Easy & healthy Coconut Chicken Curry made in an Instant Pot in just 30 minutes! This is simple Indian chicken curry recipe is made with ginger, garlic, onions alongside flavorful spices, and finished with creamy coconut milk. Pair this dairy-free & gluten-free curry with fragrant basmati rice.
This is the best coconut and chicken curry that you’ll ever make. Personally, I love curries because they are quick, full of flavor and tastes just as good the following days. This curry is also incredible because it uses basic ingredients,similar to my mom’s chicken curry and chicken curry with potatoes, that you most likely have in your kitchen right now.
It’s so healthy because it’s made from scratch and also very quick to make (thanks to the instant pot), you have control over the ingredients in this curry and the most important part is that this curry is mild, therefore perfect for kids (even picky eaters). Your family will love this recipe!
How to make Coconut Chicken Curry?
Before you start making this coconut chicken curry make sure you have all the ingredients prepped and on hand. Dice your onions and cut your chicken thighs into pieces. Keep the spices ready. Now let’s start making this delicious curry.
- Set the Instant Pot on sauté mode and let it heat.
- Add ghee or oil along with the cumin seeds. Saute for 30 seconds until they release their aroma. Cumin seeds are optional but do add a wonderful flavor to the curry. If you have ghee, I highly recommend to use it, as it adds so much more flavor to this curry.
- Now add the diced onions, garlic, ginger, and sauté them for a few minutes.
- When the onions turn golden brown, add the tomato puree along with the spices and saute for an additional 2-3 minutes. I used canned tomato puree, you can also use fresh tomato puree in this recipe. Blend 2 tomatoes to make a puree.
- Add the chicken pieces to the pot. Stir and sauté for 3-4 more minutes. Do not skip this step, as it adds lots of flavor to the curry.
- Then add the water and mix well. Deglaze well and make sure nothing is stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- Switch the Instant Pot to manual or pressure cook on high pressure for 4 minutes with the vent in sealing position.
- As soon as the Instant Pot beeps, quick release the pressure manually and open the lid.
- Now stir in the coconut milk, garam masala and let it simmer on sauté mode for 4-5 minutes until the sauce is thickened to your preference. Use full-fat canned unsweetened coconut milk.
- You are almost ready! Stir in the lime juice and garnish with cilantro.
- The coconut chicken curry is ready to be served with flavorful rice or Indian flatbreads. Enjoy!
How to serve this Chicken Curry with Coconut Milk?
You can whip up some basmati rice or cumin rice to soak up all that saucy goodness. This curry goes also very well with Indian flatbreads like roti, naan or paratha with a side of yogurt.
Leftovers and Reheating Tips
Seal any leftover curry in an airtight container, it should last up to 3 days in the refrigerator. But if you’d like to make more for the week or month ahead, I suggest you freeze it. Make sure it’s fully cooled down before sealing. Once the curry is frozen it will keep well for 3-4 months.
You can reheat the curry in the microwave or on the stovetop while stirring well.
Tips & Variations for making the best coconut chicken curry
- You can use skinless chicken breast or chicken thighs to make this curry.
- Add all the veggies! You can add roasted cauliflower, broccoli florets, green peas and even baby spinach at the end! If you want to add potatoes or sweet potatoes, cut them in large pieces and add them just before pressure cooking.
- You don’t want chicken? No problem! You can still make a delicious curry using shrimps like in this Coconut Shrimp Curry.
- For a plant-based version of curry, try this Vegetable Korma with coconut milk which is also made in an instant pot.
Looking for more quick & delicious instant pot recipes? I’ve got you covered!
- Chickpea Curry with Spinach (Chana Saag) – A healthy vegan and gluten-free curry with chickpeas and spinach.
- Creamy Mushroom Pasta – Spaghetti tossed in a creamy cheese sauce loaded with mushrooms.
- Vegetable Biryani – Fragrant basmati rice cooked with lots of vegetables, and aromatic whole spices and herbs.
- Madras Lentils – Restaurant-style Dal Makhani made in the pressure cooker, it’s rich, creamy, and flavorful.
Instant Pot Coconut Chicken Curry
Equipment
Video
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Ghee or Oil
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera), optional
- 1 cup Onions, yellow diced
- 1/2 tablespoon Ginger, paste or grated
- 1/2 tablespoon Garlic, paste or minced
- 1 cup Tomato puree, canned or blend 2 tomatoes to make a puree *
- 1 pound Chicken thighs, skinless and boneless, cut into 1-1.5 inch pieces.
