This fall-inspired recipe for Roasted Butternut Tikka Masala can be made with chickpeas or chicken. The fragrant tomato coconut sauce is infused with Indian spices. A healthy delicious vegetarian dinner recipe, perfect for fall! Vegan-adaptable & Gluten-Free. With a video!
This aromatic, flavorful recipe for Roasted Butternut and Chickpea Tikka Masala is bursting with Indian flavors. Traditionally, Tikka Masala is made with chicken, bathed in creamy tomato curry sauce seasoned with garam masala.
In this recipe, roasted butternut is added to the mix, a nod to fall, giving it a hint of sweetness. Feel free to add chickpeas, chicken, crispy tofu or paneer for added protein.
The traditional heavy cream is replaced with either plain Greek yogurt or vegan yogurt, or coconut milk, making for a lighter meal without sacrificing the richness that the dish needs. Serve this over fluffy basmati rice or with naan bread and enjoy the warming flavors.
An added benefit to this Tikka Masala Recipe are the leftovers, which get even tastier as the ingredients have time to meld- perfect for weekday lunches during the week.
Watch the Butternut Tikka Masala Video | 60-sec video
How to make Butternut Tikka Masala
It starts with fresh ingredients. Butternut squash, ginger, garlic, serrano chilies and fresh roma tomatoes.
Butternut squash is peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes.
It’s tossed with olive oil, garam masala spice and salt and roasted in the oven.
It comes out tender and crispy. Roasting, rather that steaming, helps prevents the squash from falling apart in the curry, giving it a good texture. It’s actually quite good just served like this too.
While the butternut is roasting, make the sauce.
Ginger, garlic and chilies are chopped finely in a food processor.
Make a flavorful chili paste with garlic, chilies and ginger.
Saute the paste in olive oil or ghee until lightly browned and fragrant.
Tomato paste is added to the ginger-garlic mixture, and also “browned” to give the Tikka Masala Sauce a little depth.
Fresh Roma tomatoes are added in next. Roughly chop them… the sauce will eventually be blended!
Add water and spices and let this simmer on the stove for 20 minutes, then blend until it’s smooth.
Whisk in yogurt and finally add the roasted butternut and chickpeas (or chicken) to the pot.
To serve, place in a bowl over basmati rice and garnish with cilantro and a dollop of plain yogurt .
So wholesome and delicious!
What to serve with Butternut Tikka Masala:
Hope you enjoy this recipe for Butternut Tikka Masala as much as we do! Let me know in the comments below!
xoxo
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Roasted Butternut Tikka Masala
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6
- Category: Vegan Dinner Recipe, Vegetarian, Entree, Fall
- Method: Stove-top
- Cuisine: Indian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This fall-inspired recipe for Roasted Butternut Tikka Masala can be made with chickpeas or chicken. The fragrant tomato coconut sauce is infused with Indian spices. Vegan & Gluten Free! A healthy delicious dinner recipe, perfect for fall! Video above!
Ingredients
Units
- 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.
- 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.)
- *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 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!
- Add the roasted butternut squash and chickpeas (or roasted chicken) and bring to a simmer. Taste and adjust salt.
- 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
Seems like this might be a good recipe but there are a couple things that went wrong on my first try. One thing – serrano chiles are very hot, and they vary a lot in size. So “2-4 serrano chiles” would be better replaced with an actual unit of measure like tablespoons of diced chiles. I used two serrano chiles, but I guess they were big ones and the resulting sauce was too hot. Also, as the recipe suggests, I made the masala sauce ahead of time. That led to a pitfall. The recipe says to add “spices” during the sauce process. But actually, the garam masala doesn’t go in here, it’s supposed to go into the roasted butternut squash. So I put the garam masala in at the wrong time/place. Clearer I guess if you cooked the butternut squash first, but still ambiguous.
Sorry about that Dan! I see your point about the chilies and will have to update the recipe. As for the sauce and spices- There are spices in both the sauce and the roasting butternut. I will try to make it more clear.
