This is the best vegan tikka masala recipe ever! It tastes just as good (or better) than a restaurant and it’s so easy to make at home. Rich and creamy and made with tofu and cashews for a fabulous Indian inspired dinner.
Who needs to order takeout when you can make your own vegan tikka masala that tastes even better!
We took a lot of inspiration for this recipe from our vegan butter chicken recipe. A tikka masala is similar in many ways though the flavors are different.
We have the tofu standing in for the chicken in this recipe and it does a superb job. And if you wanted to serve this with some vegan naan on the side, well that would be a very fine idea.
And if you love this recipe also check out our vegan katsu curry and our vegan chana masala.
Ingredients You’ll Need:
Ingredient Notes
- Extra firm tofu – it’s important to get the firmest tofu you can get, and then we still press it for 20-30 minutes so that it’s really firm and will hold up well in your sauce.
- Raw cashews – form the base of the vegan yogurt sauce that we toss the tofu cubes in before baking.
- Coconut sugar – is just for flavor balance for the creamy tomato sauce. It’s added in at the end and balances the flavors beautifully. It does not make it sweet! However, you can switch this for brown sugar or any sugar that you have on hand, or you can omit it if preferred.
- Coconut cream – we used canned, unsweetened coconut cream. You can also use full fat, canned, unsweetened coconut milk if that’s easier to get hold of.
How To Make Vegan Tikka Masala
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Press the tofu. The best way to do this is to use a tofu press. If you don’t have a tofu press, then simply place the tofu onto a plate, with another plate on top of it and then stack something heavy on top like a heavy pot or a stack of books. Leave it to press for 20-30 minutes.
- When the tofu is pressed, roughly chop it into cubes and place it into a mixing bowl.
- Prepare the vegan yogurt sauce. Add raw cashews, water, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, garam masala, cayenne pepper, turmeric, salt, freshly grated ginger and crushed garlic to a blender jug and blend until smooth.
- Pour the vegan yogurt sauce over the cubes of tofu in your mixing bowl and gently toss the tofu in the sauce so that it’s all evenly coated.
- Transfer the tofu to a parchment lined baking tray and spread out evenly.
- Bake in the oven at 400°F for 15 minutes until lightly browned.
- Prepare your tomato sauce. While the tofu is baking you can start your tomato sauce.
- Add vegan butter to a pot on medium heat and melt the butter. Then add in chopped onions and sauté until softened.
- Now add crushed garlic, grated ginger, fresh chili, garam masala, turmeric, cumin, coriander powder and cayenne pepper and sauté with the onions.
- Add crushed tomatoes and coconut cream and stir well. Bring to a gentle simmer and let it simmer for a few minutes. Reduce heat and then stir in coconut sugar (for flavor balance) and add salt to taste.
- Lastly, add the baked tofu pieces and fold them gently into the sauce.
- Your tikka masala is ready to serve!
How To Serve Tikka Masala
Serve it over basmati rice with some freshly chopped cilantro sprinkled on top. Of course if you want something on the side then nothing beats some good homemade vegan naan.
Storing and Freezing
Leftovers will keep very well in the fridge for 3-4 days and can be reheated in the microwave or on the stove.
It is also freezer friendly for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat as usual.
More Vegan Indian Inspired Recipes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Tikka Masala
This is the best vegan tikka masala recipe ever! It tastes just as good (or better) than a restaurant and it’s so easy to make at home. Rich and creamy and made with tofu and cashews for a fabulous Indian inspired dinner.
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Servings: 6
Calories: 457kcal
Ingredients
For the Tofu:
- 28 ounces Extra Firm Tofu (800g) pressed for 20-30 minutes
For the Vegan Yogurt Sauce:
- 1 cup Raw Cashews (150g)
- ⅓ cup Water (80ml)
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 tsp Garam Masala
- ¼ tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 1 tsp Turmeric
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 Tbsp Fresh Ginger Grated
- 4 Cloves Garlic Crushed
For the Tomato Sauce:
- 2 Tbsp Vegan Butter
- 1 Medium Onion White, Yellow or Brown, Chopped
- 4 Cloves Garlic Crushed
- 1 Tbsp Fresh Ginger Grated
- 1 Birds Eye Chili Seeded and Chopped
- 1 Tbsp Garam Masala
- 1 tsp Turmeric
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 1 tsp Coriander Powder
- ½ tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 2 and ½ cups Crushed Tomatoes (600ml)
- 1 cup Canned Coconut Cream (240ml) Unsweetened
- ½ Tbsp Coconut Sugar
- Sea Salt To Taste
For Serving:
- Basmati Rice
- Fresh Chopped Cilantro
Instructions
- Press the tofu. Press the tofu ideally using a tofu press. If you don't have a tofu press, then simply place the tofu onto a plate, with another plate on top of it and then stack something heavy on top like a heavy pot or a stack of books. Leave it to press for 20-30 minutes.
