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Instant Pot Vegan Butter Chicken with Soy Curls & Chickpeas. Oil-free GF

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Instant Pot Vegan Butter Chicken with Soycurls and Chickpeas. 15 minute Active time! 1 Pot Creamy Indian Butter Soy Curls, Vegan Murgh Makhani. Use all chickpeas for soy-free. Vegetarian Gluten-free Recipe. Oil-free Nut-free option. Skillet option  Jump to Recipe    

Vegan Butter Chicken in a Bowl with Rice, kept on concrete. Instant Pot Vegan Butter Soycurls and Chickpeas

Its no Butter No Chicken you all. Then why call it that? Well search! Most people search for vegan butter chicken for some reason and not vegan soycurls in no butter butter sauce or other variations ;). So here goes.

This recipe adapted from my popular Butter Tofu recipe. To make a skillet version, use the butter tofu recipe with soy curls. Just simmer the soy curls in the sauce with a up of water for 15 minutes. I use a combination of soy curls and chickpeas in this version and don’t use any oil. You can add some oil or vegan butter with the cashew cream to make it even more like restaurant flavor profile. Don’t have soy curls ? use all chickpeas, beans or veggies. 

Its a super simple recipe. Blend up the tomato, garlic, ginger, chile. Add to the IP along with spices, soy curls and chickpeas, close and cook. Add some cashew cream and simmer for a few minutes to thicken, garnish and done! The garnish of fresh minced ginger and chile and some dried fenugreek takes this dish to an amazing flavor level. Make it!

Instant Pot Vegan Butter Chicken with Soycurls and Chickpeas. 15 minute Active time! 1 Pot Creamy Butter Soy Curls. Use all chickpeas for soy-free. Vegan Gluten-free Recipe. Nut-free option | VeganRicha.com

Soy curls are a meat sub made with whole non gmo soy beans. You can find them in some stores or online on amazon. You can also use other bean curls! Look for “Wadi” in Indian stores made of moong dal, black eyed peas and other lentils/beans. The texture is different but they work equally well. You can also use seitan, tvp, soy chunks, beyond meat strips other chickin subs. 

More IP recipes. 

Instant Pot Vegan Butter Chicken with Soycurls and Chickpeas. 15 minute Active time! 1 Pot Creamy Butter Soy Curls. Use all chickpeas for soy-free. Vegan Gluten-free Recipe. Nut-free option | VeganRicha.com

Instant Pot Vegan Butter Chicken with Soycurls and Chickpeas. 15 minute Active time! 1 Pot Creamy Butter Soy Curls. Use all chickpeas for soy-free. Vegan Gluten-free Recipe. Oil-free Nut-free option | VeganRicha.com

This recipe is adapted from my Butter Tofu “Paneer” recipe and the IP method is adapted from twosleevers’s butter chicken. Urvashi has some great tips on cooking indian food under pressure. This recipe benefits from a good fresh garam masala blend. I usually keep my garam masala in whole spice form and then grind it about a 1/4 cup at a time for a potent spice blend. Dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi) can be bought online or from an Indian store. If you cant find them, omit and add 1/4 tsp ground mustard instead. Indian restaurants generally add fenugreek for the flavor and of course a ton of cream and butter. 

Instant Pot Vegan Butter Chicken with Soycurls and Chickpeas. 15 minute Active time! 1 Pot Creamy Butter Soy Curls. Use all chickpeas for soy-free. Vegan Gluten-free Recipe. Nut-free option | VeganRicha.com

If you make the recipe, please do rate it. I also love to see your creations, so do tag me #veganricha on Instagram. 

Vegan Butter Chicken Video:

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4.98 from 75 votes

Instant Pot Vegan Butter Chicken with Soy Curls and Chickpeas - oil-free

Instant Pot Vegan Butter Chicken with Soycurls and Chickpeas. 15 minute Active time! 1 Pot Creamy Indian Butter Soy Curls. Use all Chickpeas for soy-free. Vegetarian Gluten-free Recipe. Oil-free Nut-free option 
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time35 mins
Total Time45 mins
Course: Entree, Main Course
Cuisine: Gluten-free, Indian, Vegan
Keyword: butter chickpeas, butter soycurls, indian butter sauce, murgh makhani, vegan butter chicken
Servings: 3
Calories: 318kcal
Author: Vegan Richa

