Quick butter chicken with chickpeas and rice

Craving a silky, creamy butter chicken without spending hours in the kitchen? This Instant Pot butter chicken delivers rich, authentic flavour with minimal effort. Tender chicken, chickpeas, and warm spices are cooked in a buttery tomato sauce that tastes slow-simmered but comes together in under 30 minutes.

Using the Instant Pot locks in moisture and flavour, while the pot-in-pot method lets you cook the rice at the same time. It’s a low-fuss, budget-friendly weeknight dinner that still feels comforting and indulgent.

Servings: 4 people
Prep time: under 15 minutes
Cook time: under 10 minutes
Total time: under 30 minutes
Appliance: Instant Pot multicooker

Ingredients

Butter chicken

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• 1 tsp chilli powder (adjust to taste)
• 1 tsp ground fenugreek or fenugreek seeds (optional)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 4 tbsp tomato paste
• 300 g boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 400 g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 250 ml cream or yoghurt
• 1 tbsp butter
• Salt and black pepper, to taste

To serve

• Cooked rice
• Naan or roti

Pot-in-pot rice

• 220 g (1 cup) basmati rice
• 250 ml (1 cup) water
• ½ tsp salt

Preparation method

Build the base
Select Sauté on the Instant Pot and add the oil. Add the diced onion and cook for 2–3 minutes until softened. Stir in the garlic and ginger paste and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Add the garam masala, chilli powder, fenugreek, and cumin. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant, then stir in the tomato paste and 250 ml water.

Add the chicken and chickpeas
Add the chicken pieces and chickpeas. Use a spatula to spread the chicken evenly across the sauce, but do not stir too much. Press Cancel.

Prepare the rice (pot in pot)
Rinse the basmati rice and place it in a heatproof bowl. Add the water and salt, then place the bowl on a long-legged trivet inside the Instant Pot, above the curry.

Pressure cook
Secure the lid and set the valve to Sealing. Select Pressure Cook on high and set the time to 5 minutes. When the cooking time ends, allow a natural pressure release for 7 minutes, then carefully quick release any remaining pressure.

Finish the curry
Open the lid and carefully remove the bowl of rice. Fluff the rice with a fork and set aside.

Stir the butter chicken well, then add the cream or yoghurt and the butter. Mix until smooth and creamy. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.

Serve
Serve the butter chicken immediately with the rice, and naan or roti on the side.

The Instant Pot makes butter chicken fast and reliable, sealing in flavour while drastically reducing cooking time. Cooking the rice pot in pot means everything is ready at the same time, with minimal washing up.

Discover more quick and comforting meals in our Instant Pot recipes.

Looking for an easy kitchen upgrade? Explore our full Instant Pot multicooker collection and find the model that suits your cooking style.