Instant Pot Chicken Curry Soup is an Indian curry-flavored creamy chicken soup that’s going to have everyone going back for seconds. Serve this curried Indian chicken soup with crusty bread or over rice.
Instant Pot Chicken Curry Soup is going to be a part of your regular meal rotation if you like Indian flavors and are looking for a hearty, satisfying, and easy soup recipe.
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Tips and Substitutions
I’ve tried McCormick Curry Powder and Spice Islands curry powder in this recipe and both have worked out great. If you’re using another brand, check the ingredients for salt and adjust the quantity of added salt in this recipe.
The amount of curry powder called for in this recipe can be increased if you want a stronger flavor. If your curry powder has been sitting in your cupboard for a long time, do yourself a favor and get a fresh new bottle; you’ll be glad you did!
If you like things spicy, you can add some more jalapeno. Or here’s a tip: I frequently use serrano chili peppers instead of jalapenos because they have more heat, and I find their spice to be more consistent.
Some jalapeno peppers can be really hot while others can be milder. And if you don’t like a lot of spice, you can omit the jalapeno.
I find that canned diced tomatoes work great in this recipe, but I do use fresh diced tomatoes on occasion.
If you’re not a fan of coconut milk, substitute with 1/2 cup of heavy cream.
If you’re new to the Instant Pot and aren’t familiar with how to use it, please read the Instant Pot DUO Beginner’s Quick Start Guide or the Instant Pot ULTRA Beginner’s Quick Start Guide first and then come back here to learn how to make Instant Pot Chicken Curry Soup.
Instant Pot Chicken Curry Soup Ingredients
Instant Pot Chicken Curry Soup Step-by-Step Instructions
- Instant Pot DUO: Select the ‘Saute’ function.
- Instant Pot ULTRA: Select the ‘Saute’ function and press ‘Start’.
- Once Instant Pot has warmed up, melt butter or ghee in the inner pot.
- Add onions and saute until golden brown, about 2 minutes.
- Add garlic, ginger, and jalapenos. Stir well.
- Cook mixture until fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Add curry powder, salt, and pepper; stir till fragrant.
* If the Instant Pot becomes too hot and the ingredients are burning, turn it off to cool it down and turn back on once cooled. You don’t want to burn the spices! If you need to, add a tablespoon of broth to deglaze the inner pot if you find that the ingredients are browning too quickly.
- Add chicken and stir to coat with spices.
- Add 1/4 cup of chicken broth to deglaze. There should be no brown bits stuck to the bottom of the inner pot.
- Add remaining chicken broth and tomatoes.
- Stir well.
Instant Pot DUO Pressure Cook:
- Close the lid and make sure steam release handle is in ‘Sealing’ position
- Press ‘Manual’ (or ‘Pressure Cook’) and ‘+’ or ‘-‘ until display reads ‘5’ (5 minutes).
Instant Pot ULTRA Pressure Cook:
- Close the lid.
- Select Pressure Cook mode and adjust time to 5 minutes (00:05).
- Press ‘Start’.
- Instant Pot display will change to ‘On’.
- Once the Instant Pot is pressurized, the float valve will go up.
- The display will count down from 5 to 0; it will then switch to ‘Keep Warm’ mode and display ‘L0:00’ or ’00 00′ and begin to count up.
- Allow the pressure to release naturally (NPR). The float valve will be in the down position. This may take 15 to 30 minutes.
- If you wish, after 10 to 15 minutes, you can release any remaining pressure using the Quick Release (QR) method. See the Instant Pot Duo or Instant Pot Ultra manuals for more details about natural release and quick release.
- Press ‘Cancel’ and open the Instant Pot.
- Stir in spinach and coconut milk.
- Instant Pot DUO: Select the ‘Saute’ function.
- Instant Pot ULTRA: Select the ‘Saute’ function and press ‘Start’.
- Cook soup in ‘Saute’ mode until spinach wilts and soup is heated through.
- Press ‘Cancel’ and stir in cilantro.
- Serve soup in individual soup bowls over Instant Pot Rice or with crusty bread.
