This easy Indian style vegan chicken curry is my cheat recipe for weekends when I want to curl up on the couch with a glass of wine and a delicious dinner made in no time at all! Vegan chicken chunks are simmered in an exquisite coconut milk sauce flavored simply with curry powder.
You might also like vegan butter chicken, vegan Indian pepper chicken and vegan chicken masala.
Here's a really simple and ridiculously delicious vegan chicken curry that's loaded with veggies and protein. It's a recipe everyone I've ever served it to loves, including kids, but it is especially great for anyone who likes or misses eating meat.
Authentic but vegan chicken curry
The flavors in this curry are drawn from an easy south Indian Chettinad style chicken curry I used to make when I lived in India and before I started eating vegan. This was a splendid curry, with an interplay of contrasting flavors and textures. So when I veganized the recipe I made as few tweaks as possible for the best results while keeping the curry nut-free and gluten-free (the meat substitute I used this time was not soy-free, but you can find similar soy-free products on the market).
The best part of that original recipe, and this one, is that you need very few ingredients. You can also add veggies like mushrooms, potatoes, summer squash - anything that won't take too long to cook. Adding veggies also means you don't have to serve a vegetable side if you'd rather not make the effort. Spoon the curry over steamed basmati rice and dinner is served! You will be back for seconds, and thirds.
If you have my magical basic tomato onion sauce in the fridge you can make this curry even faster. I'll include the instructions for both methods in the recipe box below.
What I love about this curry - and you might too - is the combination of the spices with the smooth, sweet coconut milk. The chewy chicken bits add great texture and also bump up the protein. In fact, there are 14 grams of protein in this recipe. Serving it with a cup of cooked basmati rice bumps that protein content up to 18 grams. The dish is also low-carb-friendly, with just 12 net carbs in a serving of the curry.
For heat in this vegan chicken curry recipe I use black pepper, which is more authentic in a curry of this type. The flavor of fresh-ground black pepper is also extra special when paired with curry leaves and coconut milk - a fact any south Indian can attest to. I love the flavor so I add some ground black pepper at the beginning and again at the end of the recipe. You can tweak this to your tolerance for spice. If you use the basic tomato onion sauce there is already some cayenne in the sauce, so keep that in mind and adjust the black pepper accordingly.
I first made this recipe in DC while visiting my son. He loved it and it was gone in a couple of days. A week or so later, my brother-in-law comes to town and I make it again, the same thing happens. Everyone I make it for goes crazy over it. - Debbie
Ingredients for vegan chicken curry
I deliberately kept this list small because this recipe is all about convenience and saving time. You don't even need turmeric because curry powder already has turmeric added to it.
Vegan chicken bits or chunks
Over the years I have used different chicken substitutes in this recipe, including the Tofurkey lightly seasoned grilled chicken, which works great. This time I used 365 plant-based chicken bits which, frankly, didn't have great flavor, but they did have a good, chewy texture. Seitan is also a good choice, and there are a number of chicken substitutes on the market now that you can choose from. If you want to make this curry without a chicken substitute, use a 14 oz can of drained chickpeas. Or use 14 oz of baked tofu or air fried tofu.
Coconut oil. You can use a neutral oil in this recipe, but I like coconut oil here because its distinctive flavor works nicely in south Indian dishes like this curry and avial.
Veggies: Leeks or onions (either is fine), tomatoes and mushrooms. I tossed in some orange cherry tomatoes this time but you can use a regular tomato.
Herbs: Curry leaves, ginger garlic paste and cilantro. If you can't source curry leaves, use more cilantro. Add 2 tbsps of chopped cilantro at the time you'd add the curry leaves, and add more at the end of cooking.
Spices: Ground black pepper, paprika (optional) and curry powder.
Coconut milk. Use canned, full-fat coconut milk. Coconut is widely eaten across south India and is a great - and authentic - addition to south Indian recipes.
Tamarind paste. Tamarind has a deep, rich, sweet tanginess that's wonderful in south Indian recipes. If you can't source it you can use the juice of a lemon instead.
How to make vegan chicken curry
- Heat oil in a Dutch oven or pot over medium-high heat. Add the leeks or onions, curry leaves and salt and ground black pepper to taste. Saute until the leeks or onions begin to brown.
- Stir in the ginger garlic paste and saute for a minute longer.
- Add the tomatoes and mushrooms to the pot. Mix well.
- Add the coconut milk to the pot followed by the curry powder and paprika, if using (I use the paprika just for color because the curry powder already has enough heat). Bring to a boil.
- Stir in the vegan chicken bits and bring the curry back to a boil. You can add up to a cup of water to thin it out.
- Once the curry comes to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and stir in the tamarind paste. Mix well, cover, and let the curry simmer for five more minutes.
- Add cilantro, mix it in and check if more salt or ground black pepper are needed. Turn off heat and serve the vegan chicken curry hot or warm.
Serve
I serve this chicken curry with basmati rice or jeera rice because of the south Indian flavors (rice is the staple grain in south India). You can also serve it with an Indian flatbread like roti or vegan naan. My dad always soaked up meat curries with a soft Indian bread roll, called a pav. ❤️ I sometimes sop up this vegan chicken curry with a chunk of crusty French bread or Italian bread.
A vegan cucumber raita is a delicious and cooling side. You can also serve kachumber, which is a raita minus the yogurt.
If you are a dessert person, a vegan gajar halwa or vegan kheer would be spot on after this meal!
Store
- Refrigerate: This vegan chicken curry tastes even better the next day! Store it in the fridge in an airtight container for up to five days.