- When the tofu is pressed, roughly chop it into cubes and place it into a mixing bowl.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Prepare the vegan yogurt sauce. Add raw cashews, water, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, garam masala, cayenne pepper, turmeric, salt, freshly grated ginger and crushed garlic to a blender jug and blend until smooth.
- Pour the vegan yogurt sauce over the cubes of tofu in your mixing bowl and gently toss the tofu in the sauce so that it’s all evenly coated.
- Transfer the tofu to a parchment lined baking tray and spread out evenly.
- Bake in the oven for 15 minutes until lightly browned.
- Prepare your tomato sauce. While the tofu is baking you can start your tomato sauce.
- Add vegan butter to a pot on medium heat and melt the butter. Then add in chopped onions and sauté until softened.
- Now add crushed garlic, grated ginger, fresh chili, garam masala, turmeric, cumin, coriander powder and cayenne pepper and sauté with the onions.
- Add crushed tomatoes and coconut cream and stir well. Bring to a gentle simmer and let it simmer for a few minutes. Reduce heat and then stir in coconut sugar (for flavor balance) and add salt to taste.
- Lastly, add the baked tofu pieces and fold them gently into the sauce.
- Your tikka masala is ready to serve!
- Serve it over basmati rice with some freshly chopped cilantro sprinkled on top.
Notes
- Extra firm tofu – it’s important to get the firmest tofu you can get, and then we still press it for 20-30 minutes so that it’s really firm and will hold up well in your sauce.
- Coconut cream – this should be canned, unsweetened coconut cream. You can also use full fat, canned, unsweetened coconut milk if that’s easier to get hold of.
- Coconut sugar – is just for flavor balance for the creamy tomato sauce. It’s added in at the end and balances the flavors beautifully. It does not make it sweet! However, you can switch this for brown sugar or any sugar that you have on hand, or you can omit it if preferred.
- Storing and Freezing – Leftovers will keep very well in the fridge for 3-4 days and can be reheated in the microwave or on the stove. It is also freezer friendly for up to 2 months! Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat as usual.
- Prep time includes the time spent pressing the tofu.
- Nutritional information is for tikka masala only and excludes basmati rice.
Nutrition
Serving: 1Serve | Calories: 457kcal | Carbohydrates: 23.2g | Protein: 23.2g | Fat: 31.2g | Saturated Fat: 9.4g | Sodium: 767mg | Fiber: 2.8g | Sugar: 7.2g
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @lovingitvegan on Instagram and hashtag #lovingitvegan
Made this basically as written and the result was excellent. It’s a good mix of simple and complex that is still not too hard to whip out. What I really liked was the good mix of sauce to contents. Each serve got a fair bit of the larger chunks and the main curry. I’ve personally found that more mild dishes are better for meal prepping and eating strong dishes repeatedly seems to get older fast. So this made a great mealprep. Appreciate the work ^^
So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe Danny, and thanks so much for your great review!
Another masterpiece, Alison! Incredible flavors. The only problem is that I want to eat too much of it!
I am really enjoying making up your recipes. You really have a gift to be able to create truly tasty gourmet vegan recipes. Thank you for helping so many people become better chefs.
My oven broke down, so I put the marinated tofu into my dehydrator – and they came out chewy and very satisfying.
Thanks so much for your kind words and great review Constantine!
Excellent. I made the following modifications: reduced the amount of butter to half; half the amount of sugar (monk fruit sugar); added the remainder of the yogurt from step 1;
a 16 oz. Bag of frozen broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower.
I think the spice mixture was perfect, some heat, but not too much.
Sounds good! Thank you so much for sharing and for your great review!
We just made this recipe and I cannot stress this enough: holy crap it is DIVINE! Thank you so much, it’s seriously exquisite. I added a cilantro sauce on the side which paired very nicely.
Wonderful! And a cilantro sauce on the side sounds amazing! Thanks so much for the awesome comment and review.
