This is a quick and easy vegan butter chicken recipe that tastes just like the real thing. Promise! I mean, first off, look at the photo. You can't tell that's plant-based chicken on that plate.
There's a wonderful world of meat-free substitutes available these days, and I'm here to use them to my full advantage. The range of vegan chicken products is endless, which wasn't the case when I originally made this recipe back in 2015. At that time, I used President's Choice Vegetarian Chicken Breasts—a magical product that was taken off the market a while back. It's really too bad as these were the superior vegan chicken product to anything coming out in 2024! They were the best ever, hands down.
what you need
- vegan chicken (strips, pieces, breasts etc. but they should be unbreaded)
- basmati rice
- vegan butter
- coconut oil
- white onion
- garam masala
- cumin
- coriander
- ginger
- turmeric
- cinnamon
- garlic
- full-fat coconut milk
- crushed canned tomatoes
- sea salt
- cilantro
See the recipe card for exact quantities.
For the vegan chicken products here are some that I like best.
- Tofurky Slow Roasted Chick'n
- Sweet Earth Mindful Chik'n
- Gardein Chick'in Scallopini
- Daring Plant Chicken Pieces
how to make vegan butter chicken
What's amazing is you can still make butter chicken into vegan butter chicken by just swapping the meat and dairy. The flavor comes from all the spices packed into this dish. I followed suit and your tastebuds will thank me for it. Serve this on a bed of fresh basmati rice with some chopped cilantro on top for an impressive easy weeknight meal.
Brown the vegan chicken and cut into small chunks if you used chicken breasts. Remove it from the pan and set aside.
Sauté onions with spices until softened and fragrant.
Add coconut milk and bring to a simmer.
Add crushed tomatoes and sea salt and simmer for 15 minutes.
Stir in vegan butter and add the vegan chicken back into the pan.
Simmer the vegan butter chicken for a few more minutes and then serve immediately over rice
substitutions
A lot of the plant-based chicken products on the market are not gluten-free but you can swap the vegan chicken for chunks of tofu and this would be just as delicious!
Use a firm block of tofu. Dry it of excess water with a clean dish towel, but there's no need to use a tofu press. Break it into chunks. Fry it in oil until browned and crispy, the same as I did for the vegan chicken. Also, remove it from the pan to continue with the recipe, and then add it back in at the end to simmer with the sauce. If you have a vegan chicken-flavored bouillon on hand you can even toss it in a little bit of this before frying it for even more yummy flavor in the dish.
Canned crushed tomatoes are a pantry staple and are always on hand in my kitchen. Another simple but tastier option could be to use fire-roasted canned tomatoes too.
There really is no substituting the spices, because as I said that's where all this authentic flavor comes from!
vegan butter chicken
Ingredients
- ½ C basmati rice
- 1 C water
- 2 tablespoon vegan butter
- 2 vegan chicken breasts (or 2 cups strips)
- 2 tbsp + 1 tsp coconut oil
- ½ finely chopped white onion
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 can full fat coconut milk
- ½ C canned crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- finely chopped cilantro, as garnish
Instructions
- Bring basmati rice, water, and 1 tablespoon of vegan butter to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer, and cover with a lid. Once all the water is absorbed, fluff the rice with a fork, remove it from the heat and leave covered until ready to serve the vegan butter chicken.
- In a large cast iron pan or non-stick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of coconut oil over medium heat and add frozen vegan chicken breasts or strips. Brown for 3 to 4 minutes a side and cut into small chunks if you used chicken breasts. Remove vegan chicken from the pan and set aside.
- Keep the same pan over medium heat, and add another 1 tablespoon of coconut oil and finely chopped onion. Sauté for 2 minutes. Add all the spices to the onions and sauté until softened and fragrant, for about another 5 minutes. At this point, you might need to add one more teaspoon of coconut oil if the mixture looks dry and is sticking. Add minced garlic and stir frequently for 1 minute.
- Add coconut milk and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer. Add crushed tomatoes and sea salt and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Stir in 1 tablespoon of vegan butter and add chunks of vegan chicken back into the pan. Reduce heat to low and stir occasionally for another 3 minutes. Serve immediately over rice and top with fresh cilantro leaves if desired.
Rachael
I found my new favourite site ever, these all look so delicious! Can not wait to start cooking them, its so hard to try and find recipes for a vegan / veg diet that actually looks mega appetising! Thank you!
Lauren Toyota
thank you! Hope we'll get to see some of your creations on social!! 🙂
Miss Kay
i just want to fly to Toronto to give you guys the biggest hug! i'm dancing in the kitchen this is sooooooooo damn good!
