Slow Cooker Tofu Butter Chicken (Vegan)
This Slow Cooker Tofu Butter Chicken is even better than takeout! Incredibly rich in flavour and all one pot, this is great for meal prep all week long!
You guys may or may not know this but Indian food is my favourite cuisine. For almost every celebration we go out for Indian food, and I’ve officially lost track of how many times we’ve ordered Indian food in. As much as I love Indian food takeout, I love challenging myself to recreate my favourite dishes at home. That way I can enjoy them whenever (at a fraction of the cost) and you guys can too! This Slow Cooker Tofu Butter Chicken was definitely inspired by that notion. Let me tell you friends – it TASTES like takeout that the chef made personally for you at home. Spoiler alert: it’s a winner.
Seriously, this Slow Cooker Tofu Butter Chicken was probably the easiest meal we have made for the year so far. It’s also been one of the best meals I’ve had for the year so far. I was a bit skeptical since I didn’t pre-marinate the tofu, but I am so happy to say that the flavours truly do season the tofu and seep deep into it too. It tastes like it was marinating for 24 hours first! The sauce is incredibly creamy, rich in flavour, and so delicious. Also, I know many of you are still experiencing snow, so I can comfort that not only is this comforting and delicious, it is also heart-warming and perfect for all types of weather.
I discovered something while making this. I love my slow cooker and I definitely don’t use it enough. I’m about to tell you why, and how this post solved that problem.
Fun fact: I’m excited to partner with Reynolds Kitchens for this post! If you’re like me, you’ve probably been using Reynolds Kitchens in your house for forever. My mom would stock up on their aluminium foil paper as well as their parchment paper.
I was really excited to get to use their Slow Cooker Liners for this post. Their Slow Cooker Liners do exactly what they sound like – they line the slow cooker first, then you proceed as usual. I love these for a couple of reasons. Number one – it’s BPA-free! Secondly, I was so excited to have my slow cooker clean in literally 8 seconds! While my slow cooker is brand new, if you have an older slow cooker (like I did) then you know the struggles of food sticking to your slow cooker. You know what it’s like to have to soak your slow cooker overnight. Not fun, right?Also, you probably know that feeling of by the time you finish cleaning it, you don’t want to go through that all over again even though slow cooker meals are so handy!
That’s where the Slow Cooker Liners step in. This truly makes cleanup a breeze. Like, I wish I could apply that 8 second cleanup to everything else in life! After cooking, we put our food into our Tupperware containers, we pulled the slow cooker liner out and bam – that was it! I mean, I knew it would be easy, but it was also such a delight to do.
The Slow Cooker Liners also come in two different sizes, so whether you have a 1-3 QT or a 3-8QT slow cooker, you can grab the right size for you.
All the reasons for you to love this Slow Cooker Tofu Butter Chicken:
- It’s slow cooker so very easy to prepare (while the tofu is prepping, just prep the ingredients!)
- Perfect for warming up in freezing cold weather
- Works all year round too
- Incredibly easy to make – no pre-cooking
- It’s a one pot
- The flavour beautifully seeps into the tofu
- Tastes even better the next day
- It freezes beautifully.
- It serves 6-8 people one time! Hello leftover heaven!
Your Questions Answered (FAQ)
Can I freeze this Slow Cooker Tofu Butter Chicken?
Yes you can freeze this! It thaws beautifully in the fridge overnight, then reheated on the stove top even in the microwave.
How long will this last in the fridge?
This dish should last about a week in your fridge!
I’m looking forward to having this for dinner over and over again until it finishes. I hope you not only give it a try, but grab a package of Reynolds Kitchens Slow Cooker liners for it too! Eat up and enjoy friends!
P.S. if you love Indian recipes you will also love my Coconut Chickpea Curry and my Aloo Gobi Masala.
Slow Cooker Tofu Butter Chicken (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 2 ½ tablespoons garam masala
- 2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/2 red onion, diced (135g)
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 2 14 oz each cans of coconut milk (28 ounces total)
- 12 ounces tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon dried fenugreek, optional
- 2 1lb blocks firm tofu, pressed for 30 minutes* (2 lbs in total)
- 2 teaspoons coconut sugar, or brown sugar optional
- juice of two limes
Instructions
- After the tofu is finished pressing, cut the pressed tofu into cubes, or tear into cube size pieces for extra texture.
- Turn your slow cooker on and to warm. Line your slow cooker with one Reynolds Kitchens Slow Cooker Liner according to the box's directions.
- Into the Reynolds Kitchens Slow Cooker Liner, add all of the ingredients into the slow cooker except the tofu, coconut sugar and the lime.
- Whisk and mix together the ingredients and incorporate until the tomato paste is almost or completely mixed into the sauce.
