Cozy Butternut Squash Tikka Masala is the perfect fall comfort food, with roasted squash and warming Indian spices. Make it with chickpeas or chicken. Video. Vegan-adaptable.
This was incredible. The tikka masala sauce turned out just like one that you would eat in a restaurant. I opted for a vegan version and used cashew cream. The fenugreek is essential. All in all, this recipe is a winner.
This Butternut Squash Tikka Masala is fall comfort food at its best-creamy, cozy, and filled with warming Indian spices. Roasted butternut squash adds caramelized sweetness to the rich tomato curry sauce, while your choice of chickpeas or chicken makes it hearty and satisfying.
Roasting the squash first deepens its flavor and gives the edges a little caramelization, which is delicious against the savory garam masala-spiced sauce. Make it with chickpeas for a plant-based meal or chicken for extra protein-either way, it's the kind of warming dinner I crave as the evenings turn cooler.
Serve it over fluffy basmati rice or with warm naan for soaking up every last bit of that creamy sauce.
Why you’ll love this Butternut Squash Tikka Masala recipe!
Easily adaptable. Feel free to add chickpeas, chicken, crispy tofu, or paneer for added protein.
A lightened-up version of tikka masala. Traditional heavy cream is replaced with either plain Greek yogurt, vegan yogurt, or coconut milk, making for a lighter meal that doesn’t sacrifice the richness that the dish needs.
Great for meal prep! An added benefit to this Tikka Masala Recipe are the leftovers, which get even tastier as the ingredients have time to meld. Perfect for lunches during the week!
Butternut Squash Tikka Masala Ingredients
- Butternut squash: Peel and cube the squash into even 1-inch pieces so they roast evenly. Roasting caramelizes the edges and draws out their natural sweetness, which pairs perfectly with the warm Indian spices and savory tomato sauce.
- Chicken or chickpeas: Choose your protein! Use boneless chicken thighs or make it vegetarian and use chickpeas for plant-based protein.
- Garam masala spice blend: Use store-bought garam masala or make your own homemade garam masala spice blend. This warming Indian spice blend is crucial to the overall flavor of the dish.
- Fresh ginger and garlic cloves: Form the aromatic foundation of the sauce. Processing them into a paste helps their flavor infuse evenly throughout the tikka masala.
- Fresh serrano chilies: Add fresh heat! Remove the seeds for less heat or leave them in for a spicier tikka masala. Jalapeños make a milder substitute.
- Ghee or olive oil: Ghee adds a rich, buttery flavor that complements the warming spices beautifully. Olive oil works well for a lighter or vegan option.
- Tomato paste: Don’t skip this! Tomato paste adds concentrated tomato flavor and savory depth. Browning it briefly in the pan caramelizes its natural sugars and makes the finished sauce taste richer.
- Spices: Garam masala provides warmth and complexity, cinnamon adds subtle sweetness, and paprika brings color and earthy flavor. Blooming the spices in the oil before adding the tomatoes helps release their fragrant oils.
- Dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi): Optional, but highly recommended! They add a distinctive savory, slightly bitter, aromatic flavor that gives the sauce restaurant-style quality.
- Roma tomatoes: Meaty and less watery than other tomato varieties, making them ideal for a thick, flavorful sauce. A rough chop works fine here since the sauce will be blended smooth.
- Plain, full-fat yogurt: Adds creaminess and subtle tang while keeping the sauce lighter than traditional heavy cream. For a vegan alternative use canned coconut milk, or readers have suggested cashew cream! For a richer sauce, use 1/2 cup heavy cream.
- Fresh cilantro (coriander leaves): For garnish and a pop of fresh, herbaceous flavor.
How to make Butternut Squash Tikka Masala
1. Preheat. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. Roast the butternut squash. Add the butternut squash cubes to a medium bowl and toss with olive oil, garam masala, and salt. Spread out onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes.
Tip: If you like your chickpeas crispy, roast them with the butternut squash!
3. Season and bake the chicken (optional). If using chicken, add the pieces to a bowl and toss with 1-2 teaspoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon garam masala.
4. Sauté the aromatics. Add sliced ginger, garlic, and chiles to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped to make a paste.
