Restaurant-style vegan saag paneer with tofu paneer, including both Instant Pot and stovetop instructions. This oil-free, dairy-free spinach palak tofu curry is creamy, spicy and rich, using cashew cream instead of heavy cream (no coconut milk).
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!
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🧄 Ingredient notes
- 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
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.
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.
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.
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
Dry roast the whole cumin seeds for a few minutes, until they are fragrant. Stir frequently, so they don't burn.
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.
Next, add the tomatoes, garlic, ginger and spices. Stir and cook for 3 minutes.
Then, add almond milk to deglaze the pan.
Then, add spinach, cashew cream, salt and pepper. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
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.
After blending your saag/palak, add baked tofu cubes to the pan.
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 (oil-free jeera rice)
- vegan naan (or pita bread)
- quick sautéed purple cabbage with salt and pepper
- extra cashew cream
- garnished with cilantro
- thinly sliced raw onion and cucumber
☕️ Tea pairing
Saag paneer is delicious paired with hot or iced chai tea latte!
❓ FAQ
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!
Yes, saag paneer is a vegetarian, meatless dish.
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.
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.
💜 More recipes you'll love
If you love this vegan saag paneer with tofu recipe, try one of our other plant-based Indian-inspired recipes!
Love this recipe? Please rate it 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below in the recipe card. And, if you make it, please tag me on Instagram or Facebook in your posted photos! I would love to see your creations. 😄
📖 Recipe
Vegan Saag Paneer - Palak Tofu Curry
Equipment
- Instant Pot or pressure cooker (optional)
- Immersion blender optional, for pureeing curry (can also use blender or food processor)
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
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper omit or use less for a mild curry
- 1 cup almond milk unsweetened plain
- 20 ounces frozen chopped spinach mostly thawed
- ¾ cup prepared cashew cream or store-bought vegan sour cream, coconut milk or vegan plain yogurt
- salt and pepper to taste
Cashew Cream
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 1 cup boiling water for soaking cashews, this water will be throw away
- ⅔ cup cool water to add to the blender
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Prepare cashew cream first
- Soak cashews in boiling hot water for 15 minutes. Then, drain and rinse cashews.
- Add the soaked, drained cashews to a high speed blender, along with cool water, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and salt. Blend until completely smooth. Set aside.
Bake your tofu "paneer" cubes
- Preheat oven to 400F. Bake cubed tofu on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat for 20 minutes, until it is just browning on the outside. (To prepare tofu in air fryer: 400F for 9 minutes. To prepare tofu on stove: pan fry in a non-stick skillet until lightly browned, turning so all sides brown a little and the tofu firms up.) Remove from oven and set aside.
Stovetop Instructions to make the curry
- Heat a stock pot or dutch oven over medium heat, then add whole cumin seeds. Dry roast the cumin seeds for 1-2 minutes, , stirring frequently so they don't burn, until fragrant.
- Add onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add tomatoes, garlic, ginger, garam masala, turmeric and cayenne and cook for 3 minutes.
- Add almond milk and stir to deglaze pan.
- Stir in spinach, cashew cream, salt and pepper and simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
- Optional, but highly recommended step: At this point, you can puree some or all of your saag with an immersion blender to achieve the consistency you want. I recommend that you process it a little bit, but don't completely puree it. This way you still have some texture to the dish. (Or, transfer to a blender or food processor and pulse until you reach the desired consistency. The immersion blender is much easier, if you have one.)
- Stir in baked tofu, then remove from heat and enjoy!
- Serve over basmati rice with extra cashew cream.
Instant Pot Instructions to make the curry
- Turn on "Saute" function on Instant Pot. Add cumin seeds and dry roast 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently so they don't burn, until fragrant.
- Add onions and cook for 3 minutes, stirring regularly.
- Add tomatoes, garlic, ginger, garam masala, turmeric and cayenne and cook for 3 minutes.
- Add almond milk and stir to deglaze pan. Stir in spinach, cashew cream, salt and pepper.
- Turn off saute function by pressing "Cancel". Lock lid in place, with vent closed (set to "Sealing). Cook on Manual Pressure for 5 minutes.
- Quick release pressure by carefully turning vent with a wooden spoon to "Venting", so the steam escapes.
- Optional, but highly recommended step: At this point, you can puree some or all of your saag with an immersion blender to achieve the consistency you want. I recommend that you process it a little bit, but don't completely puree it. This way you still have some texture to the dish. (Or, transfer to a blender or food processor and pulse until you reach the desired consistency. The immersion blender is much easier, if you have one.)
- Stir in baked tofu. Serve over basmati rice with extra cashew cream.
Nutrition
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.
