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    Home » Entrees » Vegan Butter Chicken

    Vegan Butter Chicken

    Published: Nov 6, 2020 Modified: Dec 2, 2020 by Alison Andrews This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe
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    Vegan Butter Chicken

    This vegan butter chicken recipe is made with tofu and cashews for a deliciously creamy version that tastes a lot like the classic Indian dish. It’s easy, and it’s better than take-out!

    Vegan butter chicken in a black bowl topped with fresh chopped cilantro.

    Who would’ve thought that you could take something like butter chicken and make it vegan? Well you sure can.

    We were actually amazed at how much tofu can taste like chicken in the right setting. And this sauce is just everything.

    Basically you could put anything in this sauce and it would taste good. But the tofu is prepared deliciously too, so the two together creates the most delicious vegan butter chicken recipe ever.

    If you love yourself some easy and delicious Indian inspired recipes then also check out our vegan naan, our vegan korma and our vegan tikka masala.

    Vegan butter chicken in a black bowl with basmati rice, chopped cilantro and a slice of lemon.

    Recipe Ingredients and Tips

    Firm Tofu. Firm or extra firm tofu for the win in this recipe! And then we still press it for 30 minutes to make it super firm. If you get tofu that is already extra firm and you’re in a rush, you could skip this step, but for best results it’s always good to press it first.

    Raw cashews. Cashews blended with water, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and garam masala create the vegan yogurt sauce for the tofu. This is to replace the yogurt marinade often used in the classic version of this dish.

    Garam masala. This is an Indian spice blend that is simply delicious in this recipe. If you don’t have any on hand, you can easily order some garam masala online.

    Crushed tomatoes and coconut cream. These two things go along with the vegan butter, onion, garlic, ginger and spices and create the creaminess of the sauce. You must use canned, unsweetened coconut cream. Alternatively you can also use canned, unsweetened, full fat coconut milk.

    Vegan butter chicken in a black bowl with rice and fresh cilantro.

    How To Make Vegan Butter Chicken

    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.

    • Press the tofu. First up you want to press the tofu. The best way to do that is to use a tofu press. But if you don’t have one, you can stand the tofu on a plate, put another plate on top of it, and then stack something heavy on top of that, like a heavy pot or stack of books. Then leave it to press for 30 minutes. This makes the tofu as firm as possible.
    • When the tofu is pressed roughly chop it and place it into a mixing bowl.
    • Make the vegan yogurt sauce. Add raw cashews, water, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and some garam masala into a blender jug and blend until smooth.
    • Pour this out over the tofu in the mixing bowl.
    Step by step process photo collage of preparing tofu and vegan yogurt sauce for vegan butter chicken.
    • Gently toss the tofu pieces in the sauce so that the tofu is evenly spread with the sauce.
    • Transfer the tofu carefully to a parchment lined baking tray and spread it out evenly.
    • Bake in the oven at 400°F (200°C) for 15 minutes until lightly browned.
    • Remove from the oven and set aside.
    Step by step process photo collage of preparing and baking tofu for vegan butter chicken.
    • Prepare your sauce. While the tofu is baking you can start on your sauce. Add vegan butter to a pot on medium heat and melt the butter. Add chopped onions and sauté until softened.
    • Now add crushed garlic, grated ginger, garam masala, turmeric, cumin and cayenne pepper and sauté with the onions.
    • Add crushed tomatoes and coconut cream and stir well. Bring to a gentle simmer and let it simmer for a few minutes.
    • Reduce the heat and stir in some coconut sugar (for flavor balance) and add salt to taste.
    • Finally, add the baked tofu pieces and fold them into the sauce.
    • Serve with basmati rice, fresh chopped cilantro and lemon slices.
    Step by step process photo collage of making the sauce for vegan butter chicken.

    Storing and Freezing

    Keep any leftovers stored covered in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave.

    You can also freeze it if you like for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and then reheat on the stovetop or microwave.

    Vegan butter chicken with rice and cilantro in a black bowl.

    More Delicious Tofu Recipes

    1. Grilled Tofu
    2. Marinated Tofu
    3. Teriyaki Tofu
    4. Crispy Baked Tofu
    5. Crispy Fried Tofu
    6. General Tso’s Tofu
    7. Kung Pao Tofu
    8. Tofu Satay
    Piece of vegan butter chicken on a fork.
    Print
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    Vegan butter chicken

    Vegan Butter Chicken


    ★★★★★

    5 from 14 reviews

    • Author: Alison Andrews
    • Prep Time: 45 mins
    • Cook Time: 20 mins
    • Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
    • Yield: 4
    • Diet: Vegan
    Print Recipe
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    Description

    This vegan butter chicken recipe is made with tofu and cashews for a deliciously creamy version that tastes a lot like the classic Indian dish. It’s easy, and it’s better than take-out! 


