Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala is a great recipe filled with delicious Indian spices in a curry sauce loaded with tender chicken pour over top of basmati rice or pick to serve it with fresh homemade naan bread.
You can make this Instant Pot recipe taste just like you would have received from your favorite Indian restaurant, letting the pressure cooking to the heavy lifting of infusing the chicken pieces with an abundance of flavor.
While this recipe does use basic Indian spices, all of them should be able to be found at your local grocery store or of course Amazon is always a great resource.
Even though there are quite a few ingredients, don’t let that deter you. This is an easy recipe to make and perfect for meal prep for the week if you want a flavorful meal to get your through the busy week.
Recipe Ingredients:
Ingredients
- Yogurt: We use plain fat-free Greek Yogurt, but you could use sour cream in its place
- Seasonings: you will need ground ginger, black pepper, and Garam Masala, all of which can be found at your grocery store
- Juice: fresh lemon Juice is great, but you can also use lemon juice from a bottle
- Chicken: get boneless skinless chicken breasts and cut it into bite-sized pieces
Sauce
- Sauce: use tomato sauce or tomato puree from a can
- Seasonings: use fresh garlic minced, garam masala, paprika, turmeric, kosher salt, and cayenne pepper
- Cream: use heavy whipping cream and be sure to add it last
Serve with:
- Rice: cooked white basmati rice
- Bread: fresh naan bread
- Toppings: use chopped fresh cilantro
How to make Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala:
- Marinate the chicken first by combining the yogurt, Garam Masala, lemon juice, pepper, and ginger in a Ziploc gallon size freezer bag. Add chicken chunks and coat with the marinade. Zip it up and let it sit in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
- Select the SAUTE mode on the Instant Pot. When it is hot, add the marinated chicken to the pot. Saute until the chicken is cooked on all sides, stirring occasionally. Turn off the SAUTE mode.
- Add all of the sauce ingredients except the cream to the pressure cooker and stir. Secure and seal the lid. Select MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK and set the timer to cook for 10 minutes. Turn the knob to VENTING when done to release the pressure.
- Push SAUTE on the Instant Pot. When it gets hot, add heavy cream to the pot, stirring with the other ingredients. Simmer until the sauce is thickened to your liking, a few minutes.
- Serve with white rice or naan. Garnish with cilantro.
Miscellaneous Tips and FAQ’s for this delicious Chicken Tikka Masala:
Generally, chicken tikka masala recipes do tend to be a bit spicy since there is no creamy base with is, however, in this recipe is whipping cream which is used to calm down the spice level a bit.
If you want to use the spice level, you can always add a little chili powder to the dish as well.
Yes! If you want to change out the chicken for either tofu or chickpeas, this can still make a delicious vegetarian meal.
We tend to use the brand Simply Organic for this Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe, but you can get a more in-depth review of the different brands of garam masala on Cuisine at home.
We are still coating and marinating our chicken with an aromatic spiced Tikka yogurt, using chicken breasts instead of thighs for a delicious outcome. I would suggest marinating even longer than an hour if you have the time.
If you use thighs, you can cut down your marinating time by 1/2 because it will soak in all the flavors faster. But the texture will be a little different. The choice is up to you!
The combination of spices going into this creamy, tomato-based sauce is so perfect it makes your Tikka Masala explode with flavor.
Type of rice to use:
When you are making Indian food, basmati rice always comes to mind as it is often served in Indian restaurants. However, you can use your favorite, or if you are looking for a healthier option, you can also use cauliflower rice too!
Storage Instructions:
Fridge: Store the rice and the tender bites of chicken in the sauce separately. Once everything has cooled down to room temperature, place them in airtight containers and store them for up to 5 days.
More Instant Pot recipes:
- Instant Pot Orange Chicken Recipe
- Instant Pot Sticky Chicken Recipe
- Instant Pot Honey Sesame Chicken
Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala
Video
Ingredients
- 7 ounces plain Greek Yogurt, fat free
- 1 Tablespoon Garam Masala
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
Sauce
- 15 ounces tomato sauce, or puree
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 teaspoons garam masala
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream, add last
Serve with:
- 2 cups white rice, cookied
- 2 naan bread
- 2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken first by combining the yogurt, Garam Masala, lemon juice, pepper, and ginger in a Ziploc gallon size freezer bag. Add chicken chunks and coat with the marinade. Zip it up and let it sit in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
- Select the SAUTE mode on the Instant Pot. When it is hot, add the marinaded chicken to the pot. Saute until the chicken is cooked on all sides, stirring occasionally. Turn off the SAUTE mode.
- Add all of the sauce ingredients except the cream to the pressure cooker and stir. Secure and seal the lid. Select MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK and set the timer to cook for 10 minutes. Turn the knob to VENTING when done to release the pressure.
- Push SAUTE on the Instant Pot. When it gets hot, add cream to the pot, stirring with the other ingredients. Simmer until the sauce is thickened to your liking, a few minutes.
- Serve with white rice or naan. Garnish with cilantro.
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
Questions & Reviews