I'm sure by now you've all seen the amazing vegan curried cauliflower recipe that's been going around on Instagram. I was first introduced to this recipe by my friend Shishir, who is a fantastic Indian cook. I had no idea that cauliflower could taste so good! Since then, I've made this curry many times, and it's always a hit. In fact, my friends are so obsessed with it that they've even started calling it "the magic curry." So if you're looking for an easy, delicious, and healthy vegan dish, look no further than this Indian cauliflower curry recipe. Enjoy!

This cauliflower curry Indian recipe is a staple in Indian cuisine, and it is often cooked with potatoes, which is called Aloo Gobi curry. I think it is the easiest of cauliflower curry recipes by far!
Gobi means Cauliflower in India; that's why you might have seen some recipes like Indian Gobi Curry.
This wonderful recipe is usually eaten as a side dish, but we often have it as an entrée main dish and basmati rice. We find it very filling.
Jump to:
🧾 Ingredients
This cauliflower vegan curry is made with simple pantry staples that you may already have in your pantry and delivers a big flavor!
Otherwise, you can easily get them on amazon or any ethnic store.

- cauliflower head
- fresh tomatoes (crush or diced tomatoes work)
- onion
- fresh garlic
- fresh ginger
- fresh coriander
- ground cumin
- turmeric powder
- lemon juice or lime juice
- masala curry powder
- red chili flakes
Optional: coconut oil or olive oil
🔪 Instructions
To make an Indian recipe for cauliflower curry, follow these simple steps.

Break up the cauliflower into small florets. You can let them soak for about 20 minutes in a large bowl with water, but this is unnecessary.

Peel the onions, garlic, and ginger with a potato peeler and coarsely chop them. Then add them to a blender's jar and blend until you have a thick paste. You may need to add a couple of tablespoons of water.

Make a paste with the onion, garlic, and ginger, throw them into the immersion blender jar and blend until you have a smooth paste.

Stir-fry the cauliflower florets. In a large skillet, pour the oil and add cauliflower florets stirring occasionally until they have some brown spots.
Stir in the onion and ginger-garlic mixture into the same skillet and saute until the mixture turns slightly brown, adding some water if needed.

Add chopped tomatoes and spices on medium heat, then add half of the fresh coriander leaves.

Season the curry mixture with lemon, salt, and the rest of the fresh or ground coriander.
Taste to ensure the cauliflower is fork-tender and perfectly cooked, and adjust for salt and heat.
🥢 How to serve
This vegan cauliflower curry pairs perfectly with freshly made basmati rice, but you can also have it with seemed potatoes, mashed potatoes, steamed Jasmin rice, naan bread, or brown rice.
You can serve it as a side dish for a tasty protein bowl of masala green lentils.
You can also serve it with spicy pearl onions prepared with Indian spices.

🍶 Substitutions
This easy cauliflower recipe can be easily adjusted and customized to your needs.
- Curry flavor - you can also use madras curry powder, red curry paste, or any yellow curry powder if you don't have garam masala. The flavor will be different but equally delicious.
- Coriander - no worries, if you don't have fresh cilantro, you can use coriander powder
- More veggies - you can add frozen peas (green peas), chopped spinach, red peppers, or even cooked sweet potato. Also, add chickpeas if you want to increase the protein content of this easy cauliflower curry.
- Cumin - you can use cumin seeds instead of cumin powder, but make sure you lightly toast them in a skillet until fragrant.
- Heat - instead of red chili flakes, you can use cayenne pepper, green chili, serrano pepper.
- Tomatoes - if you don't have fresh tomatoes, this wonderful recipe also works with crushed or whole canned tomatoes.
📖 Variations
If you want to make a creamy cauliflower Indian dish, you can simply add one cup of canned coconut milk and skip the lemon juice.
Both light coconut milk and full-fat coconut milk work; just consider that heavy coconut milk will drastically increase your curried cauliflower side dish's saturated fats and calorie count.
We hope this Indian cauliflower curry recipe has shown you that it can make a healthy, delicious, and easy dinner tonight that even meat-eaters will love.
This dish is packed with flavor and nutrients, so you can feel good about serving it up any night of the week.
And best of all, it takes just 30 minutes to prepare! If you’re looking for more quick and easy meal ideas, be sure to check out our other recipes. Start feeling better today by cooking up one of our favorite healthy dishes.
❓FAQ
Various spices include cumin, coriander, turmeric, and chili powder. Vegetarian curries also include onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, coconut milk, coconut-based yogurt or cream, and various vegetables, such as eggplant, cauliflower, peas, potatoes, and spinach.
🍛 More curry recipes
Our Indian Eggplant Curry has been a hit on many tables, and our readers love it; it is also made with garam masala like our mushroom tikka recipe; so don't forget to check them out.
We love our Asian curries, so you might want to check our Yellow Thai Curry, Vegan Green Thai Curry, and Fresh Red Thai Curry.
We also like making our homemade curry paste. See our Thai Yellow Curry paste and Green Curry Paste.
Learn how to roast a whole cauliflower head with only three ingredients! The perfect side dish to impress your guests!

