This Thai Curry Chicken recipe is perfect for beginners! It’s easy to make, filled with flavor, and customizable for picky eaters.
You will love this Instant Pot Curry Chicken
New to Thai style curry? This recipe is perfect if you’re introducing Thai flavors to newbies! Thai inspired dishes are surprisingly easy to make and I’ll show you where to get the ingredients you’ll need to make a simple, yet delicious curry! Bonus, that you can use your Instant Pot!
I love this curry recipe because it’s mild and approachable for those new to Thai cooking. And you can use whatever hearty vegetables you like!
Thai Chicken Curry ingredients
- Chicken breasts or thighs, boneless and skinless
- Sea salt
- Black pepper
- Coconut or avocado oil
- Onion
- Carrots
- Potatoes
- Thai Curry Paste
- Tomato paste
- Fish sauce
- Lime
- Chicken broth
- Coconut cream or coconut milk
Chicken Thai Curry substitutions
Protein – You can swop chicken for beef (add 5 minutes to cooking time).
Vegetarian – Use a can or two of chickpeas, lentils, or meat alternative.
Vegetables – Feel free to use different vegetables you have in your kitchen. Try adding harder vegetables that will survive the pressure cooker; cauliflower, cabbage, kale, winter squash, and root vegetables usually do well. You could also stir in some smaller green beans, snow peas, red bell peppers or spinach at the end after everything else has cooked.
Spice – You can use a spicier curry paste, or simply add sriracha or sambal oelek to your own portion.
Fish sauce alternative – If you don’t want to use fish sauce, you could use soy sauce or Liquid Aminos.
Coconut alternatives – Use heavy cream if you aren’t a coconut fan.
How to make Thai Curry Chicken
- Sprinkle the chicken with a few generous pinches of sea salt and a few pinches of black pepper.
- Turn your instant pot or electric pressure cooker to the Saute setting, and add the coconut oil to the pot. When the cooker has preheated, brown the chicken in two batches, flipping once or twice during cooking. The chicken does not need to be cooked all the way through. When you’re finished, press “cancel” on the cooker.
- Return all of the chicken to the pot along with the prepped onion, carrots, and potatoes.
- In a small glass measuring cup, whisk together the curry paste, tomato paste, fish sauce, lime juice, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Pour the mixture over the chicken and vegetables. Add the chicken broth to the pot as well, and give everything a good stir.
- Place the lid on the cooker, sealing it closed and ensuring the steam valve is set to “sealing”. Set it to high pressure for 10 minutes. I always use the “manual” or “pressure cook” button.
- When the pressure cooking cycle has finished, switch the steam valve is set to “venting” to release the steam from the pot.
- Remove the lid and stir in the coconut cream. Taste, and add a little more salt if you feel it needs it.
Instant Pot Thai Curry tips
- Thai curry paste varies wildly in heat levels. I always buy Thai Kitchen curry paste, and it is very mild. Make sure you are familiar with the heat level of your curry paste before adding the suggested amount.
- Feel free to swap out the vegetables for ones you prefer. I’d avoid quick cooking vegetables like broccoli and asparagus or else they’ll turn to mush.
- This recipe is Whole30 compliant as written (just serve with cauliflower rice). Be sure to check the labels on your curry paste and fish sauce for non-compliant ingredients.
- To make this low-carb or keto friendly, replace the potatoes (and maybe the carrots?) with lower carb options like summer squash or cauliflower.
How to serve Instant Pot Chicken Curry
Serve your Thai curry with steamed Jasmine rice, Coconut Rice, or Cauliflower Rice.
I love topping my curry with a squeeze of fresh lime juice, chopped cilantro, Thai basil, or Toasted Coconut Cashew Nuts.
Storing Thai Curry Chicken
Thai curry is one of those dishes that gets better the second day. Store it in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge
More Kid-Friendly Ethnic Recipes
Paleo Pad Thai – They literally jump up and down when I make this. Unless I use zoodles, in which case they writhe on the floor in agony. Sigh. Kids, man.
Paleo Hungarian Goulash – This is also an Instant Pot recipe! It looks like beef stew, but it has a fiery red-orange sauce (not spicy, just red bell pepper based). We love it over mashed potatoes or rice or gluten-free noodles. (Again, zoodles don’t go over well with them. Sometimes Roasted Cauliflower Rice does, though!)
Mulligatawny Soup — Have you had this? It’s an Indian-inspired blended soup with cooked rice and chicken added at the end. (Rice is optional.) It’s such a fun introduction to Indian flavors, too.
