Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala

A bowl of chicken tikka masala served with white rice and garnished with fresh cilantro.

4.66 from 41 votes

Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala

🧡💚🙌🏻 Make this Indian favorite at home in 30 minutes in your pressure cooker OR make it in your slow cooker! Juicy chicken is coated with an ultra FLAVORFUL creamy sauce! You don't need to go to a restaurant because this EASY recipe tastes BETTER!

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Marinating Time2

Course: 30-Minute Meals

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: chicken tikka masala sauce, crock pot pressure cooker recipes, easy chicken tikka masala recipe, easy pressure cooker recipes, instant pot chicken tikka masala, instant pot tikka masala

Servings:

Calories: 612cal

Author: Averie Sunshine

Equipment

1 multi-cooker (you can use a multi-cooker OR a traditional Instant Pot OR a traditional slow cooker)
1 Instant Pot (or pressure cooker)
1 7-quart slow cooker

Ingredients

Chicken Marinade

about 1.25 to 1.50 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast cut into bite-sized pieces
6 ounces plain Greek yogurt I use 0% fat
2 to 3 cloves garlic minced or finely pressed
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons garam masala
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika or regular paprika
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground ginger

Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil
one small sweet Vidalia onion diced small
¼ cup unsalted butter
4 to 5 cloves garlic minced or finely pressed
one 15-ounce can tomato sauce or tomato puree
2 teaspoons garam masala
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika or regular paprika
1 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
¼ to ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper optional an to taste
½ cup cream or half-and-half use a dairy-free milk if desired
about 1/4 cup finely minced fresh cilantro divided for garnishing
naan basmati rice, etc. for serving, if desired

Instructions

Chicken Marinade:

Add all ingredients to a gallon-sized ziptop bag, seal, squish contents around to distribute evenly, and allow chicken to marinate in the fridge for at least 1 to 2 hours (overnight is ideal).

Sauce:

Turn Crock-Pot® Express Crock Multi Cooker to brown and sauté mode, add the onion, and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes; stir intermittently.
Add the butter, garlic, and cook until butter has melted and garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute; stirring nearly constantly.
Add the chicken (fish it out of the marinating bag, and discard the bag with the marinade and the marinating mixture), tomato sauce, garam masala, coriander, cumin, smoked paprika, ginger, salt, pepper, optional cayenne, cover, lock the lid, and set to pressure cook mode by touching the meat/poultry button on the top lefthand corner. Make sure the steam valve is set to lock on the top/backside of the machine. It will take about 10 minutes for it to 'preheat' into the pressure cooking mode and when it has preheated, '15 minutes' will appear on the screen. You don't need all 15 minutes of pressure cooking time. Stop cooking after 10 minutes has elapsed by pressing the stop button.
Allow pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes, then flick the steam valve with a utensil (the steam that escapes is hot) and remove the lid.
Alternatively, rather than pressure cooking you can use the slow cooker mode and cook for about 4 hours on low or about 2 hours on high, or until chicken is cooked through and sauce is as thickened as desired.
After the lid is open, set to brown and sauté mode, add the cream, stir to combine, and cook for about 2 minutes or until sauce is warmed through.
Optionally, allow sauce to simmer for 5 to 10 minutes to reduce and thicken in volume. Taste sauce to check for flavor balance and if desired make any necessary tweaks, i.e. more pepper, salt, cayenne, etc. to taste.
Portion chicken and sauce into bowls (use a slotted spoon if desired because there is a lot of sauce), evenly garnish with cilantro, and serve with naan, basmati rice, etc. or as desired.

Notes

Step 5 in the directions discusses using either pressure cooking or slow cooking.
This is a very saucy dish which we love. However, if you prefer less sauce, you can halve the amount of butter and/or cream and use 1.50 pounds of chicken.

Nutrition