Taking the dairy out of this vegan Paneer Butter Masala, a classic dish in north Indian cuisine, does not take away from its mindblowing flavor or its authenticity or its deliciousness. Give this gluten-free recipe a try with roti or naan and you'll be hooked for good.
If you love Indian restaurant-style dishes that are deliciously flavored yet not too spicy, you should put my vegan Paneer Butter Masala on your list of recipes to try.
Paneer Butter Masala is a popular dish often served at dhabas, makeshift, salt-of-the-earth eateries that are a common sight along north India's highways.
Dhabas originated as food and rest stops for tired truckers hauling cargo up and down the dust-smothered roadways and the food, meant to satisfy their lusty appetites hungry for the flavors of home, was hearty, rustic, spicy, and inordinately tasty.
Because Punjab, billed in Indian textbooks as the land of milk and honey, is also a prolific producer of dairy, the offerings at dhabas were more likely than not to be drenched in some milk product or other, including butter, ghee, cream and buttermilk.
Most Indian restaurants here in the United States and in other parts of the globe tend to lean rather heavily on north Indian cuisine of the kind you'd find in a dhaba, and you are likely familiar with many of these foods. For instance, if you've had a lassi or palak paneer or dal makhani, you've eaten dhaba food.
A favorite dhaba offering is Paneer Butter Masala. The name of this dish leaves little to the imagination, and it really is what it claims to be: cubes of paneer, an Indian cottage cheese, in a sauce of spices (or masala) with butter adding creaminess and richness.
As you can imagine, it's quite vegetarian friendly, but all that cheese and cream and butter makes it a no-no for a vegan.
Cut to the modern vegan kitchen, where paneer and butter and cream are easily substituted, meaning the only thing we have to cut out from this dish is the unwelcome cholesterol. And we get to keep all the flavor!
My vegan Paneer Butter Masala is a dish to fall in love with. The cubes of tofu are perfectly coated by a flavorful, creamy, visually appetizing orange-red cashew sauce. Scoop it up with vegan naan or roti or serve atop basmati rice for a delicious food experience right in your own home.
What you'd also likely appreciate is how easy this dish is to make. And no matter when you make it, or for whom, it's sure to disappear within minutes of serving.
Tips for making the perfect vegan Paneer Butter Masala
- Whether you're vegan or not, try subbing out tofu (super firm, if you can find it) for the paneer. Tofu, like paneer, is rich in protein, but it's better for you, and you'll hardly notice a difference. (If you're soy-free, you can try a mushroom-based version of this dish, my mushroom makhani or mushroom butter masala).
- The sauce comes together quickly, but take a couple of minutes to blend it for best results. The masala sauce needs to be really creamy -- the creamier the better. Some cooks strain the sauce after blending -- I don't, but I'll leave that to you.
- Use vegetable stock rather than water. This is not necessary, but it helps build layers of flavor into your dish.
- The Paneer Butter Masala sold in restaurants is a deep orange because the cooks add food coloring to make it appear more appetizing. You'll get a really nice, rich orange color with the tomatoes and paprika alone, and that's the route I prefer to go. But your homemade butter masala will likely not be as deep orange as what you'd find in the restaurant.
- This recipe is much healthier than a restaurant version, but I do use a couple of tablespoons of vegan butter to give it that authentic flavor and mouth-feel. Do use it for best results.
Ingredients for the tofu paneer masala
- Vegan butter
- Onion
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Tomatoes
- Raw cashews
- Coriander powder
- Paprika
- Turmeric
- Garam masala
- Kasoori methi (dry fenugreek leaves)
- Sugar
- Super firm tofu (or extra firm, drained)
- Cilantro
More restaurant-style Indian vegan recipes
- Chana Masala
- Navratan Korma
- Vegetable Biryani
- Vegan Tofu Palak Paneer
- Instant Pot Vegan Butter Chicken with Tofu
- Vegan Dal Makhani
Vegan Paneer Butter Masala Recipe
Vegan "Paneer" Butter Masala
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon vegan butter
- 1 large onion (finely chopped)
- 4 cloves garlic (crushed into a paste)
- 1 inch ginger (crushed into a paste. You can do this along with the garlic)
- 3 medium tomatoes (chopped)
- ¼ cup raw cashews
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder
- 2 teaspoon paprika (or Kashmiri chili powder)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 2 teaspoon garam masala
- 2 tablespoon kasoori methi (dry fenugreek leaves)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 10 oz super firm tofu (cut into ½-inch cubes)
- 2 tablespoon cilantro (chopped, for garnish)
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a saucepan.
