Quick, easy and deliciously aromatic vegan tikka masala made with home-made curry paste, smooth vegan yogurt and coconut cream.
When it comes to this vegan tikka masala I have a rather huge vegan curry confession to make. I'm ashamed to admit that before developing this recipe, I'd never actually made a tikka masala before. I know I know, cover me in mango chutney and sacrifice me to an army of fire-ants. I deserve it! But look, I put it down to two things; 1. I'm a bit of a vegan curry snob and often turned my nose up at the more "Anglicised" curry recipes and 2. what's a tikka masala without chicken??
Well, I'll come to point 1 shortly, but point 2 is very easy to clear up. I've tested this recipe with my home-made vegan chicken, with both store-bought vegan chicken pieces and even with extra firm tofu and the results will make you cry with joy either way! Vegan curry heaven!
And don't be put off by the fact that I'm new to making tikka masalas - I'm certainly not new to eating them. Also, BOY did I do my vegan curry homework on this one. I've tried roughly TWENTY different recipes from around the internet and my ridiculous cookbook collection in an attempt to find the ingredients and methods which work best when making a home-made vegan tikka masala.
As such, the recipe at the bottom of this page is my ultimate vegan tikka masala. My prize fighter! It's the Charizard you didn't even know I had when you challenged me to a Pokemon battle!
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🥫 Vegan Tikka Masala Curry Ingredients!
As always, the FULL RECIPE for my vegan tikka masala is at the bottom of the page - scroll on down if you're in a hurry. If not, hey! How wonderful that you actually came here to read stuff! Wanna prove it? Head to my instagram and comment "Maya Rudolph" so I know you're one of the good ones!
Here's a little intro to some of the ingredients we're going to be using in this vegan tikka masala curry recipe. At first glance it seems rather ingredient-heavy but don't worry - this doesn't translate to complicated to make.
- Onion (peeled and roughly chopped)
- Garlic (peeled)
- Ginger (peeled and sliced into coins)
- Red chilli (de-seeded and roughly chopped)
- Ground turmeric
- Ground cumin
- Ground coriander
- Garam masala
- Kashmiri chilli powder
- Cardamom pod
- Lemon
- Coriander stems (leaves used later)
- Fine sea salt
- Vegan chicken (my recipe can be found here or sub for extra firm tofu or your favourite store-bought vegan chicken pieces)
- Vegetable oil (or sub for any neutral oil)
- Vegan butter (or sub for margarine)
- Onion (roughly chopped)
- Tomato puree (aka tomato paste in USA)
- Peeled plum tomatoes
- Mango chutney
- Vegan yogurt (make sure it's unsweetened and unflavoured)
- Coconut cream (the firm stuff on top of a can of coconut milk)
- Fresh coriander (for serving)
🔪 Method!
I've broken the vegan tikka masala cooking process down into four steps for you. This process actually applies to many vegan curry recipes so it's a great one to have memorised!
1. Make the curry paste! This process couldn't be easier. It's a simple blend-job (or food processor if you prefer). This is where the majority of your aromatics for your vegan tikka masala are coming in, so don't skip this step. Also, unlike many recipes, we're going to be making the exact amount of vegan curry paste for this dish - there will be no left-overs, so if you want to have extra for future meals, make sure you double the recipe.
2. Get things hot! The vegan tikka masala gets going with a blend of vegetable oil and vegan butter (margarine works great too - just double check it doesn't contain milk). When everything's nice and hot we're going to add our onion and fry until just starting to brown.
Next in goes the vegan curry paste. You're going to want to cook it for at least 3 minutes, but I found that the flavour intensified when cooked up to 5 mins. After that, you start to lose some of the more delicate flavours from the paste in the final curry. If the paste starts to stick to the pan and burn, just add a small splash of water to "deglaze" the pan.
3. Add your tomato! I found some recipes for vegan tikka masala which swore by tomato puree (paste in the USA) and others which swore by canned tomatoes. I really liked what happened when you use BOTH in this vegan curry! The tomato puree adds the deep umami while the fresh tomatoes are essential for adding a bright tang to the vegan tikka masala. I use canned whole tomatoes rather than chopped because I find they have way more flavour and are way less watery, so just make sure you crush them before adding to the sauce.
4. Get things sweet and creamy! I knew we needed a great solution to the creaminess of regular tikka masalas, and a blend of vegan yogurt + coconut cream (the firm stuff on the top of a can of coconut milk) worked out wonderfully! But I also didn't realise how SWEET a decent vegan tikka masala needs to be. Sure, some recipes include sugar, while others rely on the sweetness of the tomatoes, but I love the addition of mango chutney.
🔄 Substitutions
Got some dietary requirements but still wanna make vegan tikka masala curry? Don't worry your gorgeous face about it!
- Gluten free - Depending on which vegan chicken you're using, this recipe may already be gluten free for you! My best choice is to use extra firm tofu instead of seitan!
- Soy - Again, this recipe is very easy to make soy free - Just be sure to use a vegan chicken and a vegan yoghurt which is soy free. Coconut yoghurt works great and replacing the vegan chicken with chickpeas works great too.
If you've made this recipe with some swaps, let me know how it worked out in the comments!
🍽 Vegan Tikka Masala Curry Variations
I've tried to keep things as classic as possible, but if you fancy mixing thinks up a little, here are my suggestions for some twists!
- Spicy! - This tikka masala is a mild vegan curry, but that doesn't mean you can't spice things up! Add some Kashmiri chilli powder to the spice mix or double the number of fresh chillis!
