Easy Pressure Cooker Butter Chicken Recipe (Whole 30 Friendly) (2024)

Of all my small appliances I have, I have grown to love my electric pressure cooker the most. The one pot cleanup itself has been worth the small investment. I use my Instant Pot several times a week for just about every type of meal, from breakfast to dessert. I make the easest to peel hard boiled eggs several mornings a week. It has been an adventure finding great tasting recipes, especially Instant Pot chicken recipes. One of my favorite meals I have made is this easy butter chicken recipe.

Pressure Cooker Butter Chicken

What is Butter Chicken?

Butter chicken is a spicy, creamy chicken that was created in the early 20th century in Delhi, India. It was a way to use leftover chicken. Indian Butter Chicken traditionally uses yogurt and a lot of spices to achieve its “buttery” texture that everyone loves. You can make it spicier by adding more cayenne pepper according to your spice level.

My version is a little more on the lighter side. I wanted a version that could be adapted to fit into my Whole 30 program I do a couple times a year, so this version doesn’t contain yogurt. You could easily add a 1/2 cup of homemade yogurt into the sauce at the end if you want a more traditional version.

How to Make Butter Chicken

Butter chicken can be made using several cooking methods. Many people make it on the stovetop, but you can also make it in a slow cooker or even a pressure cooker. My version uses my Instant Pot, but you can convert it into a slow cooker method by following the same recipe but cooking on your low setting for 6-8 hours before adding your starch in.

As mentioned earlier, this recipe is easily adapted to be Paleo friendly, I have made notes on how to make this a Whole 30 butter chicken recipe as well.

• 1-1/2 lb chicken breast, cubed
• 2 tablespoons butter or ghee
• 1 small onion, diced
• 4 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
• 1 green pepper, seeded and chopped
• 3 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup cold water (use arrowroot starch for Whole 30)
• fresh cilantro, chopped for garnish (optional)
• rice for serving (substitute cauli-rice for Whole 30)

Directions

1. Place chicken, butter, onion, and garlic into the instant pot.
2. Use the saute function on the instant pot to saute the meat for 3-5 minutes or until cooked on the outside.
3. Add spices, tomato sauce, and green pepper to the Instant Pot and mix well.
4. Place the lid onto the Instant Pot and set for manual, high pressure for 7 minutes.
5. Quick release pressure and remove the lid.
6. Stir in cornstarch. Serve over a bed of rice and garnish with cilantro. Serves 4

Using cauliflower rice is a great way to make this pressure cooker chicken dish into a Whole 30/Paleo compliant meal. I admit that I have made it several times during our 30 days when my family does the program.

Using your pressure cooker is a great way to get food on the table quickly with minimal cleanup. For more easy recipes be sure to check out our collection of Instant Pot recipes that use 3 ingredients or less! You might also want to check out our version of Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana Soup!

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