This Instant Pot Keto Vegetarian Butter Chicken with Soy Curls has all of the flavors of the famous Two Sleevers Butter Chicken recipe--in a flavorful Vegetarian version. This Indian Vegetarian Recipe is an easy Instant Pot recipe perfect for a busy weeknight.
Vegetarian Butter Chicken | Vegetarian Butter Chicken with Soy Curls
How would you like to make an Indian, Keto, Vegetarian meal in your Instant Pot in less than 25 minutes? This recipe will fit the bill.
Many people have asked me to create a Vegetarian version of my butter chicken. I know you can simply add paneer later but why stop there?
What Makes This A Vegetarian Recipe?
Soy curls, that's what.
Soy curls are a meat alternative that are made from soybeans.
What Makes Soy Curls SO Great?
- Healthy.
- No preservatives.
- Full of fiber.
- Similar texture to chicken.
What Do Soy Curls Taste Like
I find them to be a lot like tofu, in that they take on the taste of whatever you put them into.
They're a little chewy--in a good way--so you can get your teeth into something yummy.
How To Make This Vegetarian Butter Chicken Sauce
This recipe for Indian Vegetarian Butter Chicken is a little different from than my famous butter chicken as it will definitely not make extra sauce. You will also need to add some water, to hydrate the curls and to provide enough cooking liquid to come to pressure.
Additionally, there's no good way to puré the sauce since you can't take out the soy curls easily. But it works anyway.
How To Make Vegetarian Butter Chicken
- Pour everything into the Instant Pot.
- Cook at high pressure for 6 minutes, NPR for 10, release remaining pressure.
- Add cream and butter.
- Serve with rice, cauliflower rice, naan, or cucumber shreds as I did
Tips and Tricks To Make This Vegetarian Recipe:
- Soy curls do not have to be soaked beforehand if you're using them in a pressure cooker. The high heat, steam, and time under pressure seem to rehydrate them just fine.
- You can use Greek Yogurt in place of the heavy cream.
- If you are Vegan, you can use coconut milk, and coconut oil as replacements for the cream and butter.
- If you don't have soy curls readily available, use Paneer or Tofu. But I urge you to click on the link and get those soy curls, since I think you'll find them to be quite versatile and useful.
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Want More Ways To Enjoy Butter Chicken?
If you love Indian Food but are trying to skip the meat, try this Vegetarian Butter Chicken Recipe. And if you love it as much as I do make sure you share it with your friends on Facebook or Pin to make again later.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 14.5 14.5 oz (425.24 g) Canned Tomatoes
- 5-6 cloves (5 cloves) Garlic
- 1-2 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Minced Ginger
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Turmeric
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Cayenne Pepper
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Smoked Paprika
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Kosher Salt
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Garam Masala
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Ground Cumin
- 1.5 cups (366 g) Dry Soy Curls
- 1 cup (8.45 floz) Water
To finish
- 4 ounces (113.4 g) butter , cut into cubes (use coconut oil if dairy free)
- 4 ounces (113.4 g) Heavy Cream, (use full-fat coconut milk if dairy free)
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Garam Masala
- ¼-1/2 cup (4 g) chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Put in tomatoes, soy curls, water, and spices into the inner liner of your Instant Pot. Close the lid and set the pot to cook at high pressure for 6 minutes.
- Allow it to release pressure naturally for 10 minutes, and then release remaining pressure.
- Turn your Instant Pot on Sauté, and add the butter and cream (or substitutes) and allow them to melt while mixing. Use the back of your spoon to crush any large tomato pieces.
- Mix in the remaining 1 teaspoon of garam masala and cilantro, and serve.
- Soy curls do not have to be soaked beforehand if you're using them in a pressure cooker. The high heat, steam, and time under pressure seem to rehydrate them just fine.
- You can use Greek Yogurt in place of the heavy cream.
- If you are vegan, you can use coconut milk, and coconut oil as replacements for the cream and butter.
- If you don't have soy curls readily available, use Paneer or Tofu. But I urge you to click on the link and get those soy curls, since I think you'll find them to be quite versatile and useful.
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Nutrition
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Katie
I made your Instant pot Butter chicken and everyone loved it. I am making it again this week but my mother-in-law is a vegetarian so I am thinking about making this vegetarian butter chicken so she has the same as us. In Spain we can not get soy curls unless I order online which I won't receive in time so im going to do a mix of vegetables and sweet potato for her. My question is, as I only have one instant pot can I make this recipe on the stove instead? If so how would you recommend I make it? I have also thought about making a big batch of the sauce in my instant pot and then cooking the chicken separately so that I can just put some sauce over the vegetables for her and over the chicken for us. What would you suggest?
Stacy
Have you ever tried this with cauliflower? I have been making another cauliflower butter recipe and your chicken recipe to satisfy my vegetarian and meat eaters in my house and your sauce is better!! So, I would like to give your vegetation recipe a try, but I wanted to know if it works with cauliflower.
We just love your butter chicken!!!
Thanks!!
Stacy
TwoSleevers
I often serve my butter chicken over riced cauliflower to keep it low carb. The sauce tastes amazing over cauliflower. That being said, I haven't tried cooking the cauliflower in the sauce.
J
Is says 1.5 cups of soy curls but also says 366g. 366g is way more than 1.5 cups so I had no idea what to use. It also says this makes 6 servings and 1.5 cups of soy curls only looked like enough for 2 maybe 3 people. So I went with the 366g with some extra water because by the time it was ready to pressure cook, they absorbed all of it. So I'm hoping for the best
Lois Smith
Delicious! Always happy to find vegetarian keto recipes!
Lauren
Also another question: Do the garlic gloves need to be minced? It doesn’t say to mince or chop them. It wasn’t clear if they should be added whole or not. Thanks!
URVASHI PITRE
Yes minced
Lauren
Can you do the pot in pot method to cook rice with this? I am guessing not because of the short cook time based on your video that explains that feature but would like to know for sure. Thanks!
Matt
look up recipes for pot in pot Jasmine rice, the cooking time is very similar to this recipe. Most recommend 6 mins with 10 min NPR. I use stackable pots with this recipe in the bottom pot and jasmine rice on the top pot. Cleanup is SO EASY
John-Mark
Having recently discovered soy curls and loved them, I ordered a 6 pack online and have been trying various recipes with them. I'm writing to let you know that I thought that your Vegetarian Butter Chicken recipe was absolutely amazing! Even my housemate, who is often more than a bit leery of my non-standard recipe experimentation, declared it "maybe the best Indian dish you've ever made!"
A few small changes on my part: I cut the amount of butter in half, as I found that amount to perfectly balance out the dish for me. Also, I added 1.5 tsp.Garam Masala directly to the Instant Pot, and omitted the Garam Masala add-in at the end, as uncooked Indian spice combinations often lead to stomach upset if not cooked first, as recommended by many Indian cooks, and my housemate has stomach problems.
But again, all in all, an amazing and delicious dish which I would not hesitate to make again, or even to serve to guests. Highly recommended! Thank you so much for sharing!
Simran Khurana
Can I use Seitan instead ?
Lynn
Fantastic recipe!! Thank you for sharing!
Jennifer Silk
Very tasty! I added a bag of riced cauliflower and sweet potatoes to get in more vegetables.
URVASHI PITRE
Love that!