This vegan korma is rich, creamy and deliciously comforting! Made with veggies in a spiced cashew-coconut sauce, it tastes like it came from your favorite Indian restaurant — but is actually really easy to make at home.
Korma was always one of my favorite Indian restaurant dishes to order when dining out. It was so creamy! So decadent!
Creating a vegan version would be downright impossible, right? Wrong!
When I finally became brave enough to start researching korma and entertaining the possibility of veganizing it, I was delighted to discover that while traditional versions do contain dairy, they don't contain nearly as much dairy as I'd always though. Most recipes call for some heavy cream or yogurt. But they also call for super creamy ingredients that I already use in my vegan cooking, like coconut milk and cashews.
Eliminating the dairy from this curry wasn't tough at all! In fact, the dish is, on the whole, pretty easy to throw together. I did incorporate a few shortcuts into my recipe, like using ground spices where traditional korma might call for whole ones. The result was a rich and creamy vegan curry that was absolutely delicious!
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Raw cashews. Raw cashews have a rich flavor and blend up smooth and creamy, so they're a key element to this recipe. I don't recommend substituting roasted cashews.
- Diced tomatoes. We're keeping life easy and using canned tomatoes for our vegan korma.
- Garlic.
- Ginger.
- Vegetable oil. You can use any neutral high-heat oil you have on hand here. Coconut oil, peanut oil, canola oil and avocado oil are all fine options.
- Onion.
- Spices. You'll need garam masala, ground cumin, whole cumin seeds, cardamom, coriander, and ground turmeric. Most of these can be found in the spice aisle of your regular supermarket. Whole cumin seeds may be the only exception. You can substitute with more ground cumin if you absolutely must.
- Coconut milk. Use the full-fat variety from a can. Light coconut milk will probably work if you need to reduce the fat and calorie content. I don't recommend using coconut milk sold in cartons, which is heavily watered down.
- Water.
- Cauliflower.
- Potato. The recipe calls for a russet potato, but red or golden potatoes should also work just fine. You can really switch things up and use a sweet potato if you'd like.
- Carrots.
- Salt & pepper.
- Frozen peas.
- Fresh cilantro. Leave this out if you're not into cilantro.
- Basmati rice.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Make the paste first. Blend your raw cashews, tomatoes, garlic and ginger until smooth. This can take a few minutes, particularly if you're not using a high-powered blending device, so be patient.
Tip: You may find it challenging to get the mixture smooth if you're using a very large blending device. If this is the case, add up to a half cup of water to help things along. You'll be adding some water to the curry later anyway, so just subtract what you added to the paste when you get to that step.
Heat your oil in a pot, add the onion, and cook it for a few minutes, until it starts to soften. Now add the spices and sauté them briefly with the onion.
Add the paste to the pot and cook it with the onion and spices for a few minutes, stirring constantly. Keep going until it thickens and darkens a bit.
Tip: Be careful not to burn the spices or paste during these early cooking stages. It's easy to do! Stir constantly and keep an eye on the heat level.
Add the coconut milk, water, cauliflower, potato, carrots and salt to the pot. Stir it up, raise the heat and bring it to a simmer.
Now lower the heat and let the curry simmer with the lid on. Make sure to take the lid off and give it a good stir, scraping the bottom of the pot, every few minutes.
Uncover the pot and let your vegan korma simmer for a few minutes more. This will give the sauce a chance to thicken up.
Stir in the peas and simmer just a minute more.
Take the pot off of heat and season the mixture with more salt, if desired, and black pepper to taste. Adjust any other seasonings to suit your taste.
Serve your vegetable korma with some basmati rice and a fresh cilantro. Vegan naan would be another delicious accompaniment. Dig in!
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover vegan vegetable korma will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for a 3 to 4 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
It's very mild. Feel free to add cayenne pepper if you like your curry hot!
It is!