Warm ghee or oil in a large pot or dutch oven and sauté the paste over medium heat until browned for 6-8 minutes. If needed, turn on the hood, stir, and scrape up any browned bits.
Once golden and fragrant, add tomato paste and cook for 1-2 minutes to “brown” it. This gives it incredible depth. Add garam masala, cinnamon, and paprika, and cook for 2 more minutes.
5. Simmer the Tikka Masala sauce. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, water, and optional fenugreek leaves. Bring to a simmer, reduce to low heat, and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
6. Blend the sauce. Work in batches, transferring the sauce to the blender with a kitchen towel over the lid, holding it down tight. Once blended, return the sauce to the pot. An immersion blender works well here, too. Whisk in the yogurt (or coconut milk, cashew cream, or heavy cream).
Tip: Feel free to make the sauce ahead of time and reheat it!
7. Assemble, taste, and adjust. Add the roasted butternut squash and chickpeas (or roasted chicken) to the pot and bring back to a simmer. Taste and adjust for salt.
8. Serve. Serve over bowls of fluffy basmati rice with a sprinkle of freshly chopped cilantro. Serve with naan bread and a side of raita!
So wholesome and delicious!
Chef’s Tips
- Cut the squash evenly. Keep the butternut squash cubes around 1 inch each so they cook evenly and become tender without turning mushy in the sauce.
- Give the squash room to roast. Spread the butternut squash cubes out in a single layer with space in between the pieces. An overcrowded pan will steam the squash instead of achieving caramelized edges.
- If making homemade garam masala spice, use whole seeds and toast them before grinding them for an even deeper, more flavorful spice blend.
- Brown the tomato paste. Let the tomato paste cook for a minute or two until darkening. This takes away the raw tomato taste and adds a surprisingy amount of depth.
- Bloom the spices. Briefly cook the spices in ghee or oil to wake them up and create a more aromatic sauce. Stir continuously to prevent burning.
- Make the sauce ahead. Tikka masala sauce can be made a day or two in advance, and its flavor actually improves as the spices have time to meld.
What to Serve with Butternut Squash Tikka Masala
Serve Butternut Squash Tikka Masala over fluffy Indian Basmati Rice with Homemade Naan Bread and Authentic Raita. Serve alongside our Indian Spinach Salad with Lentils & Cauliflower for a nourishing, wholesome meal.
Storage
Once cooled, store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat over medium-low heat on the stovetop, stirring until warmed through.
You can also freeze tikka masala for up to 3 months, but keep in mind that yogurt may sometimes separate. This works better for versions with coconut milk or cashew cream. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Meal prep tip: Store the basmati rice separately from the tikka masala so both maintain their best texture. Naan and fresh garnishes are also best added when serving.
More Indian Recipes You Might Like
Watch how to make Butternut Squash Tikka Masala
After you try this Butternut Squash Tikka Masala recipe, let us know how it turns out in the comments below. Your review will help other readers, too! Sign up here to join our community and receive our latest recipes and weekly newsletter! xoxo Sylvia
Butternut Squash Tikka Masala
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: entree, fall, vegan dinner recipe, vegetarian
- Method: stove-top
- Cuisine: Indian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This Butternut Squash Tikka Masala is rich, creamy, and packed with warming Indian spices. A cozy vegetarian dinner that's easy, healthy, and full of flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed into 1-inch cubes ( about 6 cups)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Garam masala Spice Blend
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 can chickpeas, drained (or sub 1 lb boneless chicken thighs cut into bite-sized pieces)
- Tikka Masala Sauce Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup sliced ginger
- 1/4 cup garlic (10 cloves)
- 1–4 small fresh serrano chilies- cut in half lengthwise- roughly 1-3 tablespoons- (or sub a jalapeno)
- 4 tablespoons ghee or olive oil
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon garam masala (see below)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 8 roma tomatoes- rough chopped ( sauce will be blended)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves (optional but AMAZING)
- 3/4 cup plain, full-fat yogurt (or 3/4 cup of canned coconut milk, or 1/2 Cup Heavy Cream)
- —-
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro for garnish
- Serve with basmati rice or naan bread
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Roast the squash. In a medium bowl, toss butternut squash with olive oil, garam masala and salt, until evenly coated. Spread out on a parchment-lined sheet pan and roast in the oven for 30 minutes. (You can also roast the chickpeas if you like them crispy- toss with the butternut, add a little extra oil.)
