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Vegan Butter Chickpeas with a rich, earthy, and aromatic spiced tomato-based curry sauce inspired by Indian Butter Chicken. This makes an ultimate comforting meal that’s best enjoyed with naan, paratha, basmati rice, or any other carb of your choice!
THE INSPIRATION: INDIAN BUTTER CHICKEN & CURRY
I love Indian food and different types of curry really, so I decided to create the lush sauce/base I love for Butter Chicken and use chickpeas since I also love chana masala so here we are.
I can say the flavours from spices in this butter chickpeas are authentic as I really tried to replicate those from my favourite Indian restaurant but the technique may differ as I cook this in the comforts of my home and use ingredients that I have. I didn’t have coriander seeds and fenugreek, which would’ve been great additions to the flavour profile of this recipe.
INGREDIENTS TO MAKE THIS VEGAN BUTTER CHICKPEAS
For the Puree/Base
The full detailed & printable recipe is in the recipe card below.
- neutral oil
- vegan butter
- small red onion , diced
- garlic
- ginger
- ground cumin seed powder
- garam masala
- red chili powder
- turmeric powder
- roasted cashews
- diced tomatoes
- water
- sugar
- salt
For the Butter Chickpeas
- neutral oil or vegan butter
- red onion
- chickpeas
- water
To Serve
- Chopped fresh coriander
- Naan paratha, roti, or basmati rice to serve
PREPARATION
FOR THE CHICKPEAS AND AROMATICS
- If using canned chickpeas, drain and wash the chickpeas through water. Set aside.
- Prepare the aromatics. For the ginger, I like to use a spoon to peel this.
- Crush, roughly peel, and then roughly chop the garlic.
- Dice the onion. Divide into 2 parts. I used 1 part for the base and the other part for stir-frying with the chickpeas.
HOW TO MAKE THE RICH BUTTER CHICKPEAS BASE
- Heat a large wok or skillet over medium.
- Once hot, add the oil and melt the vegan butter. Stir-fry the onion, garlic, and ginger until aromatic.
- Add in the spices: cumin seed powder, garam masala, red chili powder, and turmeric powder along with the cashews.
- Pour in the diced tomatoes and water. Season with salt and sugar, to taste. I like to add sugar to counter the acidity from the tomatoes.
- Mix well and then cover the wok/skillet and allow everything to come to a boil. Once it boils, lower heat to a simmer and leave for 5-8 minutes until the cashews have softened.
Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend until you get a smooth and thick puree.
COOKING THE BUTTER CHICKPEAS
- In the same wok or skillet over medium heat, melt more vegan butter or add oil.
- Stir-fry the onion and then add the chickpeas. Stir-fry the chickpeas for 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the tomato-cashew puree into the wok. Add water in your blender to rinse off any excess puree (so nothing goes to waste!) and then pour it in the butter chickpeas in the wok.
- Allow to simmer to come to a boil for 2-3 minutes. You can add more water if you prefer a runnier consistency. Taste the curry and feel free to season with more salt/sugar to taste.
- Turn off the heat. Garnish with fresh coriander.
ENJOY YOUR VEGAN BUTTER CHICKPEAS!
- Serve hot and enjoy with with naan, paratha, basmati rice, or any other carb of your choice! I served mine with store bought frozen paratha that I simply pan-fried.
MORE VEGAN RECIPES YOU MIGHT LOVE:
- Indo Chinese Style Chili Tofu
- Chili Garlic Butter Potatoes
- Filipino Kaldereta or ‘Meat’ Stew
- Pan-Fried Tofu Cakes
- Crispy Eggplant Katsu
- Mie Goreng (Indonesian Fried Noodles)
- Chinese Sweet and Sour “Pork”
Vegan Butter Chickpeas (Indian Butter Chicken-Inspired)
Vegan Butter Chickpeas with a rich, earthy, and aromatic spiced tomato-based curry sauce inspired by Indian Butter Chicken. This makes an ultimate comforting meal that’s best enjoyed with naan, paratha, basmati rice, or any other carb of your choice!
