Thai food doesn’t get easier than this! Creamy coconut chicken curry is coming to an instant pot near you…
Make some room y’all because this Thai coconut chicken curry is about to move in! It’s going to take a spot on your regular dinner menu and it’s never going to leave. Ever. Which is totally okay. Because you’re going to fall in love with it immediately.
If you love Thai food (and really, who doesn’t?), then you’re going to love this chicken curry. It tastes kind of like a cross between red curry and panang curry. It’s saucy and well seasoned and nutty and creamy and crunchy and citrusy! It has great flavor and texture and basically everything you’d want in a curry. Oh, and it’s easy to make.
Pour and cook recipes are the best. You guys really liked my easy curried chicken and ever since sharing that recipe, I’ve been dreaming up different variations.
I’m all about the easy recipe life and it looks like you’re about it too. Weekdays are stressful – heck, weekends too. You know what shouldn’t be stressful? Cooking. There’s no reason to stress out about what to feed yourself or your family, not when you’ve got me in your life.
There’s a reason you and I get along so well. It’s because we get each other. You like good food and you also like to be lazy sometimes. Right? Right.
Well this is Thai food at its absolute laziest…
Like, you pour a bunch of ingredients together, mix and press start.
10-ish minutes later…
Hi, dinner! Gosh, you look good. I could just eat you up!
You only need a handful of ingredients to make this Thai chicken curry: chicken thighs, coconut milk, red curry paste, peanut butter and a few spices. These ingredients are all mostly pantry staples! If red curry paste isn’t a pantry staple for you – it really should be. So much flavor in that little bottle!
Serve this curry over my instant pot jasmine rice. And if you feel like putting in a bit of effort, top it with crunchy (chopped) peanuts, fresh Thai basil and a big squeeze of lime juice!
Instant Pot Thai Coconut Chicken Curry
Yield: 4–5 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1 ½ pounds skinless and boneless chicken thighs
- 1 (14 ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
- 1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce, optional
- 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ginger powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne, adjust to taste
Garnish
- Handful of fresh Thai basil and/or cilantro, chopped
- Crushed peanuts
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
Instructions
- Add the coconut milk, peanut butter, red curry paste, chili sauce (if using) and spices to the instant pot and mix well. Then add the chicken to the pot.
- Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 5 minutes at high pressure.
- Naturally release pressure (or NPR for 10 minutes, then release pressure).
- Using two forks, shred the chicken right into the curry (or you can remove the chicken and cut it into chunks if you prefer)
- Sprinkle with Thai basil/cilantro and crushed peanuts if desired. You can also serve this with lime wedges and add a squeeze of lime juice before eating.
I have been craving Thai and this does it for me. Only thing is id probably add a little more salt next time. But it was perfect. The flavor was spot on.
★★★★★
Rebecca, so happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
Can I use chicken thighs with bones? What would be the cooking time?
Also if using skinless, boneless chicken, could you cook the rice in this recipe at same time?
This is going to be the next recipe I make! I made your coconute chicken curry but used fresh ginger and garlic. Will try the same with this recipe. Can’t wait!
Holly, awesome can’t wait to hear what you think!
If I were to try to use frozen chicken (either breasts or thighs), what would you suggest for cooking time?
Amanda, I haven’t tried with frozen meat but I’d increase the time to 10 minutes and then NPR. Let me know how it goes 🙂
What can I use instead of peanut butter? Allergic to nuts 🙁
Sunbutter! 🙂
Hi there! I finally got a insta pot and I’m super excited to try this recipe tonight! 🙌 I want to use fresh ginger and garlic, how much do you think I should use??? Thank you!
Rebecca, that’s awesome! If using fresh, I’d go with 2-3 tsp garlic and 1 tsp ginger. I’d also sauté the fresh garlic and ginger in oil first then add the rest of the ingredients. Let me know how it goes!
Thank you! This is such a delicious recipe, my boyfriend was raving! Going to be a weekly meal for sure. 😊
★★★★★
I’m so glad 🙂
Hi Ashley,
I finally tried this recipe and oh so delicious! So I actually messed up and put ingredients from the coconut chicken curry and the Thai coconut chicken but it still turned out amazing! Super easy. Thanks so much! I’ve also done your cheesecake (yum), butter chicken and your onion tomato masala.
★★★★★
Ritu, I’m so glad you liked this dish! and lol, I’m glad it still turned out well – that actually sounds like a good combo!
This recipe and the version with the curry powder have become easy weeknight staples and I’m so grateful for both. I first made the curry version on a night I had a cold and it was exactly what I needed to perk up. I also have Indian Food Under Pressure and cook from it a ton. Your recipes are the best, Ashley!
★★★★★
Ashley, that’s so great to hear! Thank you for letting me know how much you like those recipes! I’m really glad you like my cookbook too 🙂
My recipe went and burned. We did pressure cook normal for 10 mins but it burnt before it started in a 6 litre viva instant pot. What do I do to avoid this?
★★★★★
Karen, I’m sorry to hear that! Did it just say burn or did the chicken actually burn? I think the burn sign tends to appear often on the newer models which is why I’m asking. I’m not sure why it would have burned – the valve was sealed and the silicone ring was on properly, correct?
This recipe is incredible! Definitely one of my favorites by far and is pretty much on repeat now. Thank you!
