Palak Paneer / Saag Paneer

Palak Paneer, also known as Saag Paneer, is a popular north-Indian curry made by simmering soft paneer cubes (Indian cottage cheese), in a flavorful spinach gravy. Try this simple one-pot pressure cooker recipe and enjoy this vegetarian restaurant favorite in under 30 minutes.

My Mom's Easy 30-Minute Recipe

This is my mom's family-famous recipe! She always makes it on the stove, but I have adapted it to my pressure cooker, Instant Pot, to make this more hands-off, with minimum baby-sitting.

Traditionally, Palak Paneer is made with large spinach leaves, that come in bunches. They are dark green in color and have an earthy taste. In this recipe, I take a shortcut and use pre-washed baby spinach.

The taste is phenomenal, and I save myself the time it takes to triple wash the large spinach bunch. This recipe can also work with frozen spinach, but in my opinion, fresh baby spinach makes a tastier curry in just '0' minutes of pressure cooking time. If using frozen spinach, increase the pressure cooking time to 1 minute.

What does '0' Minutes Pressure Cook Time Mean

What this zero minutes cook time does is essentially steam the vegetables (or anything), in the time it takes to build pressure. This works great for steaming vegetables, or cooking thin filets of fish, without over-cooking them.

What is the Difference Between Saag Paneer and Palak Paneer

Even though restaurants use these names interchangeably, there is a small difference between the two. Saag, refers to a variety of green leafy vegetables, including Spinach (called Palak in Hindi), Mustard Greens, Fenugreek, Collard Greens, and other similar varieties.

The availability of the kind of greens largely depends on the region and weather. Typically in northern India, Saag refers to a combination of spinach and mustard greens, whereas Palak is the Hindi name for spinach.

The main difference between the two is that Saag Paneer can be made with any leafy greens or a combination of greens, but, Palak Paneer refers to a curry made with spinach leaves only.

How to Make Saag Paneer with other Greens

As long you match the quantity of the greens to around 10-12 ounces, you can make this recipe with any greens of your choice.

Some alternatives that have worked well for me are baby kale or regular kale, mustard greens, a mix of collard greens and spinach. Here is a Recipe for Sarson ka Saag made with Mustard Greens and Spinach.

And if you'd like to make fresh paneer, follow this easy homemade paneer recipe using the Instant pot or stove.

How to Make Instant Pot Saag Paneer

I have to admit, this recipe took me some time to get right. The taste was great each time, I just wasn't happy with the color and consistency. After a few trials, I finalized this recipe, and it's a keeper for sure. Here's how I make it:

Step 1: Pressure Cook. I start by sautéing the onions, fresh ginger, garlic, chilies for a couple of minutes. Then I add a little water, spices and all the baby spinach. Turn off Saute. Close the lid and pressure cook for '0' minutes. This time was key in retaining the gorgeous color of spinach.

Step 2: Release Pressure (QR). After pressure cooking is done, and the cooker switches to the 'keep warm' mode, I manually release the pressure (QR), by turning the knob to 'Venting' position in DUO model, and pushing down the pressure valve in the ULTRA model.

Step 3: Blend.Using an immersion blender, I blend the spinach till I reach my desired consistency. Add water if needed. Traditionally, this curry has a silky smooth texture, but you can leave it a bit chunky if you like. (you may want to read the section about avoiding spinach splatters while pureeing).

Step 4: Add Paneer and Simmer. Turn on Saute on medium setting. The reason we do that is that spinach puree tends to create large bubbles when simmering. They are super tasty, but trust me, you don't want them landing on your hands 🙂 Add the cubed paneer pieces, a teaspoon of butter, and simmer everything for 1 minute, till the paneer becomes tender.

Variations: Palak Tofu (Vegan) and Saag Aloo

• Palak Tofu: You can make this recipe vegan by swapping out the paneer with Extra-Firm Tofu.  Follow the recipe exactly, just switch out the paneer with cubed tofu pieces.
• Saag Aloo: There are two ways of making Saag Aloo:
  • Follow the recipe as-is and boil your preferred potatoes separately while the greens are pressure cooking. Chop the cooked potatoes to about ½-3/4 inch in size. Puree the greens and add the chopped potatoes and saute for a few minutes. This allows the potatoes to soak in the flavors. Done!
  • Or, you can follow this one-pot recipe for Saag Aloo.

Stove-Top Recipe for Palak Paneer, Saag Paneer

✅Heat a deep sauce pan on medium high heat.  Since spinach puree tends to splash when simmering, using a deep sauce pan prevents it from messing the cooktop.

✅Add oil and cumin seeds.  When cumin seeds begin to sizzle, add crushed ginger and garlic.  Sliced onion and green chili go in next, sauté for a minute. 

✅Add salt, spices and stir well.   Then, add ¾ cup water, stir, cover the pan and cook for about 5-7 minutes on medium heat.

✅Open the lid and add ½ bag of baby spinach and stir to wilt, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining spinach and wilt for around 2 minutes.  Saute for another 1 minute. Turn off the heat. Using a hand blender puree the spinach mix.

✅Turn the heat back on to medium, add paneer cubes and simmer for 1 min, till paneer cubes become soft.  Turn off the heat.   Stir in butter, this adds a silky smooth finish to the sauce, and gives it a gorgeous shine.

Pro Tip for Pureeing Spinach Without Painting your Kitchen Green 🙂

Hand immersion blenders are great when you want to puree a sauce and get a velvety smooth finish. But, unless the quantity is enough to submerge the blender-head in the sauce, they tend to splash the sauce all over.

To avoid that, I tilt the pot a bit till the blender is completely submerged in sauce and that does the trick.  Alternatively, I transfer the spinach mix to a tall measuring cup.  I puree the spinach in that and there are no splashes at all.

Serving Suggestions to Enjoy a Delicious Indian Vegetarian Meal!

Here are some popular pairings with Palak Paneer.  Usually, we have Palak Paneer with Cumin Basmati Rice or homemade garlic naan. You can pair it with Brown Jasmine rice or Saffron rice as well. Or if you prefer plain rice, here is a super simple Instant Pot Rice recipe.

For a low carb or keto option, try this Indian-spiced cauli rice.

One of my favorite comfort meals is Palak Paneer with Dal Tadka , Cumin Rice and Cucumber Raita. It's one of those meals that I long for when I've been away from home traveling.

Popular Paneer Recipes on the blog

📖 Recipe

This recipe was originally posted in 2018, but was updated in 2019 with new photos, helpful information, tips, and step-by-step photos.