This Indian Butter Chickpeas is a vegetarian version of the classic Butter Chicken. It will rival any butter chicken that you have ever tasted - Must try recipe!
If you adore butter chicken, then try my butter chicken pasta or the Indian butter shrimp recipe next!
👉 This Indian butter chickpeas recipe has been a family and reader favorite since I first shared the recipe in 2020. It was updated with better photos and detailed instructions in March 2025.
What is Indian butter chickpeas? It’s butter chicken made with chickpeas instead of chicken. It tastes just like the classic butter chicken, but with a delicious vegetarian twist—you might even prefer making this at home over dining out at your favorite Indian restaurant!
This is one of those recipes you can truly make on a whim. No need to defrost chicken or run to the store for fresh veggies.
Just grab a can of chickpeas from the pantry, add a few simple ingredients, and you’ve got a delicious vegetarian dinner ready in under an hour. It is ideal for meatless Monday recipe!
A common question I get asked is, "is this chana masala?" The answer is no! Chana masala typically has fewer tomatoes, no cream, and a bolder spice profile, similar to the chickpeas and spinach curry. It's not as creamy, and is usually more liquidy and concentrated with spices compared to this Indian butter chickpeas curry.
Looking for recipes using canned chickpeas? Check out the roasted beet hummus or the chickpeas tacos recipe.
Jump to:
Reasons to love it
Restaurant quality: It’s rich, creamy, and has the same authentic flavor you’d find in a traditional Indian restaurant.
Pantry ingredients: No need to soak or cook garbanzo beans, or blanch and chop fresh tomatoes. Just grab a few cans from your pantry, and you're good to go!
Tastes authentic: Tastes so authentic, that you will recieve rave raviews!
Quick and easy: There is no marination or prep work needed!
Featured comments
From L: Very good recipe. My husband was very happy with it. We are not vegetarians but love Indian food. We have made it twice within one week or so. I would have made even more if it was up to my husband. Thanks!!! We will definitely make this again. 🙂 ⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️ ⭐️
From Lana: Fabulous dish, I’ve made it twice. I made my husband store bought butter chicken & he had one taste & liked mine better. Today I made this for second time & split the sauce, added chickpeas with beans to mine & chicken to his. Also made naan & cooked rice too. Everyone covered! Tnx for your yummy recipe ☺️😊😀 ⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️ ⭐️
Ingredients you'll need
- Butter - Ain't Indian butter chickpeas without butter! You can use salted or unsalted butter, but make sure that you adjust salt accordingly.
- Tomato - Canned tomato sauce is a key ingredient in this recipe, replacing the blanched and pureed tomatoes used in traditional butter chicken for convenience.
- Chickpeas - I have used canned chickpeas, but you cook your own then use 3 cups of cooked chickpeas instead.
- Cashews - Powdered raw cashew nuts not only adds creaminess but helps to thicken the sauce.
- Heavy cream - It makes the sauce silky smooth, creamy and luxurious. Do not replace with milk.
- Honey - It adds sweetness and makes the dish finger licking good.
- Spices - Authentic Indian spices like cumin seeds, kasoori methi, cayenne, coriander, turmeric and garam masala powders.
- Food color - Orange food color is optional.
How to make Indian Butter Chickpeas?
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Serving suggestion
This Indian butter chickpeas curry is delicious with hot, buttery naan to scoop up the rich, luscious sauce. It’s also perfect with homemade parathas, rotis, phulkas, white rice, or even crusty bread.
Storage
Leftover Indian butter chickpeas can be refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 1 month. To reheat, thaw overnight in the refrigerator and microwave until hot. I like to store it in single-serving containers or zipper bags for quick thawing, making it an easy vegetarian freezer meal.
Recipe tips
- Color: Traditional butter chicken often features a vibrant orange color from added food coloring. However, you can skip the food coloring entirely, and it won't impact the flavor at all. You could also use paprika instead as I did to make the air fryer tandoori chicken.
- Make it more spicy: If you like it spicier, then increase cayenne pepper.
- Tomato sauce - Tomato sauce can be found in cans in the canned tomato section of your grocery store. Do not substitute with jarred marinara, pasta, or pizza sauce, as it will alter the flavor of the dish.
