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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Table of Contents
Introduction
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!
When I used to make Thai Yellow Curry on the stovetop, I didn’t add extra curry powder. I found that the yellow curry paste gives the curry amazing and authentic flavor. But when I make this curry in the pressure cooker, I like to add that extra curry powder because pressure cooking can dull some of the spices.
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! Yellow curry and Massaman curry are on the milder side and Green Curry is the spiciest, with Red Curry somewhere in the middle.
Here are some Thai recipes you might like to try out
– Instant Pot Thai Red Curry
– Instant Pot Thai Massaman Curry
– Instant Pot Thai Panang Curry
– Instant Pot Thai Green Curry
– Instant Pot Thai Peanut Noodles
– Instant Pot Thai Coconut Soup (Tom Kha Gai)
– Instant Pot Thai Grilled Chicken (Gai Yang)
– Instant Pot Jasmine Rice
TIPS AND SUBSTITUTIONS
Yellow Curry Paste
To make this curry taste like a restaurant-quality curry, you’ve got to get the right curry paste. There are two brands of Thai curry pastes that I really like: Maesri (which I like best) and Mae Ploy.
These brands have a much more authentic flavor than the most common brand found in regular grocery stores in the US.
If the curry is too spicy at the end, add some more coconut milk when you’re cooking the vegetables.
Spiciness
When I use Maesri, I use 3 tablespoons of paste, but with Mae Ploy, I use 2 tablespoons because I find it to be spicier. Adjust to your tastes.
If the curry is too spicy at the end, add some more coconut milk when cooking the vegetables. The level of spice in the recipe as written is medium spicy. Vary the spice by adding more or less Thai yellow curry paste.
Also note that Thai curries are generally eaten with rice. If you’re not planning on eating the curry with rice, you might need to adjust the salt by reducing the quantity of fish sauce.
Curry Powder
Curry powder can lose its freshness if kept for too long. So if you have a jar of curry powder that’s been sitting in your cabinet for ages, you should try and get a fresh jar.
Lime Leaves
Lime leaves (also known as k-lime, makrut or kaffir lime leaves) add unique flavor to Thai curries.
You can find them at Asian grocery stores. I highly recommend using them. They keep very well in the freezer!
I like to scrunch up the lime leaves and bruise them before adding them to the curry. This releases the oils from the leaves and adds a stronger flavor.
If you can’t find lime leaves, add an extra teaspoon or two of lime juice. Taste as you go.
Thai Basil
Thai yellow curry recipes vary widely. I like to use lime leaves but I don’t use Thai basil in this curry. If you’re used to the flavor of Thai basil in your yellow curry, feel free to add some in at the end, after pressure cooking.
Fish Sauce
I use Red Boat brand of fish sauce. It’s more pricey, but very good quality.
There’s no substitute for fish sauce. It adds that depth of flavor, the umami, to the curry. But for vegetarians, I’ve had readers recommend the Fysh brand of sauce. I have not tried it. You may need to add a little extra.
Palm Sugar
Thai yellow curries at Thai restaurants can vary in the amount of sweetness, so feel free to adjust the quantity of sugar.
Palm sugar is more authentic to a Thai curry than brown sugar is. However, I frequently use brown sugar without sacrificing taste.
Coconut Milk
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 good-quality coconut milk. I have had less-than-perfect Thai curry when I’ve used lower quality brands and/or light coconut milk. I use full-fat coconut milk. My two favorite brands are Aroy-D and Chaokoh.
Meats and Tofu
You can easily substitute other meats or tofu for the chicken, but you’ll have to adjust the cooking time – here are some approximate times. Note: the timing for meat is for bite-size strips!
- Pork shoulder: 8 minutes Natural Pressure Release (NPR)
- Beef chuck: 12 minutes NPR
- Extra-firm tofu, cubed: 2 minutes, Quick Release (QR)
Vegetables
I sometimes choose to decrease the quantity of chicken and double the quantity of vegetables, so we eat less meat and more veggies.
Doubling the Recipe
You can double all the ingredients in the recipe and pressure cook for the same amount of time. Just make sure your ingredients don’t go past the ⅔-full mark.