- 1/4 cup Water
- 1 cup Coconut Milk, canned, full-fat, unsweetened
- 1 teaspoon Garam Masala
- 1 tablespoon Lime juice
- Cilantro , to garnish
Spices
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin (Jeera powder)
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground Turmeric (Haldi powder)
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder, or paprika, adjust to taste
- 1 teaspoon Coriander powder (Dhaniya powder)
- 1 teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Start the instant pot in Sauté mode and let it heat. Add ghee (or oil), and then add cumin seeds. Let them sizzle for 30 seconds.
- Add onions, ginger and garlic paste. Sauté for about 3 minutes until the onions turn golden brown.
- Add tomato puree and spices. Mix and let it sauté for 2-3 minutes. (If your instant pot is prone to burn, then skip this step and add the tomato puree after sautéing the chicken and adding water. Do not stir.)
- Add chicken pieces to the pot. Stir and saute the chicken for about 3-4 minutes. Do not skip this step, as it adds lots of flavor to the curry.
- Add the water and stir. Press cancel and close lid with the vent in sealing position.
- Start the instant pot in Manual or Pressure cook mode on high pressure for 4 minutes.
- When the instant pot beeps, quick release the pressure manually and open the lid.
- Stir in the coconut milk, garam masala and let it simmer on sauté mode for 4-5 minutes or until the sauce is thickened (see notes to thicken sauce).
- Stir in the lime juice and garnish with cilantro. Coconut Chicken Curry is ready to be served. Enjoy over basmati rice or with naan.
The taste is spot, very delicious in fact. I cut back on the Kashmir chilli but ended up adding nearly the 3 tablespoons. It is not hot. I ground my own cumin and coriander. Tripling the recipe does not feed 12 people with 3 pounds of chicken. I should have listened to myself because I cook for 9-12 people pretty often. There was enough liquid for 15 servings but not enough chicken. I had to buy a couple more pounds and take some of the liquid off to cook the new raw pieces to cook the rest , so I didn’t overcook the chicken I had already cooked. I am going to add peas and cauliflower when I reheat to serve tomorrow for Sunday supper. I also added just two teaspoons of garam masala instead if 3.
I’ve made this twice now and it is by far my favorite curried chicken recipe for instapot! Thank you.
I’m adding asafetida to 2x the recipe. It’ll be 1/4 tsp. I’m new to that spice. Is that the amount you would use?
Hi Aaron – Yes, that is fine. I hope you enjoy the curry!
Such a delicious and easy recipe. We make this all the time
My curry came out very watery and soupy, I’m not sure where I went wrong. The flavor is good but the consistency wasn’t like curry. Any advice?
Hi Karin – I would suggest to put the instant pot on saute mode for a few minutes (2-5 mins), and that will quickly thicken the curry. I have also included the method to thicken the sauce in the recipe notes.
Have you tried marinating the chicken? Would you recommend doing that? I have seen recipes that marinate the chicken with yogurt and spices.
Hi McKayla – You can surely marinate the chicken if you have extra time. Add the ginger, garlic, lime juice, and spices from the ingredient list to marinate the chicken and then use them in the recipe. You can skip these ingredients while cooking, or if you like your curry heavier on spices, add some spices again (adjust quantity to taste) when making the curry sauce. I hope you enjoy the curry!
This turned out really delicious!! Loved it.
Thank you, Meeta. Coconut curry chicken has become a staple for our family, especially on cold Montana winter days. My daughter who is a very picky eater, loves it!
Hi Karen – So happy that you all are enjoying the curry in this cold weather!
This was soooo delicious and easy to make! I made a few substitutions for things I already had on hand….a can of diced tomatoes instead of puree, dried onions instead of fresh, ground ginger instead of paste/grated, and almond milk instead of coconut milk. I sautéed the chicken and garlic first, then deglazed the pot and added the tomatoes, spices, and broccoli. At the end I added frozen peas. It was so good I didn’t want to stop eating it!
Hi Cindy – I am glad you enjoyed the curry. Thank you for sharing the substitutions you made.
I’ve made many of your recipes and this is my new favorite! Healthy, easy and really delicious. I made this for meal prep – a week’s worth of dinners + extra to freeze. (Triple batch!) I dumped all in the crockpot for 7 hours on high -no prebrowning cuz I’m lazy. Added sweet potatoes too, skipped the water and halved the coconut milk to lose fat content. It came out perfect. Thank you for another winner!
Hi – I’m delighted to hear that you enjoyed the recipe and found a convenient way to make it work for your meal prep! Thank you for sharing it. 😊