Chicken Tikka Masala is an Indian-restaurant favorite rich-creamy tomato-based chicken curry. Made with tender cooked chicken marinated in yogurt, red chili powder, turmeric, and garam masala, this EASY recipe is cooked in just 30 minutes using the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker.
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "Archana,I followed your recipe exactly and had excellent results. Your directions and your serving calculator to adjust for number of people you are feeding is so helpful. You are such an amazing lady. I love that you are so generous and share tips and your Mother’s Garam Masala recipe. Truly a wealth of sharing! In my humble opinion you are the “Julia Child” for Indian Cuisine. You are helping teach Americans how to make your wonderful and delicious Indian Food with amazing results and to do it with ease. Thank you so much! Keep on with your wonderful Ministry of Curry! I made your Chicken Tikka Masala and had 20 guests who thought you were there cooking in my kitchen for me. It made me feel so good to be able to cook your recipe and have it come out THAT good! Thank you!" - K.D.
This Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala is made with a few basic Indian spices and is so easy and flavorful, you might just skip takeout for good! It cooks in under 30 minutes, and the best part—only one pot to clean. If you love tender, juicy chicken in a creamy, spiced sauce, you have to give this recipe a try. And if you’re craving the same bold flavors with a more traditional touch, don’t miss my Stovetop Chicken Tikka Masala.
Love Instant Pot Cooking? Try my Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala, Salmon Tikka Masala with Canned Tomatoes, and other Easy Instant Pot recipes.
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Ingredients
Note: A recipe card with exact ingredient measurements and instructions is available at the end of this post. The ingredient photo and details included here are just to give you a clear visual reference of what you’ll need for the recipe, ensuring you know exactly what to gather before you start.
- Chicken Breasts - Boneless skinless chicken breasts are traditionally used. You can also use chicken thighs instead with the same pressure cooking time as that for the chicken breasts.
- Ground Spices - Kashmiri red chili powder, turmeric, garam masala, and salt for marinating the chicken as well as in the sauce. These basic Indian spices add the perfect amount of heat, flavor, and a beautiful red hue to the dish.
- Ginger and Garlic - fresh ginger and garlic are used for both the chicken marinade and the sauce.
- Lemon Juice - adds brightness and helps with marination.
- Yogurt - unsweetened plain yogurt is traditionally used to marinate. You can also use plain Greek yogurt.
- Onion - I use yellow onions for most Indian curries as they lend a mildly sweet flavor when cooked, you can also use red onions instead.
- Tomatoes - Ripe plum tomatoes are perfect to make the gravy or you can substitute them with good quality boxed chopped/diced/pureed tomatoes. Store-bought diced or pureed tomatoes will add more vibrant color to the curry.
How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala
Marinate the Chicken
- Using paper towels, dry any excess moisture on the chicken. Make 2 to 3 slits in the chicken breasts and apply salt and lemon juice (photo 1)
- Mix yogurt, red chili powder, garam masala, ginger, and garlic. Apply evenly to the chicken breasts and allow them to marinate for at least 20 minutes or refrigerate overnight if marinating ahead of time. Marinating chicken for 4-5 hours or overnight is recommended (photo 2)
- Set the Instant Pot to Sauté mode and melt butter or oil (photo 3)
- Add onions and saute for 2 minutes (photo 4)
- Next, add ginger, and garlic and mix well, followed by tomatoes, turmeric, salt red chili powder, and garam masala (photo 5)
- Mix well, and then press Cancel. Add 2 tablespoons of water. Deglaze the pot if needed (photo 6)
- Place the tall trivet in the main pot and the marinated chicken over the trivet (photo 7)
- Baste the chicken with oil. Close the Instant Pot with the pressure valve to sealing. Pressure cook for 8 minutes followed by 10 minutes of natural pressure release (photo 8)
- Open the Instant Pot and take the chicken and the trivet out. Optional step - broil the cooked chicken in a preheated oven for 5 minutes to get some char marks. Cut the chicken into 2-inch chunks (photo 9)
- Using an immersion blender, blend the sauce until smooth and bring the sauce to a boil on saute mode. Stir in cream and fenugreek leaves (photo 10)
- Add the chicken to the sauce (photo 11)
- Set the Instant Pot to saute mode and bring the sauce to a gentle boil. The sauce will thicken further as it cools down. Garnish with cilantro (photo 12)
Serving
Serve with roti, Parathas, or Naan. For a gluten-free Indian meal, serve it with Cumin Rice, Steamed Basmati rice, or Brown rice. Pair it with cooling Beet Raita or cucumber raita for a complete meal. And don't forget the super-easy Mango Lassi drink to make it a 5-star meal!
How to Store
Chicken Tikka Masala is a perfect dish to make ahead as the flavors continue to develop. Any leftovers can be refrigerated for 2 to 3 days or frozen for 2 months. I would also recommend making a double batch of the sauce and freezing half of it for later.
