My Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala makes a great weeknight meal option and is also freezer friendly too! Hi friends, this is Jennifer from JENRON DESIGNS. Last week we shared our Aloha Tacos, and this week another authentic favorite. One of our favorite dishes to make for a weeknight meal during the fall months is Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala. Not only is this a freezer-friendly meal option but it is so tasty. In this post I am including the full Marsala Sauce recipe card below, so you can either pre-make your sauce ahead of time and store it, or you can make it as you go, the choice is yours.
My easy weeknight prep tip is I like to pre-make large batches of the Masala sauce and then freeze it into pre-measured into ice cubes trays for quick weeknight meals in the Instant Pot. (1 full-size ice tray= dinner, 1 lb Chicken) The ice cube tray makes the sauce cubes easier to work with for the Instant Pot instant of 1 large frozen block.
In a bowl, coat chicken with yogurt and spice mix you can let your chicken marinate overnight which is preferable, or as little as 10 minutes in the refrigerator while you cut up your vegetables. Chop up your peppers and onions for the actual meal into large chunks and then prep the minced and grated parts for the sauce separately.
Heat oil in Instant Pot on Saute add chicken pieces in batches of two or three, making sure not to crowd the pan. Saute until browned for approximately 3 minutes on each side. Set aside and keep warm until your sauce is ready.
Masala Sauce~ Melt the butter in the Instant Pot. Saute the minced onions until soft (about 3 minutes) while scraping up any browned bits stuck on the bottom of the pan. Add garlic and ginger and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant, then add garam masala, cumin, turmeric, and coriander.
Saute for about 30 seconds until fragrant, while stirring occasionally. Pour in the tomato puree, chili powders, and salt. Add back the chicken, and the peppers and onion chunks. Stir the coconut milk and sugar through the sauce. Pour in the water to thin out the sauce, if needed.
Garnish with cilantro and serve with hot pistachio rice and fresh homemade naan bread
Here is how to make a quick pistachio rice which is the perfect serving bed for your Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala:
Pistachio Rice~ combine 1 3/4 cups of chicken stock, 2 tsp of brown sugar 1 tsp turmeric and 2 tbsp of butter, 1/2 shelled pistachios with 1 1/2 cup of Jasmine Rice. Cook on high-pressure rice setting for 10 minutes.
Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala
You may also enjoy my other recipes made in the 3 Qt. Instant Pot HERE. It may be mini, but it does the job! Enjoy.
Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala
Equipment
- Instant Pot 3 Qt. Mini ( Recipe Can be doubled for larger size Instant Pots)
Ingredients
- 1 lb Chicken Breast Chunked
- 1/2 cup yogurt marinade
- 2 tsp Garam Masala marinade
- 1 tsp Turmeric marinade
- 1 tsp Cumin marinade
- 1/2 tsp Red Chili Flakes marinade
- 1 tsp Salt marinade
- 1 medium Pepper Diced
- 1 medium Yellow Onion Diced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ~Masala Sauce~
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 1 small Onion minced or grated
- 1 1/2 tbsp Garlic minced or grated
- 1 1/2 tbsp Ginger minced or grated
- 1 1/2 tsp Garam Masala
- 1 1/2 tsp Turmeric
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Coriander
- 14 oz Tomato Puree
- 1 tsp Red Chili Flakes
- 1 1/4 cup Coconut MIlk
- 1 tsp Brown Sugar
- 1/4 cup Water
- 4 tbsp Cilantro Garnish
Instructions
- In a bowl, coat chicken with yogurt and spice mix (all of dry spices listed at top of recipe as marinade) let marinate for a minimum of 10 minutes to overnight.
- Heat oil in Instant Pot on Saute add chicken pieces in batches of two or three, making sure not to crowd the pan. Saute until browned for approximately 3 minutes on each side. Set aside and keep warm.
- Masala Sauce~ Melt the butter in the same pan. Saute the minced onions until soft (about 3 minutes) while scraping up any browned bits stuck on the bottom of the pan. Add garlic and ginger and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant, then add garam masala, cumin, turmeric and coriander.
- Saute for about 30 seconds until fragrant, while stirring occasionally. Pour in the tomato puree, chili powders and salt. Add back the chicken, and the peppers and onion chunks. Stir the coconut milk and sugar through the sauce. Pour in the water to thin out the sauce, if needed.
- Place lid on Instant Pot and set to High Pressure Cook for about 15 minutes
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