Paleo Instant Pot Butter Chicken
by Paleo Instant Pot Butter Chicken with gluten-free dairy-free coconut milk cream. This Keto and Whole30 Instant Pot Butter Chicken recipe is easy and takes 10 minutes cook time. Use chicken thighs or breasts for the most easy flavorful Paleo Whole30 Instant Pot recipe plus tips on what to make with extra butter chicken sauce !
I’m so in love with my instant pot lately. I purchased mine more than a year ago but only until now I realize I haven’t fully used it to its potential. Not only because my readers are asking for more Paleo and Whole30 Instant Pot recipes, I found myself really enjoying this all-in-one pressure cooker that’s perfect for busy weeknight and when times you just want to set it and forget it type of meal. 🙂
Paleo Instant Pot Butter Chicken – Easy, Flavorful, Little Hands-On Time, Whole30/Keto friendly
A quick web search will show you tons of different ways in making butter chicken. But here I opted for the most basic and simple spice combos to make my Paleo Instant Pot butter chicken. You can use either boneless/skinless chicken thighs or chicken breasts. If you are okay with either the thighs or breasts, I highly recommend using chicken thighs as the meat will be more tender and flavorful.
A few things I did differently than other recipes …and makes it more yummy !
I highly recommend using diced and fire roasted tomatoes from a can. WholeFoods own fire roasted tomatoes are my favorite whereas Trader Joe’s has a pretty good version too. The fire roasted tomatoes add extra smoky and sweet flavor and adds extra depth to the butter chicken sauce.
I puree the sauce with an immersion blender until the sauce is creamy smooth. I also use coconut cream to make my Paleo Instant Pot butter chicken extra creamy delicious.
Is butter chicken gluten free ?
It depends on the ingredients in the butter chicken recipe. For my Paleo Instant Pot Butter Chicken it is gluten-free, Paleo, Keto, and Whole30!
We use ghee (that’s clarified butter) and coconut cream (dairy-free) to make Paleo Instant Pot Butter Chicken creamy and smooth. For a complete gluten-free butter chicken, you’ll need to read your spice seasoning labels to see if there are any gluten products in the seasoning bottles.
This Paleo Instant Pot butter chicken is –
Creamy
Easy
Flavorful
Little hands-on time
10 minutes of cook time
& Paleo, Whole30, Keto, Gluten-Free
If you give this Paleo Instant Pot Butter Chicken a try, let me know ! Leave a comment and rate the recipe. And don’t forget to take a picture and tag it #IHeartUmami on Instagram. I’d love to see what you come up with. XOXO !
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Paleo Instant Pot Butter Chicken
Video
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp ghee (or clarified butter), divided
- 10 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger root
- 2 to 3 large shallots
- 2 lbs chicken thighs, , boneless & skinless (alt. Chicken breasts)
- 28 oz. diced fire roasted tomatoes, , canned. I use 365 Whole Foods brand
- ¼ cup full fat coconut milk, , canned and stir-well. I use 365 Whole Foods brand.
- Cilantro, , garnish, optional
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instant Pot Butter Chicken Dry Spice Seasonings:
- 1 tbsp garam masala powder
- 2 tsp smoked paprika, alt. sweet paprika
- 1.5 tsp coriander powder
- 2 tsp turmeric powder
Instructions
- Prep: Roughly chop garlic cloves, ginger, and shallots. Combine ingredients under “Dry Spice Seasonings” in one bowl. Set aside.
- Instant Pot: Press Saute function - add 2 tbsp ghee. When the oil is melted, add chopped garlic, ginger, and shallots. Season with pinch of salt. Saute until fragrant (about 2-3 mins). Add Dry Spice Seasonings. Give a quick saute to slightly warm up the spices (about 10 seconds). Turn off Saute function.
- Add fire roasted tomato and scrape the bottom of the pot to ensure that nothing is stick to the bottom. Add chicken and cover the sauce over each pieces. Seal the lid and valve. Press Manual - 10 minutes. When done, natural release until the valve drops (should take about 10 mins).
- Scoop out the chicken. Add ¼ cup full-fat coconut milk and 2 tbsp ghee. Puree the sauce using an immersion blender until creamy smooth. Dice the chicken to bite sizes and add them back to the sauce pot. Give it a stir and garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve the butter chicken over slightly cooked cauliflower rice or mashed (sweet) potatoes.
Notes
- Please note that different brands of fire roasted canned tomatoes might have different consistency. Some cans have less liquid than others. Some people have mentioned that there's not enough liquid in the instant pot during pressure cook. Please refer to the video or the process shot photos included in this blog post. As you can see there's enough liquid left in the pot after it's done cooking. If yours look drier than my video (or the photos included in this blog post), try adding 1/4 cup chicken stock before you pressure cook.
