I can’t believe that I’ve had my vegan tikka masala recipe hanging out in my Google Drive for fully THREE years and finally remade it to share it with you! Just food blogger problems I guess. The list of future recipes is always growing infinitely larger :). This is a slow cooker tofu tikka masala – start by sauteeing a few aromatics and spices in a pan, but then transfer everything to your Crock Pot (or pressure cooker!) to finish the curry.
Traditional chicken tikka masala (which, I’ll add, is thought to actually originate from the UK) involves marinating the protein in a spiced yogurt mixture before starting the curry. No marinade required here! #VeganHacks. All you need to do is press the tofu of its excess liquid so that it can absorb the creamy, garam masala-spiced sauce while it cooks in the slow cooker or Instant Pot.
You can mix up this tofu tika masala by substituting chickpeas or adding vegetables like sweet potato or cauliflower; but I happen to like it exactly as written. Slow cooker tofu is not at all like you’d expect. It doesn’t fall apart into mush, but instead gets flavorful and tender while maintaining its shape. I used to always pre-bake or pre-fry my tofu before adding it to the crock pot, but over the years I’ve learned that this step isn’t even necessary either. Making flavorful tofu is now easier than ever!
Aside from turning this curry vegetarian, I had to do something about the cream normally found in this recipe. My original dairy-free tikka masala used cashew cream, which I have to tell you made for a dead ringer for the classic, but is a little bit more of a pain in the butt because you have to soak and blend the cashews. Ultimately I decided that coconut milk is much easier and works with the flavors, so my final recipe uses that. But in the recipe notes I also tell you the cashew version!
Trader Joe’s might have a pretty tasty vegan tikka masala now, but I’ve gotta say this homemade tofu tikka masala is even better, more cost-effective, and loved by vegans and omnivores both! My non-vegan friend who claimed not to be hungry ended up going back for seconds, so yeah.
Serve this slow cooker tofu tikka masala with brown or white rice or other grain of choice; or a bread like naan, chapati, paratha, etc. Or just slurp a bowl of it on its own! You won’t regret it! And after you give the recipe a try, let me know in the comments here and by tagging me @yupitsvegan on Instagram!
Slow Cooker Tofu Tikka Masala
Ingredients
For the spice blend:
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (reduce to 1/4 if sensitive to spice)
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
For the tofu tikka masala:
- 12 oz extra-firm tofu (1 normal package)
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 inch ginger peeled and minced
- 2 green chili peppers finely chopped
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 6 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes quartered (or use 1 14-oz. can diced tomatoes, drained)
- 1 can full-fat coconut milk (1 and 3/4 cups)
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tsp coconut sugar (optional - or use brown sugar)
- salt to taste
- freshly-squeezed lemon juice to taste, for serving
- chopped fresh cilantro (coriander) to taste, for serving
Instructions
- Drain excess liquid from the tofu package. Wrap the tofu in several clean towels and place a heavy object on top of it. (Alternately, use a tofu press). Press the tofu for 10-15 minutes - to save time, I start this before I chop and prep other ingredients.
- Mix together all of the spices and set aside. Heat the coconut oil in a skillet over medium heat, and add the diced onion with a pinch of salt. Cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until translucent and starting to lightly brown, 4 to 6 minutes.
- Add the cumin seeds and cook for 60 seconds more. Add the garlic, ginger, and chili pepper, and cook for another 60 seconds. Stir in all of the spice mixture and cook, stirring constantly, just until fragrant, about 45 seconds.
- Add the bell pepper, nutritional yeast, and tomato paste, and cook for 2 more minutes, stirring frequently. Finally, add the tomatoes and stir well, scraping around the bottom of the pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the tomatoes are starting to soften. Turn off the heat.
- Cut the pressed tofu into small cubes. Lightly spray or grease the bottom of your slow cooker. Add the coconut milk, white wine vinegar, and coconut sugar to the slow cooker, and stir to combine. Use a spatula to add all of the mixture from the skillet. Add the tofu and stir gently.
- Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours, or on high for 2 to 3 hours. Alternately, cook under pressure in your Instant Pot for 10 to 15 minutes; or on the stovetop for about 30 minutes at a simmer, stirring occasionally.
- After cooking, season to taste with additional salt, and fresh lemon juice. Serve with rice or accompaniments of choice, garnished with fresh cilantro.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Adapted from non vegan Chicken Tikka Masala on AllRecipes.
