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    Home » Entrees

    Vegan Chana Masala

    Published: Oct 1, 2021 Updated: Oct 1, 2021 by Alison Andrews This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe
    Vegan Chana Masala

    This vegan chana masala is so tasty! It’s mildly spicy, loaded with flavor and ready in 30 minutes or less! A perfect weeknight meal.

    Vegan chana masala with rice, fresh chopped cilantro and lemon wedges in a black bowl.

    You will love this vegan chana masala. It is SO quick and easy and the perfect meal for when you barely have time to cook, but still want something delicious for dinner.

    It’s rich, mildly spicy and so flavorful it will soon be one of your go-to dinner recipes.

    And if you love this recipe, then you’ll also love our vegan chickpea curry, our red lentil dal and vegan dal makhani.

    What Goes Into Chana Masala:

    Photo of the ingredients needed to make vegan chana masala.

    Ingredient Notes

    • Chickpeas – we used four 15-ounce (425g) cans of chickpeas. Once drained and rinsed this works out to around 6 cups of chickpeas. If you’d prefer to use cooked chickpeas (not canned) then just use 6 cups.
    • Coconut cream – we used canned, unsweetened coconut cream. You can also use canned, full fat, unsweetened coconut milk.
    • Coconut sugar – is just for flavor balance and doesn’t make this dish sweet at all. You can also use light brown sugar.
    Vegan chana masala with rice, fresh chopped cilantro and lemon wedges in a black bowl.

    How To Make Vegan Chana Masala

    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.

    • Add onion, garlic, ginger, green chili and fresh cilantro to a food processor with an S blade and process into a paste.
    Two photo collage showing onion, garlic, ginger, chili and fresh cilantro added to a food processor and processed into a paste.
    • Add olive oil and the paste to a pot on medium heat and cook until the paste has softened. About 5 minutes.
    Two photo collage showing the paste made in the food processor plus olive oil added to a pot and cooked until softened.
    • Add chickpeas, garam masala, turmeric, cumin, ground coriander and cayenne pepper and gently toss together. Cook for a couple of minutes to lightly toast the spices.
    Two photo collage showing chickpeas added to pot along with spices and tossed together.
    • Add crushed tomatoes and coconut cream and bring to a simmer. Then reduce the heat and leave to simmer for around 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
    Two photo collage showing crushed tomatoes and coconut cream added to pot, mixed in and brought to a simmer.
    • Add coconut sugar and salt and mix in.
    Two photo collage showing coconut sugar and salt added to pot and mixed in.
    • And your chana masala is ready to serve!
    Vegan chana masala in a pot.

    Serving Suggestions

    This vegan chana masala is divine served with rice. We love basmati rice, because it’s so quick to cook.

    Top it with some fresh cilantro, ground black pepper and lemon wedges.

    Some vegan naan on the side always goes down a treat.

    Vegan chana masala with rice, fresh chopped cilantro and lemon wedges in a black bowl.

    Storing and Freezing

    Keep leftovers stored in the fridge for 4-5 days and reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.

    It also freezes very well. Thaw overnight in the fridge and then reheat in the microwave or on the stove.

    Spoonful of vegan chana masala.

    More Delicious Indian-Inspired Vegan Recipes

    1. Vegan Tikka Masala
    2. Vegan Butter Chicken
    3. Vegan Korma
    4. Vegan Potato Curry
    5. Vegan Cauliflower Curry
    6. Vegan Biryani
    Vegan chana masala with rice, cilantro and fresh lemon in a black bowl with a spoon.

    Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!

    Vegan chana masala in a black bowl with rice, cilantro and lemon.

    Vegan Chana Masala

    This vegan chana masala is so tasty! It's mildly spicy, loaded with flavor and ready in 30 minutes or less! A perfect weeknight meal.
    4.93 from 13 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Indian-Inspired
    Diet: Vegan
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Servings: 6
    Calories: 513kcal
    Author: Alison Andrews

