It’s been awhile since I pulled out my instant pot. But last week, I put to to use quite a few times. I made pulled pork, creamy cajun chicken (which was phenomenal, by the way!), and yesterday, I made butter chicken. Now, I’ve made it before, but I wanted to try to “healthy” it up a little bit (if that’s possible)…and reduce the amount of actual dairy in the meal. Skip to the healthy butter chicken recipe here.
Stupid Easy Healthy Butter Chicken Recipe
I haven’t given dairy up altogether, but I do try to limit how much I eat-my stomach just likes me better, and I find that I feel better (less bloated, at least) when I put limits on it. So obviously, butter chicken isn’t something I can make all the time. But sometimes, you just need delicious, semi-off limits food.
In the past, I’ve always made my butter chicken in a cast iron pan on the stovetop, but I wanted to see if I could achieve the same flavor in my Instant Pot. This would also allow me to adapt the recipe a little bit…and use a little less butter.
And it turned out to be amazing. I served it over Jasmine Rice at Ish’s request-though it would be super delicious over cauli-rice, too.
Stupid Easy Butter Chicken
You could easily make this completely dairy free by using just coconut milk or cream, though I like the small amount of butter in the recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, grated
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
- 3 Tablespoons grass fed butter
- 8-10 ounces full fat coconut milk
- 1 6 ounce can tomato paste
Instructions
- Set up your Instant Pot, and turn it on Saute. Add your butter, and allow it to melt. Add in the onion, garlic, spices, tomato paste, half the coconut milk, and stir to combine. Add the chicken thighs and turn to cover in sauce.
- Place the lid on your Instant pot, and turn the vent the back position. Use the chicken setting, and set for 20 minutes at high pressure.
- Give the pressure cooker time to naturally let off steam-about 20 minutes. Remove the cover and gently stir. Your chicken will be super tender and likely fall apart-that's okay! If needed, add more coconut milk to thin the sauce a small amount.
- Serve immediately.
You can serve this butter chicken recipe over rice-I prefer jasmine rice for this recipe, or cauli-rice. Both are delicious, though the cauli-rice is a little bit faster than the jasmine. If you start your pot of rice at the same time you put your chicken in the Instant pot, you’ll be in good shape!
I made this two nights ago. It was good, and my husband really liked it. We have had Butter Chicken before.
Oh yay! I am so glad Shameaka! It’s a staple around here!