This curry chicken stir-fry comes together in almost no time at all! There’s no need to prep or plan, simply toss all of these ingredients into your Instant Pot Pressure Cooker and dinner is on the table in no time.
An hour ago the chicken in this photo was a frozen hunk in my freezer. I call my Instant Pot Pressure Cooker, the procrastinators dream because that’s exactly what it is.
Slow cookers require planning and careful time consideration but with a pressure cooker, you don’t even have to take the chicken out of the freezer! The Instant Pot will take care of all of that for you. I used to think that making healthy meals wasn’t practical because they required so much time. But really, it’s just the planning ahead that I struggle with.
So, how can we put dinner on the table at the last second without much forethought?
Simple. Keep a few staple ingredients stocked in your freezer and pantry, find 4 or 5 different recipes that you love that require those same ingredients, and you’ll have a multitude of meals you can throw together in a moments notice.
This Curry Chicken Stir-Fry comes together in a flash with frozen chicken, frozen vegetables, a can of coconut milk, curry paste, and a few spices.
Simple. Easy. Fast. Delicious.
Don’t worry about this dish being too spicy, it is kid and Grandma approved! My kids love to have theirs over rice.
If you make this recipe please share a link to the recipe online and tag me (@instantloss)! I love to see what you are cooking up in your kitchen!
For other amazing Instant Pot recipes, pick up a copy of one of my cookbooks at your local bookseller! The Instant Loss Cookbook tells the story of how I lost 125 pounds in one year, just eating real food at home! Our second cookbook, Instant Loss Eat Real, Lose Weight just hit stores and is a National Best Seller! It focuses on how to ditch the diet mindset, heal unhealthy habits, and repair your relationship with food! Packed full of 125 NEW recipes, it is a must have for every healthy cook!
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Curry Chicken Stir-Fry
Ingredients
- 1 pound bonless skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 1 13.5 ounce can full fat coconut milk
- 4 ounces red curry paste, I use Thai Kitchen brand
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos or low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon red boat fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon fine ground sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 6 cups frozen stir-fry vegetable blend
Instructions
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In an electric pressure cooker combine the chicken breasts, onions, coconut milk, curry paste, coconut aminos, fish sauce, ginger, sea salt, and black pepper and stir with a spoon.
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Place the lid on the pressure cooker. Make sure the vent valve is in the SEALING position. Select the MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK function and HIGH PRESSURE. Use the +/- buttons until the display reads 30 minutes.
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When the cooker beeps to let you know it's finished, wait until the display panel reads, LO: 05. Switch the vent valve from the SEALING to the VENTING position, use caution while the steam escapes, it's hot.
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Carefully remove the chicken breasts from the pot and set on a cutting board. Stir in the stir-fry vegetables, the residual heat should cook them. Select the sauté function to warm them further, if needed. Cut the chicken breasts into cubes and stir back into the vegetable curry mixture.
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Serve warm.
Recipe Notes
If using frozen chicken breasts, cook for 40 minutes.
I can‘t wait to make this! One question – I absolutely despise fish sauce – can I leave it out or substitute something? I know it won‘t taste the same without it, but I‘d like to use something else to come close to it. Thanks for all of your recipes – love them all!
I didn’t add Fish Sauce (because I don’t like it either)…And it came out AMAZING!!!! My family loved it!
Awesome! I’ll be making this recipe this week then and will leave it out. Thanks!
Thank you SO much for this recipe! I tweaked it a bit as I had frozen shrimp and bay scallops. I cooked for 20 minutes, which could have been even less, and served over rice. It was great! Thank you Brittany!
Is the time correct at 30 minutes? Other recipes I have used are 10 minutes for cubed chicken breast and 15 minutes for shredded from thawed chicken.
Yes that is the current time, part of the reason the cook time is so long is to infuse the chicken with the flavor. You can cook it for a shorter amount of time but it will not be as flavorful!
We loved this! Thank you so much for another amazing recipe!
Just had this over cauliflower rice and it was delicious! And SO easy! Thank you!
Thank you for another awesome recipe!
I made this recipe for my family and it was a hit!! My husband lived in England for a couple years and curry is everywhere there so he loves curry. And I loved that there were veggies in it!! One question though – is there a way to make the sauce a little thicker? We are used to a thicker sauce in our curry and I wondered if you have any tips?
