Vegan Butter Chicken

Butter chicken or murgh makhani is an Indian dish from New Delhi and is now famous worldwide.

The chicken is marinated in yogurt, spices, and lemon juice. Then pan-fried and simmered in garlic, ginger, and tomato sauce and smothered in butter.

Our vegan butter chicken, tofu butter chicken, or butter tofu tries to stay as close as possible to the original Indian recipe.

1. First, we hand-tear the tofu into bite-size pieces to make it look like chicken pieces.
2. Second, we toss it in a tasty marinade with dairy-free yogurt, lemon, and Indian spices.
3. Third, we pan-fry the tofu to give it some color and texture.
4. Finally, we simmer it in our vegan butter chicken sauce until rich and creamy.

No words can describe how delicious this recipe is. The sauce is rich, milky, creamy, packed with flavors from the spices, tangy from the yogurt, and fresh from the lemon.

For a delicious Indian-inspired dinner, serve vegan butter chicken as a plant-based alternative to butter chicken with your favorite Naan bread or chapati flatbread.

Tofu

Use firm or extra firm tofu for this recipe.

Tofu is an excellent protein source to replace chicken.

Avoid soft, medium, and silken tofu, as they won’t hold up in the skillet.

For the marinade

Vegan yogurt

Our two favorite dairy-free and vegan yogurts for this recipe are plain and unsweetened soy yogurt or cashewmilk yogurt.

If you can’t find these, then you can make a quick vegan sour cream with cashews and use it to replace the yogurt.

To make it, boil 1 cup of cashews in water for 10 minutes, drain them and add them to a blender with 1/2 cup water, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Blend at high speed until silky smooth (3 to 7 minutes, depending on the blender model).

If you are vegetarian, you can use unsweetened full-fat yogurt or greek yogurt.

Spices

You’ll need turmeric powder, garam masala, ground cumin, coriander, and red pepper flakes.

Substitute chili powder or cayenne pepper for red pepper flakes. You can also add 4 or 5 cardamom seeds if you like.

Garlic and Ginger

Garlic and ginger are the soul of Indian food, and I’d recommend using both fresh. Grate them before adding them to the blender for an extra smooth sauce.

Lemon Juice

Freshly squeezed lemon juice adds freshness and acidity to the sauce.

For the sauce

Vegan butter

Pick your favorite. There are many around these days. We like to use vegan butter that comes in stick form.

Some good ones are Miyoko’s European Style Cultured Vegan Butter, Vioblock from Violife, Melt Organic Butter, Earth Balance, and Kite Hill, but there are many more.

If you are vegetarian, you can use unsalted butter.

Vegan heavy cream

The best option would be a soy-based vegan heavy cream. If you are based in Europe, that’s easy to find. Dozens of brands offer that and are sold in virtually all supermarkets across the continent.

If you are in the USA, that’s a little tricky. You can order some European vegan heavy cream online. The best and most available are Violife and Alpro.

Or you can use our homemade vegan sour cream, cashew cream, or a can of coconut milk, although that would slightly flavor the vegan butter chicken.

You can also use half vegan cream cheese and half unsweetened soy milk, blended until they turn into cream.

If you are vegetarian, you can use heavy cream.

Tomatoes

We recommend using tomato puree or tomato passata that comes in a glass bottle.

It’s already pretty smooth and sweeter than canned tomatoes. It makes the perfect base for the butter tofu curry.

Salt and Sugar

We recommend sea salt or kosher salt. You can use any sugar; we use organic cane sugar.

Water

You’ll also need some tap water to add to the sauce.

Garnish

Garnish with cilantro or fresh coriander or, if you don’t like that, with fresh flat-leaf parsley. Serve with warm naan or flatbread.

1. Marinate the tofu

To a blender, add non-dairy yogurt, lemon juice, turmeric powder, coriander, garam masala, ground cumin, red pepper flakes, grated ginger, and grated garlic.

Blend until very smooth and set aside.

Drain your tofu and pat it dry. Then tear it into bite-size pieces with your hands, so it looks like chicken pieces.

It’s important to do this with your hands, not with a knife because the uneven and rugged tofu texture will make the sauce stick to it.