Jenn, that’s great to hear! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
This sounds delicious! I’m just wondering what the calorie count might be? can’t wait to try it!
If I want to throw in some veggies (carrots, onion, pepper) should I add more coconut milk and seasoning?
Hi Shosh, I would just add the veggies in and then taste it at the end – if you feel it needs more seasoning you can add it then. I think the amount of coconut milk will be enough even with the veggies, but you can always add more at the end and sauté for a few minutes if you feel it needs it.
I made this last night and it was a huge hit with my whole family, kids included! Thanks, Ashley, for another great recipe. I wanted to add veggies, too, and wanted it to stay saucy. I sauteed 2 bell peppers in the pot and then removed them. I was afraid they’d turn to mush if they cooked with the chicken. Then I sauteed some celery, added double the spices and sauce ingredients, and a little over 2 lbs chicken. Turned out perfect!
★★★★★
Nicky, that’s so great to hear 🙂 And thanks for sharing your additions – yum!
This looks amazing and easy. Two questions….because i have little spice-advertise defendants and I’m trying to copycat a Thai coconut chicken I got at Costco they love:
Does the optional sweet chili sauce have a lot of heat?
If using fresh breasts (not thin cut) how might you adjust the cook time?
I’ve made a few of your Indian IP recipes before and they were huge hits! Looking forward to this.
Hi Laura, sweet chili sauce is more sweet than spicy in my opinion. I haven’t tried with chicken breasts but would think the same time will work since they’re thicker. Let me know how this goes!
Enjoyed this dish a lot. We made it ahead of time and reheated next day. Added extra Sriracha sauce when served.
★★★★★
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how the Thai chicken curry turned out for you 🙂
I’d like to add in some veggies – I’m thinking carrots and diced potatoes. Should I add some time to the instant pot?
Nope, they’ll cook in that amount of time – I’d suggest leaving the potatoes in larger chunks. Hope that helps 🙂
Thank you!! This looks great and I love that its all pantry staples in a time like this! Thanks again!
This was amazing. I got a burn notice – I’m blaming the peanut butter, something something g got stuck! – so I finished it PIP, 2 mins HP, 10 mins NPR. Awesome dinner. Will be making again. A lot.
★★★★
Becci, I’m so glad you liked the dish – thanks for letting me know how it turned out! Let me know if the burn notice comes up again!
Hi Ashley! Thank you for the great recipe. I want to share this recipe with my sister in India but she doesn’t have an Instant Pot. Would you by any chance know if this can be made iij n a normal pressure cooker? And how long would we need to cook it etc? And if anything would have to change in the recipe?
★★★★★
Hi Ashley,
First, thank you for your recipes! I’m from South America and live in the US, but thanks to you, I’ve fallen in love with Indian food. Now trying to venture into Thai. Will try this recipe tonight. Wondering if you’d have a Panaang Curry one, it is my favorite and would loove to try your version of it in the IP.
Thank you!!!
★★★★★
I’m so happy to hear that you’re enjoying my recipes! I don’t have a panang recipe but hope you’ll find this one has hints of panang! Hope you enjoy it 🙂
Made double the recipe tonight, with extra red curry paste (Used the entire can Maesri brand) and fresh chopped garlic and ginger, then at the end removed the chicken to cut it up, and during that time put the instant pot on sauté and added sliced bell peppers, chopped onion, shredded carrots, and frozen peas in the sauce. Interesting, some of the chicken looked like it had charred slightly on one side, wanted to mention because I saw some other burn comments. But it didn’t affect the taste. Garnished with peanuts and regular fresh basil. Yum!!!
★★★★
That sounds great! Glad you liked it 🙂
Do I have to adjust time if using the 3quart instant pot? Thank you
Hi Jacki, I test all recipes with a 6 quart but I would think this one would work fine in a 3 quart as well. Let me know what you think if you try this dish!
Is there anyway to get the nutritional info on the recipes? Especially on this one which is our FAV. My husband needs to be on a low sodium diet.
Thank you in advance
This was my first time making this dish, and my kids ate it all. I even got praises from them afterwards (they are VERY picky eaters!!). Thank you for such a quick and nutritious recipe 🙂
★★★★★
Taruna, that’s so awesome to hear! Wow, praise from kids is the best (I have a toddler and an almost 4-year-old lol, so I know how it goes). Thanks for letting me know how much you all liked this curry 🙂
Made this with chicken breast instead of thighs and it turned out great! Used fresh ginger and garlic too, plus a few handfuls of chopped kale. Kids and I liked it a lot.
Erin, that’s so great to hear! I’m especially glad your kids liked it 🙂 Thanks for letting me know how it turned out!
Just made this for dinner tonight! It came out delicious but initially i got the “burn” notification. Luckily it didn’t come to pressure so I just opened the lid and scraped the bottom of the pot and put the lid back on and pressure cooked it and it was fine. Any tips on how to avoid this again in the future? Because I will definitely be making this again! It was a huge hit!
★★★★★
Hi Dee, I’m so glad you liked it! I’m not sure why the burn notification would’ve come up… just curious but did you use chicken thighs? The fat in the thighs helps – if you used breasts maybe that could be an issue? If you made any changes, please let me know – it would help me with troubleshooting!