Palak paneer is my favorite dish to order at Indian restaurants, and I’m excited to offer my homemade version to you! Palak paneer features tender cubes of paneer cheese in a well-seasoned, silky, spinach gravy. Palak literally means spinach, and this vibrant green dish is fully loaded. It’s vegetarian comfort food at its finest.
Palak paneer hails from the Punjab region in Northern India. I hope to visit India someday, but until then, I’m basing my version on the various Indian restaurants I frequent. I wanted to learn how to make my own palak paneer with organic spinach when I was expecting our son, since spinach is unfortunately higher in pesticide residues by weight than any other type of produce.
I made this dish over and over (no less than six times, to be exact) to ensure that the recipe offers maximum flavor while being streamlined from start to finish. Now you can make palak paneer for dinner any time you crave it. This recipe is ready in about 45 minutes!
3 Reasons to Make This Palak Paneer
This recipe is a little different from traditional preparations. Here’s why.
- The recipe includes options for using fresh or frozen spinach, so you can choose whichever works best for you. Either way, I recommend buying organic.
- It makes heavy use of the food processor. If you’re going to use it, you might as well take full advantage of it. We’ll first process the spinach, whether it’s fresh or frozen. Then, we’ll process the ginger, garlic, chili pepper and onion. Hooray for less chopping!
- We’ll bake the paneer in oil and spices. Paneer cheese is mild and doesn’t offer much flavor on its own. Some recipes call for stirring plain cheese into the greens, whereas others call for pan-frying the cheese until golden, which coaxes out more flavor. To streamline the recipe, we’ll bake the cheese while we work on other steps. It becomes super flavorful in the oven, and it’s ready to stir into the greens at just the right time.
Watch How to Make This Recipe
Ingredient Options & Substitutions
You’ll find the full recipe at the end of the post, but here are some options to keep in mind.
Fresh vs. frozen spinach
I prefer the more lively flavor of fresh spinach, but frozen spinach works well, costs less, and is just as nutritious. Be sure your frozen spinach has been stored properly so it’s not icy—freezer-burned spinach doesn’t taste good.
8 to 12 ounces paneer cheese
Paneer is sold in packages ranging from 8 to 12 ounces, depending on your grocery store’s selection. For reference, these photos show 10 ounces of paneer. The full 12 ounces yields a very cheesy dish, but you might as well use it all if that’s what you found at the store.
Oil or ghee
Saag paneer is typically made with ghee—clarified butter with a distinctively nutty, caramel flavor. I don’t always keep ghee on hand, but I can attest that the recipe turns out great with olive oil or avocado oil (you won’t be able to taste either of them in the finished dish).
Yogurt or cream
Greek yogurt adds a tang that makes the dish taste more lively, which I appreciate. Yogurt needs to be tempered before adding it to the mixture to prevent curdling, and I’ve provided instructions in the recipe (it’s easy).
Heavy cream tastes richer and mellows the other flavors a bit. Since it has a high fat content, tempering the mixture is unnecessary.
What’s the difference between palak paneer and saag paneer?
Palak means spinach, specifically, whereas saag paneer means leafy greens, like mustard greens, spinach or kale. You can turn this recipe into saag paneer by substituting another green for the spinach. Frozen kale worked well for me.
Serving Suggestions
Enjoy saag paneer with warm naan (Indian flatbread) or cooked basmati rice (here’s how I cook brown rice, including brown basmati).
For a full spread, add one or more of the following options:
Please let me know how your recipe turns out in the comments! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
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Palak Paneer
Palak paneer features paneer cheese simmered in a well-seasoned spinach sauce. This homemade palak paneer comes together quickly and offers fantastic flavor. Recipe yields 4 servings.
- 16 ounces fresh or frozen spinach*
- 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, quartered lengthwise
- 4 cloves garlic, each cut into several segments
- 1 large green serrano chile or 1 medium jalapeno, ribs and seeds removed, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 large yellow or white onion, halved and cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- ¾ teaspoon fine salt, divided, to taste
- 8 to 12 ounces paneer (Indian cheese), depending on how cheesy you want your dish to be, cut into ¾-inch to 1-inch cubes
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil, divided
- ½ whole-milk plain Greek yogurt or heavy cream
- Optional squeeze of fresh lemon juice or finely chopped tomatoes for acidity
- For serving: cooked basmati rice or flatbread (roti or naan), warmed
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper to prevent the paneer from sticking. If you’re using frozen spinach, thaw it in the microwave in a microwave-safe glass dish, about 5 minutes on high—do not drain off the excess water.
- Meanwhile, in a food processor, pulse the garlic and ginger together until they’re finely chopped, pausing to scrape down the sides if necessary. Add the chili pepper and onion and pulse until they are finely chopped (be sure to stop before they turn to mush). Transfer the mixture to a bowl and return the food processor bowl to the machine (no need to rinse it).
- In the food processor, process several handfuls of the fresh spinach until it’s broken into teeny-tiny bits, then repeat as necessary until you’ve used up all the spinach and made a mixture close to a puree. (Or process the defrosted spinach mixture until smooth.)
- Place the cubed paneer on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle it all over with the coriander, cumin, garam masala, and ½ teaspoon of the salt, then drizzle 2 tablespoons oil on top. Stir until the cheese is evenly coated in oil and spices. Evenly distribute the cheese across the pan. Bake for 10 minutes, stir, and then bake 3 to 5 more minutes until the paneer is nicely golden.
- In a medium stainless steel skillet over medium heat, warm the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the onion mixture (reserve the bowl for later) and ¼ teaspoon of the of the salt. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until the onion is translucent and developing some golden color, stirring more and more frequently as time goes on to prevent burning.
- Add the spinach and stir well. Add the cooked paneer, ½ cup water and ¼ teaspoon salt, stir, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, until the mixture is warmed throughout and the flavors have melded.
- Turn off the heat and remove the skillet from the hot burner. Transfer a couple of heaping spoonfuls of the spinach to the reserved bowl and stir in the yogurt (this tempers the yogurt so it doesn’t curdle—if you’re using cream, you can stir it directly into the skillet). Then add half of the yogurt mixture to the spinach, stir to combine, followed by the remaining yogurt mixture. Season to taste with additional salt (I usually add ⅛ teaspoon). Serve with an optional squeeze of lemon juice or chopped tomatoes on top to brighten the flavors, with warm rice or flatbread, if desired.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Aarti Sequeira, with the roasted paneer concept inspired by Anita Jaisinghani.
*Options for greens: Palak paneer means spinach and cheese, but you can make a variation called saag paneer with a variety of greens, like mustard greens or kale.
Nutrition
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