Transfer the tofu into a large mixing bowl and toss it in the marinade until fully coated on all sides.

You can now use the tofu immediately or let it marinate in the fridge, covered in plastic wrap, for up to 24 hours.

2. Cook the tofu butter chicken

Melt the vegan butter in a large skillet, best if nonstick.

Add the marinated tofu pieces without the marinade left in the bowl. Set the leftover marinade aside for later.

Fry the tofu on medium heat for about 10 minutes, turning it every 2 – 3 minutes, until golden brown on most sides.

Add the leftover marinade, vegan heavy cream (coconut milk or blended cashews), tomato puree, salt, sugar, and 1/2 cup water.

Stir and simmer on medium to low heat for about 15 minutes until the sauce gets thick and creamy. Add more water if you’d like a thinner sauce.

Taste and adjust for salt, then serve the vegan butter chicken in a bowl, garnish with freshly chopped cilantro and serve with warm naan bread, roti, chapati, or basmati rice.

Vegetarian Butter Chicken

If you are a vegetarian and are looking for a delicious alternative to butter chicken, then this recipe is excellent!

To make it, follow the same recipe for our vegan butter chicken and substitute full-fat yogurt, heavy cream, and unsalted butter for their vegan alternatives.

Serving Suggestions

This vegan butter chicken is a weeknight-friendly dinner, and it pairs well with flatbread like naan, roti or chapati, basmati rice, and vegetable sides.

For example, pair it with:

• Roasted cauliflower or broccoli (cauliflower or broccoli, garlic, olive oil).
• Sautéed green beans (olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic).
• Shirazi salad (cucumber, tomato, mint, white onion, lime juice).
• Tabbouleh (parsley, tomato, bulgur, lemon juice, mint leaves, scallion).
• Cucumber yogurt dressing (cucumber, dairy-free yogurt, garlic, mint).
• For an authentic Indian dinner, you can also choose Aloo Gobi (curried potatoes and cauliflower), Raita yogurt, and Saag (leafy green paste).

Tips

Tear the tofu with your hands instead of cutting it with a knife. This way, the uneven surface of the tofu will grab onto the sauce, making the tofu super tasty. Also, it does look like chicken pieces cut this way.

Make Ahead & Storage

Make Ahead: vegan butter chicken is an excellent recipe to make ahead, as the tofu gets more flavorful as it sits in the sauce. You can also let the tofu marinate the day before, then cook it the day after for a quick dinner.

Refrigerator: transfer leftovers into an airtight container and store them in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Freezer: let the butter tofu cool down completely, transfer it into a freezer-friendly container, and freeze for up to 3 months.

Thaw: defrost in the fridge over several hours or in the microwave.

Reheat: this recipe will thicken up quite a bit as it sits in the fridge or freezer. To reheat it, you’ll need to add some water – about 1/2 to 1 cup. Reheat in the microwave or a skillet.

See our easy and tasty tofu ideas for more plant-based dinner inspiration:

• Tofu Cacciatore (tofu, diced tomato, olives, fresh herbs).
• Easy tofu soup (firm tofu, broccoli, mushroom, rice vinegar, sesame oil, scallions).
• Chewy fried tofu (tofu, olive oil, garlic powder, paprika).
• 5-minute tofu scramble (tofu, soy milk, turmeric powder, kala namak).
• Tofu cream cheese (tofu, tahini, lemon juice, chives).
• Marinated tofu (tofu, apple cider, vinegar, garlic powder, mustard, dried oregano).

Get more Indian-inspired recipes from these warming and aromatic curry ideas:

• Tofu curry (tofu cubes, coconut milk, curry, turmeric, garam masala, ginger, garlic).
• Chana Masala (chickpeas, curry, diced tomatoes, turmeric, cumin, coriander).
• Lentil curry (lentils, Indian spice mix, diced tomatoes, coconut milk, ginger).
• Chickpea curry (chickpeas, coconut milk, garlic, ginger, cumin, turmeric, curry).
• Cauliflower curry (Cauliflower, onion, garlic, ginger, curry, turmeric, coconut milk).

For many more 30-minute meal ideas, check out our 30-minute meal category page.