You can add a little bit of arrowroot powder or corn starch to create a thicker sauce
I’m so happy I chose this as the first recipe to cook in my new instant pot! It was so easy and delicious! The minimal prep time makes it perfect for a weeknight meal. Just made it a few days ago and my husband has already asked me to make it again. I added some red pepper flakes for more spice and decreased the amount of fish sauce to adjust for personal preference.
Yah! I am so happy to hear that you and your husband loved the recipe! Can’t wait to hear what you try next! 🙂
Hi! Do you have a specific Frozen stir-fry vegetable brand you like?
I personally use Kirkland Signature Stir Fry Vegetable Blend
Can the chicken be frozen on this or should you thaw it first? Honestly, I’ve wondered this with many of your recipes (recently bought both your books, very excited to get started).
Yes you can use frozen chicken in this recipe and you would not need to make any adjustments, though some of my other recipes would need an extended cook time if you used frozen chicken instead of thawed chicken.
Loved the ease and taste of this recipe. Also made PIP brown rice along with it! 🙂
I had dental surgery so some I am making the Acorn Squash Soup.
Squash was really a “not today” thing, I will though soon. Last weekend I
ordered it at Panera and loved it. Then I came home and looked it up.
Wow…not a diet soup after all. So I tried Progress Acorn Squash soup,
Loved it. So now I will make it your way. Thank you.
I used yellow curry paste since I did not have enough red. It turned out fine, however for an improvement I too would like the sauce thicker. Also would like a stronger curry flavor. Should I add more curry paste to achieve that?
You can add more curry paste for a stronger flavor and you could add corn starch or arrowroot powder to make the sauce thicker.
We are vegetarian and would like this with only veg, how do i do this? Would it just be better to make in a pan? I would prefer to use instapot if there is a way and how much extra veg would you add?
Sure you could totally make it without the chicken. Without the chicken you could definitely add some lentils, garbanzo beans, or more vegetables to make up for the bulk of the chicken you lose.
Can I make this with pork? (Trying to clear out my freezer) Would the cook time change?
Hi Jenna, I have am not sure as I have never made it with pork before.
I’m sure about adding tofu instead, any ideas if that would work?
Hello Kira,
I have never tried the recipe with tofu instead of chicken before, but if you do I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Making a double batch and wondering if the 6qt would be big enough or if I should use my 8qt pot? If so should the cook time be extended?
Hello Rebecca,
I would try it in my 8 quart pot and no the time does not need to be extended when doubling this recipe.
This was so good! Thank you!
Delicious recipe, such great flavors. It was a hit with everyone in our family. 👍👍
This is my go to weeknight dinner when I do not feel like cooking. It is so nice to throw everything in the instant pot and come out with an incredibly flavorful/healthy meal everyone in the family loves. Thank you!
Can you freeze these meals to throw in the instant pot later?
Hi Tricia,
Yes you can!
My instapot doesn’t read Lo:05. When it is finished, it just reads bb. How long should I wait until I vent it?
Hi Jen,
Thanks for reaching out. If your pot doesn’t switch to a keep warm setting, you should just wait however many minutes after the cook time is finished, so in this case wait 5 minutes then vent it.
If I use 2 lbs of chicken breast instead 1 do I need to make any adjustments to the liquid or timing? 1 lb probaly won’t be enough for our family.
Hi Diana,
You could add 2 lbs of chicken to this recipe and it would not require any adjustments.
This is my absolute favorite recipe from instant loss!!! So delish!
Thanks
I have made this recipe twice in the past three weeks. It is by far one of my favorite Instantloss recipes. We love Indian food and miss going out to our favorite Indian restaurant! This curry is so authentic! It has the perfect combination of spices and so easy to make! We love it!
My whole family loves this recipe. We make it at least once a month. It has lots of flavor and tastes so fresh!
I made this last night, exactly as directed. I did add the cornstarch slurry to thicken it. The depth of flavors was exactly what I was hoping for. I served this with jasmine rice and fresh cilantro over the top. I will definitely be making this again. To people who don’t like fish sauce, the taste isn’t detectable, it just adds to the whole flavor. Absolutely delicious.
Is 4 oz of red curry paste the correct amount? The Thai Kitchen jar I bought is 4 oz., so I am questioning whether this recipe really uses an entire jar for 1 pound of chicken. Also if using corn starch to thicken, when would you add that? Thanks!
Hi Andrea,
Yes you are going to use the whole jar (4 ounces) for this recipe.
This is perfect!!! My whole family loves it.