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.
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read the disclosure.
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.
Nutrition
Thank you for visiting Paint the Kitchen Red. All photos and content are copyright protected. Please don’t use any content without prior written permission. If you’ve made this recipe and would like to share it with your friends, please link back to this recipe. Thank you!
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.
Did you know that the best way to support your favorite bloggers is to comment and rate recipes, and share on social media? If you loved this recipe, please comment and give it a five ⭐ rating in the comment section below. If you’re a pinner, pin this post using the Pin buttons at the top and bottom of this post and in the recipe card above. Thank you for your support!
Lindsie says
Super delicious! I see no need for take out from our local favorite Thai restaurant!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thank you, Lindsie! I’m happy to hear that 🙂
Todd says
Excellent recipe. I added cut up red pepper along with onions, brown sugar step and I sautéed it a little longer to make sure the carrots were cooked through. I also used fresh lime zest instead of lime leaves. I’ll make this again for guests.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Todd, thank you for the comment and the details on how you changed up the recipe. I’m so glad you liked it.
Alex says
Lime leaves? As in the leaves from the tree? If so, yay for me as I have a lime tree!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Alex, the lime leaves are actually ‘makrut’ lime leaves or k-lime leaves which are sometimes referred to as kaffir lime leaves. I’m really not sure if they can be substituted with regular lime leaves!
Peggy Meek says
Rivals the best chicken yellow curry I’ve had in my favorite Thai restaurants!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
I’m so happy to hear that, Peggy! Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Boudica says
Wonderful curry! I did it vegetarian style by using 3 large potatoes, 1 can drained chickpeas, 1 whole onion chunked and chunks of raw carrot. Put all of it into the pot and added a can of coconut milk and a full can of water, into which I stirred 4T yellow curry paste. It was absolutely divinely flavored, yet thin, so I added about 2C cooked brown rice. Turned out perfectly! Definitely going to become a staple, as well all love curry here.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
I’m happy to hear that you made the recipe your own. Thanks for sharing!
Anthony says
I am making this tonight as it is one of my wife’s favorite dishes. If I was to make a double batch, do I double the cook time?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Sorry Anthony if this is too late! You will keep the cook time the same and double all ingredients. Enjoy!
Lynn says
Flavor was perfect. Used the full three tablespoons of yellow curry paste, a little spicy but delicious.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Awesome, Lynn. You can always add a bit more coconut milk if you find the curry is too spicy. Thanks for your comment.
Cherie says
I didn’t have lime leaves or a lime so I increased the lime juice to 1 Tbl. My husband, the yellow curry chicken nut, loved it. I had to add a little extra brown sugar to my bowl to tone down the heat but I also thought the flavor was fantastic. Thank you!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Cherie – thanks for the review and I’m so happy you liked the recipe!
Mike says
Hi, I was just wondering can I used chicken legs with the bone in for this recipes? I have chicken legs but no chicken breasts. I intend to chop the bone in pieces to smaller pieces. My question is should i sate the chicken abit before cooking them on high pressure? 3 mins for bone in may be too little time?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Mike, you sure can use bone-in chicken; I don’t think you need to saute the chicken. Just make sure the liquid and spices cover the pieces. And pressure cook for about 10 to 12 minutes depending on if you want it fall-off-the-bone tender. Hope you enjoy the recipe.
Christine Piggott says
I made this for dinner last night and my husband absolutely loved it! He has requested it for dinner again soon. The recipe was super easy to follow and it turned out great. I had to order the yellow curry paste from Amazon as I couldn’t find any in my local stores but that was pretty easy too.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
That’s wonderful to hear, Christine! You should also try the massaman curry; similar but different too 🙂
Lisa S. says
Absolutely delish! I’ve tried other Thai curry recipes and was always disappointed. The curry paste is the secret! I added 1/2 cup of chicken broth at the beginning because I was really afraid of getting a Burn warning, and it worked out fine. (A little watery, though – next time I’ll try 1/4 cup as you suggest in the notes.) I didn’t have lime leaves so I added a little extra lime juice, and it still tasted great. Next time I’m going to try doubling the recipe, because it disappears so fast!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Wow, what a wonderful comment! Trial and error is the best way to get good at using your IP, so you did the right thing by adding extra water, so you can reduce it next time. I am able to make it with no added water, and just the coconut milk. All the best!