Lauren Toyota
awww so glad you like it 🙂 Thanks!
Anonymous
Just made this. It's a bit oil-heavy, but delicious and came in at around 600 calories per serving. Love it!
Ellay
deliiisssh! I made this for my boyfriend who is not vegan (yet lol) and he loved it!
Mc Jefferson Agloro
I literally don't have garam masala. I am ditching it for now, because this looks delicious, and I can't resist from preparing it.
Lauren Toyota
well you could just use other spices... fenugreek, cumin, regular yellow curry.
Lily Pants
I finally found some faux chicken at my local grocer. I am super excited to try this recipe out after I make the buffalo cauliflower sliders. 🙂
Kaley
I just made this for the first time and it is so freaking delicious!! I am working on learning how to cook more Indian food and I can tell this will be a new go-to recipe for me 🙂
Lauren Toyota
so glad you loved it!
Aymara
I just made it and it's soooooo good. Even my dad, who is not vegan liked it a lot. I love your recipes!
Lauren Toyota
YAAY! that's so awesome! Thank you!
Ashley
I totally forgot to put in the salt but it turned out delicious anyways 😀 And I added in a little bit of flour for it to thicken up even more.
Michelle
Didn't have any vegan butter but whatevs, it didn't even need it cause the coconut milk plus the little coconut oil in the recipe made it fatty enough. Tho I would reccomend trusting your gut (and tongue) over the cooking time for the onions, at least, if you diced them up like I did. And don't worry if you don't have any basmati or jasmine rice to go with it, I just used my regular Japanese rice with a little less water than usual to make it "dry" and added butter and salt. It worked out fine! Ir you could serve it with naan, right?
Michelle Miyazato
Made it for the second time and just as good without any "meat" in it, sauce is just that flavorful. Definite new go-to besides pasta and mabo dofu.
Jennifer P.
I just made this for my husband and friends and they LOVED it! We usually all go out for Indian, and this really impressed them, thanks Lauren & John!
Cassie Tran
You just won my heart. LOVE Indian food so much!
Lauren Toyota
Thank you! ENJOY!
Jennifer P.
Lauren, you should honestly do more Indian recipes on your channel! Or any ethnic style foods like a Spanish Paella or a Chinese fried rice..... oh man, the options are endless and I cook every thing you guys make. Love you!!!!
Adrienne
A paella would be AMAZING! Also, I agree, more Indian-inspired recipes for the win! My partner is obsessed with Indian food and this is an easy way for us to have the same meal without any takeout.
Beckah
Oh my f***ing god.. THIS WAS AMAZING!!! I love the Trader Joe's vegan tikka masala and this was just as good. There are no words to describe how amazing this was.
Stacey
This recipe was amazing! Better than my Indian restaurant! Kids liked it too!
Christeen
Great recipe. Instead of vegan chicken, I used tofu and lots of veggies. The sauce is delicious! Definitely a keeper and very versatile. Thanks Lauren!
Adrienne
This is an awesome recipe! I fried up some tofu and chickpeas instead of a chicken replacement (because that was what I had) and it was so good! I am planning to make it in a few days, and am going to use a chicken replacement, extra onion, chickpeas, bell peppers, less oils/butter, and a lower fat coconut milk (I know it's way better with the full fat stuff, but I am trying to lose weight, so this is my attempt at still having butter chicken). I'm also trying to expand it to be 4 portions (we will see how that goes... haha).
My partner, who is not plant based or vegan, really enjoyed it and took the lead on the recipe! He said it was easy to follow and a good recipe!
Michelle Miyazato
Not my first time making these but always a fave whenever I crave a coconut curry! Swapped processed vegan chicken for jackfruit (marinated in vegan chicken stock) and added sliced pasilla peppers, sliced frozen bell peppers, sliced onions, and diced garlic. Pro tip: boil or steam your canned jackfruit to soften, shred it, and marinate for 30 min at least before sauteing w/ oil. And steam or boil your veggies (I reccomend sliced) so that they're tender for the curry since this recipe is so quick.
Lesly
I made this recipe last night using jackfruit in place of the chicken breasts because that's what I had. It turned out pretty damn good. The spices were perfect and my dinner guest loved it. I will try and make this again your way.
Lauren Toyota
sounds like a great sub! You could also use tofu next time too
allHungry
Absolutely loved this Vegan Butter Chikun recipe! The flavors are rich and comforting, and it’s such a creative plant-based twist on a classic.
Lauren Toyota
thank you so much!