Main Dishes
Super Easy (and Creamy) Vegan Butter Chicken Recipe
Prep
10 minutes
Cook
40 minutes
Yield
4 -5
Garam Masala = a vegan butter chicken necessity
Garam masala is a key spice to get all the flavours into this vegan butter chicken recipe. I used Mountain Rose Herbs garam masala to get all the authentic Indian flavour into this curry. Their garam masala is organic and filled with all the spices you need to make your house smell absolutely to die for. Their combination of spices include:
- Cumin seed powder
- Coriander seed powder
- Cardamom powder
- Black pepper
- Cassia cinnamon powder
- Clove powder
- Nutmeg powder
Image how annoying it be to have to buy ALL these spices individually? That’s why I love this powder that already mixes all of these flavours into one to make my life easier, and also makes sure I have the perfect amount of all the Indian spices needed to make this dish as authentic and loaded with flavour as the real thing.
I find any curry to be seriously addictive. Nothing beats the flavour that comes along with a good curry and this vegan butter chicken doesn’t fall short.
How to make Vegan Butter Chicken
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In a large skillet or pot heat, coconut oil or vegan butter on medium-low heat till melted.
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Add your white onion and sweat for around 6 minutes or until translucent. Stir often to avoid burning, scraping the browned bottom bits for extra flavour.
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Add garlic and ginger and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant, then add garam masala, curry powder, coriander, paprika and cinnamon. Let cook for about 20 seconds until fragrant, while stirring occasionally.
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To the skillet or pot add the chili flakes, vegetable stock paste and canned tomatoes. Let the mixture simmer for about 10-15 minutes until sauce thickens and becomes a deep, rich red-brown in colour.
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Remove mixture from heat and scoop into a blender and blend until smooth. If the sauce is too thick to blend, then add up to 1/4 cup water to blend. If you have a smaller blender, blend in batches.
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Pour the sauce back into the pan. Stir in the coconut milk, sugar and season to taste.
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At this point, you would add your cooked lentils, potatoes, chickpeas, vegan chicken etc. and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Simmer for 15 minutes even if you’re not adding a protein or root of choice.
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Serve with rice, cilantro and naan.
Vegan Butter Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
For the Sauce:
- 2 tbsp. coconut oil or vegan butter
- 1 large white onion small dice
- 2 large cloves of garlic pressed
- 1 tbsp. fresh ginger grated
- 1 1/2 tbsp. garam masala
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp chili flakes or just a dash
- 1 tsp vegetable stock paste optional
- 1 400 ml no-salt-added canned tomatoes
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 400 ml can coconut milk
- season to taste
For serving:
- cooked rice
- cilantro
- naan
Instructions
- In a large skillet or pot heat coconut oil or vegan butter on medium-low heat till melted. Add your white onion and sweat for around 6 minutes or until translucent. Stir often to avoid burning, scraping the browned bottom bits for extra flavour.
- Add garlic and ginger and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant, then add garam masala, curry powder, coriander, paprika and cinnamon. Let cook for about 20 seconds until fragrant, while stirring occasionally.
- To the skillet or pot add the chili flakes, vegetable stock paste and canned tomatoes. Let the mixture simmer for about 10-15 minutes until sauce thickens and becomes a deep, rich red-brown in colour.
- Remove mixture from heat and scoop into a blender and blend until smooth. If the sauce is too thick to blend, then add up to 1/4 cup water to blend. If you have a smaller blender, blend in batches.
- Pour the sauce back into the pan. Stir in the coconut milk, sugar and season to taste. At this point you would add your cooked lentils, potatoes, chickpeas, vegan chicken etc. and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Simmer for 15 minutes even if you're not adding a protein or root of choice. Serve with rice, cilantro and naan.
K. This is unreal!! I didn’t have fresh ginger but it was still amazing with the powder. How would you increase the heat? Would doubling or tripling the chili flakes ruin the flavour?
We loved this! Next time I am going to do a double batch and save some sauce in the freezer. We added some fried tofu with veggies, and it was delicious!
I am so glad you loved this, Tracy! Thank you so much!
Looks amazing and I can’t wait to try tonight!!
Enjoy!! 🙂
Delicious! I’ve never made vegan butter chicken before on my own, I really liked the texture I think mine came out a lot thicker than the photos but it was really good!
Wonderful!! You can always reduce the cooking time to keep the sauce thinner OR add some plant-based milk until you reach the thickness you desire!
Absolutely delicious!
Yum! Thank you!!
I have tried alot of your recipes and they are all really amazing, this one was fun in the making!
Both creating and eating food is meant to be a fun experience! So happy this was for you 🙂
Amazing! I don’t really make Indian food as I am not that good at it, but to my surprise, it turned out great! Will be making it again soon.
I’m happy you enjoyed this Alice 🙂
Amazing!! So easy, so delicious. Followed the recipe exactly and am very satisfied.
That’s great Jasmine 🙂
Absolutely delicious as all your recipes are Maria! Thanks for another winning recipe!
Hooray! Thanks Erin 🙂
So so Delish! Everyone at the table has seconds- and also very easy to make!
That’s what we love to hear!! Thanks Melissa!