Name: Chickpea Tikka Masala
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 2 can (14oz) diced tomatoes (or 3 ripe tomatoes chopped); 2 can (14oz) Canned chickpeas aka garbanzo beans; 1 can (14oz) coconut milk (full or low fat); 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 large onion, chopped; 1 tbsp cumin seeds; 4 garlic cloves, minced; 1-inch ginger, chopped; 1 ½ tbsp turmeric powder; 2 tbsp Garam masala; ½ tbsp cayenne (optional); ½ tbsp chili powder; ½ tbsp salt; 1 tbsp ground coriander; ¼ tbsp black pepper

Chickpea Tikka Masala- This one-pot vegan tikka masala is an incredibly easy meal option that you can whip up in under 20 minutes. It’s absolutely delicious, creamy, and saucy while remaining healthy which makes it a great meal prep option! It’s naturally gluten-free and tastes amazing over some warm and fluffy rice.

This easy chickpea tikka masala is yet another delicious addition to the Vegan and Gluten-free curries recipe here on Home Food Secrets! I don’t have enough of them yet, but here’s one more easy and quick one pot healthy and nutritious curry recipe, which you’ll sure gonna enjoy!!

Why you’ll love Chickpea Tikka Masala

It’s a super easy and quick Indian curry recipe, everything comes together in under 30 minutes!

It’s lusciously creamy, healthy, and spiced to perfection

This tikka masala recipe is a vegan, dairy-free, and naturally gluten-free recipe.

One of the best comfort food which tastes great over warm and fluffy rice or quinoa

It’s easily customizable, you can add more veggies or even protein like tofu, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, broccoli, carrot, or snap peas.

Ingredients for Vegan Chickpea Tikka Masala

Here’s everything you’ll need to make chickpea tikka masala, including tips for substituting ingredients:

chickpea tikka masala ingredients

Chickpeas: Of course! The star of this vegan curry recipe, aka garbanzo beans. You can use canned chickpeas or fresh cooked. Either will taste great.

Tomato: use fresh ripe tomatoes (or canned diced tomatoes along with the juice) to give a tangy and thick texture to the tikka masala

Coconut Milk: you may use any plant-based milk, almond, cashew, or coconut. I will recommend using full-fat coconut milk to get a creamier texture.

Tomato paste or puree: if you cannot find canned tomato paste simply puree 1 ripe tomato.

Onion: freshly chopped onions

Ginger & garlic: you can use ginger garlic paste or simply fresh chopped ginger and garlic cloves will also work.

Spices: turmeric, cumin powder, coriander powder, use cayenne or red chili powder if you love the heat.

Warm spices (aka garam masala): It’s a blend of Indian spices such as coriander, cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper, and cloves. It helps to give a depth and authentic flavor to the Indian curries. (make your own here)

Oil: I’ve used oil, you can use vegetable, coconut oil or your preferred oil will work.

How to make Chickpea Tikka Masala

Saute: Heat oil in a large or heavy pot over low to medium flame. Add cumin seeds, chopped onion, minced garlic, and ginger. Cook them for 2 minutes or until the onion becomes soft and fragrant.
Seasoning: add in the spices and garam masala and continue cooking over low to medium heat for another 2 minutes.
Mix: add the canned or boiled chickpeas (do not add chickpea water) and mix them until everything is combined properly.
Curry based: add canned diced tomato(along with juice) or fresh tomato puree, coconut milk and give it a nice stir. Cover the pot, stirring and mixing it occasionally, until boiling hot and simmering. Cook until the curry is thick and creamy.
Serve: Serve the hot chickpea tikka masala over a warm heap of rice (white, brown, or quinoa) garnish with fresh cilantro, and finally a nice drizzle of lemon juice over the tikka masala.

Instant pot Vegan Chickpea Tikka Masala

Turn on the instant pot and press SAUTE mode, add olive oil, cumin seeds, and chopped onions and fry for 1 minute or until softened. Add chopped ginger and minced garlic and cook for another 1 minute or until fragrant.
Add all the spices and gram masala, stir & cook until paste-like.
Drain the soaked chickpeas and add them to the instant pot and give it a nice stir and make sure nothing is stuck at the bottom of the pot.
Add in canned diced tomato (along with the juice) or tomato puree and full-fat coconut milk and water as required, stir everything perfectly and close the lid of the instant pot.
Switch the instant pot to bean/chili mode on high pressure for 4 minutes with the vent in a sealing position.
When the cooking cycling is over (or the instant pot beeps) let the pressure release naturally for a few minutes. If the pin does not drop in the next 5 minutes then release the pressure and open the instant pot.
Take a hand masher and mash some of the chickpeas to make the gravy thicker, change the instant pot mode to saute mode, and let it boil for another 2 minutes.
Chickpea tikka masala is ready to serve, enjoy over warm rice or quinoa!

Tips & Variations

Chickpea tikka masala is fully customizable, you can tweak this curry recipe with lot more fun variations and try and make your own version of chickpea tikka masala! Here are some tasty variations;

Veggies: You can add pan-fried cauliflower or broccoli florets, roasted carrots, sweet potatoes, or snap peas.

Paneer: To get more Indian flavor, add pan-fried or roasted paneer cubes and add them before serving.

Tofu: tofu is a great plant-based protein option. (here how I cook my tofu crispy)

This vegan chickpea tikka masala stores well in the refrigerator. Let the curry cools completely and transfers it to an airtight container. It should keep for up to 4 days.

You can easily freeze the tikka masala for up to 2 months. The texture and consistency may change after thawing, but it will still be tasty and delicious!

You can easily reheat the chickpea tikka masala over the stove with a splash of water to adjust the consistency. You can even microwave it.

Are you a curry person:

If you try this Chickpea Tikka Masala or any of my recipes, feel free to leave a comment on how it goes. And if you take a photo of your Chickpea Tikka Masala and share it on Instagram, please make sure to tag me @magentastreaks and use the hashtag #magentastreaks so I won’t miss your post! Happy cooking! ♥♥