This Dairy-Free Instant Pot Butter Chicken is an easy weeknight dinner that’s simple to make in the Instant Pot and better than take-out! Healthy and dairy-free!
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If you know me you’ll know I love a good easy weeknight meal! Our family loves this Dairy-Free Instant Pot Butter Chicken because it’s a healthy alternative to take-out and it’s SO easy to make! Serve it with some rice and naan bread for a delicious, wholesome meal!
This Dairy-Free Instant Pot Butter Chicken is a quicker and simpler version of my stove-top Dairy Free Butter Chicken recipe. It’s made with coconut milk instead of dairy, and with boneless, skinless chicken thighs so the chicken is perfectly moist and tender AND it’s a budget-friendly recipe!
QUICK & EASY WEEKNIGHT MEALS
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If you don’t have an Instant Pot yet and you’re navigating a busy life while trying to feed a hungry family 7 days a week, I’d highly recommend investing in an Instant Pot. Mine sat un-used on a shelf for 6 months until I finally had the courage to give it a try, but once I did I was hooked. I most often use the 8-Quart Instant Pot Duo (affiliate link) because I’m feeding a family (and we like having leftovers for the next day), but I test all my Instant Pot Recipes in the 6-Quart Instant Pot Duo (affiliate link) as well so you can be sure they’ll work for you too! If you’re looking for more delicious Instant Pot recipes, check out ALL my Instant Pot recipes HERE!
Looking for more easy Instant Pot dinners? You’ll LOVE this Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup, this Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce, or this Instant Pot Roast Chicken and Gravy!
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I hope you love this Instant Pot recipe as much as we do! Let me know in the comments below, what’s your favourite easy weeknight meal? I’d love to know!
Kitchen Products I Recommend:
Looking for even more delicious meal ideas? You’ll LOVE these ones I’ve linked below!
- Creamy One Pot Chicken Enchilada Pasta
- Thai Chicken Spiralized Zucchini Salad
- Ginger Soy Grilled Chicken
- White Wine and Herb Marinated Chicken
- Crispy Oven Fried Chicken
- Skillet Pesto Caprese Stuffed Chicken
- Honey Garlic and Lime Chicken
QUICK & EASY WEEKNIGHT MEALS
Get my 4-week meal plan guide e-cookbook for the price of a coffee!
Recipe Video
Watch the video below to see exactly how I make this recipe. You can find more delicious recipe videos on my YouTube channel
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Dairy-Free Instant Pot Butter Chicken
Recipe: Equipment
- 6-quart or 8-quart Instant Pot
Recipe: Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion diced
- 5 cloves garlic finely minced
- 1 large carrot diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 1-inch chunks (approximately 12 medium or 10 large)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 15 ounce canned coconut milk
- 8 ounces canned tomato sauce about half a standard can
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- chopped cilantro, rice and naan bread for serving
Recipe: Instructions
- Set your Instant Pot to saute mode.
- Add the olive oil, along with the onion, garlic, carrot and bell pepper.
- Cook for a few minutes, just until the onion and pepper soften.
- Add all the spices and the ginger and stir everything together well, continuing on saute mode until everything is very fragrant (about 3-4 minutes).
- Season the chicken thighs (cut into chunks) with the salt and pepper, and add them to the Instant Pot, along with the coconut milk, tomato sauce and lime juice. Stir everything together well, scraping any caramelised bits off the bottom of the Instant Pot.
- Hit the cancel button to stop saute mode, and add the lid to the Instant Pot.
- Set the valve to the sealing position and set the Instant Pot to cook on High Pressure for 10 minutes.
- After the cooking time is finished, release the pressure manually (it's a good idea to do this with a long-handled kitchen tool to avoid burning yourself, and to release the pressure under a hood fan in your kitchen, if you have one).
- Stir the water and cornstarch together in a small bowl. Remove the lid from the Instant Pot once the pressure is released and pour the cornstarch mixture into the Instant Pot.
- Stir well, and turn on saute mode for just a few minutes (stirring regularly) until the sauce thickens.
- Serve over rice with some fresh chopped cilantro and naan bread (optional).
Recipe: Notes
Recipe: Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Can you freeze this recipe ?
Yes! You can store it in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months!
Can I make this in a slow cooker/crock pot?
Unfortunately no. We use the Instant Pot to pressure cook this chicken, making the cook time shorter. Sadly we don’t have a Crock Pot option for this recipe but you can try the stovetop one https://thebusybaker.ca/easy-dairy-free-butter-chicken/. Hope this helps!
Do you add the lime juice with the spices?
The lime goes in with the coconut milk and tomato sauce.
Where do you add in the grated ginger?
You add it in at step 4 with all the spices. We hope you’ll it!