Instant Pot Green Chicken Curry
Instant Pot Green Chicken Curry Recipe – Use a pressure cooker to make the easiest, most delicious Thai chicken curry in under 30 minutes.
We love Thai curries, and we love our Instant Pot. And, wouldn’t you know it, you can totally make a bold and deliciously flavorful green chicken curry using… Yep, your Instant Pot!
This modern kitchen marvel, the electric pressure cooker, creates a curry that tastes as if it’s been simmering on the stove all day. However, it is actually ready to enjoy in less than an hour. You will love how authentic our Instant Pot Green Chicken Curry tastes, just as much as you’ll love how easy it is to prepare.
And not only does it have wonderfully deep, rich and spice-full flavor when freshly made, it is great for making ahead and enjoying as part of a weekly meal plan. The green curry sauce, juicy chicken, and hearty veggie flavors get even more intense as they sit together in the fridge or freezer.
Authentic Thai Green Chicken Curry
What makes this recipe so fantastic is that A) it’s made using a pressure cooker for creating lots of intense flavor in a very short period of time, and B) it includes authentic ingredients, like green curry paste, for simply the best Thai Green Chicken Curry.
After out last trip to Thailand, we discovered that Thai people buy their curry paste at the market; they don’t generally make it from scratch at home. They go to a curry stand to buy curry paste. Similar to how we don’t roast coffee beans ourselves, but rather go buy ready-to-use coffee beans at coffee shops.
Using a canned green curry paste adds just the right mildly sweet, spicy, and earthy notes that make this dish perfectly comforting and utterly crave-able! I promise it’s as good if not better than your favorite Thai takeout, but can be easily be made as a large batch to feed a hungry family, or portioned and saved for meal prepping.
What Ingredients You Need to Make Instant Pot Chicken Curry
There are a few ingredients that might be a little harder to find, but are readily available at an Asian market.
Here is everything needing to make the best authentic Thai Green Curry with Chicken:
- Chicken thighs – boneless and skinless
- Produce – onion, red and green bell pepper, zucchini, garlic, and kaffir lime leaves
- Coconut oil – or vegetable oil
- Green curry paste
- Fish sauce – for an authentic salty, savory flavor
- Palm sugar – or brown sugar
- Canned coconut milk – full fat is best
- Canned bamboo shoots – adds a terrific crunchy texture to this dish
- Thai basil leaves – or sweet basil
- Cornstarch – optional, for a thicker green curry
- Lime juice – also optional, but adds a great finish of acidity
Again, kaffir lime leaves, thai basil, fish sauce, and maybe green curry paste might be easiest to find at a speciality Asian store. You can find Thai basil, curry paste, and fish sauce at some large grocery chains, but usually not Kaffir lime leaves.
Kaffir lime leaves are so distinct, it’s totally worth the effort. You can even freeze the leftover leaves for up to 3 months and use them in future curry dishes.
How to Make Easy Instant Pot Green Chicken Curry
First, take care of the prep work: Cut the chicken into 1-inch chunks, peel the onion and remove the bell pepper seeds; then chop the onion, bell peppers, and zucchini into roughly 1-inch chunks. Keep them separate to add at different times as you make the dish. Mince the garlic, and crush the kaffir lime leaves in your hand to release the oils. Drain the canned bamboo shoots.
Next set a large 6+ quart Instant Pot to Sauté. To the hot pot add the coconut oil, chopped onions, minced garlic, and kaffir lime leaves. Sauté for a couple of minutes, and then deglaze the bottom of the pot with ¼ cup water.
Stir in the curry paste, fish sauce, palm sugar, and coconut milk. Then add the chopped chicken, and stir again.
Lock the lid into place and set the Instant Pot on Pressure Cook High for 4 minutes. Perform a quick release once the timer ends.
Remove the lid and set the Instant Pot back on Sauté. Stir in the bell peppers and bamboo shoots, and simmer for a couple of minutes.
Check the sauce at this point to see if it’s to your liking. If the sauce seems thin, you can toss the zucchini chunks in 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to thicken the sauce.
