Indian-inspired dishes make for excellent meal preps. They often taste better the next day, are easy to adapt to a vegan or vegetarian recipe. And they are typically packed with flavor. The same is true for this vegan tikka masala.

What is tikka masala? Tikka masala consists of chopped marinated and grilled or roasted chicken in a tangy tomato sauce that’s often mixed with a cream element. For this vegan recipe, we’re using coconut milk and chickpeas instead of cream and chicken.
And they’re often way more rewarding to make from scratch than takeout can ever be, no matter how good that take out. (That’s why we have a chicken tikka masala recipe).
Even if you’ve never ordered tikka masala at a restaurant, I encourage you to try this.
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Chicken tikka masala vs butter chicken: What’s the difference?
Chicken tikka masala is very similar to butter chicken, but is more tomatoey, less buttery and uses different spices. Also, the chicken is traditionally roasted in a tandoor oven in tikka masala, while the chicken cooks more in the sauce in butter chicken dishes. Both dishes are usually served with white rice.
TL/DR: If you’ve tried the WWL Butter chicken/tofu recipe and loved it, you’re going to love this, too—regardless of the protein choice we’re using.
How to adapt and improvise vegan tikka masala
Cashews are optional. I personally enjoyed the texture of the ground up cashews in the tomato sauce (I add 1 cup). But let me just say, you can skip that step entirely and dump the tomato sauce in the pan with some water (about a tablespoon or two) after you add the onion, garlic, ginger and spices. Then when it’s done simmering, you can add the coconut milk, whole milk or yogurt. If you want to try ground up nuts in the sauce, but cashews are not available or they’re too expensive, try using peanuts!
Use whole milk yogurt (not Greek yogurt) or whole milk instead of coconut milk. At the end of this recipe, you’re adding some coconut milk to make the sauce creamier. If you can’t eat coconut/don’t want to, you can use whole milk yogurt or whole milk instead. Keep in mind, of course, that it will no longer be a vegan recipe if that’s the case.
Swap out the carrots for another veggie. I chose carrots for this because they add texture while blending in with the color of the sauce. Traditional tikka masala does not include carrots — this is a WWL spin on it to add more veggies! Cauliflower, chopped greens, zucchini and red/yellow/orange bell pepper would also make great veggie options for this meal.
Make it spicier/less spicy. The recipe, as written, is pretty middle-of-the-road when it comes to spice. You can add more spice by adding more cayenne (1/4-1/2 teaspoon) and make it less spicy by omitting some of it. You can also up the cumin by 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon. Note: Cumin isn’t exactly spicy, but more earthy.
Switch up the carb element. This recipe calls for rice as the carb, but you can use any grain you’d like! You can even skip rice altogether and go for pita or naan. (or both, like I did!)
Switch up the protein. We’re using chickpeas here because it’s easy, but this would work tofu or tempeh too. If you’re using tofu or tempeh, bake it with a little salt, pepper and garam masala to your desired crispiness before adding it to the sauce (in place of the chickpeas).

How to double or add more volume to this recipe
To double this recipe, simple double the ingredients. This will necessarily add more cooking time to the rice. You may have to cook the chicken and the sauce in batches, depending on how big your food processor and/or pan is!
To add more volume, start with adding a little more protein and veggies. I promise this meal is filling as is (and the recipe makes a lot of food!). But honestly, adding some cauliflower or greens to the sauce would be super tasty. Swiss chard, kale or spinach would be natural additions.
How to store and reheat
This tikka masala lasts for up to 4 days in the fridge.
It’s also freezer friendly (without the rice) for up to 3 months. You can always make rice and freeze it separately (yes, rice freezes pretty well!). You just need to add a little bit of water to it when it defrosts and you reheat it.
This meal reheats well in the microwave or on the stove. I highly recommend eating it with some warm naan or pita!
Happy prepping! And please let us know what you think of this vegan tikka masala!
MORE DELICIOUS RECIPES TO TRY

Easy Vegan Tikka Masala with Chickpeas for Meal Prep
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup rice or quinoa or grain of your choice; see notes above for other options
- 15 oz canned tomato sauce
- 1 TBSP olive oil or oil of your choice
- 1/2 onion diced
- 3 carrot diced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 inch ginger minced
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp cumin
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 15 oz can of chickpeas rinsed and drained
- 1 cup canned coconut milk add more if desired (note: you can freeze extra coconut milk)
- 1 cup cilantro chopped, optional, for serving
Instructions
- Cook the rice/grain according to the package instructions and set aside.
- Add 1 TBSP oil to a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the chopped onions, carrots garlic and ginger to the pan and saute until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Stir frequently to avoid burning the garlic. Stir in the cumin, garam masala, salt and pepper and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the canned tomato sauce and chickpeas. Bring the sauce to a low boil and simmer, uncovered, until the sauce has thickened slightly.
- After about 10 minutes, pour in the coconut milk and stir. Taste the sauce and adjust spices as necessary.
- Divide the cooked rice among your 3 meal prep containers. Then divide the tikka masala among the three containers. Top with chopped cilantro, if desired.
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