Instant Pot Chicken Curry Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp ghee or butter
- 1 cup onion - chopped
- 2 Tbsp garlic - minced
- 2 Tbsp ginger - finely chopped
- 1 jalapeno - sliced (optional)
- 2 Tbsp curry powder
- 1 1/2 tsp salt - (or to taste) *
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs - cut into 1 inch cubes
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup canned diced tomatoes
- 3 cups fresh spinach - chopped
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1/4 cup cilantro - chopped
Instructions
- Melt butter or ghee in 'Saute' mode.
- Add onions and saute until golden brown, about 2 minutes.
- Add garlic, ginger, and jalapeno and cook mixture until fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Add curry powder, salt and pepper and stir till fragrant. **
- Add chicken and stir to coat with spice mixture.
- Stir in 1/4 cup of broth to deglaze. There should be no brown bits stuck to the bottom of the inner pot.
- Stir in remaining broth and tomatoes.
- Close Instant Pot and cook on 'Manual' or 'Pressure Cook' mode for 5 minutes.
- Allow the pressure to release naturally (NPR). If you're pressed for time, after 10 to 15 minutes, release any remaining pressure.
- Press Cancel and Open the Instant Pot.
- Stir in spinach and coconut milk.
- Cook soup in ‘Saute’ mode until spinach wilts and soup is heated through.
- Stir in cilantro and serve soup in individual soup bowls over Instant Pot Rice or with crusty bread.
Notes
- Prep time does not include steps that are already accounted for in the ingredient list, e.g. chopped onions, minced garlic, diced chicken, etc.
- See the blog post for more detailed recipe tips.
Nutrition
I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
If you loved this recipe, please give it a 5-star rating in the comment section below and share it on social media, particularly on FACEBOOK. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
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| Instant Pot Chicken Curry | Instant Pot Chipotle Shrimp Soup | Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala |
Tracy Greenfield
Very good. Really enjoyed it.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thank you, Tracy, for your comment – I’m so happy you enjoyed it.
Michele
My family loves this! I added mushrooms and carrots too.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thank you, Michele!
John
Made this tonight and it was a BIG hit. Even my 10 year old son who is a very picky eater (and was very suspicious as he watched me prepare it) raves about it.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Woo hoo! Happy kid is the best compliment for the chef!
Bia
Thank you for this recipe. I happened to have most of the ingredients and tweak things just a bit for a fabulous soup. I put the soup over a bowl of orzo and could not stop eating this rich and filling meal.
This is now s a family favorite for sure 🙂 I am officially in love with curry powder now!!!!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hey Bia, I love orzo – great idea, thanks for sharing!
Kim B.
If I used Golden curry (the kind you buy in a big block), what other substitutions do you think i would need to make other than not using the curry powder? Thanks in advance!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Kim, thanks for your question. My main concern using the Japanese curry block is that it contains fillers like flour. This could prevent the Instant Pot from coming to pressure. You might need to add the curry blocks to the Instant Pot after pressure cooking is completed. You would omit curry powder add salt to taste since the blocks have some salt.
Lynda S
Oh. Em. Gee!!!! This was amazing and my family LOVED it! My husband went as far as to say that he could eat it once a week. That’s saying a LOT. Thanks for creating and sharing your recipe.
BTW, it was so great meeting you at the conference in California. You’re such a sweet and inspirational woman.
While we were at the conference, I checked out Paint the Kitchen Red and printed out this recipe while still at the hotel. I KNEW that it was one that I had to try. It’s a winner for sure!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Lynda! Thank you for touching base and I’m so glad you liked the recipe. It was so great to meet you too, that Turkish meal was fun! I’m sure we’ll meet again.
Allison
We eat this almost every other week it’s so delicious! Thank you for this recipe.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hey Allison – thanks so much for your kind words! Glad you like it.
Anne
P.S. Ate it over cauliflower rice, which soaked the curry broth too. YUM!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Oh, sounds yummy actually – I love cauliflower! Thanks for your comment.
Anne
Made it with curry powder from somewhere in Asia (yep, I know that’s a tad broad – my parents have been traveling EVERYWHERE and bringing me spices, and it’s a blur now!) – probably Vietnam. Anyway, only used half the jalapeño and wish I had added the whole thing, but the recipe is simple and fantastic and it’s DELICIOUS!! I’m new to the IP and love how tender the chicken is – better than plain boiling in a soup. I bet it’s going to be stop-the-bus amazing tomorrow after the flavors bloom overnight!
