If you ever thought making Indian Palak Paneer (or Spinach with Paneer) was complicated, here's the recipe that will convince you otherwise. Delicious, nutritious, full-flavored, and super easy to make!
Why This Palak Paneer Recipe Is So Good
I like recipes where you throw things in and walk away and they taste fantastic. Call me lazy, call me efficient, whichever, it works for me.
I spent a lot of time trying to come up with a recipe that was simple, and that didn't require much effort. So essentially it needed to be a pour and cook recipe that harnessed the power of pressure cooking to extract every last bit of flavor from the vegetables.
So this is one of those. There's really only one additional step that you might consider adding, which is to sauté the ginger and garlic and chili in oil, to get the oil richly flavored.
But to be honest I've made it both ways--by flavoring the oil, and by dumping everything in and cooking it. I must admit, I can't always tell the difference.
So you do whatever sounds good to you, and I'm sure it will work out just fine.
How To Make Palak Paneer
I have instructions for how to make this in the Instant Pot as well as a slow cooker, so feel free to make it whichever way you prefer.
Pressure Cooker
- Set pot to sauté and when hot, put in the oil. When the oil starts to shimmer, put in the garlic and ginger and chili, and sauté for a bit.
- Dump all ingredients except paneer together and set to high pressure for 4 mins.
- When done, use an immersion blender and mush everything up into either a very smooth puree, or leave some bits un-chopped. You'll probably have to tilt the pot a little to get your blender to work.
- Gently mix in the paneer and serve
Slow Cooker
- Cook on high for 3 hours. Push the spinach down once so all gets moist.
- When done, use an immersion blender and mush everything up into either a very smooth puree, or leave some bits un-chopped
- Gently mix in the paneer and serve
Can You Freeze Palak Paneer?
Yes, this recipe actually freezes quite well. Just make sure that you're freezing it in small batches as opposed to one big container. That way it will reheat faster the next time you find yourself wanting some.
Tips And Tricks For Making Palak Paneer
- Now in this recipe, you can either buy ready-made paneer at the Indian grocery store, or better still, you can make your own paneer at home by following my very simple, fail-proof homemade paneer recipe.
- You can use either fresh or frozen spinach for this. If you're using frozen, just break up the blocks of spinach a little.
- You can also mix up greens for this such as adding swiss chard, collard greens, or mustard greens. This would make it more of a saag paneer since Palak means spinach. It's actually very tasty that way.
Enjoy Paneer And Looking For More Recipes? Check These Out!
- Make some restaurant-quality Indian peas and paneer or Matar Paneer in your Instant Pot or pressure cooker.
- Make this low carb quick Paneer Tikka with just a few spices, and pan-fry in ghee for a boost of fat to make this keto-friendly.
- This fantastic and supremely easy Instant Pot Vegetarian Paneer Biryani is an easy, authentic, kid-friendly, vegetarian dinner that is done in under 30 minutes.
So next time you get the craving for some Palak Paneer, save yourself the unnecessary extra time and effort and follow this delicious recipe! Make sure to let me know if you enjoyed this recipe in the comments!
★ Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to give it a star rating below! Just click on the stars in the recipe card to rate.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons (2 teaspoons) Oil
- 5 cloves (5 cloves) Garlic, chopped
- 1 tablespoon (1 tablespoon) Ginger, chopped
- 1/2 (0.5 ) Jalapeño Peppers, chopped
- 1 (1 ) Onion, chopped
- 1 pounds (453.59 g) fresh spinach
- 2 (2 ) Tomatoes, chopped
- 2 teaspoons (2 teaspoons) Ground Cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Cayenne Pepper, (adjust as needed)
- 2 teaspoons (2 teaspoons) Garam Masala
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Turmeric
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Kosher Salt
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) Water
- 1.5 cup (337.5 g) paneer
Instructions
Pressure Cooker
- Set pot to sauté and when hot, put in the oil. When the oil starts to shimmer, put in the garlic and ginger and chili, and sauté for a bit.
- Dump all ingredients except paneer together and set to high pressure for 4 mins.
- When done, use as immersion blender and mush everything up into either a very smooth puree, or leave some bits un-chopped. You'll probably have to tilt the pot a little to get your blender to work.
- Gently mix in the paneer and serve
Slow Cooker
- Cook on high for 3 hours. Push the spinach down once so all gets moist.
- When done, use as immersion blender and mush everything up into either a very smooth puree, or leave some bits un-chopped
- Gently mix in the paneer and serve
- Now in this recipe, you can either buy ready-made paneer at the Indian grocery store, or better still, you can make your own paneer at home by following my very simple, fail-proof homemade paneer recipe.
- You can use either fresh or frozen spinach for this. If you're using frozen, just break up the blocks of spinach a little.
- You can also mix up greens for this such as adding swiss chard, collard greens, or mustard greens. This would make it more of a saag paneer since Palak means spinach. It's actually very tasty that way.
Jennifer Witt
I made this tonight and it was so delicious and easy! It was just as good, if not better, than any that I have had from a restaurant. I will be making this again and again. Thank you!
Mary V
I made this last night and everyone loved it! It was a little spicy for my daughter and I but we enjoyed it none-the-less. My husband pronounced it, "A Keeper," so it will be a regular here. Thanks for the terrific recipe!
URVASHI PITRE
Glad everyone enjoyed it