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Vegan "Butter Chicken" is one of my favorite vegan, Indian-inspired dishes to whip up.
Made with creamy coconut milk and a variety of Indian spices, this plant-based recipe is perfectly creamy with an array of flavors mingling together.
To turn this dish into a full meal, I highly recommend pairing it with naan/flatbread, roti, white basmati rice.
Why You’ll Love This
- This tofu makhani recipe is 100% plant-based, dairy-free, and made with easy-to-find ingredients.
- Frozen tofu is the real winner here! Freezing then thawing tofu creates a chewy, "meaty" texture similar to chicken. Additionally, freezing tofu helps expand its pores, which makes it easier for the gravy to penetrate. This means BIG FLAVOR throughout the tofu and the dish.
- It's the perfect comfort food for any time of the year. I love serving vegan "butter chicken" during the warmer months alongside warm naan or rice.
- Makes for an impressive date night meal! Switch things up and have dinner at home with this creamy, flavorful dish. It'll impress the veg person in your life!
If you love Indian food, you've probably heard about butter chicken or murgh makhani.
Butter chicken is a chicken curry made with different spices, butter, tomatoes, and a cream sauce.
It's similar to chicken tikka masala, the difference being that tikka masala is less creamy and has more tomato essence. Both are incredibly delicious!
For this recipe, we're veganizing butter chicken by switching out the chicken for tofu, the butter for vegan butter, and the milk/cream for coconut milk.
How To Make Vegan Tofu "Butter Chicken"
- Freeze then thaw tofu. Toss with oil, salt, and flour.
- Bake tofu or air fry tofu over 400 degrees F.
- Next, make the gravy.
- Transfer the gravy to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Finally, combine the gravy with the tofu "chicken." Simmer until thick, then serve.
To cut back on time, air fry the tofu rather than cooking in the oven.
Recipe FAQs
What Does Vegan Butter Chicken Taste Like
Vegan butter chicken has a creamy, warm, tomato-y, umami flavor profile. Although this one uses coconut milk as the cream base, the coconut flavor is subtle against the other flavors added to the gravy.
What is Vegan Butter Chicken Sauce/Gravy Made Of
Butter is one of the main ingredients in this recipe - hence the name. Other ingredients in vegan butter chicken include tomato paste, cumin, onion, garlic, ginger, garam masala, coriander, cayenne/chili, and creamy coconut milk.
Many of these ingredients can be found at an Indian or Asian grocery store.
Their prices are typically better than big-box stores and you can purchase the spices in bulk.
If you're having a difficult time finding these spices and ingredeints at your local grocery store, they can be found on Amazon.
How To Store
Store the cooked vegan "butter chicken" in an airtight container or reusable silicone bag for up to 3-4 days in the refrigerator.
This can also be stored in the freezer in a freezer-grade container.
Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Recipe Tips
- Use full-fat coconut milk - this will help create a very creamy dish. Low-fat coconut milk won't cut it.
- Cayenne pepper is Indian chili powder. Use it. If you want it to be spicer, add more. If you prefer to hold back on the heat, add less, or opt-out.
- Removing water from frozen then thawed tofu is very easy to do. A tofu press is not necessary. Simply take the backs of two plates and gently press the tofu.
- Note, you’ll need extra firm tofu to get that springy, texture you want to get from the tofu. Avoid silken tofu for this recipe.
- For this recipe, I used a pinch of sugar to balance the acidity that comes from the tomato paste. However, if that’s your jam – omit the sugar.
- If you do not have fresh crushed garlic on hand, use a tablespoon of dry garlic powder, instead. By the way, a garlic crusher is hands-down one of my favorite kitchen purchases. It cuts prep time considerably.
If you're looking for more vegan Indian recipes, check out our Aloo Tikki, Palak Paneer, and Indian-inspired Garam Masala Savory Oatmeal.
Tried out this Vegan "Butter Chicken" recipe?
Please leave a comment below, share it, rate it, or tag a picture @plantbasedandbroke on Instagram and hashtag it #plantbasedandbroke. Show off that creation with us.
Vegan Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)
Ingredients
Tofu "Chicken"
- 19 ounce block firm tofu
- 2 tablespoons oil
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Gravy
- 3 tablespoons vegan butter
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 large onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 tablespoons ginger crushed
- 3 ounces tomato paste
- 1 tablespoons garam masala
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper adjust to taste, optional
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 13 ounce can full coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter
- Pinch of sugar to tone down acidity, optional
Instructions
Tofu "Chicken"
- Freeze the tofu for at least 12 hours. Remove from freezer and thaw. Fully drain and press water from tofu block.
- Arrange the tofu pieces onto the baking sheet. Bake 30 minutes, flipping halfway. Or, air fry for at 400 degrees F for 12 minutes, flipping halfway. Set aside.
Gravy
- Next, add the onions and cook until they are tender, about 4-6 minutes. Add the crushed garlic and ginger, tomato paste. Cook for 1 minute.
- Add the rest of the spices, salt, coconut milk. Stir well. Lower heat to low and simmer for 3 minutes.
- Carefully transfer the vegan butter chicken gravy into a blender and blend until smooth. Or, use an immersion blender. If using a standard blender, pour the gravy back into the pot and add the tofu pieces. Stir and coat well. Stir in a pinch of sugar (optional) Simmer over low for 5 minutes. Serve.
Video
Notes
- Removing water from frozen then thawed tofu is very easy to do. A tofu press is not necessary. Simply take the backs of two plates and gently press the tofu.
Nutrition
Did you try out this Vegan Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani) Recipe?
Please leave a comment below, share it, rate it, or tag a picture @plantbasedandbroke on Instagram and hashtag it #plantbasedandbroke. Show off that creation with us.