⭐ If you try this recipe, let us know! 💬 Leave a comment, rate it, and don't forget to tag us @ourplantbasedworld on Instagram. Cheers!
📋 Recipe

Indian Cauliflower Curry Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower medium, about 30 oz, 800 grams
- 12 oz peeled tomatoes crushed (crushed canned tomatoes or chunky tomato sauce also work)
- 1 onion medium, coarsely chopped
- 7 cloves garlic
- 1 oz ginger fresh
- 1 bunch coriander fresh, or 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon cumin ground
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon turmeric ground
- 1 tablespoon lemon juiced
- 1 ½ teaspoon sea salt fine
- ½ teaspoon red chili flakes
- ⅓ cup water or water from canned tomatoes, if using
Optional
- 1 tablespoon sunflower seed oil coconut oil, olive oil (skip to make it WFBP, replace with a tablespoon water)
- steamed basmati rice to pair
Directions
- Break up the cauliflower head into small florets. You can let them soak for about 20 minutes in a water bowl if you have the time, but this is not necessary.
- Put the onion, garlic, and ginger into the immersion blender jar and blend until you have a smooth paste. You may need to add 2-3 tablespoons water.
- Brown the cauliflower florets. In a large skillet, pour the oil (or tablespoon of water if cookign without oil) and cook the dried cauliflower florets until they have some brown spots.
- Cook. Add the onion mixture into the same skillet and cook for a couple of minutes until the mixture starts turning brown, adding some water if needed. The curry should be chunky, so don’t overdo the water.
- Keep stirring. Add the tomato, cumin, turmeric,garam masala, chili flakes, and half of the fresh coriander leaves. Add some water if needed. Cook for about 15 minutes until the cauliflower is slightly soft.
- Season. Add the lemon juice, salt, and the rest of the fresh or ground coriander.
- Taste and adjust.
Video
Nutrition Facts
🌡️ Food safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with a high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
Nutritional Disclaimer
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice. See our full Nutritional Disclosure here.
Affiliate Disclaimer
Please note that some of the links here are affiliate links, and I will earn a commission if you purchase through those links. I recommend all of the products listed because they are companies I have found helpful and trustworthy.
Gina says
So much flavor in this simple dish and a wonderful meal when you don't have much on hand!
Gus says
Thank you for trying our recipe, Gina! I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it. We love this dish too because it's simple and flavorful. Thanks again for sharing your experience with us.
Savita says
The curry looks so easy to make and is full of flavors. A perfect Indian dinner to devour.
Gus says
Thank you for trying our Curry dish, Savita. We're glad to hear that you enjoyed the flavors and found the curry easy to make. We hope you'll give some of our other dishes a try as well!
Kate says
I just love cauliflower with curry spices and this doesn't disappoint - totally delicious and easy to make too!
Beth says
This might be one of the best cauliflower recipes I've ever seen. I love all those bold flavors, and I love what a healthy side it is.
Claudia Lamascolo says
I had never used curry before until now and that made a fantastic flavor for this cauliflower!
Jamie says
I love the spices in this cauliflower curry! It's so satisfying and flavorful!
Sara says
I made this when we had some friends over for dinner and we all LOVED it! So much flavor. I'll be making again for sure. s
Jess says
I love how flavorful this is. Another great recipe!
Gus says
Thank you for your kind words about our Indian Curry, Jess! We're glad you enjoy it as much as we do. 🙂
Kris says
The spices in this were spot on! Super yummy. Thank you for another winner! 🙂
Gus says
Thank you for trying our new cauliflower side dish, Kris! We're glad you enjoyed all those spices! We appreciate your feedback and hope you'll continue to try our recipes!
Andrea says
I love the combination of curry and cauliflower! Thanks so much for this great recipe.
ADRIANA says
Enhorabuena por vuestro gran trabajo. No soy vegetariana ni vegana pero me encanta comer verduras y hacerlo de esta manera tan sabrosa.
Queria preguntar porque a veces cuando hago curry con leche de coco se me queda como cortada. De sabor esta bueno pero la presentación es horrorosa. Espero que me podáis ayudar. Muchas gracias.
Gus says
Hola Adriana, muchas gracias por tu mensaje! Nos encanta tener lectores que siguen o no, todo tipo de dietas... al final todos necesitamos un poco de vegetales en nuestra vida, no? Mira, con la leche de coco, la clave está en echarla justo cuando el refrito ya está hecho y agregas el curry que vayas a utilizar, en ese momento agregas la leche de coco (queda más cremosa si es leche de coco entera) y luego revuelves bien y antes de agregar el resto de los ingredientes.
En el caso de usar alguna carne, la agregarías justo después del curry y antes de la leche de coco, en el momento que ya esté dorada. Puedes buscar en nuestro sitio el curry verde y curry amarillo. En esos post, está explicado con lujo de detalles.
Saludos!