These easy “Butter Chickpeas” are a healthier, vegan version of classic Butter Chicken – but made with whole food, plant-based ingredients! The rich, velvety sauce is ultra-creamy, super satisfying, and packed with warm, savory flavor. (Plus it’s done in only 30 minutes!)
These “Butter Chickpeas” are an amazingly satisfying 30 minute meal. Tender, hearty chickpeas swim in a rich, velvety sauce that’s packed with warm, savory flavor. It’s pleasantly filling and quite substantial – especially when served with brown rice and crushed cashews. (Our favorite way to enjoy!)
How to Make Butter Chickpeas
Butter Chicken is a popular Indian dish that was developed in the 1950’s. Traditionally, the sauce is tomato and onion-based with curry and butter. However in this vegan version, we eliminate the butter and achieve that velvety richness with coconut milk and peanut butter. The result is so luscious and creamy!
In my experience and testing of this recipe, the sauce is quite forgiving so feel free to take liberties with the accent seasonings you enjoy. Cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, garam masala, and chili powder are all lovely additions depending on your preference. Would love to hear what you come up with! Hope you enjoy as much as we do.
PS – come join The Garden Grazer on Instagram and share a pic if you make or adapt this! I love seeing your beautiful recreations. (Or leave a review/star rating below if you give it a try – your feedback is very appreciated!)
Easy Vegan Butter Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 15 oz. can chickpeas
- 15 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
- 15 oz. can coconut milk (regular, unsweetened)
- 1/4 cup peanut butter (creamy, natural)
- 3 Tbsp. tomato paste
- 1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. curry powder (I use mild)
- 1 ½ tsp. garlic powder*
- 1 tsp. smoked paprika (or regular paprika)
- 1 Tbsp. tamari
For serving:
- Cooked brown rice (and/or flatbread), cashews, cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Begin cooking your rice, or prepare it ahead of time so it's ready to go.
- Dice onion.
- In a large skillet over med-high heat, saute onion for 7-8 minutes. (I use 3 Tbsp. water/broth for no-oil saute method, adding more as needed.)
- When onion is softened, add the curry powder (more/less as desired), garlic powder, and smoked paprika (or other seasonings of choice*). Stir and heat for 1 minute, adding a touch more liquid if necessary.
- Rinse and drain chickpeas. Add chickpeas and diced tomatoes (with juice) to skillet. Stir and saute for 2-3 minutes.
- Carefully add coconut milk, peanut butter, and tomato paste. Stir until well combined.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally as the sauce thickens.
- Before serving, stir in the tamari. (Taste and add more, or salt to taste as desired).
- Serve warm over brown rice, topped with cashews (recommended!) and fresh cilantro if desired.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving (estimate)
If you’re enjoying these Butter Chickpeas, also check out these other 30-minute favorites:
Portobello Fajitas
Broccoli Cashew Stir Fry
Chickpea-Walnut Taco Crumbles
And also feel free to browse the full “30 Minutes or Less” recipe archives!
This recipe was SOOO good! My fiance was a fan of butter chicken dishes years ago (when he wasn’t plant based, of course lol) and this is the first time we found a recipe that satisfied that craving perfectly. I absolutely love how simple this recipe is, too. We had pretty much everything on hand (except for cannned tomato) but we diced up fresh tomatoes and it worked. Thanks so much for our new favourite quick meal 🙂
Yay! Thanks so much for sharing Lu Ann – the fresh tomato addition is perfect! Wonderful to hear you both enjoyed. Hope you’re staying warm & cozy this winter. Matcha cheers! 😉
DELICIOUS! Even my 10 & 8 y/o picky eaters enjoyed it. I added a bit of maple syrup to help them with the spiciness of it and I didn’t hear any complaints! I’m definitely going to make it again & often!
Hi Noemi! So amazing to hear both your kids enjoyed this!! Love the maple syrup addition to balance it out for them, great call! Thank you so much for your kind words and coming back to let me know – very appreciated 🙂 Wishing you all a lovely rest of the week!
Can the peanut butter be replaced with tahini?
Ooh, interesting idea! It would change the flavor a bit, but I think that would work! Would love to hear if you give it a go and how it turns out!! 🙂
This blew my socks off! It was so good! I was taste testing along the way and was worried after the peanut butter was added it would just taste like a peanut sauce. But as it cooked and simmered and ultimately served with rice it became absolutely incredible! I literally didn’t even sit down to eat, just ate at my counter, it was SOOOOO good! Thank you!
Haha! So happy to hear this, Ben! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback (and recipe rating) – very appreciated! Absolutely thrilled it worked out for you 🙂 Have a great week! -Kaitlin
Pooh, I just stumbled across this while waiting for my client, and I am going to be making this ASAP 😋😁