Grilled Moroccan Chicken — Tuck this away for grilling season! It has a SUPER easy marinade (like 4 ingredients?) and the garlic sauce that goes with it TOTALLY rocks. Especially if you serve it with Simple Marinated Cucumbers. Mmm….
California Roll Sushi Bowls — More jumping for joy for this one. I buy the pre-cooked, wild-caught mini shrimp at Costco and heat it up with some lime juice and coconut aminos. Or I use leftover salmon. Or white fish. It’s super easy to put together.
Instant Pot Indian Butter Chicken — I know I mentioned this one already, but my kids LOVE LOVE this one. It’s from my book, The Big Book of Pressure Cooking and is in my 6-month rotation. Like I said, my kids don’t like eating the same stuff more than twice a month. Ha. I could eat that curry every week. It’s so, so good.
Easy Thai Chicken Curry (Instant Pot)
Make this flavorful, kid-friendly Thai Chicken Curry in your Instant Pot! (Also includes stovetop and slow cooker instructions!) Swap out the vegetables, protein, or even make it vegetarian. Super easy and can be made low-carb/keto or Whole30 friendly.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 - 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1-inch cubes
- Sea salt & black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons coconut or avocado oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 3 medium Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
- One 4-ounce jar of Thai Curry Paste (about 7 Tablespoons)
- 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 Tablespoon fish sauce
- Juice of 1 lime (about 1 Tablespoon)
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 13.5 ounce can of coconut cream or coconut milk
- Steamed jasmine rice or Roasted Cauliflower Rice, for serving
Instructions
- Sprinkle the chicken with a few generous pinches of sea salt and a few pinches of black pepper.
- Turn your instant pot or electric pressure cooker to the Saute setting, and add the coconut oil to the pot. When the cooker has preheated, brown the chicken in two batches, flipping once or twice during cooking. The chicken does not need to be cooked all the way through. When you're finished, press "cancel" on the cooker.
- Return all of the chicken to the pot along with the prepped onion, carrots, and potatoes.
- In a small glass measuring cup, whisk together the curry paste, tomato paste, fish sauce, lime juice, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Pour the mixture over the chicken and vegetables. Add the chicken broth to the pot as well, and give everything a good stir.
- Place the lid on the cooker, sealing it closed and ensuring the steam valve is set to "sealing". Set it to high pressure for 10 minutes. I always use the "manual" or "pressure cook" button.
- When the pressure cooking cycle has finished, switch the steam valve is set to "venting" to release the steam from the pot.
- Remove the lid and stir in the coconut cream. Taste, and add a little more salt if you feel it needs it.
- Serve with side dish of your choice.
Stovetop Instructions: Follow steps 1-4 in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Then bring the mixture to simmer, reduce heat to medium low and cook, covered, for 15-20 minute or until the potatoes and carrots are soft and the chicken is tender. Stir in the coocnut cream at the end.
Slow Cooker Instructions: Put the chicken, vegetables, and the whisked mixture from step 4 into a 4-6 qt slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until the potatoes and carrots are soft. Stir in the coconut cream at the end.
Notes
Nat's Notes:
- Thai curry paste varies wildly in heat levels. I always buy Thai Kitchen curry paste, and it is very mild. Make sure you are familiar with the heat level of your curry paste before adding the suggested amount.
- Feel free to swap out the vegetables for ones you prefer. I'd avoid quick cooking vegetables like broccoli and asparagus or else they'll turn to mush. You can also swap out the chicken for beef (add 5 minutes to cooking time) or make it vegetarian by using a can or two of chickpeas.
- This recipe is Whole30 compliant as written (just serve with cauliflower rice). Be sure to check the labels on your curry paste and fish sauce for non-compliant ingredients.
- To make this low-carb or keto friendly, replace the potatoes (and maybe the carrots?) with lower carb options like summer squash or cauliflower.
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Instant Pot Thai Curry FAQs
Is Thai curry very spicy?
This recipe isn’t, but make sure you taste your curry paste before adding it to your recipe! Store-bought curry paste generally have a spice level on their label that you should take note of.
Why is my instant pot chicken so tough?
This could be because you didn’t cook your chicken long enough to tenderize the meat.
Is curry Thai healthy?
This depends on your ingredients. I like to use Thai Kitchen’s curry paste because there are no added sugars or weird ingredients.
This be because your added coconut cream/milk added too much liquid and there was no evaporation. Pop your Instant Pot onto sauté mode with the lid open to simmer away some liquid, or add a thickener like cornstarch.