I thought I left a comment here already but 2 things:
1) I subbed the crushed tomatoes with pure tomato sauce. This is the best tikka masala recipe I’ve tried…Should’ve tried it long ago!
2) Can I include the excess yogurt sauce to the tomato sauce? It just smells so delicious and I hate to throw it away!
Thanks Eric! Yes I think you could add the yogurt sauce into the main sauce if you like, I haven’t tried it but I’m guessing it would just add some extra creaminess.
I added most of the yogurt sauce and actually thinking of making a little extra next time coz it was absolutely even more delicious several days later after adding the extra yogurt sauce I saved. Chicken tikka masala was one of my top faves during my carnivore days and I think this tastes even better than the original “chicken version”! Thank you for making this available! Ps, I’m not sure what difference it made but I also added dried methi leaves.
Wonderful to hear that, so glad it turned out great! thanks so much for the update!
I added half the yogurt sauce to the main “mother sauce” as I only used a 16 oz. block of tofu. Next time I think I will skip adding a glaze of the yogurt to the tofu and just add the baked tofu and all the yogurt to the sauce.
🙂
Chicken tikka masala is one of my faves and I always made it a point to order it back when I was a carnivore. I’ve tried a few veganized recipes of it and prioritized those with 5 star or close to 5 star ratings from the most people and they turned out quite good. This one though, in spite of having just a mere 5 ratings, is by far the best and it looks like my hardcore carnivore family members like it as well! The pickiest one actually said, “this tastes like the real thing!” I subbed the crushed tomatoes with a 50:50 mix of 100% pure tomato paste and water since I didn’t have crushed tomatoes on hand. HIGHLY-RECOMMENDED!!!
Thanks so much Eric! So happy you loved it!
Your recipe was fantastic. I ended up using just regular old margarine and crushed red pepper (instead of the single pepper) and red pepper powder(instead of cayenne… because I was out) as my substitutes. And I probably doubled the garlic because love extra garlic! Was out of raw cashews so used salted ones and just didn’t add any of the salt you called for. So it was spicy and wonderful. The yogurt part smelled so wonderful while it was cooking. Everyone had seconds and asked for your recipe.
Fantastic! So happy to hear that Kyle, thanks so much for the awesome review.
What is the spicy level on this? I usually ask for mild when I order this dish out, could I omit the chili and cayenne and still get the flavor right?
Hi Sheryl, I consider it pretty mild and I also like things on the mild side, but you can also absolutely omit the chili and the cayenne and it will be just as delicious. All the best! 🙂
I don’t often comment on recipes but I have to say this was fantastic and just like the takeaway/restaurant version but even more satisfying as it’s homemade! I’ve tried one other recipe and the flavour was so wrong I didn’t think I’d bother trying again. I replaced the tofu with soy pieces. Amazing!
Thanks so much for commenting Krishna, so happy to hear you enjoyed it! 🙂
Delicious! I made this last week for dinner and it was delicious and easy to make! Definitely will be making this again for sure!!
Awesome! Thanks so much Arushana!
Hi Alison, looks really nice actually.. though is there any metric conversion of the recipe?
JC
We do have metric where appropriate in brackets. 🙂
My comment is very similar to both the previous ones. This just might be the best online recipe I’ve tried. Excellent and very authentic Indian flavor. I also was looking for a cashew substitute, but for a different reason. The cashews are getting so darned expensive. Thanx for the recipe, Alison.
Thanks so much Ken! 🙂
This is my favourite recipe of yours so far. It was absolutely delicious! We both went back for seconds. Tasted very fresh and spicy. Can’t wait to make it again 🙂
That’s awesome Julie! Thanks so much!
Hi, can you use another nut besides cashew? My husband is allergic to these.
Thanks
Sure, slivered or blanched almonds will also work, but the texture may not be as smooth (that’s okay though!). OR, if you have access to plain vegan yogurt you can use that instead of the cashews and the water, and just stir the spices into it and then pour over your tofu.
I had some plain homemade soy yogurt, so I used that instead of the cashews and water. The recipe came out too tangy. Should I have omitted or reduced the lemon juice and vinegar? And how much yogurt should I use? I’m looking forward to trying this again with a slight tweak of the yogurt cream sauce. Thanks 🙂
You could omit the lemon juice and vinegar in that case, as the addition of those to the plain cashews and water is to mimic the tanginess of yogurt. I would use a cup of yogurt and stir in the spices.