Paint the Kitchen Red
It will be very tasty the next day; and wow, that’s so wonderful that your parents bring you these exotic spices from the source!
Honor
I only have Thai red curry paste but I feel like I could substitute it and it would work. I’m going to try today and I’ll let you know if it’s successful.
Paint the Kitchen Red
I think that would work fine, just watch out for burning – you could mix the curry paste with a bit of coconut milk and fry like I do in my Thai red curry. Yes, do keep me posted!
Jen
My whole family loved this! I made the soup ahead of time and added spinach at the last minute before serving with premade naan. To stretch the leftovers, ,we added a can of chickpeas and served over rice. Definitely adding to our regular rotation!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Jen – thank you for your comment. Great idea to add chickpeas to make it stretch out. I also add extra veggies with the spinach sometimes. Glad you liked the recipe!
Radha
I made it today and itwas a big hit !
Thank you for sharing this recipe
Paint the Kitchen Red
You’re welcome Radha! I’m happy that you liked it.
E.D.
Great recipe! I used hot curry powder, seeded the jalapeno, and used a block of frozen spinach instead of fresh.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Sounds great – frozen spinach is very convenient. You probably could even pressure cook it for 0 minutes to get it thawed and cooked. Thanks for commenting!
Melissa
This soup is amazingly delicious!! I will be adding this to our list of favorites! I cheated and used cilantro paste and ginger paste and I only had a can of diced tomatoes with green chilis but it’s so good I will continue making it that way in the future! Love love loved it!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Wonderful, Melissa! I’m really happy you liked it and thank you for taking the time to post a comment!
Nikki Isakson
Just wondering, could you swap out TJ’s Red Argentinian Shrimp for the chicken? Would make a lovely, slightly fancier dish for a special occasion, I think?
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Nikki, shrimp sounds great to me. However, you need to reduce to pressure cooking time to 0 or 1 minute. You could also just skip the pressure cooking part and cook it on saute mode. Add the shrimp with the coconut and spinach and heat till shrimp is cooked. This way you can control the cooking of the shrimp and avoid overcooking. I think it will be delicious.
Tara
I made this tonight, just finished eating, and it is amazing! I love all the flavors. I think next time I will add some potatoes =) Thank you for your wonderful pictures and step by step guide.
Paint the Kitchen Red
The addition of potatoes would make it really hearty, great idea! You’re welcome, and thank YOU for sharing, Tara!
Katie
How much time to add for sweet potatoes?
Paint the Kitchen Red
Katie, sweet potatoes (cubed) will cook very quickly. They might get overcooked if you cook them with the chicken and do a natural release. It will still taste good though…
Elizabeth
I substituted 2 cans of chickpeas for chicken and added all the random veggies in the fridge (yellow squash, bell peppers – green and red) in addition to everything in the recipe. Cooked on high for 4 min. The flavor combination was very nice. Thanks for sharing!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Sounds great Elizabeth. Nice option for those who want a vegetarian option. Thank you for sharing!
E.D.
Good thought. Maybe even a combination of chick peas and gold potatoes. I have a vegan potluck coming up and sauteeing in olive oil and doing this could really work.
Joanna
I wonder with my 8 qt pot can I double the recipe for a pot luck? Thanks
Paint the Kitchen Red
Joanna – yes, I think you can easily double it in the 8 quart. Hope you enjoy it!
Natelie Hiser
Made this for dinner and my husband loved it. I enjoyed it too. Looking forward to more recipes from too.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Natelie – so glad y’all liked it, thanks for commenting.
Monica Bell
Made this for dinner tonight. When my son came home from school he said “it smells like heaven”. I knew this dinner was going to be a hit with the family. This is a wonderful Intstant pot weekday dinner, so fast and delicious. This is another Paint the Kitchen Red staple for our family. Thanks Neena, your recipes are always spot on.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Monica, you’re welcome! And thank you so much for sharing; what a great feeling it is when your family loves what you’ve cooked!