- Add in the tofu, and stir gently, incorporating completely.
- Set the slow cooker to high for 3 to 4 hours or on low for 6-7 hours (for high, monitor the last 30 minutes and for low, monitor the last hour). At the end, stir in the lime juice and the coconut sugar. While the coconut sugar is optional, I found that it helped to really bring out some hidden flavours!
- Serve alongside naan bread and basmati rice and enjoy!
Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
I used to adore non-vegan Butter Chicken at a restaurant, so I’m excited to try this out in a vegan form. But I can’t seem to find a curry powder that tastes good to try making Indian dishes at home. Could you please tell me what brand of curry powder you’re using? Thanks.
Hi Dani we grew up using a lot of spices from Jamaica So the one we use is a Jamaican brand called Island Spice Curry Powder you can order it on amazon if you’d like. Hope that helps and that you enjoy.
Dani – Penzeys makes several different curry blends that are wonderful. You can order online & they are just a great company.
Penzey’s is great and so is a similar shop I go to because it’s near me, Savory Spice Shop. Also have online ordering I think.
I wanted to make this as soon as I saw the post. What I made is delicious but I can’t say it’s an honest review of this specific recipe because of a major substitution I made. I was out of garam masala and used Balti seasoning. I would try it again as written but we’ll eat all this first. I also added cauliflower.
Understood Andrea thank you for at least using our recipe as a base for your creation!
This recipe looks yummy and I can not wait to try it. What is coconut sugar and where can I buy it. Thank you for all your amazing recipes!
Hi Donna! Thank you for your kind words, we’re glad you like it! Coconut sugar is made by drying the sweet sap of a coconut palm its a wonderful sugar alternative. we get ours on amazon hope this helps!
https://amzn.to/2HVCArP
Wow this recipe is off the hook… I enjoyed this so much had it with pilau rice and roti.. Will definitely recommend . Thank you thank you 🙂
Hi Ingrid! Thank you so much for your kind words! We are so happy that you enjoyed it!
I made this two weeks ago and ate it for four days straight. That was how good it was. Most of time I will get bored with a meal after the second time but not with this one. I put it over jasmine rice. I have to admit, I ended up putting some in the freezer for a future day. I hope tofu can be frozen. I am so happy my co-worker told me about Jessica and her recipes. I made another meal that I will go and leave a comment on as soon as I can. Thank you Jessica.
Oh yeah I forgot to mention how I had to literally go out and buy everything-down to the slow cooker. I am such a foodie.
Hi Alexis,
Oh that’s so amazing and I’m SO happy you enjoyed this sooo much!! YES tofu freezes really great! Just thaw it overnight in your fridge before you’re ready to have it next, then warm it up as usual!! You’re SO welcome and thanks for this incredible comment!!
Freezing tofu in the package, then thawing and pressing, is a game changer. If you prefer “meatier”, denser tofu, as opposed to more flan like, this is how to get it.
I agree Lee! We love doing this too, and seems like you read my mind because this tip is in an upcoming tofu recipe! 🙂
Hi Jessica,
Do you think the slow cooker tofu butter chicken would work in the Instant Pot? Thank you for posting all these delicious recipes.
Renee’ Peel
Hi Renee’! We haven’t done any testing re: instant pot yet but it should hold up just fine. I’ve had a few blogger friends make tofu in their instant pot (here’s a cooking method that should work with our recipe: https://holycowvegan.net/instant-pot-vegan-butter-chicken-with-tofu/) and it worked for them! If you do try I would love some feedback! You are so welcome and thank you for being so sweet!
Thank you for this post! It is now “favorited” and I plan on trying every single one! What would we do without you?
That’s what we like to hear Giju! Thanks for reading!! Feel free to share how the recipes turn out!
Aww Giju you’re so sweet – thank you so much!!
I’m so excited to try this recipe! Would jackfruit work with this recipe in substitution of the tofu? Also, would you know how much jackfruit I would substitute?
Hi Margarita! Thanks for reaching out! We haven’t tried this substitution as yet, but you are welcomed to try it and let us know how it goes!!
Hi!
Wondering if you think replacing one of the tofu packs with chickpeas would work? Trying to bring a little fiber in.
Cheers,
Ani
Hi Ani!
Thanks for reaching out! We haven’t tried any substitutes as yet, but you’re welcome to try it and let us know how it goes!
Hi Ani,
I think my regular Vegan Tofu Butter Chicken would be better suited for you since the chickpeas would probably crumble in this slow cooker version: https://jessicainthekitchen.com/vegan-butter-chicken/ , or if you haven’t checked it out, my chickpea curry! I hope that helps!
What is the asterisk after the tofu for (in the ingredient list)?
Hi Shana it seems like it was a typo thank you for bringing it to my attention! Thanks so much for reading as well!