Palak Paneer

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Richly seasoned with bite-sized pieces of paneer in a creamy spinach sauce, this traditional Palak Paneer recipe is naturally vegetarian and gluten-free and can be served as a main course or side dish. It’s ready to serve in less than 20 minutes and also freezes well.

Palak paneer is India’s answer to creamed spinach with the addition of cubed paneer, a soft cheese. In other words, it’s a comfort dish that you can indulge in without any guilt because it’s low carb and fully of nutritious goodness!

Palak Paneer Ingredients & Substitutions

• Spinach: I prefer and recommend baby spinach as regular spinach can result in a bitter flavor. If you use regular/large spinach you can add a little sugar to your paneer palak to compensate.
• Onion, Garlic and Ginger: Essential aromatics. Fresh garlic and ginger are about a hundred times more flavorful than bottled.
• Green Chili Pepper: You can use any variety (e.g. Thai, jalapeno, serrano). Choose one based on your heat preference (I use jalapeno because I prefer it milder).
• Tomatoes: You can use any variety but I like to use Roma because it’s meatier and with fewer seeds. I think the tomatoes give the palak paneer an essential flavor element, so I also like to add just a bit of concentrated tomato paste. You can substitute ketchup in its place and then omit the added sugar.
• Spices: Garam masala forms the flavor base with the addition of some extra cardamom, turmeric, salt, pepper and a pinch of Kashmiri chili powder for just the slightest touch of heat (or substitute cayenne, which is hotter). Kashmiri chili powder is pretty mild but if you don’t want any heat at all, simply omit it. For the garam masala, I always recommend homemade spice blends whenever possible because its freshness and flavor just can’t be beat. Check out my recipe for homemade Garam Masala. In addition the spices, I like to add just a pinch of sugar for flavor balance.
• Ghee: If you don’t have ghee you can use butter or oil.
• Heavy Cream and Broth: The cream adds texture and flavor and while you can use water, I like to use vegetable broth for the added flavor.
• Lemon Juice: This adds brightness to the earthy spinach. You can add more or less according to your taste.

Chef Tips

Some recipes call for blanching or steaming the spinach. I’ve found that sautéing the spinach along with the onions, garlic, ginger and tomatoes significantly improves its flavor. To avoid any bitter taste, I also recommend using baby spinach. For the paneer, depending on whether you prefer it firmer or softer, you can opt to fry it first in a non-stick pan with some oil.

Palak Paneer Recipe

This simple one-pot dish is easy to make and is ready to serve in about 30 minutes. Here’s how to make palak paneer:

• Heat the ghee (or butter or oil) over medium-high heat and cook the onion until it’s soft and translucent, 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and spices and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and chili pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Add the spinach in batches (just depending however much your pot can hold at a time) along with the vegetable broth and saute until wilted. Once wilted add the next batch. Cover the pot, reduce the heat, and let it simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the cream and use a blender stick or blender to puree the mixture to a just slightly chunky consistency. Stir in the paneer and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and add more salt to taste.

This recipe serves 4 as a main dish or 6 as a side dish.

Storage, Freezing and Reheating

Palak paneer will keep for up to 2 days in the fridge. You can reheat it on the stovetop or in the microwave. It likely will have thickened some so be prepared to add a little extra broth or cream when reheating. Paneer freezes well and so does palak paneer. Let it thaw slowly in the fridge overnight and just give it a thorough stir when reheating.

How to Serve Palak Paneer

Serve the palak paneer with Naan, Sourdough Naan, Dosa, roti and/or steamed rice and some refreshing Cucumber Raita. Pickled Red Onions also make a nice accompaniment. And of course you can’t beat a good Mango Chutney to accompany your naan or roti. For something sweet to offset your savory meal, consider some Fruit Chaat or a Mango Lassi.

For more authentic Indian recipes try my:

• Butter Chicken
• Chicken Tikka Masala
• Egg Curry
• Tandoori Chicken
• Eggplant Curry
• Dosa
• Chicken Biryani
• Chicken Xacuti
• Shrimp Curry
• Chana Masala
• Dal Palak
• Masoor Dal
• Balti Chicken
• Lamb Curry
• Pakistani Chickpea & Pistachio Fudge
• Mango Chutney
• Mango Lassi
• Bobotie (not Indian, but a phenomenal curry-flavored dish)