The Best Easiest Instant Pot Thai Chicken (with Coconut Milk)
Instant Pot Thai chicken is an easy way to make delicious shredded chicken perfect for serving with pad Thai or over rice. This quick and easy Thai coconut chicken will spice up your dinners any night!
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There’s never enough time in my days.
I know you feel me on that, right?
Like even if I could multiply myself, I still wouldn’t be able to do all I want.
It’s even worse in the summer when I shift things around to spend more time outside with the kids.
Summer nights often have us out past sunset so we can run around catching fireflies.
So quick meals are a must.
And the Instant Pot does make for some quick and easy meals like this Thai chicken.
It has a super short prep time and only a quick handful of ingredients so we can make it and be back to the rest of our lives in no time at all.
And possibly best of all: it uses frozen chicken so it’s a life saver on all those instances we forget to pull meat out of the freezer to thaw for dinner.
Ingredients and Kitchen Supplies
To make this you’ll need:
- Coconut milk– The canned kind. Make sure it’s full fat. I like this brand.
- Fire roasted tomatoes- Canned
- Red onion- Diced
- Soy sauce– I recommend and prefer low sodium soy sauce so you can better how salty this is.
- Red curry paste– This is my favorite brand.
- Garlic– Fresh cloves pressed or minced
- Lime juice
- Chicken breasts– Frozen
You’ll also need an Instant Pot.
How to Make Thai Chicken in the Instant Pot
- Add the ingredients to the Instant Pot.
Stir together all the ingredients except for the chicken in the inner liner of the Instant Pot. Then add the chicken breasts.
2. Pressure cook the chicken.
Secure the lid on the pot and set the valve to seal. Pressure cook on high pressure for 11 minutes. When the Pot beeps, do a natural release for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, quick release the remaining pressure..
3. Shred the chicken.
Once the chicken is done cooking, open the lid and shred the chicken. Stir to combine the sauce and the shredded chicken.
4. Serve and enjoy!
How to Serve Thai Chicken
Serve this chicken over rice or use it as a filling for lettuce wraps.
It also is delicious as a main with:
- Thai Chili Lime Noodles
- The Best Crunchy Thai Peanut Quinoa Salad
- Sweet and Spicy Asian Coleslaw
- Instant Pot Quinoa
You could also substitute this chicken recipe for the rotisserie chicken in this Thai Chicken Salad with Creamy Peanut Dressing.
Like things hot and spicy? Turn this into spicy Thai chicken!
This recipe as is fairly mild so it is family friendly.
But if I were making it for just myself and husband, I would spice it up even more by:
- Adding up to 2 tablespoons of curry paste.
- Using enough garlic to appease all my Italian ancestors.
- Stirring in a few tablespoons of Sriracha.
Storing Leftovers
To store your leftovers, add them to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
To make Thai chicken with coconut milk, do you use canned coconut milk or refrigerated coconut milk?
Only use full fat u003cstrongu003ecanned u003c/strongu003ecoconut milk in this recipe.
Can I freeze Thai shredded chicken breasts?
Yes! To freeze it let it cool first and then transfer it to a freezer safe ziplocking bag or container. The chicken will freeze well for up to 3 months.
Can I make this with thawed chicken?
Yes! To make it with thawed chicken, just adjust the cook time to 8 minutes and do a 10 minute natural release.
Tips and Tricks
- Make sure you use full fat coconut milk and do not sub out lower fat milk. You need the fat content to keep the coconut milk from separating during the cooking process.
- Want to add a bit more flavor with no heat? Add a tablespoon of coconut sugar or brown sugar and a tablespoon of fresh grated ginger.
- You can garnish this with fresh red onion, chopped green onions, chopped fresh cilantro, and chopped peanuts.
Other Instant Pot Chicken Recipes
I love using my Instant Pot to make all sorts of chicken recipes. A few of my other favorites are:
- Instant Pot Barbecue Chicken
- Instant Pot Chicken Tacos
- Instant Pot Chicken Salad with Honey Mustard
- Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Sliders
Did you make this Instant Pot Thai chicken or any other recipe or project on my site? Leave me a comment below and let me know how you liked it. And make sure you follow along with me on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram to see everything we’ve got going on.
Ingredients
- ½ cup coconut milk canned, full fat
- ½ cup fire-roasted tomatoes canned
- 1 small red onion diced, reserve some to garnish at the end
- 1 Tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
- ½ Tablespoon red curry paste
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ½ lime juiced
- 2 6-8oz chicken breasts (frozen)
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to the Instant Pot except for the chicken. Stir together in the inner liner of the Instant Pot.
- Add the chicken breasts to the Pot.
- Secure the lid on the pot and set the valve to seal.
- Pressure cook on high pressure for 11 minutes. When the Pot beeps, do a natural release for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, quick release the remaining pressure..
- Once the chicken is done cooking, open the lid and shred the chicken. Stir to combine the sauce and the shredded chicken.
- Serve and enjoy!
