Vegan Butter Cauliflower is our delicious plant-based twist on the classic Indian dish, Butter Chicken. Our vegan version uses roasted cauliflower instead of chicken and homemade cashew cream instead of heavy cream. Ready to try it?
Our Butter Cauliflower curry is the perfect way to finish a busy weekday. Our recipe takes no longer than 35-40 minutes to prepare and it's absolutely hearty and delicious.
Being such a simple recipe that needs just a few ingredients, Butter Cauliflower is a meal that is often served at home. Especially when people are coming over for dinner, this is a meal that you know people will love. Creamy and flavorful, this Indian curry has a lot to offer.
Cauliflower is one of our favorite veggies. It's so versatile and can be incorporated in many recipes to make them tastier and healthier, like this yummy Indian Butter curry.
This is a mild recipe so the whole family can enjoy it, even your little ones. If you want to make this recipe spicy, make sure to add some chili powder into the spice blend.
Our Vegan Butter Cauliflower is:
- Vegan
- Gluten-free
- Creamy and hearty
- Easy to prepare
- Healthier than the classic recipe
- Family and toddler friendly
How to make Butter Chicken Vegan
The classic Butter Chicken is made with an spiced yogurt marinade for the chicken and a creamy and rich butter sauce.
Cauliflower is tasty, making the whole process much easier. We simply add coriander and cilantro powder before baking the cauliflower, and we find this a delicious alternative to the classic marinated chicken.
As for the sauce, we use vegan butter to have a creamier and heartier sauce, but you can as well use vegetable oil.
The other ingredient that would need changing is the heavy cream. For this part, we use our homemade cashew cream. We have been using this in many recipes like our Dal Makhani. Cashew cream is a great substitute for heavy cream. It's healthy, rich in protein and simple to prepare. All you need are soaked cashews, water and a hand blender.
HOW TO PREPARE THE CAULIFLOWER
For our Vegan Butter Cauliflower, we roast the cauliflower. Roasted cauliflower tastes absolutely delicious so there is no need to add much to it. Keep it simple, it will still be delicious and will make the whole cooking process easier.
INGREDIENTS
Cauliflower. For this recipe, we use a whole cauliflower head. We always try to get a big, fresh and good looking cauliflower. You will need medium-size florets. If the florets are too small, they tend to burn easier when baked in the oven.
Spices. To give some extra flavor to our cauliflower, we use cumin, coriander, salt and pepper.
Vegetable Oil. Drizzle some vegetable oil on the cauliflower before baking it.
METHOD
- Cut the cauliflower into florets and place them on a baking tray.
- Add the spices and vegetable oil making sure all the cauliflower florets are evenly coated.
- Bake for about 25 minutes at 200C / 400F. We place a silicone baking mat on our tray so the cauliflower doesn’t stick to the bottom and the tray doesn't get dirty. You will need to flip the cauliflower halfway to ensure that it cooks perfectly on both sides.
How to make the best Vegan Butter Sauce
Ingredients
Vegan Butter and vegetable oil. To start our sauce, we use a combination of both. You can choose to use just one or the other as well.
Onion, ginger and garlic. These three ingredients make the perfect base to start many Indian dishes. When you stir-fry these ingredients together, a unique fragrance can be smelled in the kitchen. This makes me so happy as I know a yummy meal is coming on the way! For the garlic and ginger, we use a press to make a paste so the ingredients are combined better into the sauce.
Tomato passata or puree. We use tomato passata to get a smoother sauce, but you can use canned chopped tomatoes or fresh tomatoes as well.
Spice blend. When cooking Indian food, many spices are needed. If you like cooking, and you have yet not bought tones of spices you are missing out! Especially if you like Indian or Asian food, you need your kitchen loaded with spices, the good quality ones. For our Butter Cauliflower we use Garam Masala, turmeric, cumin and coriander. If you like spicy curries, add some chili powder as well.
Cashew Cream. We use pre-soaked cashews to make the cream for our Vegan Butter Cauliflower. Leave the cashews soaking for 30 minutes in hot water before you blend them with cold water to make the cream.
Step by Step Method
- Heat the vegan butter and vegetable oil in a non-stick pan or pot to medium temperature.
- Add finely chopped onion and leave cooking for a couple of minutes. Then, add pressed or finely chopped ginger and garlic. Cook for 2-3 more minutes.
