Vegan Butter Chicken Recipe (Easy & Delicious) - Carlo Cao (2024)

Published by Carlo on Jan 11, 2022 (last updated: Jan 15, 2024).

This post is also available in: Deutsch

This vegan butter chicken recipe is inspired by the popular north Indian dish. The marinated seitan is served with a rich tomato-ginger sauce and topped with cilantro.

Before you jump into the kitchen to prepare this vegan butter chicken, I recommend you read this blog post carefully. The recipe is simple but there are some important steps you need to pay attention to.

Ingredients

To make this vegan murgh makhani you need the following ingredients:

• Tempeh, vegan chicken or extra firm tofu (fried)
• Soy yogurt
• Kashmiri chilli powder or sweet paprika powder
• Garam masala**
• Ginger-garlic paste
• Lemon juice
• Vegetable oil
• Vegan butter
• Dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi)
• Green chilli
• Tomato puree
• Vegan cream

See recipe card for quantities.

Spices

Spices are extremely important for a good butter chicken. If you check a couple of recipes in the internet you'll see that every single one requires a slightly different mix of spices depending on the chef's taste.

I recommend using garam masala and Kashmiri chilli powder.

Garam masala is a mixture of spices. So if you don't find it, you can make it easily by mixing the following spices:

• 1tablespoonground cumin
• 1 ½teaspoonsground coriander
• 1 ½teaspoonsground cardamom
• 1 ½teaspoonsground black pepper
• 1teaspoonground cinnamon
• ½teaspoonground cloves
• ½teaspoonground nutmeg

Kashmiri chilli powder is made of ground, dried, red Kashmiri chillies. It has a bright red color and has not heat at all. If you can't find it, you can substitute it with sweet paprika powder.

Vegan Chicken substitute

The traditional butter chicken recipe calls for chicken. In this vegan version you can use tempeh, vegan chicken, fried tofu or even canned chickpeas.

If you want to make a lighter version you can even use vegetables like cauliflower or broccoli.

Instructions

Here you have a brief visual explanation of the recipe. For the full recipe check the recipe card at the bottom of this blog-post.

Marinate the vegan chicken substitute of your choice with yogurt, spices, ginger-garlic paste and lemon juice. Cover it and allow it to rest in the fridge for 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 200 °C (400 °F). Place the marinated chicken substitute on a baking tray lined with baking paper so that the pieces do not touch one another. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove and set aside.

For the makhani sauce, heat oil and butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add in dried fenugreek leaves, chili and ginger-garlic paste and cook for about 1 minute. Stir in the tomato puree, spices and sugar and simmer for 10 minutes with the lid on.

Finally, add in cream and vegan chicken and serve with naan or basmati rice.

See Also

Chicken Korma Recipe: An Ultimate Light And Easy-to-Prep Indian Curry35+ Stellar Vegan Dinner Recipes That You Just Can't Miss10 of our favourite one-tin Indian recipes from Rukmini IyerKerala Beef Vindaloo- Anglo-Indian Recipe

Hint: If the sauce is too thick you can add a splash of water.

Substitutions

in case you need to substitute ingredients, below you will find which ones can be replaced and how to do it.

• Vegan chicken - instead of ice vegan chicken, you can use tempeh, fried tofu or chickpeas. You could even use cauliflower or broccoli if you want to add more veggies into your diet.
• Vegan cream - use coconut cream, coconut milk or cashew cream instead.

Equipment

To make this recipe you only need a large saucepan and an oven.

Side dish

Personally, because it's a dish rich in saturated fat, I like to serve it with basmati rice and steamed vegetables.

That said, the traditional version is served with naan which is absolutely delicious!

Storage

Any leftovers can be store in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Alternatively, you can also vacuum the vegan murgh makhani and store it in the freezer for 2-3 months. When you want to make it, it's important to let it thaw for 24 hours in the refrigerator before reheating it in the pan.

Make ahead option

This recipe can be made ahead of time with no problems. Just make it as described in the recipe card below, then allow it to cool completely. Once cold, place it in an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 2-3 days.

This rest will help the flavors to develop even further making the butter chicken absolutely delicious.

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

📖 Recipe