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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!
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 food (and for the record, I’m totally not claiming this recipe to be an authentic Indian recipes) but I have definitely made up for that over the past few years. For a small southern city, Nashville holds its own when it comes to Indian restaurants and I most certainly have my favorites. 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).
Out of all the recipes on my blog (and there’s something like 300 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.
Many tikka masala recipes start out with a curry paste that gets rubbed all over the meat and left to marinate. Since we’re not marinating anything, we get to skip that part (yay!!).
Instead, we make a simple onion, garlic, and cilantro sauce that adds SO much mind blowing flavor to the dish.
Next, we saute the onions with LOTS of spices. I’ve had a lot of fun lately experimenting with different spices and this recipe was no exception.
As with most of my recipes, the salt is totally optional.
Once the spices become aromatic and the onions are translucent, the tomatoes, sauce, coconut yogurt, half of the coconut cream AND the blitzed onion and cilantro mixture is added in. Then the cauliflower and carrots go in.
Once the veggies are tender and *just* about done, the chickpeas and peas are added in. NOW, if adding only half of a can of chickpeas into this dish is super annoying to you then go ahead and add in the whole can. I tried it this way at first and it works just great. I only add in half because it’s just a large dish already. You can also put in slightly less cauliflower or carrots to account for the extra chickpeas.
And on that note, 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!!
Alright, well that’s it for this gloomy Wednesday morning. I seriously can’t tell you how much I love this recipe and I hope that you love it as much as I do!
ps- it 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.
See How to Make the Vegan Tikka Masala:
More delicious vegetarian dinner recipes to try:
Loaded Veggie Tikka Masala
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 of 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 of 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
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I make this at least twice a month, and it is always a huge hit in our big family! I love how nutrient-packed AND flavor-packed this is! The mixture made in the food processor makes the flavor absolutely come alive!
Looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it! I’d love to hear what your fav Indian restaurants are in Nashville! We just moved here from Chicago and there we’d go to the Little India neighborhood for our fix…haven’t found any good ethnic food here yet. Please share!!
This was DELICIOUS! The spices are perfection. Can’t wait to eat the leftovers! I used kite hill almond greek yogurt and it came out great!
once i gathered the ingredients at the same time it came together pretty easily. i used reduced fat coconut milk (didn’t notice it when i purchased) and after simmering for a bit i ended up adding more garam marsala, basically doubling the amount as stated…i thought it still lacked oomph, like it needed something i just didn’t know what…maybe salt, anyway, it was still very good and my hub loved it which is a huge plus as i am trying to get him away from having to have meat every night. i think in the future i would add potatoes and maybe cashews. and yeah, full fat coconut milk to see if that was the missing link. all in all an easy recipe for a very satisfying meal with plenty of left overs! that reminds me, thanks for the nutritional information but i got way more than 6 cups, more like 8, yay!
Delicious any tips on how to make it a little spicier.
My entire family is in love with this recipe!!! The flavor is incredibly delicious. I like Kite Hill yogurt the best, and I follow the recipe to a T. Thank you so much for sharing this one. Soooo good!!!
This is far from remotely even Indian and I’m embarrassed for you, pretending to make an Indian dish. No tikka dish on any planet includes cauli or coconut cream or beans or carrots or chickpeas (wtf) or peas. Seriously. Stop your misleading and deceptive advertising. So, so, so bad. Stick to what you know love, and Indian ain’t it.
Gary, you sound like a piece of work. I imagine you’re a hit at parties.
Brita, ignore people who just talk smack all day. Your blog is awesome and this is a wonderful dish! We had it tonight, in fact. Really enjoyed it.
Thank you!
Cheers,
Diego
You are very mean spirited. I add whatever veggies I desire & tofu since I don’t eat poultry or meat. Really, why even bother posting if you are going to be that nasty.
Absolutely delicious. The only amendments I made were that I seasoned the cauliflower with cumin salt and coriander and roasted it for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. I added it to the recipe at the end. I only used half a can of coconut milk. That was plenty. I am not a vegan and I couldn’t keep my hands of this wonderful dish.
Made this today. It was reallyyyyyyy reallyyyy good!!! I replaced the tomato sauce by another tomato can this one went through the food processor to make it liquid. And added broccoli :) thank you! Will definitely repeat it!
I am having an issue with the texture being very grainy. I am thinking from the onion, garlic, ginger, cilantro mixture. I made sure to blitz it very well and fine. Any suggestions?
hmmm. I’ve honestly never experienced that. I have sometimes had my yogurt curdle a little but if it was really cold and I put it too fast into the hot dish. That could be it?