How To Make A Paleo Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala

Indian cuisine is utterly delicious. It includes a vast amount of different recipes, including veggie, vegan, and meat recipes, as well as a variety of different dry and saucy dishes.

Indian cuisine is well-loved, and there is one dish in particular that people seem to reach for time and time again: Chicken Tikka Masala.

How To Make A Paleo Instant-Pot Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken tikka masala is a totally delicious curry. It isn’t too mild, but it isn’t spicy either. It is the first dish that many people try from an Indian restaurant, and it is one that people choose repeatedly. 

But if you follow a paleo diet, you might find yourself uncertain whether or not you can eat a chicken tikka masala. Well, the simple answer is yes, you can, as long as you follow a paleo-friendly chicken tikka masala. 

Luckily for you, in this guide, we’re taking a look at a paleo instant pot Chicken Tikka Masala recipe (for more paleo recipes, see also “How To Make Paleo Sesame Orange“). So if you want to find out how to make a yummy paleo-friendly Chicken Tikka Masala, keep on reading! 

What You Need 

So without further ado, let’s dive right in and take a look at how to make Chicken Tikka Masala that is paleo-friendly in your instant pot.

Before you get started, you will need to gather all the necessary ingredients and cooking equipment. Here is a list of what you will need. 

Cooking Equipment

  • Mixing Bowl
  • Plastic Wrap
  • Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
  • Knife
  • Sauté Pan
  • Blender

Ingredients For Chicken Marinade

  • 3 Pounds of Chicken Breast
  • 1 Cup Canned Coconut Milk
  • ½ tsp Cinnamon
  • ½ tsp Paprika
  • 1 tsp Garam Masala
  • ½ tsp Salt

Ingredients For Tikka Masala Sauce

  • Half a Yellow Onion
  • 1 Can Tomatoes
  • 1.5 Cups Canned Coconut Milk
  • 5 Cloves of Garlic
  • 2 tbsp Tomato Sauce
  • 1 tbsp Ginger
  • 3 tbsp Ghee
  • 1 tbsp Maple Syrup
  • ¼ tsp Turmeric
  • 2 tsp Garam Masala
  • 2 tsp Cumin
  • ½ tsp Cardamom
  • 1.5 tsp Sea Salt

Once you have gathered everything that we have outlined in the list above, you are good to go! Keep on reading for a step-by-step guide for preparing your Instant-Pot Chicken Tikka Masala.

How To Make A Paleo Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala

How To Make A Paleo Instant-Pot Chicken Tikka Masala

As you would expect from any instant-pot recipe, this Chicken Tikka Masala is surprisingly easy to throw together. So if you want to make your paleo-friendly Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala, let’s dive right in!

Step One – Prepare the Chicken

The first thing that you need to do is prepare your chicken. To begin with, take your chicken breast and knife, and begin to chop up your chicken.

Typically, we would recommend dicing the chicken into fairly large chunks as this is how the chicken is served in most Indian restaurants. 

Step Two – Prepare The Marinade

Once your chicken is chopped, it is time to prepare the marinade.

To make the marinade, simply add all the ingredients that we listed in the “chicken marinade” section above (minus the chicken of course), and stir it together. 

Once the ingredients have been combined, add your chopped chicken to the bowl and stir until the chicken is fully coated in the marinade.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and pop it into the refrigerator. You should leave it there for at least 15 minutes, but for the best results, leave it for 1-8 hours or overnight. 

Step Three – Prepare Your Sauce

While your chicken marinades, it is time to start preparing your sauce.

To do this, the first thing that you need to do is sauté your yellow onion in the ghee. Leave it in the sauté pan for 5-8 minutes until the onion is fully translucent.

Once the onion is translucent, add the garlic, ginger, and the rest of the spices in the “Tikka Masala Sauce” list to the sauté pan.

Leave them to simmer for around 3 minutes or until the flavor of the spices begins to emerge (you will notice a difference in the smell).

With these ingredients ready, you can add the remaining ingredients from the “Tikka Masala Sauce” list to the pan. Leave the sauce to simmer for around 15 minutes or even longer if you want the flavor to develop further. 

Finally, transfer the sauce from the sauté pan into a blender. You will then need to blend the sauce until it is completely smooth. Once it reaches this stage, you are ready to move on to the next step. 

Step Four – Sauté Your Chicken

By the time your sauce is prepared, your chicken will be marinated and ready to go. So, take it out of the chicken and switch on your Instant Pot.

Set it to the Sauté setting and pop your chicken and marinade inside. Brown your chicken in the Instant Pot for about 4-minutes. 

Step Five – Add Your Sauce

With your chicken browned and ready to go, you can then pour your sauce directly from your blender into the Instant Pot.

Change the function from “sauté” to “pressure cook” and set it to low. Also, ensure that the pressure valve is set to “sealed”.

Then leave your chicken and sauce to cook for 35 minutes in the “pressure cook” setting.

Once this time is up, then switch your pressure cooker to the “keep warm” function, and then leave it for a further 20 to 30 minutes. Release any steam using the pressure valve. 

Step Six – Prepare Your Side Dish

While the pressure cooker is on the “keep warm” function, start preparing your side dish. We recommend serving it with either rice or cauliflower rice, especially our Smokey Turmeric Cauliflower Rice Recipe fits well.

When your side is ready and the 20 to 30 minutes is up, your Paleo Chicken Tikka Masala is ready to enjoy!

Summary

In short, in this guide, we have taken a look at how to make a Paleo Chicken Tikka Masala in your Instant Pot. It is super simple to make, and the end result is utterly delicious. We’re sure you’ll love it! 

Thank you for reading, and enjoy!

Lindsey Morgan
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