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This Loaded Veggie Tikka Masala is one THE most popular recipes on my blog and definitely a favorite in our house. I make it for guests on a regular basis and it’s ALWAYS a crowd pleaser. SUPER excited to hear how you like it!
Why you’ll love this reader favorite recipe!
Oh hey, welcome to one of my favorite recipe creations OF ALL TIME! Sometimes (a lot of the time) I exaggerate, but today is not one of those days :)
I didn’t grow up eating a lot of Indian cuisine (and for the record, I’m totally not claiming this recipe to be an authentic tikka masala recipe) but I have definitely made up for that over the past few years. My GO TO meal…..tikka masala! When I get to the point that I’ve eaten the same dish at the same restaurant more than about 5 times, that’s when I decide it’s past time I try the recipe for myself at home. Enter, THIS AMAZING VEGAN TIKKA MASALA! (sorry for yelling….I’m just really in love with this recipe).
Why you’ll love this:
- Extra saucy – this recipe leans into a really generous sauce-to-veggie ratio that I know you’ll love! That tikka masala sauce is SO GOOD.
- LOADED with veggies – cauliflower, carrots, chickpeas, and peas make this a well rounded, one pot meal.
- Fully vegan – coconut yogurt and coconut milk/ cream stand in seamlessly for the dairy.
- Makes incredible leftovers – many readers say it’s even better on day 2!
Out of all the recipes on my blog (and there’s something like 600 of them!), this is definitely the recipe that I have tested the longest and the most amount of times. Actually, I first started making tikka masala recipes from cookbooks that I have and from some of my favorite bloggers. I took the elements that I loved most from each of those recipes and made it into my own veggie packed recipe.
The factors that I was most looking for: 1) LOTS of veggies. It took me a while to get the veggie proportions correct but I found a delicious happy medium. 2) The sauce. The first few times I tested my own recipe, there just wasn’t enough sauce. Or, I think there was just way too many veggies. Either way, I personally like a really saucy tikka masala. So, that’s what my recipe is. 3) I really wanted to create a fully plant based recipe. This was pretty easy actually. I simply subbed the yogurt for coconut yogurt and the cream for coconut cream. Everything else was already plant based and vegan.
Vegetable Tikka Masala Ingredients
The full list of ingredients for this simple vegetarian tikka masala recipe are listed fully down in the recipe card but let’s briefly go over the basics needed including a few substitutions you can make as desired!
- Yellow Onion – half of the onion gets add to the sauce base and the other half is finely chopped and sautéed with the spices (this step alone will make your house smell amazing!).
- Garlic + Ginger – this is the aromatic backbone of the recipe. Fresh ginger and garlic is always ideal but I often cut corners here and use garlic and ginger paste.
- Fresh Cilantro – it’s blended into the sauce for a burst of fresh flavor! Save a little for garnish as well.
- Olive oil –
- Aromatic spices – ground cumin, ground turmeric, cinnamon, paprika, salt, and garam masala are blended together to give this tikka masala it’s signature warmth and depth. Before cooking, I suggest combining all of the spices in a small bowl.
- Canned plum tomatoes – you can also use diced tomatoes but I prefer the plum tomatoes that get broken up as they cook in the skillet.
- Tomato sauce – this forms the base of the sauce.
- Yogurt – this adds tang and creaminess! Be careful to add it in with the coconut milk as to not risk curdling. Vegan yogurt or regular will work well.
- Full-fat coconut cream or milk – bring richness, creaminess, and body to the sauce.
- Cauliflower + carrots – these get simmered in the sauce which soaks into the veggies and adds so much flavor.
- Chickpeas – a can of chickpeas to add more plant-based protein.
- Frozen peas – stirred in near the end for a little pop of sweetness.
How to Make It
Just a reminder that you can find the FULL written vegan tikka masala recipe down in the recipe card, but I want to quickly go over how to make them with visuals for you :)
- Blend half the onion + cilantro.
In a food processor, blend together the cilantro, half of the onion, and some olive oil. You don’t want it fully pureed but simple broken down into a salsa liek consistency.
- Saute the onion + spices.
Next, we saute the onions with LOTS of spices in a large skillet over medium heat. I’ve had a lot of fun lately experimenting with different spices and this recipe was no exception.
- Build the creamy sauce.
Once the spices become aromatic and the onions are translucent, the tomatoes, sauce, coconut yogurt, coconut cream AND the blitzed onion and cilantro mixture is added in.
- Add in the veggies.
Mix in the cauliflower and carrots and continue to cook until the veggies are fork tender. Once the veggies are tender, add in chickpeas and frozen peas. Stir to combine and let cook for 5 more minutes or until peas are fully heated through.
Serve over basmati rice and enjoy!
Don’t feel restricted to these veggies. I felt like peas + cauliflower + carrots + chickpeas was a perfect balance but honestly, a lot of other things would work in this dish! If you try other things, please let me know what and how you liked it!!
This makes AMAZING leftovers. Like, it’s maybe even better on day 2 than the first time you eat it. So, I highly recommend making this with the intention of multiple leftover lunches. GAH, I wish I still had some leftover in the fridge now.
