Instant Pot Thai Green Curry is a creamy coconut curry with the flavors of green chilies, Thai Basil, lime, coriander, and cumin. This spicy curry will rival your favorite Thai takeout green curry, but is so easy that it can be ready in less than 20 minutes.
This is the third Thai curry I’ve posted on the blog. My family loves Thai food and we used to go out to Thai restaurants all the time, but now we hardly ever do. I’m usually my own worst critic, and for me to say this is not easy: I think the Thai curries that I make at home are as good as restaurant Thai curries. Best of all, they are so quick and easy that I can have dinner on the table in 20 minutes if I cook the Jasmine rice while I cook the curry, using the pot-in-pot method.
I’d hate to repeat myself about my quest to create delicious, authentic Thai food, so please read my Instant Pot Thai Red Curry with Chicken post to find out how I came to perfect my Thai curry recipe. Bottom line is that ingredients make a big difference.
Maesri and Mae Ploy are my two favorite Thai curry paste brands. Kaffir lime leaves and Thai Basil are also important ingredients in this dish. For the fish sauce, I use Red Boat brand. It’s more pricey, but very good quality.
I normally like to use Thai eggplant in my Instant Pot Thai green curry but I visited the Asian store three times in the past week and they were all out! So I made the curry with zucchini and bell peppers. I tend to use green vegetables just for aesthetics 😊 so you can substitute any vegetables of your choice. I also like to decrease the chicken and double the quantity of vegetables sometimes, so we eat less meat and more veggies.
I frequently get questions about the coconut milk curdling after being pressure cooked in the Instant Pot. Yes, it will appear to be curdled when you open the Instant Pot. But once you stir it up and cook the vegetables in the curry sauce, the curry should be very smooth. It’s important to buy a good quality coconut milk. I have had less-than-perfect Thai curry when I’ve used lower quality brands. My two favorite brands are Aroy-D and Chaokoh.
There are four coconut curries that are most frequently found on Thai restaurant menus. I’ve posted recipes for Instant Pot Thai Red Curry, Instant Pot Thai Massaman Curry and now green curry. Stay tuned for panang curry sometime in the fall. Out of all the curries, massaman curry is the mildest and green curry is the hottest/spiciest. Even at Thai restaurants, I get the other curries medium or spicy, but I like to order mild green curry because it’s still pretty spicy!
Thai green curry paste has a wonderful combination of flavors including green chilies, garlic, galangal ginger, shallots, lemongrass, kaffir lime, coriander , cumin, cardamom, turmeric, and black pepper. This recipe makes a green curry that’s fairly spicy, but not extreme. If you’re unsure, start with just 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of the green curry paste, and next time you can adjust the heat.
Serve this Instant Pot Thai Green Chicken Curry with Fragrant Instant Pot Jasmine Rice. The combination is so good, you’re going to want to lick your bowl!
If you’re new to the Instant Pot and aren’t familiar with how to use it, please read the Instant Pot Manual / Beginner’s Quick Start Guide blog post first and then come back here to learn how to make Instant Pot Thai Green Curry with Chicken.
Instant Pot Thai Green Curry with Chicken Ingredients
Instant Pot Thai Green Curry with Chicken Step by Step Instructions
- Press ‘Saute’.
- Stir together Green curry paste and 1/2 can of coconut milk and saute until mixture is bubbly, a minute or two. *
- Stir in coriander and cumin and cook for 30 seconds.
* Use a splatter screen if necessary, to guard against splatters from the coconut milk.
- Press ‘Keep Warm/Cancel’ to turn off Instant Pot.
- Stir in chicken, remaining coconut milk, and chicken broth or water.
- Close Instant Pot Lid, and make sure steam release handle is in the ‘Sealing’ position.
- Press ‘Manual’ and ‘+’ or ‘-‘ until display reads ‘4’ (4 minutes)
- 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 4 to 0; it will then switch to ‘Keep Warm’ mode and display ‘L0:00’.
- To open the Instant Pot, first move the steam release handle to ‘Venting’. I like to place a folded towel over the steam release handle and move it to the venting position.
- When your Instant Pot is depressurized, the float valve will be in the down position.
- Press ‘Cancel’ and open the Instant Pot.
- Press ‘Saute’.
- Stir in fish sauce, brown sugar, lime juice, bell pepper, zucchini, onion, bamboo shoots, and lime leaves.
- Cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 3 to 5 minutes. Don’t overcook, as the vegetables will continue to cook in residual heat.
- Taste and adjust with more fish sauce, brown sugar or lime juice.
- Stir in the Thai basil leaves.
- Serve Instant Pot Thai Green Curry with Instant Pot Jasmine Rice.
Instant Pot Thai Green Curry with Chicken
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 6
Instant Pot Thai Green Curry is a creamy coconut curry with the flavors of green chilies, Thai Basil, lime, coriander, cumin. This spicy curry will rival your favorite Thai takeout green curry but is so easy that it can be ready in less than 20 minutes.
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp Thai Green curry paste (preferably Maesri or Mae Ploy brand)
- 1 14-oz can regular-fat coconut milk (preferably Aroy-D or Chaokoh brand)
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1 lb boneless chicken breasts or thighs, sliced into thin bite-size pieces
- 1/4 cup water or chicken broth
- 2 Tbsp fish sauce, more to taste
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar (or to taste)
- 1 Tbsp lime juice
- 1 cup green bell pepper, cubed or strips
- 1 cup zucchini, sliced or strips
- 1/2 cup onion, cubed
- 1/2 cup sliced canned bamboo shoots
- 4 Kaffir lime leaves, slightly bruised
- 1/4 cup Thai basil leaves
Instructions
- Press ‘Saute’ and stir in Green curry paste and 1/2 can of coconut milk until mixture is bubbly, about a minute or two.
- Stir in coriander and cumin and cook for 30 seconds.
- Press 'Keep Warm/Cancel'.
- Stir in chicken, remaining coconut milk, and chicken broth.
- Close Instant Pot and make sure steam release handle is in the ‘Sealing’ position.
- Cook on 'Manual' mode for 4 minutes.
- Do a Quick Release of pressure and open the Instant Pot.
- Add in fish sauce, brown sugar, lime juice, bell pepper, zucchini, onions, bamboo shoots, and Kaffir lime leaves.
- Press 'Saute' and cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, 3 to 5 minutes. (Be sure not to overcook. Vegetables will continue to cook in the residual heat.)
- Taste and adjust with more fish sauce, brown sugar or lime juice.
- Stir in the Thai basil leaves.
- Serve with Instant Pot Jasmine Rice.
Notes
- Use a splatter screen if necessary, in the first step, to guard against coconut milk splatters.
- You can choose to substitute the vegetables with your choice e.g. green beans, Thai eggplant, peas.
- You can also increase the quantity of vegetables to suit your tastes.
- My chicken was thinly sliced. If your pieces of chicken are larger, you'll need to add on a few more minutes of cooking or just do a natural release of pressure.
Courses Main Dish
Cuisine Thai
Nutrition Facts
Amount Per Serving | ||
|---|---|---|
Calories 211 | ||
% Daily Value | ||
Total Fat 12 g | 18% | |
Saturated Fat 7 g | 35% | |
Cholesterol 37 mg | 12% | |
Sodium 970 mg | 40% | |
Total Carbohydrates 9 g | 3% | |
Dietary Fiber 2 g | 8% | |
Sugars 7 g | ||
Protein 16 g | 32% | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
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.
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