Vegan Saag Paneer (with Tofu Paneer!)

Name: Vegan Saag Paneer (with Tofu Paneer!)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 16 ounces firm tofu (drained, lightly pressed and cubed); 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (whole); 1 onion (diced (about 270g)); 2 roma tomatoes (diced (about 240g)); 6 cloves garlic (minced); 2 teaspoons fresh ginger (minced); 2 teaspoons garam masala; 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric; 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (omit or use less for a mild curry); 1 cup almond milk (unsweetened plain); 20 ounces frozen chopped spinach (mostly thawed); 3/4 cup prepared cashew cream (or store-bought vegan sour cream, coconut milk or vegan plain yogurt); salt and pepper (to taste); 1 cup raw cashews; 1 cup boiling water (for soaking cashews, this water will be throw away); 2/3 cup cool water (to add to the blender); 2 tablespoons lemon juice; 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar; 1/4 teaspoon salt

Creamy, rich, restaurant-style vegan saag paneer with tofu paneer, including both Instant Pot and stovetop instructions. This easy to make spinach curry is oil-free, dairy-free, using cashew cream instead of heavy cream (no coconut milk).

closeup of creamy rich saag tofu with tofu "paneer" in white bowl served with basmati rice

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If you've ever had palak paneer or saag paneer at an Indian restaurant, you know how incredibly delicious it is. This recipe is a dairy-free, vegan alternative to the creamy spinach curry we all love.

While typically, the method for making this involves boiling and draining fresh spinach, we're using a one-pot method to make our saag. And, it uses no oil, but rather dry roasting and steam sautéing techniques. Give this rich plant-based comfort food a try!

🎙 What people say about this recipe

"I never wrote a Pinterest review but I felt this deserved one. I am so happy with this recipe. I had reservations as I love take away Indian. This is spot on amazing. I had to loose the cayenne as hubby doesn’t like heat but otherwise the perfect recipe. Though I love the spice. Thanks for sharing."
- Lee

🧄 Very useful ingredient notes

ingredients for vegan saag palak paneer with tofu: tofu, spinach, onion, tomato, garlic, ginger, cashew sour cream, garam masala, turmeric, cayenne, whole cumin seeds, salt and pepper

Spinach - You need a lot of spinach for this recipe. I've made this recipe with both fresh and frozen spinach (and a combination of the two). My preference? Frozen. Why? Because it's easier, less messy and cheaper. To get it mostly thawed, pull your spinach out of the freezer the day before, put it in a bowl and place it in the refrigerator overnight to thaw. Or, thaw in the microwave.
Tofu - cubed firm tofu will be our vegan alternative for paneer, which is a fresh milk cheese.
Cashew cream - Traditionally, heavy cream is used to make saag. I've tested several vegan options as substitutions to get this dish thick, creamy and rich. The very best tasting result is cashew cream, which is soaked cashews blended with water, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and salt. It's thick, creamy and makes for a rich, scrumptious saag. Use it, if at all possible.
Cumin seeds - whole cumin seeds are best for this recipe. They are dry roasted in the pan to bring out their earthy, peppery aroma and flavor. You can find whole cumin seeds at Indian grocery stores, Mexican grocery stores, online or in the spice or ethnic foods section of a well-stocked supermarket.
Cayenne pepper powder - cayenne powder is used for heat, see below for substitution options
Garam masala - a ground up blend of warm spices you can buy at the store or make yourself. It may include the following spices, but all blends are a little different: coriander, cumin, green and/or black cardamom, clove, peppercorn, cinnamon, fennel, nutmeg, star anise, mace and bay leaves.
Turmeric - ground turmeric adds it's signature color and earthy, bitter flavor to this curry

📋 Substitutions and variations

Here are some suitable substitutions for the ingredients in this vegan saag/palak tofu recipe:

Cashew Cream - cashew cream is the best tasting option to add thickness, creaminess and richness to this recipe. If you can, use it. If you can't use it, then you can use: 1 can full-fat coconut milk (omit almond milk if using this option), store-bought vegan sour cream, plain vegan yogurt or silken tofu that has been blended until smooth.
Frozen chopped spinach - sub with 2 pounds (32 ounces) fresh chopped spinach. You'll need to crank the heat up, add in little bits at a time, stir to cook it down and add more. Keep doing this until all the spinach is in the pot cooking away. Or, substitute up to half of the spinach for frozen or fresh chopped fenugreek leaves, mustard greens, swiss chard or kale. Using these options will increase the bitterness of your saag, since these greens tend to be more bitter than mild-tasting spinach.
Almond Milk - sub with other plain, unflavored, unsweetened plant-based milk such as soy milk, oat milk, cashew milk or coconut milk.
Tofu - Instead of firm tofu, you can use extra firm or super firm tofu. Or, you can omit the tofu altogether for saag curry. Or, substitute the tofu with cubed, pre-cooked potato (then it would be saag aloo). Or, sub with drained chickpeas and you'll be making saag chana.
Soy-free - make this soy free by substituting the tofu paneer for another protein, such as chickpeas or tofu made of chickpeas or other bean. Or, you can use cubed, pre-cooked potato instead of the tofu for a saag aloo dish.
Nut-free - make this nut-free by using a nut-free plant milk and using nut-free sour cream instead of the cashew cream
WFPBNO - make this whole food plant based no oil by serving it with brown basmati rice (this saag recipe is already wfpb).
SOS-free - make this SOS-free by omitting the salt and using a sugar-, oil- and salt-free plant milk

Switch things up with these variation ideas!

Vegan saag aloo - use cooked, cubed potato instead of tofu to make saag aloo or palak aloo
Vegan saag chana - add drained chickpeas instead of tofu to make saag chana or palak chana

🔪 Instructions

Step-by-step instructions for how to make vegan saag with tofu paneer.