Loaded Veggie Tikka Masala
Video
Ingredients
- Large yellow onion, 1/2 goes in sauce in blitzed sauce, 1/2 is finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 inch ginger, peeled
- 10 sprigs of fresh cilantro, plus more for serving
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt, optional
- 1 ½ teaspoons garam masala
- 400 g canned plum tomatoes, not drained
- 1 15 ounce can of tomato sauce
- 1 small container of vegan yogurt**, roughly 5 ounces (I typically use So Delicious or Kite Hill unsweetened yogurt)
- 1 15 oz can of full fat coconut cream or milk**
- ½ head of cauliflower, chopped into bite sized pieces
- 3 large carrots, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 15 oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup frozen peas
- Optional for serving: chopped cilantro, extra yogurt, basmati rice cooked
Instructions
- In a food processor, combine half of the onion, garlic, ginger, cilantro stalks, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Blitz until fully combined about 1 minute. (see photo above) Set aside.Large yellow onion, 2 cloves garlic, 1 inch ginger, 10 sprigs of fresh cilantro, 2 tablespoons olive oil
- In a large skillet, heat the remaining olive oil over medium heat. Add in the chopped onion and spices, stir to combine and cook gently for 10 minutes.Large yellow onion, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
- Into the skillet, add the plum tomatoes (with the liquid from the can), tomato sauce, yogurt, coconut milk and the blitzed onion and cilantro sauce. Cook for an additional 5 minutes over medium heat.400 g canned plum tomatoes, 1 15 ounce can of tomato sauce, 1 small container of vegan yogurt**, 1 15 oz can of full fat coconut cream or milk**
- Add in the cauliflower and carrots and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes.1/2 head of cauliflower, 3 large carrots
- Once the veggies are tender, add in chickpeas and frozen peas. Stir to combine and let cook for 5 more minutes or until peas are fully heated through.1 15 oz can of chickpeas, 1 cup frozen peas
- Serve with rice and (optional) a bit more cilantro leaves and yogurt. Enjoy!Optional for serving: chopped cilantro
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe was an amazing find during the quarantine- so delicious and made my apartment smell so good! I couldn’t find any dairy-free unflavored yogurt, so I used a little bit of water instead. The coconut cream made the dish so creamy, so I didn’t find myself missing the yogurt. Used pre-cooked lentils instead of chickpeas, a can of diced tomatoes instead of plum tomatoes, plus cauli florets, sliced cremini mushrooms, and sugar snap peas for the veggies (would skip the sugar snap peas next time and use carrots instead). Also added a diced de-seeded jalapeño, which I’d highly recommend! I can’t handle a lot of spice, but I want to add a second jalapeño next time since the little bit of spice was so good with the rest of the flavors! Thanks so much for sharing this dish- it is now in the top 5 of my favorite meals to make at home. And my carnivore bf couldn’t stop saying how good it was!
OMG, Jill! SO glad that y’all liked it! it’s actually my go to vegan recipe for when we have guests over (especially carnivores) bc everyone loves it and can’t believe it’s fully vegan!
The best thing about being in quarantine is making so many new dishes! The sauce in this dish is super delicious. I will definitely be making this again. Thank you ?
YAS! The sauce is SO GOOD! Glad that you liked it!
This is soooo good! I have made this a few times now. It has become one of my favorite dishes. Added some cooked potatoes this time it was so yummy!!! Family loves it! Thank you for such a delicious vegan Tikka Marsala.
YAY! So so glad that y’all like it! This is easily the recipe from my blog that we remake the most often! :D
Can’t wait to try this!!! Question! How important is it to split up the coconut milk? I noticed in YouTube video you dump the whole can in earlier rather than saving half.
Thank you!
hah very good question! I’ve made this so many times and realized at one point that it doesn’t actually make much of a difference if you add all the coconut milk in at once so I usually just add it all in instead of saving half for later. Might update the recipe soon to reflect that!
This was sooooooo delicious! I was a little skeptical when I poured the cilantro mix into the pot and saw the weird color (not a photogenic moment). But, my oh my, how tasty and beautiful this was at the end. We didn’t have vegan yogurt, so I used plain Greek and it turned out fine. Thank you for sharing!
I can’t wait to make this, reckon it will be ok to make in the slow cooker? Or not? Xx
I think that would work well but since I’ve never tried it, I can’t say for sure how all of the cook times would work. Please let me know how it works out! I’ve been meaning to try this out in both the slow cooker and an instant pot
Oh my goodness this was amazing.
I adapted this for my instant pot, but kept all the spices etc the same. For the veggies I used cauliflower, mushrooms, orange bell pepper, chickpeas, carrots, and spinach. I also used about 8oz of heavy cream instead of the coconut cream, and powdered ginger instead of fresh. The flavor wasn’t there until it had cooked a while under pressure. But after it came out… oh.my.goodness. It was a massive win. One of the best meals I’ve made (had) in a long while.
If anyone’s curious about the instant pot, I basically just followed the recipe, but replacing the IP for the skillet. However, I chose to roast all the veggies in the oven, except for the carrots (which I added to the IP). After everything was in there, I put it on high pressure for 11 minutes, and I think a 20 minute natural release. I could have gotten away with less for the release, but I was busy making Naan. After that, I added the spinach and chickpeas so they could warm up.
I served basmati rice topped with the roasted veggies, and generously poured this on.
OMG LOVE THIS! And thank you so much for sharing. Legit going to try this out the way you did it very soon!
This recipe is amazing! My husband loves it and he hates chickpeas, we’re not vegan so I use Greek yogurt and I don’t like cilantro so I don’t use it and it still tastes amazing. Our go to recipe!
This was sooo good. will definitely be making this again
Unfortunately the cauliflower and carrots were not even close to tender after 20 minutes. Very frustrating – I should’ve cooked these before adding to the sauce. Big time fail for me.
so sorry that this didn’t work out for you! i make this very often and found that the size I chop my veggies makes a big difference. Next time you can simply continue to cook the veggies in the sauce until they’re done and everything will still turn out perfect!