Instant Pot Coconut Curry Chicken Thighs. An easy weeknight dinner inspired by Thai curry for when I need to spice up a random Tuesday.
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What Is Coconut Chicken Curry?
This recipe is my quick, weeknight, Thai-curry-inspired chicken thighs. It’s what I make when I don’t have time for a full Thai curry, but I crave those curry flavors of sweet, salty, spicy, and hot.
The key to Coconut Chicken Curry is two canned ingredients: Thai curry paste and Thai coconut milk.
Other than that, this is a simple pressure cooker meal. I sauté the garlic and ginger just a little to release their flavors into the oil, and after that, it’s a dump, stir, and lock the lid production. Serve this with jasmine rice, basmati rice, or Thai rice noodles for an easy weeknight meal with a lot of flavor.
Oh, and…please, join me on the Dark Side. (Of the chicken.) You can make this recipe with boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but that’s boring. Chicken thighs have more flavor and stand up to pressure cooking without overcooking. Dark meat is where it’s at!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced thin
- 13.5-ounce can of unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
- 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Juice of 1 lime
- Minced cilantro for garnish (optional)
How to Make Instant Pot Coconut Chicken Curry
Sauté the aromatics:
Heat the vegetable oil in an Instant Pot set to Sauté mode until the oil starts to shimmer. (Medium heat in any other pressure cooker.) Add the garlic and ginger, and cook until the garlic starts sizzling, about 1 minute.
Coat the chicken with coconut milk and curry paste
Pour the coconut milk into the pot. Stir in the soy sauce and curry paste, and keep stirring until the coconut milk and curry paste are smooth and blended. Sprinkle the chicken thighs with the sea salt, then add them to the pot, turning to coat with the coconut milk and curry sauce.
Pressure cook for 10 minutes with a Natural Release
Lock the lid on the cooker. Pressure cook at high pressure for 10 minutes (“Manual” or “Pressure cook” mode in an Instant Pot), then the pressure comes down naturally, about 15 more minutes.
Serve
Unlock the lid on the pressure cooker, and scoop the chicken thighs out into a bowl or platter. Stir the lime juice into the sauce in the pot, then spoon a few scoops of the sauce over the platter of chicken. Sprinkle the minced cilantro on the chicken, and serve, passing the rest of the sauce at the table. (Serve with Jasmine or Basmati rice) Enjoy!
Recipe Tips and Substitutions
What kind of Thai Curry Paste?
I use red curry paste in the pictures, but any curry paste - green, yellow, massaman, Panang - will work.
What kind of coconut milk?
Make sure to get a can of unsweetened coconut milk. You can use regular or low fat coconut milk in this recipe; both work well.
But - make sure to get unsweetened coconut milk. You don’t want “cream of coconut,” which is for Pina Coladas, not curries. And you don't want coconut water, which makes a refreshing beverage, but a bland curry.
Thai Curry Paste vs. Curry Powder
Thai Curry Paste is found in the international aisle in most grocery stores, but if you can’t find it, substitute 1 tablespoon of dry curry powder or garam masala from the spice aisle. (Those are Indian curry powders, which change the flavor slightly but still taste great.)
Chicken breasts for chicken thighs
You can substitute boneless skinless chicken breasts. They cook for the same time as the chicken thighs, so the recipe works as written. (That said, boneless skinless chicken breasts are bland compared to chicken thighs in this recipe.
Storing Leftovers
Leftover chicken curry stores well. It will keep in the refrigerator for a few days or frozen for up to 6 months. I store it in 2-cup containers so it is ready in lunch-sized portions.
How to thicken this curry
This curry is supposed to be on the thin side, with lots of sauce to soak up with rice or noodles. But, if you want to thicken it up, set your Instant Pot to Sauté mode - High (medium-high heat in a stovetop PC), bring it to a boil, and then set the Instant Pot to Sauté mode - Low and simmer the sauce for 10 to 20 minutes to thicken it up. Stir and scrape the pot while simmering to ensure nothing sticks and burns at the bottom.
Print
Instant Pot Coconut Curry Chicken Recipe
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
Instant Pot Coconut Curry Chicken Thighs. An easy weeknight dinner, inspired by Thai curries, for when you need to spice up a random Tuesday.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced thin
- 13.5-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
- 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Juice of 1 lime
- Minced cilantro for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Sauté the aromatics: Heat the vegetable oil in an Instant Pot set to Sauté mode until the oil starts to shimmer. (Medium heat in any other pressure cooker.) Add the garlic and ginger, and cook until the garlic just starts to sizzle, about 1 minute.
- Coat the chicken with coconut milk and curry paste: Pour the coconut milk into the pot. Stir in the soy sauce and curry paste, and keep stirring until the coconut milk and curry paste are smooth and blended together. Sprinkle the chicken thighs with the sea salt, then add them to the pot, turning to coat with the coconut milk and curry sauce.
- Pressure cook for 10 minutes with a Natural Release: Lock the lid on the cooker. Pressure cook at high pressure for 10 minutes (“Manual” or “Pressure cook” mode in an Instant Pot), then the pressure come down naturally, about 15 more minutes.
- Serve: Unlock the lid on the pressure cooker, and scoop the chicken thighs out into a bowl or platter. Stir the lime juice into the sauce in the pot, then ladle a few scoops of the sauce over the platter of chicken. Sprinkle the minced cilantro on the chicken, and serve, passing the rest of the sauce at the table. Enjoy!
Equipment
Buy Now → - Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Weeknight Dinner
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Thai
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Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
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My other Instant Pot and Pressure Cooker Recipes
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David says
If all I have is ground ginger, how much would you recommend using as a substitute for the fresh ginger?
Mike Vrobel says
My guess is about 1 teaspoon of ground ginger. If you try it, let me know how it goes!
tamara says
easy peasy. what it says at the top. you want the basic flavors but not willing to put in the effort to get something more ...complex? authentic? dunno.
but this is great.
I added some lime leaves.
leftovers ( house of one so there were leftovers) become basic reheat (even better than the first time) , a soup with some veg and broth , a salad With chickpeas , cold rice onion and some pickled mango. , and a wrap with a lime cabbage slaw.
easy peasy good to eat. makes great leftovers .. what else do you want on a Monday >)
Mike Vrobel says
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!