How to make cashew heavy cream

Step 1: First, soak cashews in hot water for 15 minutes. Then, drain and rinse them. Add drained, soaked cashews to high speed blender with cool water, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and salt.

Step 2: Blend until completely smooth and creamy. This will be our "cream" for the curry. Leftovers can be used as a sour cream to drizzle on top of the curry or with other meals.

How to make tofu "paneer" cubes

First, how to bake tofu for this curry. We want to bake it a little while to firm it up so that it doesn't just fall apart in the saucy curry. Then, when we add it later, it only needs to simmer in the curry long enough to heat through and for the flavor to soak in, maybe about 5 minutes.

Tip: If you choose to use a super firm, high protein tofu for this, you can skip the baking step and just add them after you've blended your spinach at the end of cooking. They won't have the golden brown color, though.

Step 1 Cube and place tofu on baking tray

Step 3: Drain your tofu and cut it into small cubes about 1-inch across. Place on baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake your cubed tofu at 400F degrees for 20 minutes. Alternatively, you could put the cubed tofu in the air fryer at 400F for 10 minutes or pan fry it.

Step 9 remove baked tofu cubes from oven

Step 4: When the tofu is golden brown, it is done. Pull it out of the oven and set it aside.

How to make vegan saag or palak curry

Step 5: Dry roast the whole cumin seeds for a few minutes, until they are fragrant. Stir frequently, so they don't burn.

Step 4 add onions and cook until translucent

Step 6: Then add the onions. There's no need to add oil to the pan when sautéing onions. If they start to stick, just add a tablespoon of water and stir.

Step 7: Next, add the tomatoes, garlic, ginger and spices. Stir and cook for 3 minutes.

Step 8: Then, add almond milk to deglaze the pan.

Step 8 add spinach, cream and salt and pepper

Step 9: Then, add spinach, cashew cream, salt and pepper. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Step 10: Then, using, an immersion stick blender, puree the spinach. You don't want to puree it completely into a smooth soup, but you want to break down the large pieces of spinach and make it creamier. If you prefer your palak paneer to be in large pieces, then you can skip this step. If you don't have an immersion blender, transfer to a blender or food processor to puree it.

Step 11: After blending your saag/palak, add baked tofu cubes to the pan.

Step 12: Stir and simmer for 5 more minutes and serve hot over steamed basmati rice with extra cashew cream on top.

👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 Serving suggestions

This rich dish is delicious served alongside cumin seed basmati rice, vegan naan and extra cashew cream.

☕️ Tea pairing

Saag paneer is delicious paired with hot or iced chai tea latte!

❓ FAQ

Is saag paneer vegan?

No, not normally. Saag is made with heavy cream or dairy milk and paneer is a dairy milk cheese. So, typically, saag paneer is not vegan, since it contains animal products. It can be made vegan, if you make a few substitutions, though!

Is saag paneer vegetarian?

Yes, saag paneer is a vegetarian, meatless dish.

What is a good vegan substitute for paneer?

Cubed tofu that has been cubed, marinated and baked, air fried or pan fried is an excellent vegan substitute for paneer. If you are adding the tofu to a curry, you can skip the marinating, since the tofu will soak up the strong flavor of the curry.

What's the difference between saag paneer vs. palak paneer?

Saag in Hindi translates to "leaf vegetable" or "greens" in English. The Hindi word palak translates specifically to "spinach" in English. So, technically, saag paneer is a creamy curry dish with paneer and several types of greens (not just spinach). While, palak paneer is a creamy curry dish with only spinach (no other types of greens added).

🗺 Cultural influences

Growing up, our family would eat at Taj Mahal, our favorite Indian restaurant in south Houston quite often. In fact, my mother craved Taj while she was pregnant with me. So, you could really say I've been enjoying Indian food my entire life.

Taj Mahal closed down several years ago, much to our sadness. Can you imagine driving 30 minutes to a restaurant, ready to dig in to vegetable korma, saag paneer and soft, hot naan just to find your favorite restaurant closed?

Like closed closed. Like not opening again, ever. I was down right mad that they didn't personally inform me that they were thinking of closing. I mean, I get it, you might want to retire or something. But, at least hand over the recipes!

We ate at Taj so much over the years that I gauge all other Indian food by what theirs tasted like. Admittedly, this vegan saag paneer is not quite there. But, then again, does anything match up to the built-up perfection in our minds?

I'll tell you what this vegan saag paneer is, though. It is fresh, spicy, creamy and delicious. I hope you enjoy it!

This recipe is inspired by my experiences as a native of Houston, Texas and by the strong cultural influences of my friends from India. See About for more information on my cultural influences and how I attribute recipes.

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Please rate it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and leave a comment below, so I know which recipes you like the best. This helps me know what to make more of!

📖 Recipe

Adapted from Allrecipes.

Recipe heavily updated on 4.21.2020 to reflect 1. easier one-pot method for cooking spinach 2. better cream ingredient and 3. Instant Pot instructions.

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About Abi Cowell

Abi Cowell is the plant-based food blogger and recipe developer at Very Veganish She’s certified in plant-based nutrition by the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies. Abi helps busy health-conscious women create simple & healthy vegan meals in under 30 minutes so they spend less time in the kitchen cooking and cleaning. A no-judgment zone, her website, VeryVeganish.com makes WFPB eating easy, delicious, and accessible for all! She specializes in crafting recipes for specific dietary needs and features recipes showcasing the diverse food culture of Houston, Texas, her hometown. When she's not cooking, you'll find her volunteering and trying to survive the Texas summers with copious glasses of iced tea.

Comments

4.61 from 23 votes (16 ratings without comment)

🎙 What people say about this recipe

🧄 Very useful ingredient notes

📋 Substitutions and variations