Splatter Screen
When you’re sauteing the coconut milk with the curry paste, the mixture can bubble up and splatter. I like to use a splatter screen to cover the inner pot during the saute process.
Burn Message
If you regularly encounter the ‘burn’ message, feel free to add ¼ cup of broth when pressure cooking the coconut milk. (I frequently do this not because of the ‘burn’ error but just because I don’t like to waste the remnants of coconut milk in the can; I add a bit of broth to the emptied can, swirl it around and use a spoon or silicone spatula to scrape out all the coconut milk.)
[Read more: Instant Pot Burn Message]
If you’re new to the Instant Pot and aren’t familiar with how to use it, you might find it helpful to first read one of the following guides and then come back here to learn how to make this recipe.
- General Instant Pot Instructions for Beginners
- Instant Pot ULTRA Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot DUO EVO PLUS Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot DUO NOVA Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot DUO GOURMET Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot DUO CRISP Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot PRO Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot PRO CRISP Beginner’s Manual
Instant Pot Thai Yellow Curry – Ingredients
- Chicken
- Potatoes
- Onions
- Yellow curry paste
- Brown sugar
- Lime juice
- Carrots
- Fish sauce
- Curry powder
- Lime leaves
- Coconut milk
How to Make Thai Yellow Curry in the Instant Pot (Step by Step Instructions)
- Turn on Saute Mode
- Saute curry paste and coconut milk
- Add curry powder and rest of coconut milk
- Stir in chicken and potatoes
- Pressure cook
- Quick-release pressure
- Add vegetables and seasonings and saute
How to Turn on Saute Mode
- Instant Pot DUO: Select the Saute function.
- Instant Pot ULTRA: Select the Saute function and press Start.
Saute Curry Paste and Coconut Milk
- Stir together 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 Rest of Coconut Milk
- Add curry powder and stir until mixture is bubbly and oil begins to separate, about two to three minutes. *
- Select Cancel and stir in remaining coconut milk.
Stir in Chicken and Potatoes
- Stir in chicken and potatoes.
Instant Pot Duo Pressure Cook 3 minutes
- Close the lid and make sure steam release handle is in Sealing position
- Press Manual (or Pressure Cook) and + or – until the display reads 3 (3 minutes).
Instant Pot Ultra Pressure Cook 3 minutes
- Close the lid.
- Select Pressure Cook mode and adjust the time to 3 minutes (00:03).
Press Start.
Pressure Cooking Process (Duo and Ultra)
- Instant Pot display will change to On.
- Once the Instant Pot is pressurized, the float valve will go up.
- The display will count down to 0; it will then switch to Keep Warm mode and display L0:00 or 00 00 and begin to count up the number of minutes since pressure cooking completed.
How to Quick Release Pressure (QR) on the DUO
- Move the steam release handle to Venting. Steam will come out of the steam release handle.
- When your Instant Pot is depressurized, the float valve will be in the down position.
- Press Cancel and open the Instant Pot.
How to Quick Release Pressure (QR) on the ULTRA
- Press down on the Steam Release Button until it locks into place, and steam begins to come out of the Steam Release Valve.
- When your Instant Pot is depressurized, the float valve will be in the down position.
- Press Cancel and open the Instant Pot.
[Find out more about the pressure release methods and how and when to use them. ]
Add Vegetables and Seasonings and Saute
- Select 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.
- Serve with Instant Pot Jasmine Rice.
More Chicken Favorites
Love cooking chicken in the Instant Pot but looking for new recipes? Here are a few of my favorite Instant Pot chicken recipes that are easy, delicious, and fast to make.
- Chicken tinga Instant Pot
- Instant Pot chicken korma
- Instant Pot teriyaki chicken wings
- Instant Pot chicken curry soup
For more chicken recipes, be sure to head over to my list of amazing Instant Pot chicken recipes you need to try!
Thai Instant Pot Yellow Curry with Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 tablespoon Thai yellow curry paste preferably Maesri or Mae Ploy brand *
- 13.5 oz. coconut milk (1 can), preferably Aroy D or Chaokoh brand – 411 ml
- 1 tsp 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
- 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 **
Instructions
- Select Saute and stir together yellow curry paste and ½ can of coconut milk in the inner pot for about a minute.
