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Sharing my vegan twist on a classic Indian dish with this Indian Coconut Butter Cauliflower. I’ve swapped the chicken for nutrient packed cauliflower, and replaced the heavy cream and butter with rich and creamy coconut milk and coconut oil. This coconut butter cauliflower is the perfect healthy, but still delicious, alternative to the traditional heavier version. It has a quick 30 minute cooking time and uses pantry staple ingredients. Making this recipe perfect for any night of the week.
My favorite thing to do is to cook for others. Creating a recipe that I know someone is going to love is such a fulfilling thing for me. It’s one of the reasons I love cooking so much. When my family was in town over Christmas, I knew that I would have to make Indian Butter Chicken. Butter Chicken is one of my brother Creighton’s favorite dishes. The rest of the crew loves a good Indian dish too.
That being said, there are a few people in the family who prefer a vegan/vegetarian diet. Enter this coconut butter cauliflower. It has all the same flavors and creamy sauce as classic butter chicken. However, it omits the chicken and replaces it with cauliflower, and is made vegan by using of creamy coconut milk.
It also happens to be much easier to prepare with just a 30 minute cooking time. So basically, it’s the perfect recipe for January.
I wanted to keep the dish as authentic as possible. So I first “marinated” the cauliflower in a mix of coconut milk, garlic, and ginger. It’s just a quick marinade to help the cauliflower soak up the garlic and ginger flavors. Once the cauliflower has marinated for 10 minutes or so, it’s time to broil. I like to do this to give the cauliflower a head start on cooking. it also gives it a nice little char before being added to the coconut butter sauce.
While the cauliflower is “marinating”, I make the coconut butter sauce to keep the recipe moving right along. The key to any good Indian butter sauce is all in the spices. I used a mix of garlic, ginger, garam masala, yellow curry powder, turmeric, and cayenne pepper for a very well spiced sauce. It’s warming and spicy, but not in an overpowering way. If you’re sensitive to heat, just adjust the amount of cayenne pepper to your liking.
My real secret to a delicious Indian sauce, whether vegan or not, is coconut milk. I adore using coconut milk in place of cream in any Indian style sauce I make. I find it not only to be creamier and healthier, but also every bit as delicious (if not more so) than what you might get at Indian restaurant. The coconut pairs so well with the Indian sauce seasonings. It’s always my go-to when making Indian inspired food.
By the time you have the sauce together, the cauliflower should be ready to go. Just slide it right into the sauce to finish cooking.
As you can probably guess, my favorite way to serve this is over steamed rice with a side of my homemade naan (which I’ve been making almost every other day as of late). If you’d like something a little more nutrient dense than white rice, try using steamed brown rice or quinoa.
I ended up serving this with a little mango salsa on top (just a simple mix of diced mango, jalapeño, lime, and cilantro) and it was truly delicious. I would highly recommend if you love a fruity touch of sweetness, which you know I do.
So, what was the family’s verdict?
Let’s just put it this way, all of the coconut butter cauliflower was eaten before the chicken version was touched. Trust me, I’m shocked that everyone, even the meat eaters in the family, went for the vegan version. This dish is truly loved by all. In fact, some of my harshest critics said this was some of the best Indian food they’ve eaten. Even one family member who has been to India several times.
I think it’s safe to say the recipe is a true hit. I’m sure I’ll be making it over and over again, especially since it’s so easy.
If you make this Indian coconut butter cauliflower, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
30 Minute Indian Coconut Butter Cauliflower
Servings: 4 4-6
Calories Per Serving: 523 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 large head cauliflower, cut into florets
- 2 1/3 cups canned full fat coconut milk
- 4 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 2 inches fresh ginger, grated
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 2 teaspoons yellow curry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper ,more or less to taste
- 1 can (6 ounce) tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
- steamed rice and naan, for serving
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the broiler to high. Grease a baking sheet with olive oil. 2. In a large bowl, combine the cauliflower, 1/3 cup coconut milk, 2 cloves chopped garlic, 1 tablespoon grated ginger, and a pinch of salt. Let sit 10 minutes to "marinate". Spread the cauliflower in an even layer on the prepared baking sheet. Transfer to the oven and broil for 3-4 minutes, until the cauliflower is just beginning to char on the edges. 3. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook 5 minutes or until fragrant. Add the remaining garlic and ginger, cooking another 5 minutes. Stir in the garam masala, curry powder, turmeric, and cayenne, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.4. Add the tomato paste and remaining 2 cups coconut milk. Stir to combine, bring the sauce to a boil, cook 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly. Stir in coconut oil. If the sauce seems thick, thin with 1/2 to 1/2 additional coconut milk or water. Add the cauliflower and any juices on the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro. Season with salt and pepper.5. Serve the cauliflower and sauce over bowls of rice with fresh naan and mango chutney, if desired. Enjoy!