More Indian-Style Vegan Curries
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📖 Recipe
Creamy Vegan Vegetable Korma
Ingredients
For the Paste
- ½ cup raw cashews, soaked in water 4-8 hours, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup canned diced tomatoes
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
For the Curry
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 (14 ounce/400 ml) can full-fat coconut milk
- ½ cup water
- 1 small cauliflower head, broken into florets (about 1 ½ pounds)
- 1 medium potato, scrubbed and cut into ½-inch pieces (about 10 ounces)
- 3 medium carrots, sliced (about 8 ounces total)
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste if desired
- 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
- Black pepper, to taste
For Serving
- Cooked basmati rice
- Chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Place all of the paste ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Set aside. (Note 1)
- Coat the bottom of a large pot with the oil and place it over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion.
- Sweat the onion for about 5 minutes, until it starts to soften up and become translucent, stirring frequently.
- Add the garam masala, ground cumin, cumin seeds, cardamom, coriander, and turmeric to the pot. Cook the spices with the onion, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute.
- Add the paste to the pot. Stir well and cook the mixture while stirring constantly until it begins to darken and thicken slightly, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in the coconut milk, water, cauliflower, potato, carrots and 1 teaspoon of salt. Raise the heat and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- Lower the heat so that the mixture is at a low simmer. Cover the pot and allow the curry to simmer for about 15 minutes, until the potato is fork tender. Make sure to uncover the pot and give it a stir every few minutes, scraping the bottom of the pot with a spoon to prevent the sauce from scorching.
- Uncover the pot and let the curry continue simmering for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly and the vegetables are very tender.
- Stir in the peas and continue simmering the curry for about 1 minute, just to heat up the peas.
- Remove the pot from heat and season the korma with additional salt to taste, as well as black pepper.
- Serve with basmati rice and a sprinkle of fresh cilantro.
Notes
- If you're using a larger blending device and have trouble getting the mixture smooth, add up to ½ cup of water, then subtract the amount of water that used when you add water to the curry in step 6.
- This recipe make a mild curry. For some heat, add a bit of cayenne pepper in step 4. For more intense flavor, increase the amount of garam masala.
- Nutrition information does not include rice.
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Did you update this recipe? I don't remember the paste before.
I updated it in 2023. Feel free to send me an email if you loved the original version — I always save copies!
Can I make this ahead and freeze it for quick warm up later? I am trying to meal prep for my vegan daughter ready to deliver baby #2. I would love to make this for her.
I haven't tried freezing this one, but I can't see any reason it wouldn't work! Most curries and cashew based sauces freeze well, so I think this dish should be fine.
Hi Alissa. Can I sub out coconut milk with something else? Don't like eating it. Otherwise, looks great!
Thanks in advance.
Hi Deb! You can use another non-dairy milk if you're not a fan of coconut milk. Go for the richest and creamiest variety you can find!
Looks smells and tastes great! Really impressive and guest worthy. FYI on step 6 you accidentally omitted add the cauliflower. It’s mentioned in the step by step above though. Love your recipes !
I'm so glad you like it! And thanks for the head's up! I just fixed it.
This is one of my absolute favorite, go to recIpes! Thank you. I am so happy you decided to follow your passion, create fabulous recipes to share this site.
I made this tonight and it was AMAZING! My husband never really loves Indian food and I decided to give this a go... so glad I did! He LOVED it. I cannot believe it. He said that you could make that recipe for anyone and they would love it. Such high praise from him! Thank you so much for this recipe.
My husband and I really enjoyed this. I used crushed tomatoes and skipped the blender part, and I added soy chicken. It was really delicious. The leftovers held up, too. Will be making this again. Thank you!
I made this tonight. I enjoyed how easy it was to prepare. Very little prepping. It turned out good but it tasted more like Tikka Masala than Korma. I've made a lot of Korma dishes and most times there's no tomatoes in the recipe and when it is called for, it's nowhere near as much as 14 ounces. My sauce turned out more red than yellow, which is the usual color of Korma, which is primarily made of almonds, cashews or other nuts, and coconut or coconut milk. Maybe next time to make it taste more like Korma I will puree the cashews along with the tomatoes, onion, garlic and ginger instead of topping them on the plate as whole nuts.
This was super delicious and easy to make! Definitely a keeper.
Yay! Glad you think so! Thanks Jennifer!
The instructions call for chili paste but it is not listed in the ingredients. How much are you to use?
