozen version (the one at Trader Joe’s is quite good!). I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit that there have been times where I ate chicken tikka masala more than once in a single day. It’s just one of those dishes that ticks off all of the boxes for me: (1) warm and comforting, (2) thick and saucy, (3) tons of spices and flavor, and (4) tender bites of chicken.
I developed my one-pan stovetop chicken tikka masala recipe about half a year ago — it’s a made-from-scratch chicken tikka masala that’s surprisingly easy and tastes just as good as the restaurant version. Since then, I’ve been asked to adapt the recipe to make an Instant Pot version. Via pressure cooking, it only takes 10 minutes to cook the sauce, which is about half as long as the stovetop method. I’ve also made some minor adjustments such as tweaking the spice mix and using less heavy cream. All in all, this Instant Pot chicken tikka masala tastes just as amazing as the stovetop version, so you can pick whichever cooking method you prefer.
Recently, I added a slow cooker chicken tikka masala for those of you with crockpots and other slow cookers.
If you’ve ever made my stovetop chicken tikka masala, you’ll know that it comes with a generous amount of sauce. This Instant Pot version is the same. You won’t ever find me skimping on tikka masala sauce, otherwise, what’s the point of basmati rice and naan if there isn’t extra sauce to soak up? The flavors here are top notch — even the typically wary-of-Indian-food Mr. Savory Tooth loves it — and there’s also a wonderful hint of lemon flavor as an added bonus.
For a low carb and keto friendly version, simply make the recipe as follows and substitute white rice with riced cauliflower or low carb naan.
Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala (Pressure Cooker)
DESCRIPTION
INGREDIENTS
For marinating the chicken:
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts about 2, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 cup plain 2% fat greek yogurt 7 ounces
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
For the sauce:
- 15 ounces canned tomato sauce or puree
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 4 teaspoons garam masala
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream added last
For serving:
- basmati rice
- naan
- freshly chopped cilantro
INSTRUCTIONS
- Marinating the chicken: Combine all marinade ingredients (minus the chicken) in a bowl and mix well. Add chicken chunks and coat with the marinade. Let sit in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
- Pressure cooker saute mode: Select the saute mode on the pressure cooker for medium heat. When it has reached temperature, add chicken chunks (along with any marinade sticking to them) to the pressure cooker. Saute until the chicken is cooked on all sides, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off the saute mode.
- Pressure cooker high pressure mode: Add all of the sauce ingredients except the cream to the pressure cooker, over the chicken, and stir. Secure and seal the lid. Select the manual mode to cook for 10 minutes at high pressure. Use the quick steam release handle to release pressure.
- Pressure cooker saute mode: Select the saute mode on the pressure cooker for low heat. When it has reached temperature, add cream to the pot, stirring with the other ingredients. Simmer until the sauce is thickened to your liking, a few minutes.
- Serving: Serve with basmati rice or naan. Garnish with cilantro.
NUTRITION
| Nutrition Facts Per Serving |
| Calories 460 | |
| Total Fat 27g | 41% |
| Saturated Fat 17g | 85% |
| Trans Fat 0g | |
| Cholesterol 171mg | 57% |
| Sodium 970mg | 40% |
| Potassium 320mg | 9% |
| Total Carb 19g | 6% |
| Dietary Fiber 6.5g | 26% |
| Sugars 6g | |
| Protein 32g |
We. Love this recipe! I usually double the amount of chicken for my family. We are having a friend over that is vegetarian. I’ve seen a lot of Tikka recipes with checkpeas. Do you think I’d need to change anything to substitute the chicken for chickpeas? Thanks!
I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe! I haven’t tried using chickpeas before, but an older comment from a reader named Kirsten said that she added chickpeas and it worked out well. I don’t think she made any other changes. Besides chickpeas, you can also try cauliflower or extra firm tofu. The main thing to watch out for is any differences in cooking time. Hope that helps!
I added a pinch of ghost pepper flakes for extra kick. It worked. The recipe turned out great.
So, if this is the ONLY dish I make with my instapot, I will have considered it a great investment. I love this dish so much. I have left out the lemon juice before by accident and it was still fine. HOWEVER…has anyone tried to double it in the instapot? I am having a bunch of people over Friday and would like to serve it, but I am still not familiar with the pressure cooker. Would you straight double it or just add more chicken? Thoughts?
You should be able to double this by using 2x ingredients and keeping the pressure cooking time the same.
Our favorite meal, we make it once a week.
The chicken breasts were dry. I don’t see the point of attempting to saute chicken that has marinated (in my case, 24 hours) in Greek yogurt; it doesn’t really sear with the yogurt on it. I ended up sauteing it for 5 minutes (per the recipe), IP for 10, and the meat was dry. Next time I’ll skip the sauteing and use thighs instead. Tasty sauce.
This recipe looks easy and yummy. I want to make this tonight or tomorrow but only have about 1/4 cup Greek yogurt. Can I use sour cream or something else in place of the 3/4 cup yogurt? Or is that going to make a huge difference? Thanks!
Thank you for this recipe! I love indian food. Made exactly as described except couldn’t find 2% Greek yogurt so used whole. It came out a little sour so I am planning to cut back the lemon next time. I will also be adding more cayenne for personal taste as I like things spicy. I did have a problem getting the sauce thicker at the end, sauted for about an hour and just didnt notice any thickening but still tasted great and I love all the sauce this recipe makes for eating with rice and naan! I did feel it… Read more »
Can I freeze this after I make it?
I haven’t tried freezing this, but I think it will turn out okay despite the dairy content.
I freeze this often. I use coconut milk instead of the heavy cream so I am not sure if that would make a difference. It freezes and re-heats great. This is one of our favorite recipes.