Vegan Indian Butter Chicken

This aromatic, flavorful Vegan Indian Butter Chicken makes the best weeknight meal. This easy Indian-inspired dinner recipe is made with tender plant-based chicken or tofu simmered in a rich and creamy dairy-free butter, coconut milk tomato sauce spiced with fragrant Indian spices and served with basmati rice and gluten-free naan.

I LOVE Indian food, and I get so annoyed with myself for not making more Indian-inspired dishes 🙄. My family and I went out to a local Indian restaurant and it was the best meal I’ve had in a long time, so I decided to make my own butter “chicken” for the blog. This Vegan Indian Butter Chicken is so easy to make, it is so flavorful, and my kids love it too, so I have a feeling it’s going to be on my weekly menu rotation.

What Does Butter Chicken Taste Like?

Butter chicken is traditionally made with chicken thighs or chicken breast, but of course I am veganizing this comforting meal and using plant-based chicken. The spiced tomato cream sauce is a thick, rich and creamy using traditional Indian spices like cumin, coriander, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, tandoori masala, and turmeric. It has a touch of sweetness from the coconut milk that pairs wonderfully with plant-based chicken or tofu and basmati rice. It’s cozy, satisfying, creamy, filling… all the vibes a delicious dinner should bring to your table 🙃.

Ingredients

Butter. Dairy-free butter is the base of this butter chicken, hence the name. I used Miyoko’s plant-based stick butter (it’s my fav!).

Onion. You will need 1 large yellow onion, approximately 2 cups of chopped onion. I like yellow onions because they are sweeter than white onions.

Garlic. I used pre-minced garlic in this recipe to cut back on meal prep, but you may use fresh garlic cloves if you prefer.

Salt. Adding salt to the onions while they are cooking helps to release that sweetness while also helps them to cook perfectly.

Plant-based chicken. Plant-based chicken replaces real chicken in this recipe. My go-to vegan chicken is Abbot’s. You may also use tofu. I have made this dish with both and they’re both delicious!

Indian spices. I am using a combination of ground cumin, ground coriander, ground cardamom, ground cinnamon, ground tandoori masala, ground turmeric, ground smoked paprika, ground ginger, and ground black pepper.

💡 You will use half of the spice mix for this meal, and then save the other half in an airtight container to make this recipe another time, cutting out one step in your meal prep!

Canned diced tomatoes. You will need 1 can (14.5 ounces) of diced tomatoes. I used petit diced tomatoes, but regular diced tomatoes will also work.

Tomato paste. Tomato paste really enhances the tomato flavor in this dish, and enhances the color of the sauce.

Coconut milk. I used lite coconut milk, but you may also use full fat coconut milk if desired.

Yogurt. I used dairy-free, unsweetened greek style yogurt, but you may also use dairy-free sour cream.

What Plant Protein Can I Use Instead Of Plant-Based Chicken?

Tofu or chickpeas are a delicious replacement for plant-based chicken! I have made this recipe using all three and they were all delicious!

What To Use In Place Of Coconut Milk

Coconut milk is great to use in Indian recipe because it’s thick and creamy and also slightly sweet. You may use full fat coconut milk or lite coconut milk. However, if you really aren’t a fan of coconut milk you can use another plant-based milk of choice. Good options would be oat milk, cashew milk or soy milk. Rice milk and almond milk would also work, they just make the sauce a bit thinner.

How To Make Butter Chicken

I suggest serving Indian Butter Chicken over rice. If you’re serving this dish with rice, cook the rice according to package directions first.

To make the Indian Butter Chicken sauce, melt half of the butter (¼ cup) in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and minced garlic and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Cook the onion for about 5 minutes, until translucent, stirring occasionally. Once the onion is soft, add the plant-based chicken or tofu to the skillet. Cook the chicken with the onions for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally. While the chicken is cooking, stir together the Indian spice mix: ground cumin, ground coriander, ground cardamom, ground cinnamon, ground turmeric, ground smoked paprika, ground tandoori masala, and ground ginger to a small bowl. Add 4 teaspoons of the Indian spice mix to the skillet and stir to evenly disperse the spices. Allow the mixture to cook for another 5 minutes or so.

Next, add the remaining ¼ cup of butter, tomato paste, canned diced tomatoes, dairy-free yogurt, and coconut milk to the skillet. Allow the mixture to cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn the heat down to low, add the ground pepper, stir, and then allow the mixture to simmer over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The longer the sauce simmers, the more flavorful it gets, so keep that in mind.

Serve over rice and with gluten-free naan bread. Garnish with chopped cilantro if desired.

What To Serve With Butter Chicken

Basmati rice. Basmati rice is a type of long grain rice that is native to India. Basmati rice is often served in Indian dishes like curry.

Naan. Naan is extremely popular served alongside Indian meals. Its soft as pillowy texture almost makes it the star of any dish. While naan isn’t typically gluten-free, you can find some amazing gluten-free naan recipes or use another gluten-free flatbread to serve alongside this Vegan Indian Butter Chicken.

How To Store

Unless you’re making this meal for more than 6 people, you most likely will have leftovers, which is fantastic because it heats up amazingly! Leftover Vegan Indian Butter Chicken makes the best lunch!

Fridge. Store leftover Vegan Indian Butter Chicken in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy within 3 days. You may store the rice and butter chicken in the same container or separately- according to your own preference and how much rice you have leftover. If you have a lot of rice compared to sauce, it might be better to store them separately.

Freezer. You may freeze leftovers in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.

How To Reheat Leftovers

Microwave. The easiest and quickest way to reheat butter chicken is in a bowl in the microwave. If the sauce has thickened too much, you can add a little water.

Stovetop. If you prefer to place the butter chicken in a skillet or saucepan and reheat it via stovetop, that’s ok was well. If the sauce has thickened too much, add a little water.

From the freezer. It’s best to thaw this Vegan Indian Butter Chicken overnight in the refrigerator, but if you forget, you can also use one of the reheating methods above, it will just take a little longer.

Let me know what you think about this easy Vegan Indian Butter Chicken recipe down below in the comments section as well as giving it a five rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ so that others can discover a dairy-free, vegan flavorful Indian-inspired dinner recipe. Be sure to tag me on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest if you make it!

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