- Kasoori methi - Kasoori methi is dried fenugreek leaves and is one the essential ingredient in an authentic butter chicken recipe. However, it can be skipped if you don't have it stocked.
- Chickpeas - I have used canned chickpeas, but you cook your own then use 3 cups of cooked chickpeas instead.
- Salt - Salt depends on the type of tomato sauce used and your taste preference. Use accordingly.
Recipe FAQs
Grind raw cashews into a fine powder using a dry spice or coffee grinder. Pause every few seconds to shake the grinder, then continue. This is important, as the cashew powder can clump due to its high fat content.
Yes! To use fresh tomatoes, select 5 ripe Roma tomatoes. Add them to a pot of boiling water and blanch for 30-60 seconds, or until the skin begins to loosen and wrinkle. Using a slotted spoon, remove the tomatoes and place them on a plate. Once cooled, peel off the skin—it should come off easily. Finally, chop the tomatoes into small pieces.
More chickpeas recipes
Indian Butter Chickpeas
Ingredients
Group-1
- 4 tablespoons butter
- ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 ½ cups finely chopped onion about 1 large
- 2 large garlic cloves crushed
- 2 teaspoons crushed ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt divided (or to taste)
Group-2
- 2 tablespoons Kasoori methi optional
- 2 ½ teaspoons coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala powder
- 1 can (15-ounce) tomato sauce refer notes
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons raw cashews made into a fine powder
- 2 cans chickpeas (15-ounce cans) drained and rinsed
- ¼ to ½ cup water
Group-3
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 to 2 pinches orange food color optional
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat, add butter and let melt.
- Add cumin seeds and let it toast for about 10 seconds and then stir in chopped onion, crushed garlic, ginger and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring often, until onions get golden brown color (4-5 minutes).
- Add kasoori methi, coriander powder, cayenne and garam masala powder. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until spices are toasted well (don't let it burn).
- Add tomato sauce, cashew powder, chickpeas and ¼ cup water stir well, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 10 minutes (stirring every 3-4 minutes to make sure that it does not burn in the bottom).
- Uncover, stir in heavy cream, honey, orange food color and remaining salt. Let simmer for about 2 minutes. (Stir in additional 2 to 4 tablespoons water if the curry looks too thick).
- Remove from heat and let curry rest for few minutes before serving. Delicious served with naan and/or rice.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information, based on third-party calculations, should be seen as estimates, not guarantees, as various factors like product types, brands, processing methods, and more can alter the nutritional content in recipes.
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Dur-e-shehwar
A delicious treat for vegetarians.
L
Very good recipe. My husband was very happy with it. We are not vegetarians but love Indian food. We have made it twice within one week or so. I would have made even more if it was up to my husband. Thanks!!! We will definitely make this again. 🙂
Nina
This recipe is in my family’s steady dinner rotation. We love it!!
Maria Doss
Glad to hear, have a great day hun - Maria
Lana
Fabulous dish, I’ve made it twice. I made my husband store bought butter chicken & he had one taste & liked mine better. Today I made this for second time & split the sauce, added chickpeas with beans to mine & chicken to his. Also made naan & cooked rice too. Everyone covered!
Tnx for your yummy recipe ☺️😊😀
Maria Doss
Glad to hear hun, have a wondeful week - Maria
Dana
Great recipe! I’ve made it many times with chickpeas and sometimes with chicken and it’s been great! It’s part of my rotation of foods, and as a picky eater that’s a quite high regard haha.
I do make some modifications to suit my palette a bit better: I use spinach instead of kasoori methi, it’s a decent enough substitute. I also roundabouts double the number of spices as I like it to be quite spiced. When I haven’t had heavy cream on hand, I’ve used evaporated milk and added to water until it’s kinda thick and then added that in.
CHJ
Fantastic recipe! Have made it many times. Used your suggestion to substitute fennel seeds for the kasoori methi.
Maria Doss
That’s so great to hear! Wishing you a very happy holidays - Maria ♡
Fred
Lacks Flavors compared to real butter chicken something seems to be missing from the recipe
Maria Doss
Hi Fred, Thank you for giving the recipe a try and for your feedback! I’m sorry to hear it wasn’t as flavorful as you expected. Everyone’s taste preferences are different, and sometimes adding more spices can make a big difference. Thanks again for your comment and for your valuable feed back - Maria