- Freeze: You can freeze the curry for up to three months. You might find that the coconut milk gets a bit of a powdery look after freezing, but the curry should still taste great.
- Thaw and reheat. The curry can be reheated in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stovetop.
Recipe FAQ
The short answer is yes, you can use garam masala in this vegan chicken curry recipe. I use curry powder because this curry has south Indian flavors and a garam masala, strictly speaking, is a north Indian spice blend. Garam masala will flavor the curry a bit differently, but it will remain delicious. You can also use any other Indian style spice blend you might have on hand, like kitchen king masala or Maggi masala magic.
Yes, potatoes are great in here (you will need to give them enough time to cook), and so are other quick-cooking veggies like cauliflower and zucchini or any summer squash.
This curry explodes with spicy, tangy and sweet flavors from the black pepper, tomatoes and tamarind, and the coconut milk. The coconut milk sauce is smooth and silky - a nice contrast to the chewy vegan chicken pieces. Although Chettinad style cuisine can be spicy, you can tone down the spice in this curry recipe by choosing to add less or more of the black pepper.
More yummy Indian curries
Love this recipe? Please leave a comment and star rating below. For more delicious plant-based recipes subscribe to my newsletter or follow me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook!
Recipe card
Vegan Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- 1 large onion (finely diced, or 1 leek, green and white parts chopped)
- 2 sprigs (approx 24) curry leaves
- 1 heaping tbsp ginger garlic paste
- ½ to 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 large tomato (diced)
- 8 oz cremini mushrooms or button mushrooms (or button mushrooms, sliced)
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika (optional, for color)
- 8 oz vegan chicken bits
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon tamarind paste
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoon cilantro (chopped)
If using tomato-onion sauce
- 1½ cups basic tomato onion sauce
Instructions
- Heat oil in a Dutch oven or pot over medium-high heat. Add the leeks or onions, curry leaves and salt and ground black pepper to taste. Saute until the leeks or onions begin to brown.
- Stir in the ginger garlic paste and saute for a minute longer.
- Add the tomatoes and mushrooms to the pot. Mix well.
- Add the coconut milk to the pot followed by the curry powder and paprika, if using (I use the paprika just for color because the curry powder already has enough heat). Bring to a boil.
- Stir in the vegan chicken bits and bring the curry back to a boil. You can add up to a cup of water to thin it out.
- Once the curry comes to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and stir in the tamarind paste. Mix well, cover, and let the curry simmer for five more minutes.
- Add cilantro, mix it in and check if more salt and ground black pepper are needed. Turn off heat and serve the vegan chicken curry hot or warm.
To make this recipe with the basic tomato onion sauce
- Heat oil, add the curry leaves and stir for a minute in the oil, then add 1 ½ cups of the tomato onion sauce. Once the sauce boils, proceed with the mushrooms in step 3.
Nutrition Information
To print recipe card without images, uncheck "instruction images" after clicking the "print recipe" button.
maryse says
very easy to make. sounds wonderful. must try.
Vaishali says
Thanks. Let me know if you try! ❤️
Izzi says
I'm so wanting to try this dish, but I don't have access to curry leaves. You suggest additional cilantro but I can't stand cilantro which tastes like soap to me. Any other substitution suggestions?
Vaishali says
Hi Izzi, skip the cilantro and curry leaves, but add fresh mint at the end of cooking. Hope that helps!
Sarah says
Would dried curry leaves work? If so, would it still be 10 leaves?
Vaishali says
Dry curry leaves have no flavor, unfortunately. I'd just skip them.
Lisa says
Hi Vaishali, this looks super tasty. I'd like to try it with soy curls. Thanks for sharing!
Vaishali says
Hi Lisa, I think it'd be great with soy curls!
Debbie says
I first made this recipe in DC while visiting my son. He loved it and it was gone in a couple of days. A week or so later, my brother-in-law comes to town and I make it again, the same thing happens. Everyone I make it for goes crazy over it. I'm back in CA now, for 2 week, and has had to make it twice since being back, my other son loves it too. They even asked for the recipe. I did make a couple of alterations; I added around a quarter to a third head of cauliflower in small chunks like the potatoes (added the same time as potatoes). Also, I could not fine curry leaves, a great alternative is the same amount of basil leaves and the zest of a lime. I added these 2 right after putting the onion in to saute. I even added some oyster mushrooms in place of the Chick'n meat, but the Chick'n meat tasted far better. However, I am looking forward to trying it with the chick peas too. Thank you for this awesome recipe. My son said, "Mom, this is real comfort food!" I agreed.
Vaishali says
Hi Debbie, so great to hear you enjoyed it. Nice idea adding the cauliflower chunks and basil.
Kim says
What type oil & how much?
Vaishali says
1 tsp of any vegetable oil, I use avocado.
Kim says
Wow!!! THIS is sooo delicious ? I Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
Vaishali says
Woohoo, happy you tried!
Kim says
Can I substitute panang curry paste?
Vaishali says
I think that would work, although it might result in different flavors because that's a Thai paste. It could be delicious, let me know if you try.
Supriya says
This was delicious and satisfied a craving from my carnivore days. I made it with vegan spinach raita from my new homemade yogurt, also thanks to you! Can’t thank you enough for these simple wholesome recipes.
Vaishali says
Supriya, so happy you enjoyed it. Thanks for letting me know!
Kathy says
There was no mention of Garam Masala in the ingredient list, but in your description there is. Looks like a delicious recipe. Thank you for the substitute recommendation for the vegan chicken-Chick peas. I am not fond of the vegan meat substitutes.
Vaishali says
Thanks for flagging! I've added the garam masala to the ingredient list.