Thanks for replying! I tasted this again tonight and I have to admit the flavors are very good. I just need to get the spice heat right next time. Thanks for the recipe.
Thanks Dan!
also, I live in a city that literally has about two dozen Indian restaurants and multiple Indian grocery stores. At one grocery down the street from my house I can buy fresh fenugreek leaves in the produce section, where they are called “methi” leaves. I used a whole can of tomato paste in lieu of the romas and added small crumbles of dried soy curls to hydrate/cook in the tikka sauce and it worked very well as fake chicken. Yum!
Thanks so much for sharing your adaptions! helpful. 🙂
Thanks, your recipe helped me to make a much healthier version of tikka masala than I can get from local restaurants since I cannot tolerate much saturated fat. I used homemade nonfat yogurt and Zero Acre Cultured Oil to make it tasty. Thrilled to know how to make this dish low in saturated fat since my husband loves Indian food. Your blog is the best!
Perfect Margaret! So happy this has helped. 🙂
Super Amazing!! Better than the restaurants. We made the vegan chickpea version. It was so delicious, going to double the recipe next time. : )
Thanks Robert! Glad you enjoyed this!
Another amazing recipe! I added chicken breast meat that I cubed up and sauted with the ginger and pepper mixture instead of roasting on another pan. Also got out my small food processor and threw the tomatoes in there in two batches then into the pot with everything else. Turned out great!
Perfect Lisa!
Very delicious and easy to make. I did the vegetarian version with chickpeas and yogurt, so good! Yes, you have to do aaaaaaaall of that garlic.
Glad you liked it Whitney!
This was delicious! So easy to make since I had all of the ingredients. The sauce went together quickly while the squash (I added a can of garbos with it) roasted. Definitely a keeper!
Great to hear Tracey!
Holy Smokes was this good! I subbed a 28oz can of crushed tomatoes for the fresh because that’s what I had. Your recipes are clear, concise and plant powered and DELICIOUS!
Awww… thanks Bev!
OMG I made this tonight and it was UNBELIEVABLE. I used chicken thighs and butternut squash. I’ve made a lot of your recipes and they’re always good but this was incredible!!! Thank you!
Thanks so much!
Sylvia, thank you! So warming, fragrant and delicious! Roasted my squash with apple chunks in foil in my woodstove, used summer’s canned tomatoes—a wonderful winter dinner, definitely a keeper!
So happy you gave this a go!
Hello Sylvia,
Wanting to let you know how much I enjoy your recipes. Wonderful, flavour full food. I often introduce your website to friends who enjoy “feasting and gathering!” You are my first “go to” when planning a meal.
Thanks so much Pat- really appreciate this!
Well worth all the steps. Wouldn’t change a thing. Absolutely delicious. Made a day ahead and put it all together to heat and serve.
Awesome Marilyn! Happy you liked this!
This was very flavorful but I feared it would be too spicy so I used only one pepper. Not spicy at all which is how we like it!
Perfect Janet!
If making this ahead of time, would you leave adding the yogurt until ready to reheat, combine and serve?
Yes, sure that would be a good idea!
So easy to make and authentically delicious…. Will definitely make this again! I’ve used canned tomatoes and didn’t feel it was necessary to blend at all. The vegan version with chickpeas satisfied both me and my boyfriend. Thanks for a keeper in my repertoire
Thanks Julia! Glad you enjoyed this!
I made this along with tandoori turkey for thanksgiving and it was a big hit. I am of indian heritage and consider myself an above average cook. I love your recipes because some of the vegetables / ingredients used meander slightly out of the traditional Indian repertoire but the recipe still stays true to its roots. Lots of times indian recipes drown out the flavor in favor of the heat , which is a shame because it creates a false impression with people from other cultures that indian food is all about the heat. But your recipes focus on the nuaced flavor rather than the heat. I have tried some of your non Indian recipes too and if i were to sum them up in a phrase , it would be – authentic flavor. Thank you for all your hard work and wonderful recipes- I am a big fan.
I really appreciate this Sarah!