Hitee says
Hi. Love your recipe but would like to try next time with tofu instead. Any suggestions on what changes I should make to the cooking time?
Hitee says
I just saw your note about the tofu on the cooking instructions 🙂 ignore me
Beth says
Beat EVER! No need to go out when I can make this!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
I’m so glad you liked it, Beth!
Anna says
ANy suggestions for doing this without paste and just dry spices? Should I not attempt without?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Anna, sorry, but these Thai recipes really hinge on the right ingredients. I would say you should try and get the correct spice paste and ingredients.
Alexia Isaak says
How many servings are in the recipe to come out to that nutritional value?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Alexia, I calculate the nutrition using myfitnesspal.com and for this recipe it’s 6 servings. You can see the number of servings at the top of the recipe card in the red section.
Diane says
This was my first time making curry and I am so glad I stumbled across your yellow curry recipe. It was amazing! It was as good as any yellow curry I’ve had at a restaurant, if not better. I don’t like fish, but I went ahead and used fish sauce based on your recommendation and it came out perfect. I was concerned it would taste fishy, but it didn’t. I doubled the recipe and the only changes I made were to add a pack of mushrooms, a can of chickpeas, and a bunch of kale. I also tried to use tofu instead of chicken, but I wasn’t overly excited about how that turned out. I didn’t want to omit the potatoes, so I just added the tofu at the end while I was sauteing the vegetables. That wasn’t really enough time for the tofu to absorb the flavors. Hopefully the tofu will taste better tomorrow when I reheat the leftovers.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
I’m so glad you like the recipe, Diane and thank you for the kind words! You’ll need to try all my Thai curries – they’re all equally good.
Courtney says
I have thoroughly enjoyed your red and green curry recipes. I will be trying this one next. Thank you for sharing these!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Courtney, you’ll love the panang too – you should put that on your list 🙂 Thanks for your comment.
Siran says
Thanks so much for sharing! I would love to make a vegetarian version of this. Do you know what changes I have to make to the cooking steps if I remove the chicken? Could I add mushrooms, broccoli and bell peppers etc and how does that impact pressure cook timings? Sorry for the questions, I’m new to instant pot cooking 🙂
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Siran, thanks for your question. Some of those veggies will become mushy if pressure cooked. You could just make the recipe on ‘Saute’ mode if you’re not using chicken. You could use tofu and pressure cook for a minute or two.
Jen says
This Thai Yellow Curry with Chicken was amazing!!! My husband made it a little too spicy but my kids and I ate it. Next time less yellow curry paste. I believe he put in 2.5 tablespoons. Next time we’ll try 1.5. This was one on the best meals we’ve ever prepared and LOVED it so much. I purchased all of the ingredients from amazon so I wouldn’t have to hunt them down at several stores in my area. Thank you for this fabulous recipe.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Wow! What a great comment, Jen! It’s great to hear that y’all liked the recipe. My kids sometimes find the curries spicy, but they just add extra rice 🙂
elaine says
Hi Neena…any suggestions how to prepare black mustard seeds…when I purchased them I never realized one has to soak for 12 hours and use lemon juice…isn’t there an easier way? LOVE, LOVE, LOVE all your recipes…just need 60 hours a day to cook everything!!!! I’m the one who mentioned to you I only cook my beets for 3 minutes…
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Yes, I remember you Elaine! I have never done that with black mustard seeds. The way we use them in Indian cooking is to heat oil (a couple teaspoons) to a high heat, add the mustard seeds and let them pop like popcorn, while covering with a lid until popping stops. Thank you so much for your lovely words – they really do make my day, my week….
Saaz pettitt says
Hi Neena, I just finished making your amazing instant pot Thai Red curry. . I was just going to ask you when you were going to share yellow curry recipe. This is such a pleasant surprise. Thank you!,
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Saaz – you discovered it before I’ve had a chance to get the word out 🙂 I hope you like it. Thanks so much for your comment and for visiting the blog.