- Add curry powder and stir constantly until mixture is bubbly, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Press Cancel.
- Stir in remaining coconut milk, chicken and 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 fish sauce, brown sugar, lime juice, onions, carrots, and 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.
Notes
- Prep time does not include steps that are already accounted for in the ingredient list, e.g. minced garlic, cut vegetables, etc.
- Use a
splatter screen, if necessary, to guard against the coconut milk bubbling up. - Thai curries are generally eaten with rice. If you’re not planning on eating the curry with rice, you might need to adjust the salt by reducing the quantity of fish sauce.
- * I use 3 tablespoon of Maesri brand or 2 tablespoon of Mae Ploy brand.
- ** lime leaves also referred to as k-lime, makrut, or kaffir lime leaves
- See the blog post for more detailed recipe tips.
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.
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Heike says
It was absolutely delicious, but I was left with no potato. The minimum time setting on my pressure cooker is five minutes and by that time the potato had totally integrated into the sauce. Any advice how to fix this?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Heike, Thanks for your question. What you could do is to keep the potatoes as larger pieces and then cut them smaller pieces after cooking.
Christina says
I’d been working on perfecting my stovetop Thai yellow curry and you dropped this simple perfection in my lap! Thank you. Delicious!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Oh good! I’m working on updating (most of) my posts and add stovetop instructions too. Slow going, but hopefully will get through them one day! I’m glad you like the recipe.
April says
This recipe looks amazing! I love how you are so detailed with the instapot operation. Thank you!
I have a question, if I want to put this together really quick but all I have is a bottle of Trader Joe’s yellow curry sauce (and maybe some coconut milk too) can I still make it decent?
Thank you!:)
Paint the Kitchen Red says
April, I’m not sure about the sauce, but if it has fillers like flour or cornstarch you might have sealing issues. If the sauce is a self-standing sauce i.e. you don’t need to add coconut milk, then it would become watered down if you add coconut milk or water. I would suggest you cook it in Saute mode OR you can try it out, hoping there are no Burn Message issues.
Vic says
Your blog has finally helped me master my instant pot – appreciate your detail and graphic information. This recipe was much-need success.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thank you so much, Vic! I’m thrilled that I’ve been able to help out.
Lydia Ph says
So delicious, definitely going in our rotation (like all your other recipes I’ve tried so far!) This one is so quick and easy too! Love how convenient it is to chop the veggies while the chicken is in the pot! Thanks so much!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thank you Lydia! I am so pleased that you loved the recipe.
Jenny says
Thank you so much for this recipe!! I feel like you’ve just opened up a new world for me. Even though I love Thai curries, I rarely eat them – because when we get Thai food once or twice a month I’m always more tempted by the noodle dishes. I was searching on Pinterest for an instant pot Thai curry and found your site – which sent me down a rabbit hole of looking through all of your old posts! I started with the red curry (amazing!), and made this yellow curry this weekend – it was so good, and SO easy!!! I can’t wait to try all the others. Thank you for all the great tips of the best brands to buy, and other details like ways to store Iime leaves, ect. Your posts are so detailed and thought out, and really help with confidence. How long do you recommend storing open curry paste in the fridge after opening? Thanks again!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Jenny -thank you so much for taking the time to comment and rate the recipe. All the Thai curries are different from each other and I think you’ll enjoy them all. The panang curry is especially popular amongst readers and my oldest daughter. The green curry is my youngest daughter’s favorite. The tom kha gai (coconut) soup is a hidden gem, waiting to be discovered 🙂 Re: storing the thai curry paste, I store the leftovers in a clean glass bottle and it stays for a long time in the fridge.
Michael says
If I don’t have curry paste, can I just add more curry powder?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Michael, thank you for your question. Most likely you have Indian curry powder and the curry paste is Thai. So you could use more curry powder, but the taste will be completely different. It’ll probably taste good, though.
Karen Brown says
Where can I buy these curry pastes?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Karen, they are available at Asian stores but you can also get them online on amazon.