Ingredients
Puree/Base
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
- 1 tbsp vegan butter
- 1/2 small red onion , diced
- 6 cloves garlic , crushed and roughly chopped
- 1 small knob ginger , peeled and roughly chopped or minced (around 1 tbsp minced)
- 1/2 tbsp ground cumin seed powder
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/3 cup roasted cashews (50g / 1.7 oz), I used unsalted cashews
- 1 can diced tomatoes (400g / 14 oz can)
- 1/2 cup water
- 3-4 tsp sugar adjust to taste
- 1-2 tsp salt to taste
Butter Chickpeas
- 1 tbsp neutral oil or vegan butter
- 1/2 small red onion ,diced
- 1-2 can chickpeas (400g can, 225 g / 8 oz drained weight) see notes
- 1/2 cup water or more if desired
To Serve
- Chopped fresh coriander
- Naan paratha, roti, or basmati rice to serve
Instructions
Preparation
- If using canned chickpeas, drain and wash the chickpeas through water. Set aside.
- Prepare the aromatics. For the ginger, I like to use a spoon to peel this.
- Crush, roughly peel, and then roughly chop the garlic.
- Dice the onion. Divide into 2 parts. I used 1 part for the base and the other part for stir-frying with the chickpeas.
Base/Puree
- Heat a large wok or skillet over medium.
- Once hot, add the oil and melt the vegan butter. Stir-fry the onion, garlic, and ginger until aromatic.
- Add in the spices: cumin seed powder, garam masala, red chili powder, and turmeric powder along with the cashews.
- Pour in the diced tomatoes and water. Season with salt and sugar, to taste. I like to add sugar to counter the acidity from the tomatoes.
- Mix well and then cover the wok/skillet and allow everything to come to a boil. Once it boils, lower heat to a simmer and leave for 5-8 minutes until the cashews have softened.
- Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend until you get a smooth and thick puree.
Butter Chickpeas
- In the same wok or skillet over medium heat, melt more vegan butter or add oil.
- Stir-fry the onion and then add the chickpeas. Stir-fry the chickpeas for 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the tomato-cashew puree into the wok. Add water in your blender to rinse off any excess puree (so nothing goes to waste!) and then pour it in the butter chickpeas in the wok.
- Allow to simmer to come to a boil for 2-3 minutes. You can add more water if you prefer a runnier consistency.
- Taste the curry and feel free to season with more salt/sugar to taste.
- Turn off the heat. Garnish with fresh coriander.
- Serve hot and enjoy with with naan, paratha, basmati rice, or any other carb of your choice! I served mine with store bought frozen paratha that I simply pan-fried.
WATCH Video
Notes
CHICKPEAS
- I added 1 large (400g) and 1 small (225g) can of chickpeas totalling to around 360g (drained weight) chickpeas.
- Be sure to wash the chickpeas through running water and draining excess liquid before adding the chickpeas to the curry.
NUTRITIONAL INFO
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 336kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Sodium: 629mg | Potassium: 434mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 330IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 84mg | Iron: 5mg
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?Please leave a rating or comment and share a photo on Instagram, and tag me @thefoodietakesflight or use #thefoodietakesflight 🙂
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This Post Has 13 Comments
Super delicious recipe! Will be making again for sure. Glad I finally found a great butter chicken substitute! Made the 2x amount and it fed 2 people comfortably with lots of leftovers
Yaaay, glad you liked it! Thanks so much Tiana ◡̈
Thought I should leave a review after my 5th time making this recipe!! It is delicious and my fussy Omni husband LOVES it. Thank you so much for the easy and tasty recipe!
AAAH thank you so much Lauren, rly appreciate you taking the time to leave a review!
This recipe looks delicious! Could you please recommend a nut-free substitute for the cashews in this recipe?
Hi Marie! You can opt to leave out the nuts but it’ll be less creamy. Another option would be some form of non dairy cream (I wouldn’t recommend coconut cream though because it has a strong flavor). I haven’t tried these subs though so if you do try them, please lemme know! Hope this helps! ◡̈
So delicious and easy, the perfect quick recipe with mainly store cupboard ingredients which makes it extremely convenient, plus the dish is extremely delicious and creamy!
Thanks so much Leonore! Glad you enjoyed this one ◡̈
This recipe is amazing! I was looking for ways to add more protein to my meal prep lunches and this dish fits the bill. It’s super tasty and packed with 20g of protein per serving. Thanks for posting!
Hey Michael! Glad you like it! Chickpeas are amazing 🙂
Yum, this is kinda like my lentil curry recipe (https://www.foodforfitness.co.uk/recipes/lentil-curry-vegetarian/) but a much better and tastier looking version 🤣 Think I need to upgrade mine lol
Thank you Jeeca for this recipe, it is exceptional! Healthy, delicious and easy to prepare – genius!
You’re most welcome Belinda, happy you liked it!