Thai Instant Pot Yellow Curry with Chicken has the perfect combination of flavors: creamy coconut milk, Thai yellow curry paste, chicken, potatoes, and carrots. To top it off, curry powder gives this Thai yellow curry its unique taste. This Thai yellow curry recipe is soul-nourishing comfort food perfect for any time of year.
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I’ve had many requests for an Instant Pot Yellow Curry recipe but I just didn’t get a chance to share one until now. I think you’re going to love this Instant Pot chicken curry with potatoes and carrots.
It’s very important that you get good quality and authentic ingredients if you want to replicate the flavors of your favorite Thai restaurant.
Please read my Instant Pot Thai Red Curry recipe post to find out more about my quest to create a recipe for the perfect Thai Red Curry, first on the stovetop and then the pressure cooker!
Celestina says ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I don’t think I’ve ever left a review for a recipe before but this was SO good! … Doubled the recipe but I’m definitely going to be making this again, next week actually lol thank you so much!!!!
I love to serve Thai curries with Jasmine rice rather than long grain, basmati, or even brown rice. I feel that Jasmine rice is best for soaking up the curry – it tastes so good!!
This pressure cooker Thai yellow curry recipe can be made quickly and easily, even on a busy weeknight. I always keep coconut milk and curry paste in my pantry and I use whatever meat and vegetables I have on hand.
[Read More: Instant Pot Pot-in-Pot Cooking Method to cook rice and curry together!]
➡ All my Thai recipes are as delicious and easy as this curry, but with different flavors! Massaman curry is milder, and Green Curry is the spiciest, with Red Curry somewhere in the middle.
Thai fish curry (choo chee curry) is a change from the ordinary. Or try my stovetop recipes for Thai Basil Chicken and Drunken Noodles too!
Ingredients and Tips
🧂 Ingredients for Instant Pot Yellow Curry
🌶️ Spice Level: The recipe, as written, is medium spicy. If you find it too spicy, add more coconut milk when cooking the vegetables.
🫙 Curry Powder: If you have old curry powder that’s been sitting in your cabinet, replace it – freshness really matters!
🍃 Lime Leaves: Also called k-lime, makrut, or kaffir lime leaves, these add a unique, authentic flavor. Find them at Asian grocery stores and freeze for later use. Scrunch and bruise the leaves before adding, to release oils and intensify the flavor. If unavailable, add an extra 1-2 teaspoons lime juice and taste as you go.
🌿 Thai Basil: Yellow curry recipes vary – I don’t use Thai basil in mine, but feel free to add some after pressure cooking if you like the flavor.
🐟 Fish Sauce: I use Red Boat brand (it’s pricier but excellent quality). There’s no substitute for the umami depth that fish sauce provides! Vegetarian readers recommend Fysh brand sauce, although I’ve not tried it.
🍬 Palm Sugar: Sweetness levels vary at Thai restaurants, so adjust to taste. Palm sugar is more authentic than brown sugar, but I frequently use brown sugar without sacrificing any flavor.
🥥 Coconut Milk: Use full-fat, good-quality coconut milk – my favorites are Aroy-D and Chaokoh. It can look curdled after pressure cooking, but stir it up to make it smooth again. Try and avoid light coconut milk or lower-quality brands.
🍖 Meats and Tofu: Substitute easily with adjusted cook times (for bite-size strips) trimmed of fat:
– Pork shoulder 8 minutes NPR
– Beef chuck 12 minutes NPR
– Extra-firm tofu cubes 2 minutes QR.
🥕 Vegetables: I sometimes reduce chicken and double the vegetables for a healthier ratio.
🧂 Salt Adjustment: Thai curries are traditionally eaten with rice. If skipping rice, reduce fish sauce to adjust the salt level.
✖️ Doubling Recipe: Double all ingredients and use the same cook time. Keep ingredients below the ⅔-full mark.
🛡️ Splatter Screen: Mixture can bubble and splatter when sautéing coconut milk with curry paste. Use a splatter screen to cover the inner pot.
🔥 Burn Message: If your Instant Pot is prone to the burn message, add ¼ cup broth when pressure cooking. (I often do this anyway to scrape out coconut milk remnants from the can—add broth to empty can, swirl, and scrape with a spatula!)
❓ FAQS
To make the Thai yellow curry in a slow cooker, slow cook 4 hours on low heat.
Yes, you can add cubed frozen chicken and pressure cook for the same amount of time.
You can add the fish sauce earlier in the process. I like to add it later so the flavors are fresh.
You can freeze it.
Instructions
⏲️ How to Make Instant Pot Thai Yellow Curry
- Turn on Saute mode. Stir together the yellow curry paste and ½ can of coconut milk, and saute for about a minute. Use a splatter screen, if necessary, to guard against splatters from the coconut milk.
