Meet Alex Caspero
Alex Caspero is a Registered Dietitian, Plant-Based Chef and Yoga Instructor. She aims to cut through the nutrition noise by providing real-life, nourishing tips for body and mind. Learn more about Alex.
Slow Cooker Vegan Tikka Masala! This slow cooker meal is SO good and perfect for healthy weeknight dinners. If you love Indian food, then you’ll love this simple chickpea tikka masala.
Raise your hand if you love tikka masala as much as I do. We get take-out about once a week, and 95% of the time, I want Indian food. It’s comforting, fairly healthy and always hits the spot. While I love the flavorful tikka masala sauce, it’s also hard to find a vegan version when we order take-out so I’ve taken to make my own.
If you can throw things in a slow cooker, then you can make this vegan tikka masala. If dinner had an easy button, this recipe would be it. Combine all ingredients and add them to the base of your slow cooker, stir and set. Can you believe how easy this is? Make a pot of steamed rice and warm some naan right before serving and ta-da; you’ve got a healthy, delicious dinner that rivals any take-out.
If you want this tikka masala now and don’t want to wait on the slow-cooker, then it’s easy to adapt to the stove. To do this, simply saute the onion, garlic, and ginger until softened and onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add in all of the spices and cook another minute or two to allow the spices to warm and bloom; doing this adds lots of flavor using dried spices.
Add in the rest of the ingredients from there, tomato sauce, chickpeas, cubed tofu and cook until warmed through, about 20 minutes. Before serving, whisk together the coconut milk mixture and add into the pot. Cook until thickened, another 5-10 minutes. Enjoy just like you would the slow cooker version, with steamed rice and naan.
I don’t have too much to tell you about this recipe other than it’s a.) deliciously bomb and b.) made in a slow-cooker and c.) indian food! We all love Indian food and that makes me so incredibly happy.
You all love my slow cooker butter chickpeas, coconut curry, saag paneer, biryani, vegan korma and chana masala. So I did it again for you! Chickpeas and tofu into a warm and comforting tikka masala sauce. It’s like a giant hug in food form, something it seems we could all use a little more of.
Serve it with naan and rice and dinner is served. Enjoy! xo
PrintSlow Cooker Vegan Tikka Masala! This slow cooker meal is SO good and perfect for healthy weeknight dinners. If you love Indian food, then you’ll love this simple chickpea tikka masala. Chickpeas and tofu in a fragrant tomato-coconut sauce.
This makes 4 large servings or 6 normal servings, especially if you are serving with rice and naan. But! Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, and the leftovers are so good for lunch.
Tag @delishknowledge on Instagram and hashtag it #delishknowledge
If you love this vegan tikka masala, then you’ll love these other vegan Indian recipes: Slow Cooker Butter Chickpeas, Slow Cooker Vegan Saag Paneer, Weeknight Vegetable Korma, Vegan Indian Biryani, and Indian Dal Chili
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Thank you for such a great recipe! So delicious!! And easy!
★★★★★
So glad you liked it.
Phenomenal flavors and so easy and quick to put together!! I will definitely make again! Thank you, Alexandra, for this great recipe!
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Hi! Sounds awesome and easy! Do you know how long if I might want to use the instant pot?
Thanks
Hi Melanie, not sure how it will adapt to the instant pot with tomato based sauces as they can often burn in an IP.
Been cooking punjabi dishes for a long time and after my brother switched to a vegan diet, i struggled finding alternative recipes. This one is awesome!! I made a couple changes… i used a little more onion and garlic and only 8 oz tomato sauce + 1 chopped fresh tomato. I also added 2 cans of trader joes reduced fat coconut milk instead of 1. During a taste test i wanted to make it sweeter so i added a spoon of sugar. Its perfect! Will be making this many times. Thanks so much for putting the recipe together!
★★★★★
Beyond delicious. Your spicing combinations are so wonderful. Everything that I make from your website is so fantastic and I am a really bad cook usually! Thanks
★★★★★
This recipe is amazing! I make it almost every week and the leftovers are a great easy lunch. I make it exactly as written and it comes out perfect every time. Even non-vegetarian folks love it! 🙂
★★★★★
I found your article about freezer meals. Your recipes look great but I don’t see instructions of how to make them a freezer meal. I’m new to meal prepping for the freezer. Any advice?
Hi Lynea,
Thanks for the note! For most recipes, I prepare them as directed and then freeze. Before serving, I thaw overnight and then reheat on the stove. The only exception to this is casseroles, I tend to prep but then freeze before cooking and then cook from frozen.
I made this for lunch today. Delicious! The only minor changes I made were to pulse extra firm tofu in the food processor instead of cubing firm tofu. This adds a nice texture and the kids don’t notice that it’s tofu. I also used tomato puree as I didn’t have tomato sauce. I will be making this again! It is wonderful. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Glad to hear, thanks Theresa!
Love reading your recipe
I wanted to know what substitute can be for the coconut , I cook for someone who has some health issues and that has to much saturated fat to use
Thank You for any suggestions
Eileen
You can substitute light coconut milk or a oat milk/soy milk– it won’t be as creamy, but should still work. I’ve also seen recipes where they thin almond butter with water in curry– I haven’t tried it, but that may work as a low saturated fat option.
I haven’t made this yet but it is on the menu for this week!! Do I need to make any adjustments if I add brussel sprouts and cauliflower?
Hi Karen– shouldn’t need any adjustments, but will depend on how much you add. You may need to increase the sauce to be able to cover the sprouts and cauliflower.