She Skipped the Cream in Butter Chicken and Blended Cashews Into the Sauce Instead

Butter chicken gets much of its rich texture from dairy, with cream or yogurt used to give the tomato-based sauce its smooth finish. Christal Sczebel of Nutrition in the Kitch took another route, using raw cashews and coconut milk in place of those ingredients.

Her dairy-free version combines chicken, zucchini, carrot, and onion with a sauce built from tomato paste, curry paste, spices, coconut milk, and cashews. The dish can be cooked on the stove in about 30 minutes or transferred to a slow cooker for a longer cook.

Raw Cashews Go Straight Into the Sauce

Instead of soaking or adding the cashews after cooking, Sczebel puts ½ cup of raw cashews into the blender with the sauce ingredients. A 15-ounce can of coconut milk supplies the liquid needed to blend the nuts into the mixture.

Tomato paste forms the base, while garam masala, yellow curry powder, turmeric, cayenne, ginger, and red curry paste build the spice blend. Apple cider vinegar and sugar add acid and sweetness to balance the sauce.

Coconut Milk Takes the Place of Cream

Cashews thicken the sauce as they break down, while coconut milk replaces the liquid and fat that cream would provide. Blending both ingredients with the tomato paste creates the finished sauce before it reaches the pan.

That method also keeps pieces of cashew out of the finished dish. Once blended, the nuts become part of the sauce rather than a topping or separate ingredient.

Blender Handles the Sauce Before Cooking Starts

All sauce ingredients go into a blender and are processed until smooth. This includes the coconut milk, cashews, tomato paste, curry paste, vinegar, sugar, and spices.

The separate blender step means the sauce enters the skillet with its texture already established. There is no cream to stir in at the end or yogurt that needs to be tempered against the heat.

Chicken and Vegetables Cook in One Pan

For the stovetop version, onion and garlic cook in olive oil before bite-size chicken pieces, diced zucchini, and carrot join the pan. After about eight to ten minutes, the blended sauce gets poured over the mixture.

Heat is then reduced while the sauce simmers until the chicken has cooked through. The cashew and coconut mixture coats the chicken and vegetables as it heats.

Slow Cooker Works With the Same Cashew Sauce

Sczebel also uses the same recipe for a slow cooker version. Raw chicken, zucchini, carrot, and onion go into the cooker before the blended sauce is poured over them.

Cooking takes about four hours on high or six hours on low. The finished butter chicken can be served with basmati rice, cauliflower rice, naan, or roasted potatoes.