This post was originally published on January 3, 2019
SO I made this. 🙂 But, any idea why it just tastes like tomato paste? 🙁 I triple checked my amounts… Help! Thanks! Love your blog!
Hey Britt! Not sure why yours is so tomatoey, but just cut the amount of tomato paste in half to adjust to your taste. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
I wanna make this recipe for entertaining friends who are vegan this weekend, but I think I’ll make the chicken one as well for the other guests. One of the differences between recipes is the yellow curry powder (cauliflower) vs Thai red curry paste (in the butter chicken). Could I do both with Thai red curry paste do you think and it be just as flavourful?
Hi there! Yes, you can do both recipes with the thai curry paste. that will be delicious! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
This is really good! For anyone looking to save more calories, I’ve tried it with both full fat and light coconut milk, and couldn’t really taste the difference!
Thank you so much Lindsay! I am so glad you liked this! xTieghan
I made a version with chicken drumsticks, butternut & mushrooms in the oven – was absolutely delicious – will definitely be making it again!! Thanks for a great recipe!
Thank you so much Elsabé!
Hi – I love that you have vegetarian friendly recipes on your site! I made this today, and it turned out very well. I just have a few suggestions. First, the parchment paper burned even when we broiled the cauliflower on low, so I would suggest using aluminum foil (unless there is a specific type of parchment paper for broiling). Next, in the recipe it would be helpful to have more specific measurements of the cauliflower and onion (for instance, 1 cup of onion vs. 1/2 an onion, since onions can vary in size dramatically). Also, yellow curry powder happened to be out of stock at my local grocery store, so I ended up using some of the traditional spices my Indian family always keeps in stock – a mix of cumin/coriander seeds and chili powder instead of cayenne. Finally, I added the cauliflower immediately after putting the coconut milk on the stove, to give it enough time to cook, instead of waiting for the coconut milk to boil. Thanks!
Hi! Thank you for all of these suggestions! I love hearing what you all think, so that I can keep improving the recipes! xTieghan
Wondering if you might have nutrition facts?
Hi Jo! I do not provide the nutritional information for my recipes because I truly try to use whole ingredients as much as possible. I am so sorry for this. There are many calorie counting apps and websites where you can put in the information and divid by the serving size to find out the protien, fat etc. If you have any other questions please let me know! I hope you love this recipe!
This was fabulous, I made it twice, I used a romesco cauliflower the first time as that’s all they had in the supermarket, it was truly amazing, I’ve made it twice and I’m about to do it a third time tonight! The second time I bumped up the amount of sauce a bit and put in chickpeas. Delish! Thanks a lot
Thank you so much Helen! xTieghan
Made this tonight and it was amazing! Indian is my favorite food, but I am always afraid to make it. This recipe was easy and delicious. While I love the idea of home made naan, I used the Trader Joes garlic naan. Cant wait to make this again.
Thank you so much Julie! xTieghan
I made this one very the weekend and it was a big hit! It made great leftovers too. This will definitely make it into the regular rotation. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Emily! xTieghan
I forgot to add coconut oil and it still tasted good! I added lemon juice from half a lemon for extra flavor, and a little more salt to taste. My roommate tried it as well and she liked it, so that must mean it really is good! I would make it again!
Thank you so much Jette! xTieghan
My house smells so good right now! This dish is so vibrant and simple to create. I used to love indian butter chicken but since eating less animal products and more plant based I’ve been seeking out new ways to enjoy my old faves. Tieghan, I’m so thankful that you’ve started to make more and more vegan/vegetarian dishes. Please keep it up. Your recipies and this blog are so so good!
Already sent this recipe off to all my friends to try. Can’t wait to taste the leftovers.
Thank you so much Resa! I am so glad you loved this recipe and are enjoying the vegetarian recipes on my blog! Thank you! xTieghan
Indian food is my favorite and I like spicy dishes. This is very dissapointing. It’s missing a flavor that I can’t put my finger on regardless of hot/spiciness. I do think it might be a decent dish for white people (I’m white, I’m also Asian) who aren’t used to ethnic food or grew up with it but if Indian food is your favorite I highly recommend not making this one. None the less, I do thank the recipe adapter for her time, not everyone will like everything.
Hi Kim! I am sorry to hear that this did not work for you. Are there any questions I could help you with, or something that you missed in the recipe? Please let me know! Thanks! xTieghan
Made this tonight. Yum!!!
Thank you Meredith! xTieghan
Amazing recipe! (My 5 stars didn’t register on my last comment!) ?
Made this tonight and it was AWESOME! I added a can of rinsed chickpeas when I added the cauliflower to the sauté pan and it was perfect. Thanks so much!
Thank you so much Sam! I am so glad it turned out amazing for you! xTieghan