- Extra Fruity! - I like to use mango chutney in my vegan tikka masala to make things fruity, but if you want to take things to an even fruitier place, why not add a teaspoon of amchoor powder (aka mango powder) to your spice blend.
Looking for something to serve alongside your vegan tikka masala? Why not try my insanely crispy onion bhajis! You can also serve with a side of my vegan beetroot dal!
🫕 Equipment!
You don't need much to make this vegan tikka masala. Just the following:
- Food Processor or Blender
- Large Saucepan
🍗 A note on vegan meat!
OK a quick note, because let's not forget, a vegan tikka masala is usually a crazy meaty curry. As mentioned above, you can use my vegan chicken recipe to make this dish. I'd highly recommend it because the texture is the closest I've come to actual chicken and it absorbs flavour like that's its full time job.
BUT, if you want to skip that, for whatever reason, you can still make this vegan tikka masala recipe. My next best choice is store-bought vegan chicken. I used this stuff from Tesco in these photos but there are SO many options out there. If you're still not feeling it, why not try the recipe with extra firm tofu instead? I know, tofu in vegan curry seems just odd, but bear with me. I used Tofoo brand in some of my recipe trials and the results were wonderful. Probs more like paneer tikka masala than chicken, but still such a special vibe!
🙋♀️ Vegan Tikka Masala Curry FAQs
A: This recipe uses either tofu of vegan chicken for the meat of the curry. The creaminess of the sauce is made with vegan yoghurt and coconut cream.
A: Simply served with rice, vegan tikka masala is delicious. Alternatively serve with vegan naan or roti. I like to top my tikka masala with a little extra vegan yoghurt right before serving.
Vegan Tikka Masala
Equipment
- Food Processor or Blender
- large saucepan
Ingredients
For the Curry Paste
- ½ onion (peeled and roughly chopped)
- 3 cloves garlic (peeled)
- 40 g ginger (peeled and sliced into coins)
- ½ red chilli (de-seeded and roughly chopped)
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- ¼ teaspoon kashmiri chilli powder
- seeds from 1 cardamom pod
- juice of 1 lemon
- small bunch of coriander stems ((leaves used later))
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
For the Curry
- 400 g my vegan chicken (my recipe can be found here or sub for extra firm tofu or your favourite store-bought vegan chicken pieces)
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil (or sub for any neutral oil)
- 20 g vegan butter (or sub for margarine)
- 1 large onion (roughly chopped)
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree (aka tomato paste in USA)
- 400 g can of peeled plum tomatoes
- 2 tablespoon mango chutney
- 150 ml vegan yogurt (make sure it's unsweetened and unflavoured)
- 50 g coconut cream (the firm stuff on top of a can of coconut milk)
- small bunch of fresh coriander (for serving)
Instructions
To Make the Curry Paste
- Place all the curry paste ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until you have a thick paste. Set aside.½ onion, 3 cloves garlic, 40 g ginger, ½ red chilli, 1 teaspoon ground turmeric, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, ½ teaspoon garam masala, ¼ teaspoon kashmiri chilli powder, seeds from 1 cardamom pod, juice of 1 lemon, small bunch of coriander stems, 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
To Make the Curry
- Slice the vegan chicken or tofu into 3 cm cubes and set aside. If using store-bought vegan chicken pieces, there’s usually no need to slice, depending on the size of the pieces.400 g my vegan chicken
- Place a large, open saucepan over medium heat and add the vegetable oil and vegan butter. Once hot, add the roughly chopped large onion and fry, stirring often, for around 3 minutes or until just starting to brown.2 tablespoon vegetable oil, 20 g vegan butter, 1 large onion
- Add the curry paste and cook for a further 3 minutes. If the paste starts to catch, add a few tablespoon of water to the pan.
- Stir in the tomato puree. Remove the tomatoes from the can and squash them one by one in your hand over the saucepan. Add to the saucepan then add the remaining tomato juice in the can along with 100ml water. Stir well and bring to a simmer.1 tablespoon tomato puree, 400 g can of peeled plum tomatoes
- Add the vegan chicken or tofu, stir to combine and then cover with a lid. Leave to simmer for 25-30 minutes to allow the tomatoes to thoroughly cook down.
- Remove the lid and reduce heat to low. Stir in the mango chutney, vegan yogurt and coconut cream. Do not allow to boil or the yogurt and coconut cream could spit, just warm to serving temperature.2 tablespoon mango chutney, 150 ml vegan yogurt, 50 g coconut cream
- Serve with boiled rice and top with the fresh coriander.small bunch of fresh coriander
Andrea
Highly recommend making this recipe. Full of flavour and texture. I used soy curls instead of tofu. So good!
Kate York
Literally make this every other week in our house and my non vegan sister made it for us recently and loved it so much that she used the sauce for her chicken. High praise indeed! We have used Dopsu and the Iceland No Chick strips - both with outstanding results.
Andrea
Highly recommend making this recipe. Full of flavour and texture. I used soy curls instead of tofu. So good!
Belle F
Just insane! So Tasty! And definitely use oatly greek yogurt for this.
GFK
I am obsesses!
Elaine
Tomorrow night’s dinner sorted!
Virginia
My favorite vegan recipe ever for anything … ever.
Elizabeth Treznoski
Five stars
Lina
Looks delicious! So exited to try with tofu as well as with your chicken recipe!
Bryony
This was so good! Will definitely be making again soon
Kim
This was amazing! Quite easy to make (even I can do it) and really flavorful. Will definitely make this again.
Danielle
Just made this using soy curls, and oh my god, it's so good I wanna cry. Thank you for another amazing recipe!