This vegan butter chicken is decadent and flavorful! Super easy to make and tastes just like the real deal.
Well, I've found my new favorite comfort food: this vegan butter chicken.
Holy moly, guys. When I set out to create this recipe I was sure it would be good, but it blew away all of my expectations. It was so rich, so decadent. I'll confess that I've never had regular old butter chicken, but I can't imagine it being better than my vegan version.
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What You'll Need
- Raw cashews. It's really important that you use raw cashews — not roasted, which will result it a totally wrong flavor. You'll also need to soak them in water for a few hours before you start cooking.
- Vegetable broth. I like Better Than Bouillon in Roasted Vegetable flavor.
- Vegan butter. Look for brands like Earth Balance or Miyoko's.
- Onion.
- Seitan. You can use homemade seitan or store-bought. If you're using store-bought, try to find diced or cubed seitan. I like WestSoy's cubed seitan for this recipe. If you're not a fan of seitan, you could try Butler Soy Curls or tofu (pan-fried according to this method) instead.
- Garlic.
- Ginger.
- Spices. We're using garam masala, cumin, and paprika.
- Fire roasted tomatoes. Regular canned diced tomatoes will work if you can't find these.
- Tomato paste.
- Salt & pepper.
- Fresh cilantro.
- Basmati rice. For serving.
How to Make Vegan Butter Chicken
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way to the bottom if you'd prefer to skip right to the recipe!
- Place your soaked cashews into a blender or food processor, along with some vegetable broth.
- Blend everything until it's nice and smooth. Be patient — this can take a few minutes, especially if you don't have a high-powered blending device.
- Melt some vegan butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook it for a few minutes, until it begins to soften up.
- Now add some cubed seitan. Just add the seitan and not the liquid it's packed in. Sauté the seitan with the onion for a few minutes, until it begins to brown.
- Now stir in the garlic, ginger, and spices. Cook everything for about a minute, until the mixture becomes very fragrant. Be sure to stir the mixture frequently during this time to prevent burning.
- Now stir in some broth, fire roasted tomatoes, and tomato paste. Bring the mixture to a simmer and let it cook for about 10 minutes.
- Now stir in that cashew cream that you blended up earlier.
- Bring the mixture back up to a simmer, and take the skillet off of the burner.
- Season your vegan butter chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Top it with a sprinkle of fresh cilantro.
- Spoon it over basmati rice. I like to scoop it up with vegan naan!
Shelf-Life & Storage
This dish will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for about 3 days, or in the freezer for about 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Probably! Butler Soy Curls have a very similar texture to seitan, and they're gluten-free. To substitute them in this recipe just soak them in vegetable broth for a few minutes, then drain chop them up roughly, and add them to the recipe just like you would seitan.
Yes, in that it has a lot of flavor from spices, but it's not very hot. If you'd like a little heat, add some cayenne pepper to yours.
Macadamia nuts or raw sunflower seeds often work, but I haven't tested the recipe with either, so no promises. If you're up for some experimentation, you could also play around will full-fat coconut milk to create the sauce. Check out my vegan korma recipe for some guidance.
More Vegan Indian Recipes
- Vegan Saag Paneer
- Vegetable Biryani
- Vegan Cauliflower Chickpea Tikka Masala
- Sweet Potato & Vegetable Vindaloo
- Baked Vegan Samosas
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Butter Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water 4 to 8 hours, drained and rinsed
- 1 ½ cups vegetable broth, divided
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 16 ounces seitan* (cut into 1-inch pieces)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 (14 ounce or 400 gram) can fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- Salt & pepper, to taste
- Fresh cilantro
- Cooked basmati rice**, for serving
Instructions
- Place the cashews and ¾ cup of broth into a blender or food processor fitted with an s-blade. Blend to a smooth paste.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat, then add the onion. Sweat the onion for about 5 minutes, until soft and translucent.
- Add the seitan to the skillet. Cook the seitan with the onion, stirring frequently, until it begins to brown, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic, ginger, garam masala, cumin, and paprika. Stir to coat the seitan with the spices and continue cooking everything for about 1 minute, until very fragrant.
- Stir in the remaining ¾ cup of broth, diced tomatoes, and tomato paste.
- Raise the heat and bring the liquid to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer everything for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the cashew mixture. Continue cooking everything until the sauce comes back up to a simmer.
- Remove the skillet from heat and season the curry with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro.
- Serve with basmati rice.
Notes
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I just made this and the flavor profile is spot on. So good and very quick and easy and like another commenter said, the recipe is very decadent. I love the fact you didn’t add extra veggies or beans that don’t belong in this recipe. This will be become a regular recipe in our home. Thank you!
Your butter lentil and tofu is a go to in my house so couldn’t wait to try this. It’s absolutely fantastic. The cashew cream is the perfect finishing touch - gives it that creamy decadence that the gravy should have. We used tofu instead of seitan as that’s what we had on hand and it worked well.
Thanks for another awesome recipe!
How did you prep the tofu for this recipe?
Hi Alissa
I love butter chicken and can hardly wait to try this recipe.
I’m celiac so I can’t eat seitan, could you suggest the best substitute?
Thanks
Hi Leanne! Have you ever tried soy curls? You just need to soak then in vegetable broth for a few minutes and then you can cook them just like seitan. They should work great in this recipe. Enjoy!