    Ingredients

    • 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
    • 1 Medium Onion White, Yellow or Brown, Chopped
    • 4 Cloves Garlic Crushed
    • 1 Tablespoon Fresh Ginger Minced
    • 1 Green Chili Sliced
    • 1 cup Fresh Cilantro
    • 4 (15-ounce) Cans Chickpeas Drained, or 6 cups cooked chickpeas
    • 1 Tablespoon Garam Masala
    • 1 teaspoon Turmeric
    • 1 teaspoon Cumin
    • 1 teaspoon Ground Coriander
    • ½ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
    • 28 ounces Crushed Tomatoes (800g)
    • 1 cup Coconut Cream Canned, Unsweetened
    • 1 Tablespoon Coconut Sugar
    • Sea Salt To Taste
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Add onion, garlic, ginger, green chili and fresh cilantro to a food processor with an S blade and process into a paste.
    • Add olive oil and the paste to a pot on medium heat and cook until the paste has softened. About 5 minutes.
    • Add chickpeas, garam masala, turmeric, cumin, ground coriander and cayenne pepper and gently toss together. Cook for a couple of minutes to lightly toast the spices.
    • Add crushed tomatoes and coconut cream and bring to a simmer. Then reduce the heat and leave to simmer for around 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
    • Add coconut sugar and salt and mix in.
    • Serve over basmati rice, topped with fresh cilantro and a sprinkle of ground black pepper, with lemon wedges on the side.

    Notes

    1. Chickpeas – we used four 15-ounce cans of chickpeas. Once drained and rinsed this works out to around 6 cups of chickpeas. If you’d prefer to use cooked chickpeas (not canned) then just use 6 cups.
    2. Coconut cream – we used canned, unsweetened coconut cream. You can also use canned, full fat, unsweetened coconut milk.
    3. Coconut sugar – is just for flavor balance and doesn’t make this dish sweet at all. You can also use light brown sugar.
    4. Storing: Keep leftovers stored in the fridge for 4-5 days and reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.
    5. Freezing: It freezes very well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and then reheat in the microwave or on the stove.
    6. Nutritional information excludes rice. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1Serve | Calories: 513kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Sodium: 220mg | Potassium: 1070mg | Fiber: 17g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 583IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 146mg | Iron: 8mg
    DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @lovingitvegan on Instagram and hashtag #lovingitvegan
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    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.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Lea says

      March 01, 2025 at 1:02 am

      I made this tonight for dinner and added tempeh for some extra protein. This recipe is incredible!!! Can’t wait make it again5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        March 03, 2025 at 12:22 pm

        Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe Lea! Thanks for sharing and for your great review!

        Reply
    2. Amanda says

      March 23, 2024 at 12:55 pm

      Absolutely delicious! This recipe was a rare win for our family- my chickpea hating spouse liked this and somehow BOTH of my children ate it (I left out the chili and cayenne). Thank you!5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        April 18, 2024 at 12:10 pm

        Awesome! Thanks so much for your great review Amanda!

        Reply
    3. fi says

      October 31, 2023 at 11:10 pm

      thank you for this recipe… i make it a lot for dinner when I know I won’t have the energy to cook much. it’s yummy healthy and quick.5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        November 03, 2023 at 10:04 am

        Happy to hear you enjoy the recipe and thanks so much for your great review!

        Reply
    4. V. Williams says

      April 11, 2023 at 8:46 pm

      In Google searching for a Chana Masala recipe I stumbled upon this one. I love a local family owned restaurant but they don’t open until 5pm and the traffic is horrible in the evenings. I had all the ingredients and decided to give it a try. I didn’t use exact measurements because I only had 1 can of chickpeas but it was still delicious. Thank you for sharing.4 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        July 13, 2023 at 10:39 am

        Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe!

        Reply
    5. Veena says

      November 03, 2021 at 8:42 pm

      This recipe is excellent! I have made it several times for family and friends!5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        November 04, 2021 at 10:23 am

        Thanks so much Veena!

        Reply
    6. Abigail Dunne says

      October 13, 2021 at 6:35 pm

      I made this tonight and it is delicious and so easy! Definitely saving this as a favorite!!5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        October 13, 2021 at 9:13 pm

        So happy you enjoyed it! Thanks for the awesome review Abigail!

        Reply
    7. Amisha Patel says

      October 05, 2021 at 5:37 pm

      I am born and raised in India. Still I found your recipe perfect. I will definitely try this. We generally use heavy cream in place of coconut cream. We also add little bit of kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) at the end of the process.5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        October 06, 2021 at 12:02 pm

        Thanks for sharing Amisha! So glad you like the recipe! 🙂

        Reply

    Comment Policy: Your feedback is really appreciated! Please do us a favor and rate the recipe as well as this really helps us! The most helpful comments are the ones that give useful feedback for others who might make the recipe, tell about substitutions you made or adjustments you made and how it turned out, or assisting other commenters. Rude or insulting comments will not be accepted.

    4.93 from 13 votes (6 ratings without comment)

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