Other tasty curry recipes from the blog:
Patricia Raymond says
Spectacular! I made it with all ingredients as directed; however, I did all the sauce parts in the Instant Pot, then added the tofu, coconut milk and vinegar to the pot. Be sure to deglaze the bottom of the pot after adding the tomatoes to prevent the ‘burn’ alert. Amazing recipe; dense and rich flavors. Only change for next time will be one rather than two jalapeño peppers.
Lily says
This recipe is delicious. I left out the green chili peppers because I didn’t have any on hand but other than that followed the recipe exactly and I’m very happy I did. Great recipe. So happy I found this site!
Kaitlan says
I made this last night and it was absolutely delicious. It was refreshing to see a vegan crock pot recipe that wasn’t chili or Mexican-inspired. I like those flavors, but I feel like they’re ubiquitous with the vegan crock pot and sometimes I just don’t want them.
The tofu in this was awesome. The spices are spot on and the flavor is deep and rich, and the coconut milk makes it creamy. Here are a few minor changes I made: I didn’t have cumin seeds, so I used about a 1/4 tsp ground cumin and that seemed to work fine. I also prefer to use canned chiles because of their convenience, so I just added about a small spoonful.
Thank you for a great recipe! We will add this to our regular crock pot rotation.
Mary Smith says
Of course I bought firm tofu at the store today and then looked up a recipe when I got home. I always deliberate between firm and extra-firm tofu. Do you have the one-sentence explanation of the difference? And could I use firm or would it turn into that ‘mushy’ mess you refer to in your blog. Look forward to making it…tomorrow with extra firm.
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Hi Mary, firm tofu has a higher water content than extra firm, although they are made the same way. I prefer extra firm because less water in the tofu means more room to absorb other flavors from the recipe. However, I’m pretty sure firm would also work. Hope this helps.
Claire says
I made this last night, and while it was good, it tasted kind of sour to me. I served it over cauliflower rice. I used apple cider vinegar in place of the white wine vinegar, light coconut milk instead of full fat, and white granulated sugar instead of coconut sugar. I think next time I think I’ll reduce the vinegar and lemon juice by half and maybe throw in an extra tsp of sugar. Any other suggestions to tame the sour/tang? I don’t really like adding sugar but this needed something for me.
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Using light coconut milk changes the recipe and balance of flavors. You need to reduce the vinegar to compensate if you are going to change the recipe in this way. Please see my comment above to Lily.
Bre says
Loved this dish! Beware though it is extremely spicy, I had to take a couple breaks while eating it, but I love spice so it wasn’t completely unbearable. This is the first recipe I’ve tried on here, and I can’t wait to try more!
Victoria M says
If you mix in a little plain coconut yogurt, it will cut the spice. Raita is used in traditional Indian cooking for this reason. Obviously, it is not vegan, but the coconut yogurt does the trick with the same flavor profile.
Dahviya says
I loved this recipe. I subbed tofu for chickpeas (two cans) and a head of cauliflower (cut into small pieces) and used the full spice options with two Jalapeño peppers and this is my new fav. recipe slow cooker style <3 My 21 snd 19 year old loved it too! Couldn’t get my 7 year old to try it, but everyone else loves the recipe!
Amy says
This was Amazing. I stopped eating certain meats so I’m down to eggs and seafood. I’ve had little time to experiment with vegan recipes and I wanted chickpea curry to be my first. I searched for different recipes and I’m so glad I came to this page!! This seemed like the most practical while keeping all the items I liked in a curry. Oh boy, it delivered!! I even went to swim so I could burn off calories to come home and have seconds. Did not miss meat at all! I hope I come across other recipes like this, I feel like I could really move to a vegan lifestyle! Yummm
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Delighted to hear this, Amy! I can relate to exercising extra to eat more curry, lol. Thanks for leaving your feedback!
Elodie says
Hi Shannon, i did your recipe in my instant pot but it didn’t come to pressure. Any idea why?
thanks a lot 🙂
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
I’m not really qualified to diagnose Instant Pot equipment related issues but I hope you are able to figure it out! Sometimes I forget to switch mine from ‘venting’ to ‘sealing’, perhaps this is your issue too?
Ida says
Spot on phenomenal! I will definitely prepare this recipe again!
Emmie says
This was delicious!
Donna says
Would cashew milk work well?
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
I think you could try using cashew milk. It wouldn’t be as rich and creamy as coconut milk or cashew cream – so you may want to reduce the acidic ingredients (tomato, lemon/vinegar) since there won’t be as much fatty richness to balance them out.
