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Creamy Cashew Curry with Tofu


This cashew curry is made with pan-fried tofu, sweet potatoes and broccoli in a spiced cashew butter sauce. It’s rich, creamy, and full of flavor!

I don’t know about you, but I do a lot of cooking with cashews. Cashews are a staple in lots of vegan kitchens, because they do such a great job of replicating dairy-based ingredients in dishes like fettuccine Alfredo, vegan cream cheese, and even creamy vegan soups like broccoli cheese soup.

But all of those dishes use raw cashews, and in a way that you don’t really even realize your eating cashews (that’s kind of the idea when they’re pretending to be dairy).

Today I wanted to share a recipe that puts cashews in center stage, in the same way that dishes like peanut noodles and African peanut soup do for peanuts. Cashews can be used in similar ways to peanuts, but they offer more mellow, sweeter flavor. They’re incredibly delicious, and deserve some love!

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Ingredients You’ll Need

  • Vegetable oil. You can use whatever high-heat oil you normally like to cook with. Coconut oil, avocado oil, and corn oil will all work.
  • Tofu. The recipe calls for super-firm tofu, but extra-firm tofu will work fine as a substitute as long as it’s pressed before cooking.
  • Onion.
  • Garlic.
  • Ginger.
  • Spices. We’re using a mix of mild curry powder, garam masala, and ground cumin.
  • Coconut milk. Use canned coconut milk. The recipe calls for full-fat coconut milk, but light will work as a substitute if you need to reduce the fat and calorie content of this dish.
  • Diced tomatoes. We’re using canned diced tomatoes.
  • Sweet potato.
  • Broccoli.
  • Cashew butter.
  • Sriracha sauce. You can leave this out if you prefer a milder curry, or use extra if you like it spicy! Make sure to buy a vegan brand of sriracha (not all of them are). I used Kitchen Garden brand.
  • Lime juice. Use freshly squeezed lime juice to give your curry the best possible flavor.
  • Fresh cilantro. Cilantro haters can substitute with fresh basil and scallions.
  • Salt.
  • Roasted cashews.
  • Cooked rice. This is for serving your curry. Feel free to skip it, or use quinoa as an alternative.

How It’s Made

The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you’d like to skip right to the recipe!

Onions and spices cooking in a pot on the stove.

Heat some oil in a large pot, then add diced onion. Sweat the onion until it begins to soften, then add minced garlic, grated ginger and spices. Sauté everything for about a minute.

Sweet potatoes and tomatoes simmering in curry sauce on the stove.

Stir in the coconut milk, diced tomatoes, and diced sweet potato. Raise the heat and bring the liquid to a boil. Then lower the heat and let the mixture simmer until the sweet potato is tender.

Tofu cubes cooking in a skillet.

Cook the tofu while the curry simmers. Heat some oil in a nonstick skillet, then add diced tofu. Cook the tofu cubes for a few minutes on each side, until they’re golden brown and crispy.

Vegetables simmering in curry sauce in a pot on the stove.

Once the sweet potato is soft, add broccoli florets to the curry and stir in the cashew butter. Continue simmering the curry for a few minutes more, until the broccoli is tender and bright green.

Pot of Curry on the stove with chopped cashews and pan-fried tofu on top.

Now stir in the lime juice, sriracha, chopped roasted cashews, and cooked tofu cubes. Take the pot off of heat.

Pot of Cashew Curry with wooden spoon and chopped cilantro on top.

Finish the cashew curry off by adding chopped fresh cilantro and salt to taste.

Bowl of Cashew Curry with a tea towel in the background.

Your curry is ready to serve! Ladle it into bowls with some rice, and garnish each serving with some whole roasted cashews.

Leftovers & Storage

Leftover cashew curry will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about four days.

More Curry Recipes

Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!

Bowl of Cashew Curry over rice with a fork and spoon.

Creamy Cashew Curry with Tofu

This cashew curry is made with pan-fried tofu, sweet potatoes and broccoli in a spiced cashew butter sauce. It’s rich, creamy, and full of flavor!

Ingredients

  • 1
    tablespoon
    vegetable oil,
    divided
  • 1
    medium onion,
    diced
  • 4
    garlic cloves,
    minced
  • 1
    tablespoon
    freshly grated ginger
  • 2
    teaspoons
    mild curry powder
  • 1
    teaspoon
    garam masala
  • 1
    teaspoon
    ground cumin
  • 1
    (13.5 ounce/398 ml) can
    full-fat coconut milk
  • 1
    (14.5 ounce/411 gram) can
    diced tomatoes
  • 1
    medium sweet potato,
    scrubbed and diced
  • 8
    ounces
    super-firm tofu,
    cut into ½ inch cubes
  • 1
    small broccoli crown,
    broken into florets
  • ¼
    cup
    creamy cashew butter
  • 1
    tablespoon
    lime juice
  • ½
    cup
    roasted cashews,
    roughly chopped
  • ¼
    cup
    chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1
    teaspoon
    salt,
    or to taste

For Serving

  • Cooked rice
  • Roasted whole cashews,

Instructions

  1. Coat the bottom of a large pot with half of the oil and place it over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion. Sweat the onion for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until it becomes soft and translucent.

  2. Stir in the minced garlic, ginger, curry powder, garam masala, and ground cumin. Sauté the mixture for about 1 minute, until it becomes very fragrant.

  3. Stir in the coconut milk, diced tomatoes, and sweet potato. Raise the heat to high and bring the liquid to a boil, then lower the heat allow it to simmer, stirring often, until the sweet potato is tender, about 15 minutes. In the meantime, you can proceed to the next step of cooking the tofu.

  4. While the curry simmers, coat the bottom of a medium nonstick skillet with the remaining half tablespoon of oil. Once the oil is hot, add the tofu cubes in a single layer. Cook the tofu for about 10 minutes, flipping the pieces one or two times, until they are browned and crispy. Transfer the tofu to a plate when done.

  5. Once the sweet potato is soft, stir the broccoli and cashew butter into the curry. Let it continue simmering for about three minutes, just until the broccoli is tender and bright green.

  6. Stir in the lime juice and chopped cashews, then remove the pot from heat.

  7. Stir in the cilantro and season the curry with salt.

  8. Serve over rice with whole cashews sprinkled on top.

Recipe Notes

This recipe makes four very generous servings. You could easily stretch it to six servings.

Nutrition Facts

Creamy Cashew Curry with Tofu

Amount Per Serving

Calories 564
Calories from Fat 378

% Daily Value*

Fat 42g65%

Saturated Fat 23g115%

Trans Fat 0.02g

Polyunsaturated Fat 6g

Monounsaturated Fat 11g

Sodium 855mg36%

Potassium 1196mg34%

Carbohydrates 39g13%

Fiber 7g28%

Sugar 9g10%

Protein 16g32%

Vitamin A 8647IU173%

Vitamin C 76mg92%

Calcium 156mg16%

Iron 8mg44%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.





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