- If you don't have an immersion blender, you can also pour the sauce into a blender and blend until creamy smooth. Be careful the sauce will be hot.
- Tip: After the sauce is blended to creamy smooth (before adding the chicken back to the pot), ladle some extra chicken butter sauce aside for Healthy Shakshuka !
- Stove-top users: Follow the same cooking method/steps above. I recommend using a large size Dutch oven (or heavy bottom stock/soup pot). Adjust the stove-top cook time (it will be longer than 10 minutes). Cook over medium to medium-low heat. Cover with a lid and stir-often. Cook until the chicken is completely cooked through. You can either pre-slice the chicken to bite-size chunks prior to cooking (this will ensure them cook through faster) OR follow the Instant Pot directions above (dice them afterwards).
Nutrition
What to do with extra Butter Chicken Sauce?
Make my Healthy Shakshuka Recipe for breakfast ! It’s the perfect way to use up the creamy butter chicken sauce.
Also check out my Best Whole30 Instant Pot Recipes, Instant Pot Beef Brisket Pho, Instant Pot Vietnamese Beef Stew, Instant Pot Bone Broth, Chinese Chicken Bone Broth, Instant Pot Sweet Potato Yam Mash, and Instant Pot Chinese Chicken Sparerib Soup.
Is there a substitute for the ghee?
My co-worker made this and it was FANTASTIC. We ate the leftovers for 3 days, it was the best thing I’ve had in a long time.
Just regular butter.
hi there! I’m new to the instant pot, and am wondering if anyone has tried doubling this recipe in a regular instant pot? Will all the liquid fit, and will I need to change the cook time? Thanks!
Is this possible to do with frozen chicken thighs
Hello Stacey, I’m not sure. My guess is it will be more watery and you probably need to adjust the amount of liquid goes into the instant pot.
We made this using chicken legs. So Good.👌🏼
We have this at our house almost every week. It’s easy and a crowd pleaser.
Oh wow. That’s amazing! Thank you!
Super easy and delicious! I used coconut cream instead of just coconut milk (so just the solid at the top) and 1/4 cup of cashews to make the sauce a little thicker. We also added some peas just for color and added texture. (Not paleo, obviously)
Needed more salt for our tastes, but that was super easy to add at the table.
Thank you!
Delicious and so easy 😋
This recipe is SOOO easy and SOOO flavorful! My husband and kiddos love it and request it often. I’ve passed this recipe on to family members and close posse. Some of my friend’s kids have had trouble with the spice but my kids don’t. I actually add a 1 pound bag of frozen mixed veggies (wholefoods Mediterranean blend) in the pot along with the chicken right before pressure cooking. I also add an entire can of coconut cream. Both of my alterations do not affect the look or taste but add some extra nutrients, fiber and creaminess. Thanks for this recipe, it’s definitely in my meal planning routine.
Thank you, Allie!
This is an awesomely simple recipe. Thank you for sharing these.
Made it once and it was absolutely delicious! Now ready to make it again. Thank you for sharing!
That’s lovely, Andrea!
Delicious! The whole family loved it!
Thank you so much!
Made this tonight and it was wonderful! I don’t have an Instant Pot so I used my crock pot and cooked for 4hrs on high. Very flavourful! I had it along side cauliflower rice and it made me really miss Naan bread to soak it up. This is be on rotation at our house along with some of your other recipes.
Awesome! So happy to hear!
Can I make this recipe with drumsticks?
Yes! Absolutely. The chicken will be moist and juicy. Please add a bit longer cook time since they come with bones. I would try adding an extra 5 minutes just to be on the safe side. 🙂
Enjoyed this! How long do you think the sauce will keep in the fridge to make the shakshuka?
Thanks, Lizzie. Since there’s coconut milk in the butter chicken sauce, I recommend using it within 3 days in the fridge. 🙂
Can u make this in the slow cooker?
I’m pretty sure you can. I would still saute the aromatics (garlic, ginger, shallots) and dry spice seasonings in a skillet and add them to the slow cooker with tomato cans. You might need to try around with the cook time. For 2lbs boneless chicken thighs, I would try 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low as a start and see how it goes!
Absolutely delicious! I ladled over mashed cauliflower and was in heaven. I will add a little heat next time – probably a few serrano peppers.
I’m so happy to hear that. Thanks for sharing, Mark!
My husband loved it, super delicious! Thank you👍
Thank you so much!