Tips for Best Chicken Tikka Masala
- Use plain, full-fat, or Greek yogurt to marinate the chicken
- Pat dry the chicken to avoid extra liquids in the marinade
- Marinate for 4 hours or overnight
- Discard any leftover marinade or brush it on the chicken for a spicier curry
- Can substitute 1.5 cups of pureed or diced tomatoes for fresh tomatoes
- Homemade garam masala brings out authentic flavors
- Can substitute any mild red chili powder for Kashmiri red chili powder
Why Make Chicken Tikka Masala In Instant Pot
✔️ Cooked in under 30 minutes
✔️ Juicy tender cooked chicken every single time
✔️ No more multiple steps or pots and pans
✔️ Cook the sauce and the chicken at the same time using the pot-in-pot method! HUGE TIME SAVER!!
✔️ Puree the sauce directly in the main pot using an immersion blender. No need to transfer the hot curry into a blender
✔️ Miss the smoky char-grilled marks? Go ahead and broil the cooked chicken in the oven for a few minutes
More Indian Chicken Curry Recipes You'll Love
- Butter Chicken
- Chicken Korma
- Mom's Chicken Curry
- Kheema Curry
- Mughlai Chicken Korma
- Homestyle Chicken Karahi
Looking for vegetarian options or trying to include more plant-based meals in your diet? Then check out my easy vegetarian recipes for dinner.
★ Tried this recipe? I’d love to hear how it turned out! Leave a comment and let me know, or snap a quick pic and upload it—I love seeing your creations. If you’re on Instagram, tag @ministry_of_curry so I can check it out. Your feedback means so much to me and makes all the time I spend perfecting each recipe totally worth it. Thank you!
Recipe
Seriously Good Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala
Recipe Video
Ingredients
Marinate
- 1½ pounds chicken breasts
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
- 2 teaspoons Kashmiri red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 2 teaspoons ginger grated
- 2 teaspoons garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon oil for basting
Sauce/Curry
- 2 tablespoons butter or oil
- 2 medium yellow onions diced
- 1 teaspoon ginger grated
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- 3 plum tomatoes chopped or 1.5 cups diced or pureed tomatoes
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 to 2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
- ½ to 1 teaspoon garam masala
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
Garnish
- 1 tablespoon kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves) kasoori methi
- ½ cup cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Make 2 to 3 slits in the chicken breasts. Apply salt and lemon juice to the chicken breasts. Mix yogurt, red chili powder, garam masala, ginger, and garlic. Apply evenly to the chicken breasts and allow to marinate for 20 minutes or refrigerate if marinating ahead of time. Marinating chicken for 4-5 hours or overnight works well.
- Set the Instant Pot to Saute mode and heat butter or oil. Add onions and saute for 2 minutes. Add ginger, garlic and mix well. Add tomatoes, turmeric, salt red chili powder, and garam masala. Mix well. Press Cancel. Add 2 tablespoons of water. Deglaze the pot if needed.
- Place the tall trivet in the main pot. Place the marinated chicken over the trivet. Baste the chicken with oil. Close the Instant Pot with the pressure valve to sealing. Pressure Cook for 8 minutes followed by 10-minute natural pressure release.
- Open the Instant Pot. Take the chicken and the trivet out. Using an immersion blender, blend the sauce until smooth.
- Stir in cream and fenugreek leaves.
- Broil the cooked chicken in a preheated oven for 5 minutes to get some char marks (Optional). Cut the chicken into 2-inch pieces and add them to the sauce.
- Set the Instant Pot to saute mode and bring the curry to a gentle boil. The sauce will thicken further as it cools down. Garnish with cilantro.
Notes
- Use plain full-fat or greek yogurt for the marinade. You can also use dairy-free yogurt if you like
- Pat dry the chicken to avoid extra liquids in the marinade
- Discard any leftover marinade or brush it on the chicken for a spicier curry
- 1 cup of pureed tomatoes can be substituted for fresh tomatoes
- Homemade garam masala brings out the best flavors
- Any mild red chili powder can be substituted for Kashmiri red chili powder
- Dair free cream can be used in place of heavy whipping cream
Nutrition
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Kim says
Can you use frozen chicken breasts?
Archana says
yes! They will thaw as you marinate them
Mallika Rangarajan says
Hi Archana!
This maybe a stupid question, but is the Instant Pot the same as a Pressure Cooker? I just have a Slow Cooker. Can that be used instead?
Thank you for your time dear!
Blessings!
Mallika
Archana says
Hi Mallika, yes Instant Pot is similar to pressure cooker. Except you do not have to count the whistles. I am actually working on publishing a slow cooker Chicken Tikka Masala right now. You will have the recipe on the website next week. Let me know if you have any questions. Happy Cooking!
