Best Instant Pot Yellow Curry
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Make your own Thai-style yellow chicken curry at home with this easy instant pot chicken curry recipe! Chicken curry in the pressure cooker is ready so fast and tastes just like your take-out favorite.
I first fell in love with yellow chicken curry when I worked in San Francisco as a technical reciter. There was a Thai restaurant we would frequent for birthday lunches, client lunches, and eventually any time I could find the excuse.
Back in those days, I was not an adventurous eater. I was nervous to try Thai food. I’m not even sure why, except that it was unknown.
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Falling in love with yellow chicken curry
Then came they yellow chicken curry. I fell in love hard and fast. I ate it at least once a month and even convinced my boyfriend (now husband) to make the trek out to the city just so he could eat it with me.
Fast forward 10 years and 3 kids, I don’t make it out to the city very often (ever) and going out to eat doesn’t happen often either. We do get the occasionally take-out yellow curry, but the prices add up with a family of 5 (who all now love chicken curry).
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Chicken Curry in an instant pot
That’s when I saw my friend Fanny from Living Richly on a Budget’s Instant Pot Thai curry recipe, I knew I had to try it! I adapted her recipe by adding carrots and potatoes and voila. Perfect homemade instant pot chicken curry.
The key to making the best instant pot chicken curry is really in the sauce. We use the yellow curry sauce from Trader Joes along with a can of coconut milk. You don’t have to use that brand, but combining the sauce and the coconut milk is really what makes this dish amazing. So don’t skip either of them!
What to serve with instant pot chicken curry?
Our go-to side dish with instant pot yellow chicken curry is brown rice or cauliflower rice. Both are excellent choices.
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Instant Pot Chicken Curry Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into (1-inch) cubes
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 11-ounce bottle Thai yellow curry sauce
- 1 13.5-ounce can coconut milk
- 3 medium carrots peeled and cut into 1-inch rounds
- 1 large russet potato peeled and cubed
- 1/2 white onion roughly chopped
Instructions
- Gather your ingredients.
- Press saute button on instant pot and add oil.
- Once oil is hot, add in cubed chicken. Season liberally with salt and pepper.
- Cook, stirring often until chicken is browned. About 4 minutes.
- Pour in curry sauce and deglaze bottom of instant pot.
- Turn instant pot off.
- Mix in coconut milk (some seperation is okay), carrot, potato, and onion.
- Close lid and set pressure release valve to sealing.
- Press manual or pressure cook button and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.
- Natural pressure release for 10 minutes.
- Quick release remaining pressure.
- Serve chicken curry over rice.
Notes
Nutrition
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Did you try this recipe for instant pot chicken curry? Give us a star rating and review (above)!
Do you have to sauté the chicken first or can you just throw everything in the instant pot and maybe increase the cooking time?
Yes, you can just throw it in and increase the cook time to 12 minutes.
Thanks again for the amazing recipe! One question, the cook time was perfect for the chicken and the root vegetables, but the bell pepper I decided to add was overcooked. Do you think they will cook enough if I add them after the rest finishes cooking and maybe let it sit for 5 minutes?
Yes, I think that would be fine!
Absolutely fantastic! The whole family loved it. I doubled the recipe and used sliced pieces of chicken breast. For veggies, I added 1 onion, 2 potatoes and some baby carrots cut in half, as well as red bell pepper and half a bag of Trader Joe’s Haricots Verts green beans. We enjoyed it over TJ’s organic jasmine rice
Been making this recipe for two years. One of my favorites!! My husband loves it, it’s quick, lots of flavor and simple ingredients. Also gives me an excuse to go to Trader Joe’s 😉
I used this as a basis for a vegan variant. I added can of garbanzo beans and a half cup of quinoa and used some chili power when sautéing the onions for some extra spice. I thought it turned out great. Make sure to stir well before pressure cook I got the burn warning and it stopped pressure cooking but didn’t burn so that was cool.
Thanks so much for your tips, Bill! I’ll have to try them with garbanzo beans next time.
Do you think this would work adding zucchini/squash in? Or should I add them after release?
Yes, I think you could add large chunks in before cooking.
This was so easy and delish! I don’t have a lot of time on the weekdays and I hate getting out a million slices. But I do love flavor and combining protein and veggies into one dish. This really hit the mark. Thanks so much.
Can this be doubled in a 6qt Instant Pot? We love leftovers & this recipe sounds like it might be similar to the kind my Lao co-workers make that they’ve shared with me.
If doubled does it need doubled the time for cooking as well?
Hi Diana! You can double it so long as it doesn’t surpass the max fill line. The cook time does not need to be increased. Enjoy!
Thanks! We are trying it tonight as a single batch. I’m hoping it is as good as my Lao co-worker’s use to bring in & share with me. I tried having them give me their recipe, but her recipe was 1 spoon of this, 1 spoon of that & cook till it smells good. I was too chicken to try to do thay…lol
Wanted to let you know I thought this was delicious! I only used half of the coconut milk and added broccoli after the release. Thank you for the quick and easy recipe!
That sounds yummy! I’m glad it worked out for you.