ramyaramesh3007This homemade vegan butter chicken recipe is buttery, ultra creamy with a subtle hint of sweetness and pairs perfectly with fluffy basmati rice or naan!
As a vegan, everytime I go to an Indian restaurant, it’s almost always impossible to try their classic dishes like Butter Chicken and Chicken Tikka Masala. They are considered the face of commercialized indian food because they’re popular in many western countries, but nevertheless I have not tried a vegan version that actually tastes good.
Even the ones I’ve come across in vegetarian restaurants have a meatless option but they often still contain butter, cream and ghee. It’s an integral part of the dish but innovation has taken over veganizing ANY dish at this point.
Useful tips if you’re making this for the first time
@browngirlvegan I miss Butter Chicken so much so here’s a tribute with my vegan version♥️ #butterchicken #veganrecipes #recipes #vegansoftiktok #foodtiktok #indianfood ♬ Souhila – Instrumental – Bujaa Beats
- Use the thick part of the coconut cream.
This vegan version of Butter Chicken comes pretty close and with some minor tweaks like adding coconut cream. Separate the coconut cream with the watery part and keep some for garnish and measure out the cream needed to mix into the curry.
Using coconut cream won’t make the curry taste coconut-y because it will be overpowered by the other strong spices! - For the ‘chicken’, I used a mix of tofu and plant based chicken.
It’s super important to freeze your tofu, thaw it and drain it before you used them for a more firm texture. The texture has to be springy. Other options you can use are plant-based chicken or seitan. - Marination is important!
Marinate your tofu for at least 30 minutes to half an hour. Then bake or grill them for about 15-20 minutes.
Ingredients You Need
- Tofu – firm or extra firm tofu
- Tomato sauce base – fresh red tomatoes and boiled/soaked raw cashews
- Coconut – a good quality coconut cream
- Whole spices – cinnamon, bay leaves, cloves, cardamom
- Vegan Butter – Nuttelex never lets me down
Not forgetting the spices in your pantry if you cook a lot of indian food!
- garam masala
- kashmiri chili powder (for the bright red colour)
- turmeric
- onion powder
- garlic powder
You can also use whole spices like onions and garlic. You can use a large onion, diced and 3 cloves of mashed garlic and saute them until caramelized.
This recipe is also 100% gluten free if you use tofu or gluten free plant based ‘chicken’ substitute. You can meal prep this and store in the fridge in an air-tight container for 2-3 days.
Vegan Butter Chicken
Ingredients
Marinade for 'Chicken'
- 300 g firm tofu
- 150 g plant based chicken (or more tofu)
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp kashmiri chili powder
- 3 tsp coconut cream
Butter Chicken Gravy
- 20 red cherry tomatoes (4 large tomatoes)
- 15 cashews (soaked)
- 2 tbsp vegan butter
- 2 bay leaves
- 5 cloves
- 5 green cardamom pods
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 green chili
- 2 tsp ginger paste
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup coconut cream
- salt
Garnish
- 1 tbsp coconut cream
- chopped coriander
Instructions
- Soak cashews overnight or in boiling water for 30 minutes.
- Thaw frozen tofu in the microwave for 2 minutes and drain excess water. Break it up into chunks. Add thawed plant based chicken and combine the ingredients required for the marinade.
- Marinate for 30 minutes at least, but you can even leave it overnight for more flavour. Preheat your oven to 200°C.
- Add soaked cashews and tomatoes to a high speed blender to get a smooth and creamy paste.
- Spray some olive oil on the marinated tofu chunks and bake* in oven for about 15 minutes until the flavours are fully absorbed.
- Add 1 tbsp vegan butter to a pan and add whole spices – bay leaves, cardamom, cinnamon stick and cloves. Saute until fragrant.
- Add green chili and ginger paste. Saute until fragrant.
- Add cashew-tomato paste, chili powder, sugar, salt, onion and garlic powder. Saute until the mixture thickens and you can see oil floating at the sides. Another way to check is you don't smell the raw tomatoes anymore.
- Add water, mix and do a taste test. Adjust salt if necessary.
- Add 1/4 cup coconut cream and give it a good mix.
- Lower the heat and add 1 tbsp of vegan butter on top. If the mixture is too thick, you can add a bit more water or more coconut milk. (Use the rest of the coconut cream/milk in smoothies, desserts)
- Garnish with more coconut cream and chopped coriander. Serve with naan, paratha or plain basmati rice!
Notes
- If you don’t have vegan butter, you can use vegetable oil.
- This recipe is entirely gluten free (just ensure you’re using a gluten free version of plant based meat if using).
- You can also pan fry them in oil until crispy or air fry for 10 minutes!
It would be great to know your recommended cooking time for the tofu. The recipe just says thaw and marinade but doesn’t return to say how long to cook tofu
Hi there! Thank you for the feedback. I’ve updated the recipe to include the instructions on how long to bake the tofu 🙂