Eric says
Used kefir in the marinade and coconut milk instead of cream, and no sugar. Slightly healthier, still amazing. Also used mix of breast and thighs. Excellent flavor. Make sure to add enough salt!
Archana says
Thank you Eric for your detailed feedback. I am going to try with Kefir, what a great idea!
IS says
I did the following:
-Used coconut milk instead of cream.
-Marinated the chicken with Shan's tikka masala. for 20 minutes. Wished I had more time.
-Since I had used my small chopper for mincing onions and tomatoes, the cooked gravy was smooth. Hence I did not need the immersion blender.
Thank you for the recipe. Came out great. Everyone loved it !!
Archana says
Thank you for the detailed feedback!
Benazir Baig says
Hello,
Any other recommendations instead of cream? Can I use yogurt?
Archana says
You can use coconut cream or cashew cream (simply blend cashews until smooth with water). Yogurt might make it too sour.
Toni Lynn says
I tried this recipe today and it came out excellent! We cut the chicken into chunks to marinate instead of cooking whole breasts. I couldn’t find fenugreek leaves, so I omitted it, and I didn’t add the sugar. Thank you for posting this recipe, I will use it again and again.
Archana says
Thank you so much for taking time for this lovely feedback.
Rema says
I just finished making you recipe and it is excellent! I omitted the fenugreek leaves, do you have a substitute suggestion?
Archana says
Hi Rema, you can skip fenugreek leaves as its just a garnish. There is no good substitute.
Swati says
I usually get the chicken breast tenderloins instead of big breast or thigh pieces. How much do I need to pressure cook those? Will 8 mins make them over cook?
Archana says
Cook for 5 mins. Hope I am not too late to reply.
Sharon says
I made it as is, and it was delicious! My kids (5 year old and 2 year old) devoured it. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Archana says
Thank you for the feedback! So glad your little ones enjoyed it too.
Shri D says
Amazing recipe and really delicious. Loved it.
Hetal says
I have always been hesitant making chicken tikka masala because of how complicated it looks and the amount of dishes. I decided to try this one and it was such a hit! Better than restaurants and so good! The kids loved it as well!
I used chicken tenders and cooked it for 5 minutes with a 6 minute release. Also used a 14oz can of whole peeled tomatoes. I just squished it apart with my hands and then put it into the instant pot. It turned out great!
Archana says
Thank you Hetal
Jennifer says
Hi!
Love your recipes! For this one though, i kept getting the dreaded ‘burn’ no matter what i tried. Could you please let me know why it could’ve happened and maybe suggest a workaround if in case if happens again?
Thanks much!
Jen & Presh
Archana says
Hi Jen, I am so sorry you got the burn. I have used minimal water in this recipe so the sauce is not too watery. Make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot before you start layering the chicken over. Press cancel to get out of saute to the pot does not continue evaporate the liquids inside. Additionally you can add 2 extra tablespoons of water to the onions and tomato and scrape off any browned bits from sautéing .
Shital Lakhani says
I made this tonight and it was a hit! I doubled it in the pot and it fit perfectly. The kids loooved it.
Archana says
Thank you!!
Judy says
Awesome just as it is. Can this be doubled in the instant pot?
Archana says
yes you can double with same cook times.
Anu says
Archana, great recipe. It came out really spicy (husband loved it but Was too much for father in law). Can you recommend a good brand for Kashmiri chili powder? I think mine is just super spicy.
Archana says
Try swad or Rani brand.
Meeta says
Love this recipe!! It was fairly easy to prepare and the flavors are amazing! I'll definitely be making this again soon!
Angelina Sales says
This was DELICIOUS! Husband's favorite dish and he loved this version. loved how quick it was. I had a quick questions for nex time... kinda a dumb one too. I normally make Chicken Tikka Masala the traditionally way -char the chicken on skewers then add to sauce. With the Instapot, I know I can char the chicken but just wondering if you char the chicken with the sauce still inside the pot, or do you transfer the sauce out before charing the chicken then return sauce back into thepot? Not sure if leaving sauce in pot will burn it or not.
Thank you
Heather Day says
What a delicious and fun recipe to make in the Instant Pot. A little too spicy for us, will make adjustments next time and will try it with coconut milk too!
Now time to find some other recipes to try.
Thank you
D says
I don't usually comment on any of the millions of food blogs out there, but this recipe really blew my mind. It's so good!
I'm going to make a huge batch and freeze it in parts to simply add chicken or potatoes or paneer or whatever sounds good as I need.
I've tried a lot of Chicken Tikka Masala recipes and this one is just amazing.
Thank you.
Shru says
This was super yummy n quick .. I used combination of drumstick and cut breast piece.. 5 min + 10 min NPR worked perfect for me ...thanks for the recipe meeta