I have made this several times and it just gets better and better. A delicious meld of flavours and textures and fragrances. I use chickpeas to complement the butternut. It’s a winner every time.
Great to hear Brenda! Appreciate this!
I am a huge fan of your recipes! It all started with Mulligatawny Soup and then I used the Clean Eating Guide to break a very destructive eating pattern. I use your recipes each and every week and my healthy eating is still going strong three months later.
This was so awesome! We invited our family for dinner and I made the Butternut Squash Tikka Masala dish from scratch, including making the spice mix, Naan and Raita. It was a lot of work but they sure enjoyed every bite. Our 12 year old grandson gobbled it up and the family said it was as good as any Indian restaurant could produce. Proud Grandma Moment!
Amazing Anna! thanks for sharing this- very appreciated!
This was amazing. I couldn’t find fenugreek leaves at Whole Foods so a coworker from India brought me some and it really makes a difference. I used my immersion blender and the sauce still had some small pieces of tomato skin in it, which is fine, but I’ll use the regular blender next time. Can’t wait to try this with other vegetables, like cauliflower, potatoes, peas. Thanks!
Thanks and glad you enjoyed it!
This is so good, I keep making it year after year ! Not always extremely faithfully, sure — I generally add an onion to the base, and fresh chilis that actually pack some heat are not that easy to come by where I live so I use dried bird’s eye chili, and I never blend the sauce because when squash is in season I’m using canned tomatoes and I find I don’t mind a few chunks here and there, don’t have an immersion blender and can’t be bothered to take the blender out — but as much as I can, and it always turns out delicious. Yesterday evening I made it with roasted kabocha squash and a few potatoes, and some carrots that cooked in the sauce. I’m very excited about the leftovers, as curries always get better with time. Thank you for this recipe !
Thanks so much and glad you like this one!
Great recipe! It was a last minute decision to make, so I used what I had on hand…a jar of passata instead of the roma tomatoes and low-fat yogurt and half & half for the dairy. I’ll definitely put this one in the rotation!
Awesome Sherie- great way to adapt to what you have. Love it!
We love this recipe as we can cook chicken, chick peas, cauliflower, squash separately and everyone chooses what they like with the sauce. I always throw some baby spinach into the sauce at the end.
Have to add that this week we made indian “pizza” with the leftovers and it was incredibly good. Just slather sauce on naan bread, sprinkle with mozzarella and bake at 400F until cheese is puffing up.
Love it Christine!
The best curry ever the whole family loved it
Oh great Ruth! thanks!
This recipe was easy and tasted divine. The sauce was so flavorful and the perfect texture made with Greek yogurt. I threw in fresh spinach with the chickpeas and butternut squash at the end.
Question about the fenugreek- the recipe calls for leaves, but my grocery only has powder. Would powder work in this recipe? Same measurement?
Thanks for another phenomenal recipe.
The powder is ground from the seeds, so it is a different flavor. I haven’t tried it with the powder, so not sure here!
I’ve cooked this dish several times and always think about the following: For the coconut milk, do we add 3/4 cup or 3/4 of a can as stated? The link to the coconut milk is for a 13.5 oz can so 3/4 of a 13.5 oz can would be 10.13 oz or a bit over a 1 1/4 cup.
Thanks.
Oh! I see the confusion! Ok it is fixed now. 3/4 cup of coconut milk. 🙂
Thank you for clarifying, Sylvia.
Cheers!
I too love this recipe. I’ve used both the powder and the leaves, and it’s definitely better with the leaves. In my opinion, the ground version added a bitter finish. I found the leaves on Amazon.
Cheers!
The ground powder is made with fenugreek seeds- so a different flavor altogether. Yes, Fenugreek leaves are best!
I appreciate when the recipe includes nutritional information. This one shows calories (345) and that’s all. How many servings does it make? What are the fat, cholesterol, sodium levels? Would have liked to try it but need info.
Hi- added them now! Sorry about that. Some of the older recipes don’t have this info yet- so just let me know and I can update!