Ingredients

  • 3 large ripe tomatoes or 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 inch (0.5 inch) cube of ginger
  • 1 hot or mild green chile , I use serrano
  • 3/4 cup (250 ml) water , use 1 cup if the tomatoes arent very juicy
  • ½ to 1 tsp  (1/2 to 1 tsp ) garam masala
  • ½ tsp (0.5 tsp) paprika or kashmiri chili powder
  • ¼ to ½ tsp (1/4 to 1/2 tsp) cayenne
  • 3/4 tsp (0.75 tsp) salt
  • 1 cup (55 g) soy curls (dry, not rehydrated)
  • 1 cup (5.78 oz) cooked chickpeas
  • Cashew cream made with with ¼ cup soaked cashews blended with ½ cup water
  • 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) or more garam masala
  • 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) or more sugar or sweetener
  • 1 tsp kasoori methi - dried fenugreek leaves or add a 1/4 tsp ground mustard
  • 1/2 (0.5 ) moderately hot green chile finely chopped, or use 2 tbsp finely chopped green bell pepper
  • 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) minced or finely chopped ginger
  • 1/4 cup (4 g) cilantro for garnish

Instructions

  • Blend the tomatoes, garlic, ginger, chile with water until smooth.
  • Add pureed tomato mixture to the Instant pot or pressure cooker.  Add soy curls, chickpeas, spices and salt. Close the lid and press manual/pressure cook for 8 to 10 minutes. (6 minutes for stove top pressure cooker). Quick release after 10 minutes. (See notes for Stove top instructions)
  • Start the IP on saute (medium heat for stove top pressure cooker). Add the cashew cream, garam masala, sweetener and fenugreek leaves and mix in. Bring to a boil, taste and adjust salt, heat, sweet. Add more cayenne and salt if needed. Fold in the chopped green chile, ginger and cilantro and press cancel(take off heat). 
  • At this point you can add some vegan butter or oil for additional buttery flavor. Serve hot over rice or with flatbread or Naan.

Video

Notes

To make this without nuts use 1/3 cup or more coconut cream instead of cashew cream. 
 
Stove top skillet version: Follow step 1. Add pureed tomato mixture to a skillet/saucepan over medium heat. Add soy curls, chickpeas, spices, 1/2 cup water and salt. Partially Cover and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until the sauce thickens and garlic does not taste raw. Add the cashew cream, garam masala, sweetener and fenugreek leaves and mix in. Bring to a boil, taste and adjust salt, heat, sweet. Add more water if too thick, more cayenne and salt if needed. Fold in the chopped green chile, ginger and cilantro and 1 tbsp vegan butter if using. Also see my stove top Butter Tofu recipe for reference.
 
Variations: Use all chickpeas, seitan, other meat subs, or veggies to make soyfree.  When using subs that dont absorb much liquid, use larger quantity (for eg 2.5 to 3 cups shredded seitan to sub the soycurls+chickpeas).
 
Nutrition is 1 of 4 serves. Does not include rice

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Instant Pot Vegan Butter Chicken with Soy Curls and Chickpeas - oil-free
Amount Per Serving
Calories 318 Calories from Fat 54
% Daily Value*
Fat 6g9%
Sodium 608mg26%
Potassium 890mg25%
Carbohydrates 48g16%
Fiber 13g54%
Sugar 11g12%
Protein 19.2g38%
Vitamin A 1160IU23%
Vitamin C 21.1mg26%
Calcium 90mg9%
Iron 4.6mg26%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
 
Instant Pot Vegan Butter Chicken with Soycurls and Chickpeas. 15 minute Active time! 1 Pot Creamy Butter Soy Curls. Use all chickpeas for soy-free. Vegan Gluten-free Recipe. Nut-free option | VeganRicha.com


⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you Love the Recipe, Please consider rating it using stars in comments! It helps readers and helps more people find the recipe online! I love hearing from you all! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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  1. 5 stars
    This is by far the most delicious AND fastest curry I have ever made (and I’m Indian!). Very happy with how it turned out and that it’s vegan. Thank you Richa!