Sorry about that! I was using hot sauce and chili paste interchangeably in the ingredients and instructions. I just updated the recipe, so hopefully it makes more sense now. Thanks for the head's up!
I made this a year ago for my sisters family, who are vegan. It was an unbelievable hit. I make it on a regular basis for myself and any friend that comes for dinner. This is easy, delicious and will leave your guests wanting more!
Awesome!! I'm so glad you're enjoying it! Thanks Lori!
I love it!
I'm glad to hear it!!
Yum! Easy to make despite the number of spices etc. Used up all the veggies I needed to in it. I steamed the veggies and served curry with saffron rice. Everyone liked it.
Sounds like a delicious meal! Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks a bunch, this was so fresh tasting! I added a little jalapeno to the tomato/onion blend, and it was perfect. I used about 1/2 teaspoon of agave and I think next time I might add a pinch more. I love the versatility, so I threw a few carrots in for extra crunch and sweetness. Cheers!!
That sounds delicious! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Hi there! This looks awesome! I might have missed it but it possible to freeze this?
I think so, but the texture might change a bit. That sometimes happens with coconut milk!
Really nice. My fam sucked it back and went for seconds! I made this with a brown basmati for an extra layer of nutty flavour. Very satisfying. I also cooked down the purée mixture along with the masala(before adding coconut milk)to develop the flavours a bit more before adding the rest. This works Excellent for a quick weeknite meal. We did not miss the meat at all. It’s going into the rotation!
Glad it was a hit! Thanks Lisa!
This was delicious and super easy...
Will reduced fat coconut milk work in this recipe?
I think so! Please let me know how it works out if you try!
Jist become vegan so looking for recipes online... I'll be making this over the next week, however I don't like cauliflower so will use other veg!
Thanks
You could use just about anything! I hope you enjoy it and I'd love to hear how it turns out!!
Made this tonight and loved it, thanks for sharing!
Awesome!! I'm so glad to hear it! Thanks Ginny!
I made this over the weekend and now eating the leftovers for lunch. I absolutely loooove this!!! Vegetable Korma is my favorite Indian dish and it's so nice to have an easy recipe to go to. I used a mix of frozen cauliflower, broccoli and carrots along with the zucchini and peas. I also sprinkled in some cherry infused Crasisins. Soooooo yummy! Thank you!!!!
Yay!! I'm so happy to hear that! Thanks Jennifer!
Delicious! Thank you! It was close to perfect the first time around which almost never happens for me. Leftovers out of the fridge are amazing, too.
I'm so glad you like it!! Thanks so much Matt!
I've been making this with Mae Ploy yellow curry paste since becoming vegan. I had everything prepped waiting for the coconut milk - and found I only had 'light'! I found this searching to see if any used low fat- of course they don't.
I now have more of a stew without so much coconut flavor.
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I din't realize how old this recipe was! I made this for dinner last night and it was so delicious! Even my carnivore boyfriend loved it!
I'm so glad to hear that! Thanks Jenny!!
I'm a one pot cook and have just received great comments after making this recipe - Recommend it!
Glad to hear it! Thanks so much for giving this a try, and for stopping back to let me know it was a hit!
Wow, that looks so much nicer than all the artificially coloured ones you get ready made at the store. And also, I'd say that the coconut milk is possibly more authentic than the heavy cream.
Haha! Thank you! I think I've seen the ones you're talking about - they're pretty vivid.
This recipe looks delicious and versatile - seems as though you could use whatever veggies you have on hand and it would still taste great! Thanks!
You totally could! I'm planning on trying a few different variations myself. Thanks Carey!
This is definitely a delicious dish that will be making an appearance in my kitchen. It is perfect for myself and my vegetarian family!
Awesome! Thanks Thalia - I hope you and your family enjoy it as much as I did!
This looks delicious and super easy! Going to add to the dinner rotation this week, thanks! :)
It was both delicious and super easy! I hope you agree. :) Enjoy!
This WAS super easy and delicious!
First meal I have made from your site since moving back to my native land in Europe.
Can't wait to have the pantry stocked - it will then be forever vegan!!
Thank you for all your sharing and great food inspiration!
Yay! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!! Thanks so much Mette!
Made this last night, it was SO good! I love your recipes.
Yay! Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Pam!