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
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📖 Recipe
Saag Paneer | Palak Paneer in Instant Pot
Equipment
Ingredients
Pressure Cook
- 1 tablespoon ghee or olive oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ inch ginger grated or finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 cup onion (1 medium onion, chopped or sliced)
- 1 green chili (optional)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 2 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon kashmiri red chilli powder (or Paprika)
- 12 oz. baby spinach
- 1 cup water adjust based on size of pot
Add After Pressure Cooking
- 10 oz. paneer cubed in ½ inch pieces (Costco or Indian grocery store)
- 1 teaspoon butter (optional)
Instructions
Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
- Prep: Coarsely chop or slice onions, ginger and garlic. Chop paneer cubes in ½ inch cubes. Wash the baby spinach, if not pre-washed.
- Turn on the Instant Pot on SAUTE (high). When it displays 'hot', add oil and cumin seeds. When cumin seeds begin to sizzle, add onions, ginger, garlic, chili, and sauté for about 1 minute, till onions turn translucent.
- Add salt and spices and stir well. Add ½ cup water and use it to deglaze the pot. Add baby spinach with ½ cup water and close the lid. Hit 'cancel' and set pressure valve to SEALING position. Cook on Manual or Pressure cook for 0 minutes.
- After pressure cooking is done, release the pressure manually (QR). Using an immersion blender, puree the spinach mix. If the quantity is less for blending, tilt the pot a bit.
- Turn on SAUTE (medium). Stir in paneer cubes and simmer for 1 minute, till paneer cubes become soft. Turn off the Instant Pot. Stir in butter. This adds a silky smooth finish to the sauce, and gives it a gorgeous shine. Serve hot with cumin rice or naan. Enjoy!
Stove-Top Recipe
- 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. Add sliced onion and green chili, and 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 immersion blender puree the spinach mix. Add a little water if needed.
- 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.
Video
Notes
- This recipe has been tested in 3qt and 6 qt Instant Pot DUO and ULTRA models.
- Cook time = Pressure cooking time, which in this case is '0' mins.
- Estimated Total time: Prep: 10 mins, Saute: 2-3 mins, Pressure Build-up time: 10 mins +/-, Pressure Cooking Time: 0 mins, Saute: 1 min, Total time: 25 mins.
- This recipe can be made 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.
- To avoid the spinach from splattering, tilt the pot a bit till the blender is completely submerged in sauce and that does the trick.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted in 2018, but was updated in 2019 with new photos, helpful information, tips, and step-by-step photos.
Brian M says
Quick, easy and flawless. In a wonderful coincidence, I found your recipe just as my garden was taken over by a "mustardy" salad green that re-seeded itself. My first attempt - which was nearly as good as the best Saag I've ever had in a restaurant - combined easy to grow Russian Kale with this green in about a 1:4 ratio. Superb! The pandemic limits availability of products like cheese curds in my rural town, so I used Feta instead. It was fine, if a bit salty, so adjust recipe salt downward a bit if using Feta. I also found that adding a touch of soy sauce for umami made the *flavor* of the cheese unnecessary, and the cheese's *texture* could probably be replaced by a medium-firm tofu. Thanks so much for posting your recipe.
Aneesha says
Hi Brain, I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe. Your observations are spot on. And I recommend substituting paneer with extra-firm tofu- it holds better in the spinach sauce. I'll post a recipe to make paneer from scratch soon, so you can try the original recipe too! Thanks again!
Louis says
Hello! I’m excited to try this but what kind of chili is green chili? I have a lot to choose from at my store. 🙂
Aneesha says
Hi Louis, you can use 1 serrano or 1/2 a jalapeno. Thai chilies are another great option, but they tend to be on the spicier side. I hope you enjoy this recipe!
Cindy says
Finally! My favorite dish in all the world is palak/saag paneer. I've tried various recipes but they've all been "Not quite." This one is spot on perfect!
Aneesha says
Hi Cindy, I'm so happy to hear that, thank you! Hope you try other restaurant favorites from the blog as well!
Kate says
I'm pretty sure I followed the recipe, but we found that it needed more spices/salt and that there was too high a ratio of paneer to spinach for our taste. When I make it again, I think I will plan to bump up the salt and spices by 50%, and will cut the paneer amount by 50% to see how it works out.
Aneesha says
Hi Kate, I'm glad you were able to customize the recipe to your liking. In general, palak paneer is a mildly spiced dish, but can easily be adjusted to personal taste. So is the ratio of paneer to saag. Most restaurants skimp on the paneer to cut costs, but again, tweak it to your preference. Hope you enjoy it more next time!
Michele says
Does anyone else hate spinach salad as much as I do🙋🏻? This is by far the best way to eat spinach!!! Very quick to make. I use the stovetop method as spinach cooks so quickly it s not really worth getting the insapot out.
Aneesha says
Hi Michele! My daughter says that too, and won't eat spinach any other way 🙂 Both methods work equally well, even I keep switching back and forth. Glad you enjoyed it, thank you for rating it!
Neelam Singh says
Great recipe. I love palak paneer but find most recipes overcook the palak and it turns out brownish. This was cooked perfectly and came out vibrant green. I was not sure if the IP setting should have been on low pressure at 0 time or high pressure. I opted to err on low pressure to avoid overcooking and it was perfect. Did you also have the IP setting at low pressure?