Laura says
Omg! Same here! LOVED Taj Mahal and was like hello, we know y'all (went there for YEARS), why didn't you tell us? And what about the recipes? Best saag paneer and kheer EVER. I too gauge all other Indian restaurants by Taj, and sadly, none have been quite as good, there's always something missing. Mr. Rao must have sprinkled some magic over the food or something. ?
What are your favorite Indian restaurants now? My favorites are Mogul and Cuisine India in Clear Lake.
Thanks for the post!
Abi Cowell says
Hi Laura, it's so nice to commiserate with a fellow Taj-lover. If I can ever recreate those recipes, I'll be sure to make it known!
My favorite Indian restaurants now are Bombay Brasserie on 610 by the Galleria and Khyber North Indian Grill on Richmond Ave by Kirby. Pondicheri on Kirby has excellent Indian food, but it's not the comfort Indian food I crave most. It is an eclectic mix of high end Indian cuisine that never disappoints if you're in the mood to try something different.
When I'm near Clear Lake, I'll be sure to check out your spots! Thanks for commenting!
- Abi
Laura says
Hi Abi,
I've never been to those places but I'll be sure to ask my parents if they have, and go try them! Yummy! Have a great day!
Sarah says
Hi Abby, I've just discovered your blog and now will be a regular reader. My family and I are also "veganish" and I love and have been recreating my favorite Indian dishes as well as veganizing them. I have made the saag paneer using cashew cream. Soak raw/unsalted cashews overnight or for several hours then rinse and add them to your Vita Mix or blender with a small amount of water and blend until you get this very creamy consistency. I've found that cashew cream is the closest I can get to recreating this dish taste like actual heavy cream. I've also used coconut cream and that works well too, but for my die hard non vegan friends the cashew cream has gotten me the best reviews. Thank you so much for your blog!
Abi Cowell says
Sarah, thank you so much for the tip! I will definitely try this. I have used ground cashews/cashew cream in vegetable korma before and love it. Hadn't thought to try it in this recipe. Thanks for reading and commenting and I really hope you enjoy my recipes! 🙂
Sophia says
Loved this recipe-- Im not a huge fan of coconut flavor so I just left it out and it was still delicious and perfect!
Abi Cowell says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Sophia! For dairy-free creaminess in this, you can also use pureed silken tofu or a vegan sour cream (like Tofutti brand). If you try to use the silken tofu, I recommend buying an organic version and then popping it in a small food processor for a minute or two until it's smooth.
Sophia says
Loved this recipe-- Im not a huge fan of coconut flavor so I just left it out and it was still delicious and perfect!
Sarah says
Hi Abby, I've just discovered your blog and now will be a regular reader. My family and I are also "veganish" and I love and have been recreating my favorite Indian dishes as well as veganizing them. I have made the saag paneer using cashew cream. Soak raw/unsalted cashews overnight or for several hours then rinse and add them to your Vita Mix or blender with a small amount of water and blend until you get this very creamy consistency. I've found that cashew cream is the closest I can get to recreating this dish taste like actual heavy cream. I've also used coconut cream and that works well too, but for my die hard non vegan friends the cashew cream has gotten me the best reviews. Thank you so much for your blog!
Tammy says
This looks so good. I'm hoping to try it soon. 🙂
Abi Cowell says
I hope you like it, Tammy! 🙂 Please come back and let me know how it goes for you.
- Abi
Lisa N says
I’ve just discovered this recipe through Pinterest and can’t wait to try it! For the defrosted spinach, do you need to squeeze out the excess moisture after its defrosted?
Abi Cowell says
Hi Lisa,
So sorry for the delay in getting back to you! I do not remove the moisture from the frozen spinach when making this dish. Hope that helps!
- Abi
Lee says
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.
Ethelyn Lakin says
It's hard to say
Katherine Willian says
Abi, this IS simply fabulous. BTW, I also was a regular at Taj Palace. I loved finding their Saag Paneer on the buffet cart and this recipe comes close without going dairy. I'm still fairly new at plant based meals so I'm having fun finding new favorites. Thank you for helping me in the journey... I'm now in Arkansas, so your delights are a double blessing.
Abi Cowell says
It's so nice to meet another Taj Mahal veteran VIP. I'm so glad you're enjoying this saag recipe. Thank you so much for writing in, it always makes me happy. 😀
J says
I liked this a lot. I forgot the almond milk and realized it after I was done so I just added a can of coconut milk because it was dry and simmered it again and it tasted great! It tasted a lot better with a little vegan butter on top and some salt (also forgot). It was my first time making cashew cream and second time making a curry. Very pleased with the recipe. Husband asked for seconds and he hates tofu and the way I eat now after my auto immune food issues. Will make again after several Pinterest gluten free, dairy free recipe fails. This ones a keeper. Will look at other recipes from your site. Thanks!
Abi Cowell says
Your saag paneer looks so delicious! I'm glad my recipe was a source of inspiration for your own version! 🙂