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This Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala is an easy and flavorful weeknight dinner made with chicken in a creamy tomato-based sauce with a lot of bold spices. Always a family favorite.
Table of Contents
- Easy Weeknight Dinner
- Why you will love this Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe!
- Ingredients And Substitutions
- How to Make Chicken Tikka Masala in the Pressure Cooker
- Recipe Notes and Tips
- Perfect Instant Pot Meal Prep Recipe
- Serving Suggestions
- Recipe FAQs
- Other Instant Pot Chicken Recipes
- Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe
Easy Weeknight Dinner
Instant Pot dinner recipes are favorite for busy weeknights – they are so easy to make, very hands-off and the clean-up is a breeze. I also love that dinner usually takes only about 30 minutes from the refrigerator to the
Make sure you also try my other Instant Pot recipes – Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice, Instant Pot Pot Roast with Vegetables and Instant Pot Bolognese Sauce.
Why you will love this Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe!
- Quick & easy: It takes only about 10 minutes of prep time and 15 minutes of cook time in the pressure cooker. This recipe for chicken tikka masala is definitely one of my favorite quick family meals.
- Flavorful: All the flavor is in this delicious tomato-based sauce made with several bold spices from the Indian cuisine.
- Comfort food: This pressure cooker tikka masala recipe is a delicious comforing meal and everyone will be asking for seconds.
Ingredients And Substitutions
For a full ingredients list with measurements, check the recipe card below.
- Chicken breasts: You can use chicken breasts or skinless chicken thighs. Dice the chicken breasts in 1″ chunks
- Greek yogurt: I prefer to use organic plain Greek yogurt but you could also use any dairy-free yogurt
- Heavy whipping cream: For a dairy-free version, you could also use full-fat coconut milk or cream instead.
- Seasonings: garam masala, ground cumin, paprika, turmeric, ground coriander, cayenne pepper, ground ginger, kosher salt and black pepper
- Vegetables: yellow onion, a few cloves garlic, and fresh ginger
- Tomato puree: Or diluted tomato paste
- Lemon juice
- Butter
How to Make Chicken Tikka Masala in the Pressure Cooker
- Marinate chicken: In a large bowl, mix all marinade ingredients thoroughly, ensuring the chicken is fully coated. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 48 hours.
- Sauté aromatics: Turn on the Instant Pot to the ‘Sauté’ setting. Melt the butter and add onion, garlic, ginger, and spices (garam masala, cumin, paprika, turmeric, coriander, cayenne, salt, and black pepper). Stir and cook for 2–3 minutes until the onion softens.
- Add chicken & puree: Add the tomato puree and marinated chicken (with the marinade) to the pot. Stir well. Cancel the ‘Sauté’ setting.
- Pressure cook: Close the lid, set the Instant Pot to ‘Manual’ (high pressure) for 6 minutes, and let it cook.
- Release pressure: Once done, move the steam release valve to quickly release the pressure.
- Finish & serve: Stir in the heavy cream and adjust seasoning with more salt and pepper, if needed. Serve warm over rice and garnish with fresh cilantro.
TIPS FROM NELI’S KITCHEN
Recipe Notes and Tips
- Marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes for the most tender chicken (if you have time, marinate the bite-sized pieces overnight). Marinating the chicken in yogurt and lemon juice will tenderize the meat, and the spices will infuse it with additional flavor.
- Don’t omit any of the spices for best flavor! Popular spices found in Indian Chicken Tikka Masala are garam masala spice blend (cumin, coriander, black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon), turmeric, paprika, cayenne pepper. And of course the fresh garlic and ginger add a lot of fresh flavor to the recipe as well.
- In order to achieve a thick sauce (instead of a soup-like consistency) use tomato puree or diluted tomato paste instead of tomato sauce. Add 1/2 cup of water to 1/2 cup of tomato paste.
Perfect Instant Pot Meal Prep Recipe
This Instant Pot chicken recipe is perfect for meal prep. It requires very minimal prep work since it has only 6 simple main ingredients (chicken, yogurt, onion, garlic, ginger, and tomato puree) and the rest are spices.
You can marinate the chicken and store it in the refrigerator for a couple of days until it’s time to cook. Chop the onion, garlic, and ginger, and store them in the fridge.
On the day of cooking, saute the vegetables in the Instant Pot, add marinated chicken, tomato puree, and spices, and cook for 6 minutes. Doesn’t get easier than that!
