Butter chicken is one of my favorite dishes to order when we eat out. The recipe I’m sharing today is mild in heat and friendly for the whole family. And it’s quick and easy in the instant pot! WIN, WIN! And let's not forget to mention this is macro friendly (high protein)!
I love a family meal that everyone enjoys, and this one fits that bill. My 3 littles gobble it right up! When they smell it they get excited and start yelling “BUTTER CHICKEN! YUMMMM!” I like these kind of nights; because the nights of moans and groans about what is served for dinner get old!
My love for Indian food goes beyond Butter Chicken! Naan is probably my love language! 🙂 I’ve loved discovering cauliflower rice because it’s low calorie (compared to regular rice) and very filling. So if I pair cauliflower rice with the Butter Chicken that leaves plenty of room for carbs in the form of naan! But either way – it’ll be sure to please those taste buds!
Hope you enjoy this one!
Instant Pot Indian Butter Chicken
Ingredients
- ½ tablespoon avocado/olive oil/ghee
- 1 medium sized yellow onion, diced (~200 g)
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced (~14g)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated (if you only have ground ginger use ½ tsp)
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon cardamom (optional, but tasty)
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
- ½ cup half and half
- 3 pounds raw chicken breast
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or more to taste)
- 3 tablespoons butter
- Optional for serving: Hot cooked rice, cauliflower rice, chopped cilantro for garnish
Instructions
Turn instant pot to sauté mode. Add oil onion, jalapeno and onion; saute until onion is translucent. Add garlic, ginger and dry spices and cook 1 to 2 more minutes until it’s nice and fragrant; stirring constantly. Be careful not to burn it. You can turn the sauté mode to the low setting if needed. Sometimes the “normal” setting can be really hot.
If you have an immersion blender then pour the chicken broth and tomato paste into the instant pot with the onion mixture, then blend it until smooth. If you don’t have an immersion blender – then add the broth, tomato paste and cooked onion mixture to your blender and blend til nice and smooth and return to the instant pot.
Nestle your chicken into the sauce, turning to coat the chicken in the sauce. Secure the lid and cook on high pressure for 13 minutes for raw chicken and 20 minutes for frozen chicken). Let the pressure naturally release if you want really more tender chicken breast. If you don’t have time for that let it naturally release for 10 minutes and finish it off with the quick release.
Once pressure has come down, open the pot and shred the chicken with two forks (or remove the chicken from the instant pot onto a cutting board and shred from there). Put the chicken back into the pot and add the salt, pepper, half and half and butter. If you want the sauce thicker you can turn the instant pot back to saute mode and simmer until you get the desired consistency.
Serve Butter Chicken over hot steamed rice or cooked cauliflower rice.
Feel free to serve with whatever else you desire. Steamed veggies and/or naan bread are always good options.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe by Lindsay Grover
My Fitness Pal Reference (doesn’t include rice):
“Biceps After Babies Instant Pot Butter Chicken”
**Macros are listed for the Butter Chicken only. Rice/Naan etc are NOT included in the macros**
Serving Size 1/12 of recipe (~170 g in weight)
Cal 195 P 36.4 g C 5.8 g F 5.7 g
PRO TIP: Serving size is 1/12 of the recipe. Since cook times vary and other factors can affect the weight of your food. You can weigh the cooked weight of the meal in grams and subtract the weight of the pan and divide that by 12 to see how many grams one serving is.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1/12 of recipeAmount Per Serving: Calories: 195Total Fat: 5.7gCarbohydrates: 5.8gProtein: 36.4g
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