- Add curry powder and stir until the mixture is bubbly and the oil begins to separate, about two to three minutes.
- Press Cancel and stir in the remaining coconut milk. Add the chicken and potatoes.
- Stir everything until combined, and make sure there’s nothing stuck to the bottom of the Instant Pot.
- Close the lid.
- Select Pressure Cook mode and cook on high pressure for 3 minutes.
- The display will go from On to 3:00. The float valve will go up after a few minutes. The display will count down to 00:00.
- Do a natural release of pressure or a 15-minute natural release. Once the float valve goes down, the lid can be opened.
- Turn on the Saute function.
- Stir in fish sauce, brown sugar, lime juice, onions, carrots, 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 the residual heat. Taste and adjust with more fish sauce, brown sugar, or lime juice.
♨️ Stovetop Instructions
- Sauté curry paste and coconut milk till bubbly.
- Add the curry powder and saute briefly.
- Add the remaining coconut milk and chicken.
- Cook till the chicken is almost cooked through.
- Stir in flavorings and lime leaves.
- Add vegetables and cook through until crisp-tender.
See the recipe card below for detailed instructions.
Thai Instant Pot Yellow Curry with Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 tablespoon Thai yellow curry paste preferably Maesri or Mae Ploy brand [See Note 1]
- 13.5 oz. coconut milk (1 can), preferably Aroy D or Chaokoh brand – 411 ml
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 ½ lb boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs (⅔ kg) cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 ½ cups Yukon gold potatoes about 2 medium, cut into 1 ½-inch cubes
- 2 Tbsp fish sauce more to taste [See Note 2]
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar or to taste
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- ½ cup onion cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 cup carrots sliced
- 4 lime leaves slightly bruised [See Note 3]
- ¼ cup chicken broth stovetop version only
Instructions
Instant Pot
- Select Saute and stir together 2 to 3 tablespoon Thai yellow curry paste and ½ can of coconut milk in the inner pot for about a minute.
- Add 1 teaspoon curry powder and stir constantly until mixture is bubbly, about 2 to 3 minutes. [See Note 4]
- Press Cancel.
- Stir in remaining coconut milk, 1 ½ lb boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs and 1 ½ cups Yukon gold potatoes.
- Close the lid and pressure cook on High Pressure for 3 minutes.
- Do a Quick Release of pressure (QR) and open the Instant Pot. [Read More: The Different Pressure Release Methods]
- Stir in 2 Tbsp fish sauce, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, 1 teaspoon lime juice, ½ cup onion, 1 cup carrots, and 4 lime leaves.
- Select 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.
- Serve with Instant Pot Jasmine Rice.
Stovetop
- Heat yellow curry paste and ½ can of coconut milk in a medium saucepan for a minute.
- Add curry powder and stir constantly until mixture is bubbly, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Stir in the remaining coconut milk, 1 ½ lb boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighshicken, and potatoes.
- Cover and cook until the potatoes are soft, stirring occasionally. If the curry is too thick, add some more broth.
- Stir in fish sauce, brown sugar, lime leaves and lime juice.
- Add carrots, onions, and lime leaves. Cook for another 3 minutes or until crisp tender.
- Taste and adjust with more fish sauce, brown sugar or lime juice.
- Heat through and serve with Jasmine rice.
Notes
- Note 1: I use 3 tablespoons of Maesri brand or 2 tablespoons of Mae Ploy brand.
- Note 2: Thai curries are generally eaten with rice. If you’re not eating with rice, reduce the quantity of fish sauce.
- Note 3: Lime leaves also referred to as k-lime, makrut, or kaffir lime leaves.
- Note 4: Use a
splatter screen, if necessary, to guard against the coconut milk bubbling up.
splatter screen, if necessary, to guard against the coconut milk bubbling up.Nutrition
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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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Celestina says
I don’t think I’ve ever left a review for a recipe before but this was SO good! I ended up using vegan fish sauce (highly recommend Nuoc Mam Chay which is a Vietnamese “fish” sauce that’s vegan) and used the Mae Ploy yellow curry paste and kaffir lime leaves. I’ve used the Mae Ploy before but I think those kaffir leaves really took it to the next level. I also put the carrots, onions and potatoes in all at once with the chicken instead of sauteeing them at the end. Doubled the recipe but I’m definitely going to be making this again, next week actually lol thank you so much!!!!
Neena Panicker says
Hi Celestina, thank you for taking the time to comment – it means so much! I’m so happy you enjoyed the Thai yellow curry recipe and thanks for your tips!
Daniel says
A great recipe! I made it with Harvest Moon Potatoes (Potatoes with yellow flesh and dark purple skin) that I got from my local farmer’s market. It was a good recipe for my household, as some of my family don’t like really spicy food, and as this is more mild, it was a hit!
