This vegan biryani is flavorful and fragrant and made in one pot with vegetables, rice and Indian spices. Easy to make and utterly delicious!
This vegan biryani is a simplified version of a traditional biryani. It’s much quicker and easier to make but the flavor is nonetheless outstanding.
It can be ready in less than an hour and makes a fantastic vegan dinner option that’s better than takeout!
You’ll also love our vegan dal makhani, vegan korma and vegan chana masala.
Ingredients You’ll Need:
Ingredient Notes
- Spices – you’ll notice that some of the spices are in their whole form, like the cardamom, cinnamon stick, cloves, cumin seeds and star anise. This helps to really make this biryani extremely aromatic and fragrant. It also gives it a much more authentic taste even though we are still doing a simplified version. I highly recommend using all the spices and using them in their whole forms where specified.
- Raisins – are an optional but delicious addition.
- Vegetable stock – or vegetable broth are both fine to use.
- Coconut milk – should be canned, full fat, unsweetened coconut milk.
- Potato – can be any variety of white potato. Yukon gold or Russet potatoes would both work great.
How To Make Vegan Biryani
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Heat a large pot or deep skillet on medium heat.
- Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and chopped onions and cook until the onions are soft and golden.
- Add sliced chili, minced ginger, crushed garlic, turmeric, garam masala, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom, cumin seeds, star anise, red pepper flakes and 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sauté until the spices are fragrant.
- Add tomato, potato, carrot, cauliflower and raisins and cook for 2 minutes to mix with the spices.
- Add vegetable stock, coconut milk, salt and pepper and stir to mix in.
- Add rice and gently stir it in.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover and let it simmer (covered) until the rice is cooked. About 15 minutes.
- When the rice is cooked, switch off the heat, add frozen peas, chopped cashews, mint and cilantro and then cover the pot and let it rest for 5 minutes.
- Then remove the lid and mix everything together.
- Your vegan biryani is ready to serve.
Serving Suggestions
Serve it topped with fresh mint leaves, fresh chopped cilantro and charred lemon slices. To char the lemon slices, heat up a non stick pan and char the slices of lemon until charred on each side. This is entirely optional but does look great served with biryani.
This vegan biryani is a meal on its own so doesn’t need anything on the side, but if you would like to serve it with something then vegan naan is always a winner.
Storing and Freezing
Keep leftovers stored in a covered container in the fridge for 4-5 days. It can be reheated in the microwave.
It’s also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
More Vegan Indian Inspired Recipes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Biryani
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil Divided
- 1 Medium Onion White, Yellow or Brown, Chopped
- 1 Green Chili Sliced and Deseeded
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Ginger Minced
- 4 Cloves Garlic Crushed
- ¼ teaspoon Turmeric
- 2 teaspoons Garam Masala
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 Cinnamon Stick
- 3 Cloves
- 3 Green Cardamom
- ½ teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 1 Star Anise
- ½ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 Medium Tomato Chopped
- 1 Large Potato Peeled and Diced
- 1 Large Carrot Sliced
- 1 cup Cauliflower Florets (80g)
- ⅓ cup Raisins (48g) Optional
- 1 cup Vegetable Stock (240ml) or Broth
- ¾ cup Coconut Milk (180ml) Canned, Full Fat, Unsweetened
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 1 cup Basmati Rice (200g) Uncooked
- 1 cup Frozen Green Peas (134g)
- ¾ cup Roasted Salted Cashews (100g) Roughly chopped
- 2 Tablespoons Fresh Mint Leaves Chopped
- 2 Tablespoons Fresh Cilantro Chopped
Instructions
- Heat a large pot or deep skillet on medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and chopped onions and cook until the onions are soft and golden.
- Add sliced chili, minced ginger, crushed garlic, turmeric, garam masala, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom, cumin seeds, star anise, red pepper flakes and 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sauté until the spices are fragrant.
- Add tomato, potato, carrot, cauliflower and raisins and cook for 2 minutes to mix with the spices.
- Add vegetable stock, coconut milk, salt and pepper and stir to mix in.
- Add rice and gently stir it in.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover and let it simmer (covered) until the rice is cooked. About 15 minutes.
- When the rice is cooked, switch off the heat, add frozen peas, chopped cashews, mint and cilantro and then cover the pot and let it rest for 5 minutes. Then remove the lid and mix everything together.
- Serve it topped with fresh mint leaves, fresh chopped cilantro and charred lemon slices.
Notes
- Spices – some of the spices are in their whole form, like the cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom, cumin seeds and star anise. This helps to really make this biryani extremely aromatic and fragrant. It also gives it a much more authentic taste. I highly recommend using all the spices in the recipe and using them in their whole forms where specified.
- Potato – can be any variety of white potato. Yukon gold or Russet potatoes would both work great.
- Charred lemon slices – if you want to serve it with charred lemon slices then heat up a non stick pan and char the slices of lemon until charred on each side. This is entirely optional but does look great served with biryani.
- Storing: Keep leftovers stored in a covered container in the fridge for 4-5 days. It can be reheated in the microwave.
- Freezing: It’s also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
OMG WOW!!! I cooked this incredible dish for dinner a couple of night’s ago, I was a little anxious at first as to how it would turn out however
it turned out amazing! The flavours and aromas were out of this world! I would have gone back for thirds but it was all gone lol. Next time I’ll need to double up on the ingredients. This will be forever in my weekly/fortnightly dinner menu and something amazing to bring along to family get togethers. Thank you sooo much for sharing this recipe! It’s definitely a keeper. 💜
Thank you so much for the amazing comment and review!
I made this as written, using the whole spices and it tasted good. However, did not enjoy having the cloves, star anise, and cardamom seeds to remove before serving. The bay leaf and cinammon stick were not hard to pick out though. Especially hard to pick things out with the black raisins in there. What do people do if the chef leaves those in there? Not really an easy recipe, but a good new taste to try.
Hi Kathy, they’re not really supposed to be removed, it all stays in. Those spices become all the more aromatic even the next day. It’s common to just move the whole spices to the side of the plate as you eat. You may accidentally bite into something, but that’s not actually an issue. While this is not a strictly ‘traditional’ biryani, leaving the whole spices in is a very usual/normal thing for biryani.