Jane says
I plan to make this on the week end. I love Thai basil. Would it be appropriate to use in this recipe? And are the lime leaves what I am thinking are kaffir lime leaves (maybe that name is not pc but I don’t know if there are other varieties of lime leaves and these are what I am familiar with from travels in SE Asia). It looks delicious and I am sure it will be delicious!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Jane, thanks for your question. I don’t include basil in this recipe but I do in my red curry, green curry and panang curry recipes. But you can definitely add it to this recipe and it would taste great. Yes, lime leaves/makrut leaves/kaffir lime leaves are the same. I actually changed the name in my recipes because a reader alerted me to the fact that it was offensive.
Nicole says
This was only my second attempt at a really new cooking style using my Instant Pot. This dish was a hit with all four pallets in this very choosy household. I served it with Basmati Rice and everyone was pleased with this meal.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thank you, Nicole. I am so happy you liked the recipe.
Chris says
Fantastic! Took a few shortcuts and it still turned out great.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Great, so nice to hear you liked the recipe. Thanks!
Martina says
This is the best yellow curry I’ve ever tasted! Soooo delicious! I will be making this over and over again. It’s meant to be a lunch for tomorrow but I’m eating it with a spoon right from the pot so I hope there will be something left! Really delicious, thank you!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hey Martina – thank you for that wonderful comment and rating. I’m so happy to hear you love the recipe. I’m certain you’ll love the other Thai curries I’ve posted too 🙂
Pauline N. says
Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe! My first time making curry & this will definitely be my go to recipe. My boyfriend & I loved how it turned out. I used pork shoulder instead of chicken. I will have to say that my carrots took longer than 5 minutes to be tender which was an easy fix, I just cooked them longer. Will definitely check out your other recipes!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hey Pauline, thank you so much for taking the time to comment. That’s great that the recipe worked for you with pork shoulder. You could pressure cook your veggies after the pork is done. Maybe 1 minute or so.
Elizabeth says
The recipe doesn’t say how many this serves so when you import recipe for nutrition info it could be helpful.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Elizabeth, right at the top, in the red section of the recipe card, it tells you the servings. This serves 6.
Caren says
The dish tastes great! I made the curry with extra firm tofu, which I added at the time the chicken would’ve been added. I twice got burn notices – I believe from the tofu sticking – so I recommend waiting to add the tofu along with the vegetables. I used carrots and green beans, and left out the onion (family members are sensitive to onion). The curry was super flavorful and delicious.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Caren, thanks for sharing your experience. I have a feeling you needed to thin out the coconut milk to pressure cook the tofu. But tofu cooks so quickly that I think cooking it afterwards is s a perfect option.
Carole McCracken says
I made this recipe last evening and really enjoyed it. I put leftovers in fridge but noticed today the curry dish is very thick with little liquid left. I like more “sauce” for the rice so think I will add more coconut milk next time. Would I add the milk before pressure cooking it, or just near the end before putting it on saute?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Carole, the curry does thicken upon refrigeration but when you heat it, it should thin out a bit. What I would suggest is that you add the extra coconut milk after pressure cooking, as needed. You can also add 1/4 cup of chicken broth.
Carole says
Thanks for the suggestions – I just finished the left overs so nothing went to waste, haha. I will add the extra coconut milk next time though.
Jessica says
This was absolutely delicious! My whole family loved it!!!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Jessica, thank you for letting me know – I’m so glad to hear you liked the recipe 🙂
Jeef says
You changed my life.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Wow, thank you – that’s quite an endorsement!
Carly Newsam says
First time I made this dish. Was a bit too spicy, so I know to add more coconut milk next time. Thanks for the recipe!!! It’s very delicious.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thanks for your comment, Carly! I’m glad you liked the recipe 🙂
Denise says
Fantastic recipe! I did add an extra can of coconut milk, along with a bit more of the curry paste because my husband loves to have a lot of sauce for his rice. Turned out perfect!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Denise, I’m really happy to hear that you liked the recipe. For some folks, extra coconut milk also works to make the curry less spicy 🙂