I made my own paneer that came out wonderfully using this super easy and new [to me] way of using yogurt instead of lemon juice to curdle the milk https://myfoodstory.com/make-homemade-paneer-cottage-cheese-15-minutes/
I lightly fried my paneer cubes in jeera seeds and ghee and also sliced some small potatoes and lightly fried them in the same ghee after the paneer - used a cast iron pan for perfect browning----- So yum! Thanks
Aneesha says
Hi Neelam, so glad to hear that. And yes, I cooked it on low pressure too, will clarify that in the recipe, Thanks for pointing it out! Hope you try other recipes from the blog 🙂
Eli B says
This is a beautiful recipe and absolutely delicious. I used the stove-top method since I was making it as a side for InstantPot Shrimp Biryani. I used an organic whole milk, full fat paneer which has a wonderful, silky texture. I found this Paneer as well as Kashmiri chili powder and ingredients for home-made Garam Masala at Patel Bros. Thank you so much Aneeshasg for sharing your family recipe - it's a treasure.
Aneesha says
Hi Eli, thank you for such a beautiful message. You just made my day! I am so glad you enjoyed it so much. Thanks again!
Laura says
Amazing. Tried a few other recipes but this one blows them out of the water! Will make again!
Aneesha says
Yay! Thanks so much Laura, I am so glad you loved it so much! Do try some of the other Indian favorites like Aloo Gobi, Chicken Tikka Masala (if you eat chicken), and Dal Makhani (Madras Lentils)!
Sheri says
I love Chicken Saag. Have you ever cooked it with meat?
Aneesha says
Hi Sheri, Sure, here is the recipe: https://spicecravings.com/chicken-saag-palak-chicken. Hope you love it 🙂
Kriti says
Made this tonight and it was delicious! Thanks for posting this one pot recipe.
Aneesha says
Hi Kriti, thanks so much! I am glad you enjoyed it!
Denise says
Delish!
Aneesha says
Hi Denise, thank you so much!
Lisa says
Ever since I've found your site, this recipe is the 2nd most frequently made in my Instant Pot. I adore your clear instructions, and the videos are supremely helpful. Thank you for making my life inexplicably easier and a lot more diverse.
I cook usually about once a week or so, and the girls at my job always rave about my curry dishes. what they don't know is, I only share my food less than half of the times that I've made it. I love to share, but the paneer curries make me (and my family) very stingy with the leftovers.
Thank you for an amazingly simple and absolutely euphoric recipe!
Aneesha says
Hi Lisa, thank you SO much for such a sweet and touching comment. It made my day! I am so glad that you are enjoying my recipes. I hope to bring many more such recipes to you! Thanks again for sharing!
Karen says
this is a great recipe! Super easy --i've made it with lots of different kinds of greens --even kale --delicious! 🙂
Aneesha | Spice Cravings says
Hi Karen, thank you so much for sharing that! I am super glad that you enjoy it with other greens too. There's a mustard greens saag recipe on the blog that you might enjoy as well. Thanks again!
Lindsey says
Good thinking!!! Thank you!
aneeshasg says
You're welcome! Enjoy!
Lindsey says
I am excited to make this tonight! Do you know how I could add potatoes to it? This is my first time using my IP!
aneeshasg says
Hi Lindsey, My apologies for the late reply, I was traveling so missed your comment. Potatoes sounds like a delicious combination in this dish. I would add the cubed potatoes and pressure cook them with the tomato onion mix. Then, remove the potatoes and keep aside. Add the spinach and follow the pureeing step and add the potatoes back in the dish. Would love to hear how you like it!
Linda says
I'm so delighted I discovered your page through the Instant Pot group! My eyes lit up when I saw Palak Paneer ---- a favorite of mine. BUT - I've always had the version WITHOUT tomato - and finished off with a fair amount of CREAM - so it is very creamy. After many trials, I finally found a recipe that was 'almost'what I remembered enjoying in the Haveli Restaurant in Houston, TX. I did discover that one thing that added a 'familiar' flavor was the chick pea flour that was used as a flavoring and slight thickening. I remember it had cinnamon stick and cardamon pods. I don't remember much of a cumin flavor, but there was fresh ginger and probably a little garlic. Is there any way that you might be able to find a recipe that is similar? I'll be doing flip flops over my Instant Pot if you can suggest a recipe that might work! ;D Meanwhile, I've signed up for your newsletter and really looking forward to it! Thanks!
aneeshasg says
Thank you for your kind words Linda, I am so glad you like my blog. Hope my recipes go above and beyond your expectations!
The dish and flavors you're describing sounds like a restaurant variation of Saag- Spiced Mustard Greens, and I do have a recipe for that 🙂 Here it is: http://spicecravings.com/sarson-ka-saag-spiced-mustard-greens.
You'll see that there is no tomato in that, the seasoning is Garam masala and coriander powder and I use fine ground cornmeal to thicken it, but you can toast some chickpea flour and use that too. The cream is a restaurant addition to this recipe, so you can add 1/4 cup towards the end and adjust the creaminess to your taste. Hope this helps- would love to hear how you like it!
Linda says
Thank you soooo very much for your reply and the recipe! I can hardly wait to get to the grocery store and get some 'greens' - and probably some paneer. My paneer never firms up so it will stay cut in cubes, when I make it. Any suggestions? Thanks again!!!
aneeshasg says
You're welcome Linda! Hope you love it! With paneer, if it's not setting, it's probably not drained well. I have recently started using a "tofu Press" and that works well. It's <$10 and does the job of draining and setting the paneer. I git it from Amazon incase you want to look it up!
Linda says
I'll check amazon now. Thanks for the tip! Paneer is so easy to make.... but I guess if I can't make it to 'cube', I can always rinse it well and add it at the end like cottage cheese...... which makes me wonder.... if I don't have paneer, couldn't I rinse large curd cottage cheese very well and add it just before serving? Thanks again.
aneeshasg says
I've never tried using cottage cheese in this recipe, so can't say. If you do try it out, would love to hear how it worked out.
aneeshasg says
Thank you so much for rating the recipe! Made my day 🙂