    Ingredients

    For the Tofu:

    • 14 ounces (400g) Extra Firm Tofu

    For the Vegan Yogurt Sauce: 

    • 2/3 cup (100g) Raw Cashews
    • 1/3 cup (80ml) Water
    • 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
    • 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
    • 1 tsp Garam Masala

    For the Sauce: 

    • 2 Tbsp Vegan Butter
    • 1 Medium Onion (White, Yellow or Brown, Chopped)
    • 3 Cloves Garlic (Crushed)
    • 1 Tbsp Ginger (Freshly Grated)
    • 1 Tbsp Garam Masala
    • 1 tsp Turmeric
    • 1 tsp Cumin
    • 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
    • 1 cup (240ml) Crushed Tomatoes
    • 1 cup (240ml) Coconut Cream (Canned)*
    • 1/2 Tbsp Coconut Sugar
    • Sea Salt (To Taste)

    For Serving: 

    • Basmati Rice
    • Fresh Chopped Cilantro
    • Lemon Slices

    Instructions

    1. Press the tofu either using a tofu press or by placing the tofu onto a plate, put another plate on top of it, and then stack something heavy on top of that, like a heavy pot or stack of books. Then leave it to press for 30 minutes. This makes the tofu as firm as possible. 
    2. When the tofu is pressed roughly chop it and place it into a mixing bowl. 
    3. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). 
    4. Prepare the vegan yogurt sauce. Add the raw cashews, water, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and garam masala into a blender jug and blend until smooth. 
    5. Pour this out over the tofu in the mixing bowl and gently toss the tofu pieces in the sauce so that the tofu is evenly spread with the sauce.
    6. Transfer the tofu carefully to a parchment lined baking tray and spread it out evenly. 
    7. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and set aside. 
    8. Prepare your sauce. While the tofu is baking you can begin your sauce. Add vegan butter to a pot on medium heat and melt the butter. Add chopped onions and sauté until softened. 
    9. Now add crushed garlic, grated ginger, garam masala, turmeric, cumin and cayenne pepper and sauté with the onions. 
    10. Add crushed tomatoes and coconut cream and stir well. Bring to a gentle simmer and let it simmer for a few minutes.  Reduce the heat and stir in the coconut sugar (for flavor balance). Add salt to taste. 
    11. Finally, add the baked tofu pieces and fold them into the sauce. 
    12. Serve with basmati rice, fresh chopped cilantro and lemon slices.

    Notes

    *Firm or ideally extra firm tofu is needed for this recipe. And then we still press it for 30 minutes to make it super firm. 

    *You can also use canned, full fat, unsweetened coconut milk instead of canned coconut cream. 

    *Coconut sugar can be replaced with brown sugar. 

    *Keep any leftovers stored covered in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave. 

    *You can also freeze it if you like for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and then reheat on the stovetop or microwave. 

    *Prep time includes the time spent pressing the tofu. 

    *Nutritional information excludes rice. 

    • Category: Entree, Savory, Gluten-Free
    • Method: Oven and Stovetop
    • Cuisine: Vegan

    Nutrition

    • Serving Size: 1 Serve (of 4)
    • Calories: 467
    • Sugar: 8.8g
    • Sodium: 439mg
    • Fat: 35g
    • Saturated Fat: 16.6g
    • Carbohydrates: 21g
    • Fiber: 3g
    • Protein: 18.5g

    Keywords: vegan butter chicken

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    Alison Andrews

    About the Author

    Hi I'm Alison Andrews, I'm the voice and cook behind Loving It Vegan. I love making delicious vegan food and creating vegan versions of all your old favorites, so that you’ll never feel like you’re missing out. Find out more about me here.

    Loving It Vegan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This site may contain some of these links to Amazon.com. If you make a purchase through one of those links, Loving It Vegan will receive a small commission from the purchase at no additional cost to you.
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. AvatarAllie says

      March 06, 2021 at 10:35 pm

      This was so good! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I will definitely be making this again.

      Reply
    2. AvatarLiana says

      February 22, 2021 at 8:40 am

      I made this for dinner last night and WOW!
      Loved everything about it and although it’s complex it really didn’t take long to put together. Before making the batter I prepped everything and while the tofu was in the air fryer (works great with the air fryer as well btw, just lower temp) I put the sauce together, boiled the rice and that was that. Only issue I had is the quantity of the batter mix was too little for my blender so I had to scrape it off the sides a lot of times. Next time I’ll double it or one and a half it.
      Thank you, this was DELICIOUS!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Alison AndrewsAlison Andrews says

        February 22, 2021 at 10:46 am

        So happy you enjoyed it Liana!

        Reply
    3. AvatarNancy says

      February 14, 2021 at 3:49 am

      I made this tonight and it was really delicious. The only thing I subbed was tomato paste since I had no tomato. I’ve tried a few other vegan butter ‘chicken’ recipes and this is the best flavor I’ve found.

      Reply
      • Alison AndrewsAlison Andrews says

        February 15, 2021 at 11:24 am

        Thanks so much Nancy!

        Reply
    4. AvatarOlivia Rowan says

      February 09, 2021 at 6:11 pm

      This recipe is even a hit with my non-vegan friends. For kicks, I’m going to add green peppers and mushrooms. I’d even like to try it with the “chicken” from your Vegan Chicken recipe. Will keep you posted.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Alison AndrewsAlison Andrews says

        February 10, 2021 at 10:28 am

        That’s awesome Olivia! I think all of those options will be great to try! 🙂

        Reply
    5. AvatarJen says

      February 04, 2021 at 2:27 am

      Ok, I use lots of blogs and recipes on Pinterest but I’ve never left a comment. Usually I tweak recipes to make them how we want them. This recipe needed no tweaking!!! I’m obsessed! Everything about this recipe was amazing! Thank you. We will be making this over and over and over again!!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Alison AndrewsAlison Andrews says

        February 04, 2021 at 11:04 am

        Thank you so much Jen! This is awesome!

        Reply
    6. AvatarKaren says

      February 01, 2021 at 7:37 pm

      Fabulous recipe as usual. Spicy and creamy and really just perfect. Thank you!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Alison AndrewsAlison Andrews says

        February 02, 2021 at 10:22 am

        Thanks so much Karen!

        Reply
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    Hi I’m Alison Andrews! I love making delicious vegan food and creating delicious vegan versions of all your old favorite dishes, so you can have your vegan cake and eat it too!

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