    Reply

  6. Richa this was awesome. I used a whole bag of soy curls and no chickpeas. I doubled on the rest of the recipe. Did tweak up a little on the spices but did not use anything other than what you’ve listed. Thanks.

    Reply

  7. love all your recipes, and have your book! What sub or omission might help cut down on the carbs?

    Reply

  8. 5 stars
    This is so easy and SO delicious. It’s in our weekly rotation, as a double-batch! I never add butter but it still tastes decadently creamy. We leave out the pepper and have to fight our 4 year-old for the leftovers.

    Reply

  9. 5 stars
    Didn’t have the cashews but I had everything else so I tried it using sunflower seeds instead and it turned out great. Thanks for another tasty recipe.

    Reply

  10. 5 stars
    I made this today and I doubled the recipe. I didn’t change anything than leaving out the green chile, since I did not have any.
    I used a very little can of coconut cream that I had, instead of the cashews. What can I say, it was perfect and delicious!
    This is the third recipe from you with soy curls that I made and all were very good.
    I have your indian cookbook and also the everyday kitchen. But I love all those spices from your indian cookbook.
    Thank you very much for those great recipes! They are really Restaurant quality! 🙂

    Reply

    • Don’t want to bother with any of the automatic settings? The manual button keeps it simple by allowing you to punch in your desire pressure cooking time. The maximum time to pressure cook is 240 minutes. ie: “Close the lid and cook on Manual for 8 to 10 minutes.” (Step 1 in the recipe)

      Reply

      • Great makes sense now because indeed on the new models it’s just ‘pressure cook’… i even thought i had to set it to Saute and close the lid !

        Reply

  12. Can I use canned chickpeas instead of cooked?
    If so, are there any changes in the water amount and pressure cooking time? Thanks!

    Reply

  13. 5 stars
    This recipe is so good! And easy! I doubled everything and used a whole pack of Butler sy curls instead of chickpeas. I will now try all your other soy curl/seitan recipes 🙂 Thank you Richa 😀

    Reply

  14. 5 stars
    This was delicious and satisfying. I was making another recipe that called for chickpeas so I used kidney beans instead. I served it over steamed shaved Brussels sprouts with roasted cauliflower. Thank you!

    Reply

  15. 5 stars
    I’ve made this recipe so many times since I found it- the best part is you hardly have to chop anything and the flavors are delicious.
    I did the stovetop version and used coconut milk- this was so and quick and easy.
    Thank you Richa!

    Reply

  17. I usually love richas recipes this was a dud. No flavor and no reason to use th IP. I added more soy curls and some cauliflower because the recipe as written doesn’t make enough. This I not a repeat, sorry.
    Boring.

    Reply

    • It might have needed more sauce and spices with the increased soycurls and cauliflower? Often increased volume needs more than double of the flavor and sauce. Seems like it just needed some adjustment . The original Recipe and flavors have been made 100s of times and loved.

      Reply

  19. 5 stars
    i love all of your recipes, and this one is amazing! so creamy, and the flavour is PERFECT. and it’s pretty easy!! Thank you!

    Reply

  20. 5 stars
    This was delicious! Didn’t use chickpeas this time, doubled the soy curls and cashew cream. Thank you for our first successful vegan recipe using soy curls and great flavor!!

    Reply

    • Add more chickpeas or use tvp. You can also find bean wadi (in Indian stores ) that are dried up bean crisps that will rehydrate the same way as soy curls.

      Reply

  23. 5 stars
    This was SOOO delicious!!! I made it at the beginning of the week and I doubled it and ate it all week! I was so excited to eat my lunch every day! I didn’t have cashews to use for it though, but I actually had some of forager’s plain cashew yogurt which I substituted for the cashew cream and it was so yummy! I figured it’s quite common in indian food to put yogurt on things right? Either way it worked out fine. I also omitted the extra chile and ginger added at the end because it was already quite spicy for me. Next time I would maybe have not included the seeds from the serranos I used. But I ate it with your whole wheat naan recipe, which was also divine, and that helped even out the spice for me a bit. Thank you so much for posting this! I was in a rut lately, food-wise, and this perked me back up again and was really nice wintery meal.

    Reply

  25. 5 stars
    Tasted like it was from a good Indian restaurant !
    Totally skipped the butter and Ginger-chili garnish, still super yummy

    Reply
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