- Add the onions, garlic and ginger and saute, stirring frequently, until the onions turn translucent.
- Add the tomatoes and the cashews. Cook, covered but stirring frequently, until the tomatoes have reduced to a pulp. Add the coriander powder, turmeric and paprika and continue cooking for another 5 minutes. Turn off the heat.
- Carefully, taking care not to burn yourself, ladle out the tomato-onion-spice mixture into a blender. Or, if you have an immersion blender, use that. Add a cup of water or preferably vegetable stock and blend into a very, very smooth paste.
- Pour the sauce back into the saucepan. For an even smoother texture to your sauce, you can strain it. Add the garam masala and stir in.
- Add the kasoori methi and sugar and stir well. If the sauce looks too thick, you can thin it out with more vegetable stock. Bring the sauce to a boil over medium heat.
- Add the cubes of tofu, season with salt, bring back to a boil, and continue to cook, covered for another five minutes.
- Turn off the heat, garnish with cilantro, and serve hot with naan or roti or rice.
Recipe notes
- Blend the sauce for best results. The masala sauce needs to be really creamy -- the creamier the better. Some cooks strain the sauce after blending -- I don't, but I'll leave that to you.
- Use a vegetable stock rather than water. This is not necessary, but it helps build layers of flavor into your dish.
- The Paneer Butter Masala sold in restaurants is a deep orange because the cooks add food coloring to make it appear more appetizing. You'll get a really nice, rich orange color with the tomatoes and paprika alone. But your homemade butter masala will likely not be as deep orange as what you'd find in the restaurant.
- This recipe is a much healthier version of what you'd find at a restaurant, but I do use a couple of tablespoons of vegan butter to give it that authentic flavor and mouth-feel. Use it for best results.
Bal Gill
Thank you for this wonderful recipe Vaishali! I really found your this helpful as I run a vegan Indian food delivery business in the UK and I was looking for some new inspiration. It is hard to find such recipes where careful thought and process has been considered. I would love to cook my version for you to try some time. Slight tweaks as we cook quite large volumes. If you are ever in Oxford, UK please check us out.
Vaishali
Hi Bal, So happy you love this paneer butter masala recipe and it's been useful to you in your business. I'll definitely stop by the next time I visit the UK!
Jody Blum
When do you add the ginger and the garam masala please?
Vaishali
Hi Jody, in step 2 and step 5. Thanks!
ssn
My son is allergic to nuts. What can I use instead of cashews?
Vaishali
Pumpkin seeds are a fine subsitute! I am not a fan of coconut milk in North Indian recipes, but if pumpkin seeds won't work for you either, you can try coconut milk at a pinch. Add the coconut milk directly to the blender, no need to cook it in the pan first.
Vinaya Ravi
Hi Vaishali, I have tried to convert many non vegan paneer butter masala to a vegan one but never came with something that tasted mind blowing like this one. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe.
This recipe is definitely a keeper.
Michael
Easy to make and tastes Great!!!
Vaishali
So happy to hear, Michael.
sean
Do you press your tofu first?
Vaishali
Not if I use super firm tofu, but yes I do press extra firm tofu.
Supna
This was delicious, Vaishali.
All my non-vegan Indian friends devoured it, so that’s a win
Quillin
This came together really quickly and easily. I made a meal using this and another of the dal recipes from this site and it was all exquisite. We are a WFPB family and I know I'll be coming back to this site over and over again for a variety of options to try. I used a can of diced tomatoes in this recipe and it worked perfectly. Any time I can use Fenugreek leaves in a recipe, I know it will be a scrumptious dinner. This did not disappoint. Even my 1 year old devoured it.
Vaishali
Quillin so happy to hear--I am especially thrilled your 1 year old loved it--as a mom I know how hard it is to please those little ones. 🙂 Thanks for your kind words.
1960s girl
Hello. I just wanted to let you know that the sauce was exquisite! I did not use the whole amount of spices the first time due to my husband's delicate palate (LOL, in fact, he tends to sweat bullets when he eats very spicy foods), but it was still the best homemade Indian sauce I ever made. Wow!
With that, we ate your famous naan breads! What a great meal!
Thank you.
Nina Simon
Wow this looks absolutely delicious! Gotta try it asap!
Rita
Nice, looks perfect
Rebecca
This looks delicious. Can I use something else besides fresh whole tomatoes? I can have already diced or sauce - there is something out whole tomatoes that I cannot do.
Vaishali
Yes diced tomatoes would work perfectly well! Use with the juices.