- Bake the chicken (optional). *If adding chicken, place cut-up chicken into a bowl. Drizzle with 1-2 teaspoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon garam masala, and toss to coat. Place on another baking sheet or baking dish, and bake for 25 minutes or until cooked through. Broil for a minute or two to get a deeper color.
- Make the Tikka Masala Sauce. Place sliced ginger, garlic and chiles in a food processor to make a paste. Pulse until very finely chopped. Heat the ghee or oil in a heavy bottom pot or dutch oven. Saute the paste over medium heat until nicely browned for 6-8 minutes, turn the hood on, stirring, scraping up brown bits with a metal spatula. Cook until golden. Add tomato paste, and sauté for 1-2 minutes, or until color deepens. Add garam masala cinnamon and paprika, and cook for 2 more minutes, to intensify flavor. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, water and optional fenugreek leaves. Bring to a simmer, lower heat and simmer on low heat for 15-20 minutes.
- Blend the sauce. Blend the Tikka Masala Sauce in batches either using an immersion blender, (or a regular blender, covering the blender with a kitchen towel and firmly holding the lid down to prevent an explosion. Return the blended sauce to the pot). Whisk in the yogurt (or coconut milk or cashew cream, or heavy cream). This sauce could be made ahead and reheated!
- Assemble. Add the roasted butternut squash and chickpeas (or roasted chicken) and bring to a simmer. Taste and adjust salt.
- Serve. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve over fluffy basmati rice, or with naan bread with a side of raita!
Notes
Notes: If making the Easy Garam Masala, know that using whole seeds and toasting them, then grinding them, will make an even more flavorful spice blend.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: with full-fat yogurt
- Calories: 276
- Sugar: 6.9 g
- Sodium: 815.7 mg
- Fat: 14.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 31 g
- Fiber: 7.3 g
- Protein: 9.5 g
- Cholesterol: 4.6 mg
Really tasty. I also added yam .
This recipe is delicious. As a new vegetarian (trying to be vegan) I love subbing dishes with meat I love. It’s a perfect balance. Please try!
This is a lovely recipe, thank you. Using fresh tomatoes rather than tinned, and the burst of fresh ginger made it sing. I’ll be sure to make this again!
Absolutely fabulous.
I have made this several times now and it’s delicious. Even my fussy children has been requesting this meal often
Wow!!! Soooooooo Delicious! I made this twice in a week because it was so good-
The second round I roasted cauliflower instead of squash and added peas at the end.
I have shared this recipe 5 times too! Get the Fennegreek leaves, fo sho!
Best ever
Finally! Found the tikka masala sauce I have been looking for 10 years or so. Love that you go heavy on the ginger and garlic in many recipes, so do I. Anyway, I got all mixed up and and forgot about the ginger until I was almost does. Yes, it was pretty strong the first day but then it all melded together nicely. Resident carnivore approved for monthly rotation. Daughter and granddaughter raved.
Don’t know how you do it but I haven’t had a meh recipe yet from your site. You’re the best!
Awwww thanks!
amazing!!!!!
This turned out so amazing! I can’t wait to make it again. Thank you so much for this healthy and delicious recipe!!
Just made this and it’s delicious! I used 2 fresh jalapenos with seeds and it
was pretty hot! Borderline for me but my husband and son are chilli heads
and loved it! I used the thick full fat Greek yogurt but will try coconut milk another time.
Love this recipe. We’re trying to eat less meat. Even the kids love it and I made it for some friends who were sick with COVID and needed food. They loved it too! The sauce is so tasty!
Making this was a bit of an adventure for me. Nothing about it was a new technique but SO MANY MISHAPS!
– I realize I didn’t have enough romas, so I used 4 romas and a medium beefsteak
– I read the ingredients list wrong, so I put 1.5 tsp of salt on the squash instead of .5! After roasting, they were quite squishy, and I think this is why. The salt pulled out too much liquid.
