I’m sure you’ve heard of butter chicken, right? Well this instant pot butter chickpea curry recipe has all the butter chicken flavor minus the actual chicken!
I almost don’t want to tell you that this recipe for instant pot butter chickpeas is vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free because I am sure that if you didn’t know – you wouldn’t know! You know? š
This dish is just as decadent as butter chicken – it’s rich, creamy, and hearty. A celebratory plant-based meal, perfect for the vegans and vegetarians in your life.
It’s also a great option for meat-eaters looking to switch things up. Make this on a meatless Monday or really any day of the week.
I mean just look at these chickpeas swimming in a spiced, creamy tomato sauce – everyone is going to love this.
DO I NEED TO SOAK DRIED CHICKPEAS OVERNIGHT?
My recipe calls for dried chickpeas, making this dish extremely economical. With an Instant Pot, this dish takes a fraction of the time it’d take to make this on the stovetop and cooking this dish in an electric pressure cooker really infuses the chickpeas with a ton of flavor.
I know there’s always a lot of disagreement over whether or not to soak legumes but I think a lot of Indian families soak beans/legumes prior to cooking. That’s what I do because that’s what my mom taught me and that’s what my grandmother taught her. I think it makes them easier to digest. You do you – but know that if you’re not using pre-soaked beans then you will likely need to cook the chickpeas for longer than the recipe calls for. My method results in perfectly soft and tender chickpeas.
WHAT IF I FORGOT TO SOAK CHICKPEAS? HOW CAN I DO A QUICK SOAK?
You either need to soak the dried chickpeas overnight OR do a quick soak. The amount of water listed in my recipe is whatās needed for soaked chickpeas. Dried chickpeas absorb a lot of water so if you donāt soak them in advance, the proportion of chickpeas to water will not be correct. Also, I believe that soaking legumes helps them to be more easily digested.
Did you forget to soak the dried chickpeas overnight? You can easily do a quick soak by covering the dried chickpeas with an inch of water and pressure cooking them for 10 minutes with a natural release. Then dump out the water, rinse the chickpeas well and follow the directions for butter chickpeas from there.
If you’ve tried my butter chicken before, then you will love this recipe. And if you haven’t tried it because you don’t eat meat, now you can enjoy this vegan version which is honestly just as good!
Ā
Instant Pot Butter Chickpeas (Vegan Butter Chicken)
Instant Pot Butter Chickpeas (Vegan Butter Chicken)
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried chickpeas soaked overnight
- 2 tablespoons oil of choice
- 1 onion diced
- 3 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
Spices
- 1 Ā½ teaspoons garam masala
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- Ā¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Ā¼ teaspoon cayenne adjust to taste
- Ā¼ teaspoon ground cumin
Ā
- 1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 Ā½ cups water
Add later:
- 1 green bell pepper chopped into large pieces
- Ā½ cup unsweetened cream from the top of a can of full-fat coconut milk
- Pinch of dried fenugreek leaves kasoori methi
- Cilantro garnish
Instructions
- Soak the chickpeas in cold water overnight. Drain, rinse and set aside.Ā
- Press the sauteĢ button. Add the oil and allow it to heat it up for a minute. Add the onion and stir-fry for 6-7 minutes, or until the onion begins to brown.
- Add the garlic, ginger and spices stir, then add the chickpeas, tomato sauce and water.
- Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 35 minutes at high pressure.
- Naturally release pressure.
- Add the bell pepper, cream and fenugreek leaves to the pot and mix well.
- Garnish with cilantro and serve.
Video
Notes
- If you are not vegan, then feel free to use ghee instead of oil and heavy cream instead of coconut milk!
- Did you forget to soak the dried chickpeas overnight? You can easily do a quick soak by covering the dried chickpeas with an inch of water and pressure cooking them for 10 minutes with a natural release. Then dump out the water, rinse the chickpeas well and follow the directions for butter chickpeas from there.
Like this recipe? You can find all of my Indian Instant Pot Recipes right here on the blog!