- Add the spice blend and cook until fragrant.
- Pour in the tomato passata and leave simmering for 10-12 minutes. You can add a bit of sugar or maple syrup if the sauce is too acidic.
- Once the cauliflower is baked, add into the sauce pan and combine well. Cook for 5 more minutes to make sure the cauliflower absorbs some of the butter sauce.
- Last, add the cashew cream. To make the cashew cream, add in a blender jug the previously soaked cashews and water. Blend until you have a smooth consistency.
- Combine all the ingredients, sprinkle some fresh coriander on the top and your curry will be ready to serve and enjoy.
Serving suggestions
Butter Cauliflower is so hearty and tasty that you will want to make sure you have something to go with it that absorbs all the sauce on your plate. Naan bread, flatbread, or basmati rice are great options for that.
If you want to serve a full dinner with appetizers, you could try our Onion Bhaji. They are a deliciously crunchy appetizer to serve before your curry.
Our Vegan Butter Cauliflower is hearty and rich so it's normally served as a main dish but if you have many people over, you may want to try making two or three different curries so people can have a proper Indian platter with different curries.
HOW TO COOK THE PERFECT BASMATI RICE
Basmati rice is the right option when you are looking for the right type of rice to serve with your curries.
Cooking rice and getting it to be light and fluffy can be really tricky if you are not using the right pan, lid or water ratio. To cook basmati rice, the ratio we use is 1:2 rice to water after rinsing the rice with cold water.
Place the water and rice in a medium-size saucepan. Optionally you can add some cardamom pods to give the rice a nice fragrance. You don't need to use a large pot if you are not making rice for many people. Choose a high temperature and bring the water to boil with the saucepan uncovered. When the water starts to boil, reduce the temperature to the lowest and cover the pan with a lid that fits perfectly so the steam doesn't escape.
When most of the water is gone turn the heat off and leave the pan covered to rest for another 8-10 minutes.
Using a spatula or a fork, move the rice so any extra steam will go out and your rice will be ready to be served with your favorite curries.
Vegan Butter Cauliflower
Ingredients
Ingredients for the cauliflower
- 1 Cauliflower head
- ½ tablespoon cumin
- ½ tablespoon coriander
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil
Ingredients for the butter curry
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 thumb-size ginger piece
- 3-4 garlic cloves
- 2 teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 200 ml tomato passata
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 150 g soaked cashews
- 300 ml water
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Bake the cauliflower
- Cut the cauliflower into florets and place them on a baking tray. Add the spices and vegetable oil making sure all the cauliflower florets are evenly coated.
- Bake for about 25 minutes at 200C / 400F. Flip the cauliflower halfway to ensure that it cooks perfectly on both sides.
Prepare the sauce
- Heat the vegan butter and vegetable oil in a non-stick pan or pot to medium temperature.
- Add finely chopped onion and cook for a couple of minutes, until it softens. Then, add pressed or finely chopped ginger and garlic. Cook for 2-3 more minutes.
- Add the spice blend and cook until fragrant. Pour in the tomato passata and leave the sauce simmering for 10-12 minutes. You can add a bit of sugar or maple syrup if the sauce is too acidic.
- Once the cauliflower is baked, add it into the pan and combine well with the sauce. Cook for 5 more minutes to make sure the cauliflower absorbs some of the butter sauce.
- Last, add the cashew cream. To make the cashew cream, add in a blender jug the previously soaked cashews and water. Blend until you have a smooth consistency.
- Combine all the ingredients, sprinkle some fresh coriander on the top and your curry will be ready to serve and enjoy.
Notes
- Serve with basmati rice or naan bread.
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| If you tried our recipe, please leave a comment or tag us on Instagram @Sixhungryfeet. We are always happy to see your creations! |
Shirley says
What can I use instead of the cashews? We have a nut allergy in the house. Thanks
Astra says
Hi Shirley, try using coconut milk, or soy cream. They should be both still delicious on the dish!
Grace says
Tried this the other day and I absolutely loved the turn out. Never thought to sub cauliflower for chicken. Very very good. Roasting the veggies before adding them to the sauce keeps them from getting mushy. I subbed cashew milk for oat milk since I am allergic. Love love love!
Grace says
*edited to add
Used oat milk instead of cashew milk
Laura says
Thank you Grace! We find cauliflower such a great substitute for meat. Tasty and healthy!