Serving Suggestions
You can serve this Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala recipe with rice (I prefer jasmine or basmati rice) but any long grain rice would do. If you want to make it low-carb, whole30, and paleo, you can serve it with cauliflower rice. You can also serve it with naan.
Recipe FAQs
You can freeze Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala for 3–4 months. Portion it into containers once cooled. To reheat, thaw in the fridge overnight, warm in a saucepan, and cook rice as directed.
Other Instant Pot Chicken Recipes
If you are looking for more delicious chicken recipes made in the Instant Pot, check these out. They will not disappoint.
- Instant Pot Chicken Cacciatore
- Instant Pot Honey Sesame Chicken
- Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
If you enjoyed this Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
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Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala
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Ingredients
Chicken Marinade
- 1.5 lbs chicken, diced in 1″ chunks
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt, or dairy-free yogurt
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Tikka Masala Sauce
- 2 Tablespoon butter
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
- 2 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 ½ cup tomato puree, or diluted tomato paste
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream, added last (use coconut cream for dairy-free version)
Instructions
- Combine all the marinade ingredients together in a large bowl and mix thoroughly so that each piece of chicken is fully coated in the yogurt mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes up to 48 hours.
- Turn on your Instant Pot to the ‘Saute’ setting. Add the butter, chopped onion, minced garlic & ginger, and all spices (garam masala, cumin, paprika, turmeric, coriander, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper). Stir and cook for a couple of minutes until the onion softens.
- Add the tomato puree and the chicken (along with the marinade) to the pot. Stir everything. Cancel the ‘Saute’ setting, close the lid, and select the ‘Manual’ setting, and adjust to 6 minutes on high pressure.
- Once the cook cycle is complete, carefully move the steam release valve to quickly release pressure.
- Add the heavy whipping cream, and season with more salt and black pepper, if necessary.
- Serve warm over rice, and garnish with cilantro.
Video
Notes
- Marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes for the most tender chicken (if you have time, marinate the bite-sized pieces overnight). Marinating the chicken in yogurt and lemon juice will tenderize the meat, and the spices will infuse it with additional flavor.
- Don’t omit any of the spices for best flavor! Popular spices found in Indian Chicken Tikka Masala are garam masala spice blend (cumin, coriander, black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon), turmeric, paprika, cayenne pepper. And of course the fresh garlic and ginger add a lot of fresh flavor to the recipe as well.
- In order to achieve a thick sauce (instead of a soup-like consistency) use tomato puree or diluted tomato paste instead of tomato sauce. Add 1/2 cup of water to 1/2 cup of tomato paste.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer: Nutritional values are estimates and may vary with ingredients, brands, and portion sizes. For accuracy, use your preferred nutrition calculator.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this recipe is for informational purposes only and should not be considered medical or nutritional advice. I am not a doctor or a dietitian. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider for personalized guidance regarding your diet or health. For more details, please read my full disclosure page.
This was delicious! Best I’ve ever made, and this is the first IP type I’ve tried. The sauce is a bit thin, but I might have put in too much coconut milk, which I used instead of heavy cream.
Forgot to add 5 stars!
I made a substitution of sour cream for yogurt and cooked it 15mins natural release. It is soo yummy and simple. Will be coming back to this recipe!
Tastes amazing!!! Omg!! Only complaint is it burned to the bottom of my instant pot, setting off the burn warning. I followed it to the T. Maybe add water? Idk I’m new to this. But this is the first recipe that did this.
Thank you for this recipe! We doubled the marinade for 2lbs of chicken and let the chicken marinate for about 24 hrs in the fridge. Used 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper and it had quite a spicy kick! We appreciate spicy but next time we might knock it back to 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper. Served w basmati rice and roasted garlic naan, and ate way too much of it. Can you say “food coma”? Hoping to polish it off w a little bit of French vanilla ice cream but that’s if I can get up off the couch! 🙂
I tried this, but my instant pot said “food burn” when it was supposed to be done with the pre-heating. I’ve had this issue with other dishes too. The only way my pressure cook function works is if the grate is in with the food elevated above just liquid.
I have never had this happen to me but I have an older model IP. I have heard this happen mostly with newer models… I don’t know why. Maybe if you try to add the tomato puree last and don’t stir it in. Yes, and maybe the trivet will help too. Hope it works better next time!
I followed the recipe using the coconut cream and diluted tomato paste option. It is delicious! Thank you.