Kiran says
The butter chickpeas turned out amazing. I used tinned chickpeas but accidentally didn’t adjust the water quantity so had to sautĆ© it until it thickened up!! I added the green peppers in with the chickpeas when cooking as my husband doesn’t like crunchy peppers in curry. We will definitely be making this again!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Kiran, I’m so glad you liked the butter chickpeas! Thanks for sharing your experience with canned chickpeas – they don’t absorb water – I’m sure your comment will help others. I’m glad you still made it work! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you guys š
Upstairs Woman says
Great recipe! I subbed a dollop of sour cream and some ghee for the coconut milk since I didn’t have any on hand. Still came out delicious!
My Heart Beets says
That’s great to hear! Thanks for letting me know how this turned out for you š
Arielle says
This sounds amazing! I love all your recipes Iāve tried! I have a question- I donāt love raw vegetables in dishes and I donāt usually like green peppers. Do they add a lot or can I just leave them out? Or would you substitute something else?
My Heart Beets says
Arielle, that’s great to hear š You can skip the green peppers, they don’t add much in terms of flavor – I mainly use them to provide a contrast in texture and also to include a veggie. Let me know how you like this!
Arielle says
Finally made this last night and it was amazing (not surprising- all your recipes are favorites).
I halved the pepper and cayenne and it was perfect amount of spice for my 3 year old (who prefers his food less hot than we do). I left out the green pepper but next time Iāll try cooking it with the chickpeas and see what we prefer.
We were out of rice (how does that happen?!) so we we just ate it by itself and it had the comfort of a bowl of creamy noodles without the gross feeling after. Definitely going into the rotation!
Thanks for creating this!! Iām so lucky I found your blog š
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Arielle, that’s awesome! I’m so happy to hear that š Thank you for letting me know how much you liked it!
Oliver says
I don’t have any fenugreek leaves would it make. A huge difference if I didn’t include them?
My Heart Beets says
Hi Oliver, you can leave them out if you don’t have them – it’ll still be great! The fenugreek leaves do make this dish taste more restaurant-like so I would suggest getting them if you can in the future.
Tania benatar says
i have to say, after 35 min, my chickpeas were still crunchy. Very disappointing. i’m ‘trying 15 min more, but honestly, the crowd is getting rowdy. plus i had timed it to go out after. Now im’ delayed and nothing else to feed people. the timing should be increased a lot, or else, should be used with canned chickpeas. i’m afraid this will still not be done in another 15 min.
My Heart Beets says
Tania, and this is with soaked chickpeas? If so, that’s surprising… I wonder if perhaps the beans are very old? Typically old beans take longer to cook and sometimes don’t cook well at all. I hope it turned out okay!
Emily says
Family favorite, and friends often ask for the recipe. I always throw some potatoes in, because I love them in curries. If using canned garbanzos, you can adjust instant pot cook time to 7 mins or so. I like to add a splash of liquid aminos (like soy sauce) after cooking too. Thank you for the great recipe!
My Heart Beets says
Emily, that’s so awesome to hear! Thanks for letting me know how much you like this and also for sharing those tips!
Elaine says
Do I put the coconut milk in the refrigerator overnight so that the cream separates from the liquid?
Angie says
Do you have a suggestion of what to make with the remainder of the coconut milk in the can after using the full fat at the top for this recipe? I do own your cookbook as well if there is a recipe in there you can suggest. Trying to be thoughtful of waste
My Heart Beets says
Hi Angie, you can use it in any dal recipe or save it for a smoothie. If I don’t have use for the leftover milk right away, I freeze it in an ice cube tray and then just stir it into a cooked dal that has thickened up. Hope that helps! This is a great dal to try if you haven’t yet: https://myheartbeets.com/instant-pot-kerala-parippu-curry/
Anna says
Big hit with everyone! Delicious and very filling. Question: does this freeze ok?
My Heart Beets says
Hi Anna, that’s so great to hear! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you š I haven’t tried freezing this dish but don’t see why not – please let me know how it goes if you do. Hopefully another reader can help answer this as well.