Stir in the zucchini chunks and simmer for another minute or two. Then stir in the fresh Thai basil.
Get the Complete (Printable) Instant Pot Green Chicken Curry Recipe Below. Enjoy!
Taste the Thai Green Chicken Curry, and salt to taste. Add a squeeze of fresh lime juice, if you like – or serve the curry with wedges of lime on the side.
Serve green curry hot with a side of white rice, cauliflower rice, or broccoli rice.
How Long Will Homemade Thai Green Curry Keep Well?
Leftover curry will keep well for up to 3 days in the fridge. Allow to cool to room temperature before transferring to an airtight container.
Although the bright, silky flavors get better as this dish sets overnight in the refrigerator, I do not recommend freezing… The coconut milk doesn’t tend to hold over well after being frozen and thawed.
Looking for More Easy Instant Pot Recipes?
- Perfect Instant Pot Butter Chicken Curry
- Creamy White Chicken Chili (3 Ways!)
- Instant Pot Tandori Chicken Drumsticks
- Easy Instant Pot Bang Bang Shrimp Pasta
- Amazing Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs
Instant Pot Chicken Curry (Green!)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds boneless chicken thighs
- 1 small onion
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 green bell pepper
- 2 small zucchini
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced
- 8-10 kaffir lime leaves
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil or vegetable oil
- 4 ounce green curry paste
- 2 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons palm sugar or 1 ½ tb brown sugar
- 14 ounce can coconut milk
- 1 cup canned bamboo shoots drained
- ½ cup thai basil leaves or sweet basil
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch optional
- 1 tablespoon lime juice optional
Instructions
- Prep work: Cut the chicken into 1-inch chunks. Peel the onion and remove the bell pepper seeds. Chop the onion, bell peppers, and zucchini into roughly 1-inch chunks. Keep them separate to add at different times. Mince the garlic. Crush the kaffir lime leaves in your hand to release the oils. Drain the bamboo shoots.
- Set a large 6+ quart Instant Pot to Sauté. Add the coconut oil, chopped onions, minced garlic, and kaffir lime leaves. Sauté for 2 minutes to soften. Deglaze the bottom of the pot with ¼ cup water.
- Add in the curry paste, fish sauce, palm sugar, and coconut milk. Stir well. Then mix in the chopped chicken.
- Lock the lid into place. Set the Instant Pot on Pressure Cook High for 4 minutes. Once the timer goes off, perform a quick release. When the steam button drops it is safe to open the IP.
- Set the IP back on Sauté. Stir in the bell peppers and bamboo shoots. Simmer for 2 minutes.
- If the sauce seems thin, you can toss the zucchini chunks in 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to thicken the sauce. (This is often dependent on the thickness of the coconut milk and the moisture in the veggies.) Stir in the zucchini chunks. Simmer another 1-2 minutes. Then stir in the Thai basil.
- Taste. Add fresh lime juice if desired. Serve with a side of white rice, cauliflower rice, or broccoli rice.
Video
Notes
Place a 14-inch skillet (or wok) over medium-high heat. Add the coconut oil. Once the oil melts, add the onions. Sauté for 1 minute, then add the peppers and garlic. Sauté another 2-3 minutes. Move the veggies to the sides of the skillet and add the green curry paste. Sauté the curry for 2-3 minutes to intensify the flavor, moving around the pan. Then add the kaffir lime leaves, coconut milk, fish sauce, and sugar. Stir to blend. Stir in the chopped chicken and bamboo shoots, then bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce thickens. Stir occasionally. Add in the zucchini chunks. Simmer another 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the basil leaves. Leftover curry will keep well for up to 3 days in the fridge. Allow it to cool to room temperature before transferring to an airtight container.
Nutrition
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How would I add heat (think spice, peppers) to this dish? I like my Thai green curry chicken hot.
Hi Cec,
You can specifically buy hot green curry paste and add as much as you like.
I loved this! So comforting and really easy to make!
The whole family enjoyed this dish. We used the stove top method.
Such a great chicken curry recipe, one of the best that I have tried!