Bruce Gresham says
Day 2 of veganism for me and tried this, delicious. Will it freeze ok or will the tofu go funny/break apart? I’m thinking I’ll need a constant supply of dinners that I can freeze to take with me to work to avoid falling of the wagon so any recommendations for bulk cook meals for freezing much appreciated. Thanks
rio says
this is very tempting. I’ll try it at home
Crystal says
This looks so yummy, but I’d like to try to reduce the amount of saturated fat. Any ideas? Would the cashew cream reduce it? Thanks!
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Using the cashew cream option listed instead of the coconut milk would result in: calories per serving 344, total fat 19g, saturated fat 5g, monounsaturated 7g, polyunsaturated 5g. Hope this helps!
Minsook says
Can I triple the ingredients to triple the recipe? Thx!
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Yes!
Madelibd says
So delicious! Thank you for this recipe
Lily says
Hi! Would it be possible to sub lite coconut milk instead of full fat?
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Hey Lily, some other readers have done this sub with success. The flavor will not be as rich, but it still makes for a nice curry. I recommend reducing the amount of vinegar to keep the flavors balanced. (I have not tested this change myself)
Kristina says
I was so excited to make this, that I couldn’t wait to go to the grocery store first! Use chickpeas and swapped the chiles for 2 in adobo, since that was what was in the house. Also doubled the tomatoes to use a whole tin. Delicious but spicey (probably due to my chiles!) Had to add goat’s yogurt for the kids to handle the heat, so will be watching that for next time (which I’m sure will be soon!) Thanks for a great recipe!
Tracy says
This recipe was my first attempt at cooking tofu and it was a great success! This is such a flavorful recipe. Since I following Weight Watchers, I substituted the full fat coconut milk for unsweetened coconut milk and served it over Green Giant riced cauliflower. I can’t imagine it being any better.
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Awesome Tracy! This sounds really good with cauliflower rice. Good to know that lite coconut milk is still tasty in there too. Thanks for your comment.
Chris says
Hi!
Looking to add this to my freezer meals. I will be substituting chickpeas for the tofu.
Any tips/ recommendations for freezing this to maintain textural integrity?
Thanks!
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
The only thing I would be sure to do is to freeze the curry itself separately from any rice that you’re having with it. I think the chickpea version would freeze beautifully.
Krystan says
What type of green chili pepper do you recommend? We used jalapeño tonigh, and only used one, and it was quite spicy (for a family with two younger kids). Is there another pepper that would work? I thought about seranno, but they were out at the grocery.
This recipe was delicious and it’s going into our rotation. My daughter has a dairy allergy, and this was a fantastic way to fill a craving for Indian food and make it safe for her.
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Hi Krystan, did you also reduce the cayenne pepper? You could do that next time or even swap the cayenne for regular sweet paprika. That might actually have a bigger effect than changing the jalapeno. You could also just use half of one instead of whole – I used the tiny Indian green chili peppers which are smaller in volume. Next time I make this I’ll try to take a volumetric measurement of the chopped pepper as a guideline. I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe despite this hiccup!
Robyn says
Made this last night. It was delicious! My husband is Indian and doesn’t care much for Indian food unless his mom makes it, but he really enjoyed it and wants it in the rotation. I made it with previously frozen tofu which makes the texture of the tofu soak up all the flavors really well! He said next time we should try it with paneer instead of tofu. Not vegan, but it is another vegetarian option in case anyone wants to try it 🙂
Becca says
This was so good. My omnivore boyfriend, who usually hates tofu, could not stop eating it. Definitely going in our regular rotation.
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Always thrilled to hear I can sway a tofu hater! Glad to hear it!
anonymous says
when is says cook under pressure in instant pot for 15-20 minutes, does this mean high pressure or low pressure?
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Low pressure should be fine for this recipe.
tomo says
sauce kaldunya very seductive once
joanne says
I’m not able to eat spicey (hot) food and prefer mild foods in the heat department, while enjoying the depth of flavors from using Indian spices. Can you recommend how I can revise the recipe to make it mild, while retaining the flavors? Thanks!
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Hi Joanne, I’d recommend the following:
(1) Omit the cayenne pepper
(2) Omit the green chili peppers
(3) Increase the paprika to 2.5 tbsp and be sure to use sweet, not hot paprika
(4) Check your garam masala blend to confirm it doesn’t include much heat. You could also try following a DIY garam masala recipe online and omitting anything spicy from it.
(5) Reduce the black pepper by half
Everything else in the recipe shouldn’t be spicy. I think it will still taste good like this you might just need to adjust the amount of salt and acid.
gabriel says
thanks for the tips. I will try to make it myself
Leni says
We made this for dinner yesterday and it was delicious.
Kari @ bite-sized thoughts says
Your pictures look so delicious. I don’t have a slow cooker but would love to try making this using the flavours and stovetop cooking.