Neena Panicker says
Hi Daniel! Thanks for leaving a comment. I’m glad you enjoyed the Thai yellow curry using harvest moon potatoes!
Lauren says
I cannot wait to make this recipe for dinner tomorrow. If I were to triple it, would it all fit in a 6 qt instant pot?
Neena Panicker says
Lauren, I’ve doubled it easily but never tripled it. Officially you’re supposed to stay at the 2/3 full mark or below. But if you go a bit above, you should be okay. Just don’t fill it up too high.
Jeremy Best says
I made this a couple of weeks ago for my mother whom I’ve recently introduced to how amazing Thai cuisine is. I like a strong coconut flavor in my Curries so I doubled the total coconut milk quantity, but in the first step I simmered it until the oil started separating from the liquid, then I added in my curry paste. A couple of other changes I made to the recipe were using palm sugar rather than brown, and I added bell peppers and cherry tomatoes in the final step. This was an amazing recipe to build upon and I am making a tofu version again tonight for my vegetarian daughter. Thank you so much and I look forward to trying more of your recipes!
Neena Panicker says
Jeremy, thank you for the comment and your modifications. I’m so glad you were able to make this for your mom, and that she liked it. Hope your daughter enjoyed the vegetarian yellow curry too.
Lisa Gregory says
Can I use a slow cooker for this recipe?
Neena Panicker says
Lisa, I would say you can slow cook for 4 hours on low heat.
Taylor says
Do you have a suggested cook time or other adjustments when using frozen chicken?
Neena Panicker says
Hi Lisa, if the chicken is cut into small pieces and separated (not in one big clump), you pressure cook for the original time. The Instant Pot will just take longer to come to pressure. If you’re using frozen large pieces, you can pressure cook for 8 to 10 minutes and shred it it. I prefer cutting it up.
Brenda says
Hi. Can I make the same recipe on the stove, in a pot? Sounds amazing and delicious.
Neena Panicker says
Brenda, yes, you can make it on the stovetop. Instead of pressure cooking, cook it on the stove till the chicken is cooked through. No other changes.
Bethany says
Does doubling the recipe exactly create any issues? Or do you have any suggestions on how to alter the measurements to double it properly? I’m 100% sure my family will want more than the recipe will make, we love curry.
Neena Panicker says
Bethany, I double it exactly and find it works quite well. However, if you double it and it’s too spicy for you, I would just add an extra 1/4 to 1/2 cup of coconut milk.
Alisha says
I’m making the recipe now but it’s looking a bit watery, I realized I purchased lite coconut milk. Would you mind specifying the level of fat of coconut milk to use?
Neena Panicker says
Hi Alisha, as far as I know you can get lite, regular, or coconut cream. I use regular but you can also do coconut cream and add some broth as needed to thin it out.
paul cooke says
Amazing…..
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thanks, Paul. I’m so happy you liked the Thai yellow curry!
Elfie says
I made the Thai red curry and it was delicious! I plan on making this one next. My only question is: why isn’t the fish sauce added during the pressure cooking step? I was worried about the fish sauce not cooking enough on the saute step so I let it cook for about 10 minutes total and ended up over-cooking the sauce (lots of liquid evaporated).
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Elfie, great question. I find that pressure cooking mutes spices and flavorings, in general, and choose to add fish sauce towards the end. You can definitely pressure cook it and see if that works better for you. It will be good.
Steve says
Hello! I have a little one that is sensitive to citrus. Can you recommend a substitute for the lime juice? Not sure if the lime leaves have citrus but maybe they’ll be ok? Thanks!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
The lime leaves have citrus notes, so you’ll probably need to omit them too. To add sourness you may want to try a bit of vinegar, or maybe even tamarind.
Sandra Reed says
Wonderful recipe loved by all! All of your instructions were very helpful.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Sandra, so glad to hear that!
Tim says
I stumbled across your site looking for a recipe for red curry, and boy am I glad I did. It was fantastic, and I am going to try this one next. I accidentally bought yellow sour curry paste. Is that the same thing, or should I go back to the store?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Tim, great question. Unfortunately, it isn’t the same thing. This particular curry paste is good for fish and it doesn’t use coconut milk. Pressure cook fish on low pressure for about 3 minutes (or just boil in a saucepan) with curry paste and water. Thank you for trying out my recipes!
Terri says
I appreciated the shopping tips, found the curry paste & fish sauce in my local Safeway. Easy to follow recipe, it was great!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thanks, Terri. I’m glad you liked the recipe.
Laura says
We love this recipe. Have used it many time. Just wondering, as I’m a bit of an amateur when it comes to storing food, can this be frozen and reheated at a later date? We just had twins and trying to precook some meals for when they are out of special care.
🙂
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Laura, I freeze the red curry and green curry just fine so this one should also be fine to freeze. The only change I make is add the Thai basil when I’m reheating.