– I once again read the list wrong, and didnt toast the garam masala with the tomato paste, so i added it later.
– Then, of all things for me to forget – I bought dried chickpeas and COMPLETELY forgot. So they were not even soaked, let alone cooked, once the rest of the dish was basically ready!! I ended up quick soaking them for an hour, and in the meantime, i actually simmered the sauce (sans coconut milk) on the stovetop at the lowest setting. I then popped the chickpeas in a rice cooker (really amazing technique i just learned) and finally, TWO HOURS LATER, I added the coconut milk and simmer for a few.
Made this with homemade vegan naan and it was absolutely worth the ordeal 😛 The squash got a bit lost but again, that was most likely my mistake. Too much salt and I left it in too long. My chick peas were ever so slightly firm but I did this on purpose – I wanted them to hold up. It was the right move.
One thing of note is that I watched a video the same day where a famous Indian chef explained why he doesn’t peel his ginger. This recipe doesn’t explicitly say to peel the ginger either. I dont know if it was assumed, but man, its so nice not having to waste all that extra bit!
Glad it worked out in the end and sorry it was difficult. Yes, I don’t peel my ginger either. 😉
I don’t normally leave reviews but this recipe was totally awesome…. I did a quick 30 min yogurt+garam masala+salt+pepper marinade on the chicken and then cooked in olive oil on stove in cast iron pan instead of baking…used coconut milk… easy and so so good.
I just made this for me and my husband. It was super delicious! I made it with chicken which I marinated for a few hours with garlic, ginger, garam masala, salt, pepper, olive oil and yogurt. Just amazing! Will cook this again.
Watched as my 30 year old son inhaled this dish. Everyone said it was a keeper.
I made it today and it was so yummy. Such an awesome recipe with squash. Thanks!!
Made this for dinner yesterday and went to bed thinking how good that dinner was!
I had only enough squash for two meals, so I froze half of the sauce (before adding cream) and I look forward to an easy meal in the coming weeks.
I already had some homemade garam masala and I am sure it made a difference; the idea of sprinkling it on the vegetables before roasting is new to me and a keeper. Thanks.
I was searching for a special way to cook the butternut squash my husband harvested from his brother’s garden. So when I found this recipe, I knew I had to make it. And this recipe was right up our alley when my husband had to open the window while I was making the roux (the paste in this recipe). Wow, it turned out beautifully. My husband and nephew couldn’t stop praising it between mouthfuls. It definitely was a hit and I will be making it again and again and again.
Awesome, thanks and great to hear!
Flavorful and easy. Made it with chicken and kabocha for my family and vegetarian for myself.
Perfect Theresa! Thanks~!
I made this with roasted cauliflower as well as butternut and added some baby spinach to the sauce near the end also served with brown rice and coriander leaves or Cilantro as some call it and a few slivered almonds. I was delish thankyou
I have tried so many curry and vegetarian curry recipes over the years and this is by far my favourite! It tastes like restaurant food. Can’t wait to make this again!
I don’t see in the recipe where it calls for chili paste but I see it listed in the directions…?
Sorry I see the confusion. It is the paste you make in the food processor. I fixed the recipe to be more clear. 🙂
I made this soup today for my daughter and I and loved it! I used only 1 serrano pepper because I thought it would be too spicy. But it was not spicy enough. Next time I will use 2 even 3 of the serrano peppers.
Good to know! Thanks Patricia!
I love this dish! We substitute yukon gold potatoes and sweet potatoes for the butternut squash and add in a roasted chicken breast. This dish is also great the next day!
Thanks so much and so happy you liked it! 👏
I have used your recipes every single day this week. The stuffed poblano peppers are amazing, the zucchini cakes with the first zucchini of the season from our farmers market, the eggplant steaks with gremolata, and finally the tikka masala was not only easy but so easy!!! Plus my kitchen didn’t smell like ginger and spices for a week afterwards! I easily made it vegan with a macadamia nut milk creamer. I also love that your recipes are easily halved and can be made for two.
Thanks Kristen!