Go plant-based the budget-friendly way and check out our Guide To A Cheap Plant-Based Diet.
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Marta
I love this variation of my favorite Indian dish! I can't wait to share it with my family.
plantbasedandbroke
Yesss please do! You're going to love it 🙂
Tamara J.
We enjoy at least one day of the week that’s meatless. I will be adding this to the rotation. It looks like it’s jam packed with flavor!
plantbasedandbroke
There's definitely a lot of flavor in this dish. You may want to double up the recipe - folks might go for seconds 😉
SHANIKA
This Vegan dish looks so flavorful and creamy! I love that you chose to use Tofu as the 'chicken'. Looks so good!
plantbasedandbroke
Thank you! Tofu is super versatile for protein-type dishes!
LaKita
This dish looks delicious and so flavorful! Will be saving it to try later.
Kenya Rae
I just recently tried Indian food for the first time. I'm gonna have to try this for sure now!
plantbasedandbroke
Indian food is SOOOOO good! I love it a little too much haha. Try it out and let me know if you like it!
Jazz
That sauce! Amazing!!!
plantbasedandbroke
Thank you!!!! Definitely really tasty!
Aline
This looks so great and flavorful! I love Indian food and anything saucy served over rice - sooo yummy!!
Harman
Veggie Butter Chicken already exists in the Indian food menu. It's called Shahi Paneer, and in fact, Butter Chicken was actually created as a meat alternative to the vegetarian Shahi Paneer.
plantbasedandbroke
Very interesting food facts. Thank you for sharing! 🙂
Jane
Hi Harmen,
That is true but it is veggie not vegan. Paneer is delicious but this option is good if you’re not eating any dairy.
Sierra
My husband and I have become huge fans of Indian cuisine through transitioning to a plant based diet over the last year! This recipe is definitely in our top five favorite to make on a regular basis 🙂
Aly Michell
Hey Sierra! Thank you so much for trying out my vegan tofu "butter chicken" recipe! It's definitely one of my favorite recipes on my blog. I am very happy you and your husband loved it.
Jeffrey S Golden
Super yummy gravy. Love this. The tofu didn't work out so well -- I had to add water to thin the coating for the tofu pre-baking. It still didn't coat so well, and then there was only enough for half, and I didn't want to bother, so left half uncoated. I found that the tofu had a fairly strong flavor, that once in a while even cut through the really awesome gravy. That was probably in part because of me not coating half of it. Still, I wonder what we could put in the coating to give it a bit of flavor. Also, some of the pieces were a little crispy, but again, probably my fault for not coating them all. Totally 5 stars cuz it's so good, I just might think on the coating part a bit. THANK YOU!!!
Aly Michell
Hi Jeffrey! Thank you for trying out the recipe - I am glad you loved it.
Lucy
Tried this recipe tonight and thought it was incredible. We had a very unsucessful attempt at tofu about a year ago and hadn't dared try it again until now. Your methods for cooking the tofu are amazing and thanks to you tofu will now be a staple part of our diet! Thank you
Aly Michell
Hi Lucy! Glad you loved it!
Melanie
I cook this all the time and my toddler LOVES it!!!
Aly Michell
Yesss! KID-APPROVED! I am glad your little one loves this recipe.
Rachel
So so good! I've never made a curry that tasted so rich and creamy before. My pre-vegan husband LOVED it!
Aly Michell
Thank you so much for trying out the recipe! Very happy you and your husband enjoyed it - especially as a pre-vegan! 🙂
Tania
This was so delicious. The sauce tasted amazing. I had it again the next day for breakfast!!
Aly Michell
Ahhh! That's awesome! Thank you for trying out the tofu "butter chicken." 🙂
Alice
Hi Aly is there a way to substitute the coconut milk for something else? My kiddo is allergic to coconut : (
Aly Michell
Hey Alice! Instead of coconut milk, I would try 1/2 cup soaked cashews and 1/2 cup of your choice of non-dairy milk. Blend until smooth. Add more milk if necessary.
Mat
I've made this recipe a few times and loved it! I would like to make it for a gluten free relative - any chance anyone has recommendations for an alternative to the 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour that would achieve the same result of coating the tofu? Possibly rice flour?
Aly Michell
Glad you love it! It's one of my favorites, too. Rice flour should work just fine!
Emmy
Corn starch is my go-to for coating baked tofu!
Ethan
Holy smokes that gravy is delicious! We're two vegan parents trying to help our 13 year old come around to liking vegan food. He ate this up in and licked the spoon. Double batch next time!
Aly Michell
Glad you loved our vegan Tofu Makhani! It's definitely one of my favorites - soooo good!
diana
This was SO good! I had never tried freezing tofu before, but this created a wonderful meaty texture. The sauce for this "Butter Chicken" is very addictive. If you have never tried freezing, thawing, and pressing tofu, make this your first recipe. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Aly Michell
Hi Diana! Thank you so much for tryinh out the tofu makhani! Glad you loved it. It's sooo good and I am glad you felt the same away about it!
Myra
I made this dish and it was better than the meat version I made years ago when I was a meat eater! It was a hit with me and my dinner guest. YUM!
Aly Michell
Hey Myra! Glad it was a hit for you and your dinner guest. Love that you love the vegan tofu "butter chicken" as much as we do!
Chaz za
I see all the great comments…but mine didn’t go so well…I converted the measurements to Australia so maybe that was the reason. But I husband threw up lol and maybe I put in too much cayenne pepper haha
Aly Michell
I always reccommend following the recipe as written. Also,cayenne pepper in this recipe is optional and may be adjusted to your desired spice levels.