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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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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.
I’m all over this butter chicken! We’re eating mostly paleo/whole30 right now, so this will be the perfect addition to my meal rotation.
That’s so awesome to hear. Thank you, Cynthia !
Cannot wait to try this! I have all the ingredients. Will try to remember to take a picture + tag you.. I love that I can make it dairy free — as I have a sweet niece who is DF and will enjoy it for sure!
Definitely !
Yum! I have a super similar recipe and it’s one of my favorite. Can’t go wrong with that creamy sauce!
Oh man. This looks fabulous. And now I am hungry. Job well done:)
Thanks so much !
I adore my IP, and easy dinners like this are my jam!! Looks SO amazing!!
I’ve tried to make butter chicken before but it did not turn out amazing. I will need to try your recipes because it looks bomb!
I just made this tonight. Super easy and really delicious!!!! Thank you so much for sharing your love of healthy eating with the world. I have enjoyed any recipe I have made from you. Thanks again!
Thanks so much for sharing, Allysa ! I appreciate it !
I made the Butter Chicken in the Instant Pot tonight— so easy, creamy and delicious! I used an onion instead of shallots because I didn’t have any. The smoked paprika and fire roasted tomatoes really added to the flavor! Thanks f the recipe!
That sounds fabulous. Thanks so much, Helen !
The recipe description says coconut cream but the ingredients list and directions say coconut milk. Which one should I use?
Hi Faye ! Thanks for reaching out. I appreciate it.
I used full-fat coconut milk. I will update the recipe description.
You can absolutely use coconut cream too for an ultra creamy rich texture !
:))
This sounds so delicious. I wonder, for those of us who do not yet own an instant pot, would you include how to make these wonderful recipes “the old fashioned way”?
Hi Barbara ! Thanks so much for the feedback and the reminder ! I’ve included the stove-top method in the recipe notes section. Appreciate it ! :))
I will be trying this out tonight, looks amazing! I will use the stovetop method today since I don’t have my Instant Pot with me, but do you think this would work in a slow cooker? And how long would you estimate is needed in a slow-cooker? Thanks!
Thanks, Linda. Hmm…I haven’t tried using slow cooker. If I do, I’ll update my findings here in the notes section. If you do end up using slow cooker, please let me know too !
I used the stovetop method in the end, and it was delicious! Thanks for the amazing recipe, I now look forward to making the shakshuka for my post-run Saturday morning meal!