Restaurant-style vegan saag paneer recipe with both Instant Pot and stovetop instructions. Give this rich plant-based comfort food a try!
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🧄 Ingredients
For this saag recipe, you'll need:
- spinach
- onion
- tomato
- garlic
- ginger
- spices (cumin seeds, turmeric, cayenne, garam masala)
- cashew cream (or other options - see below)
- tofu
Fresh or frozen spinach?
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.
The spinach gets cooked down quite a bit either way, so you really can't tell much of a difference between using frozen vs. fresh.
If you choose to use fresh spinach, do two things:
- chop or tear the spinach up before adding to the pot
- crank the heat up so the extra water evaporates
Why cashew cream?
Traditionally, heavy cream is used in this dish. I've tested several vegan options as substitutions to get this dish thick, creamy and rich.
The very best result? Vegan sour cream (aka cashew cream)
It's thick, creamy and makes for a rich, scrumptious saag.
If you can't use cashew cream, your next best options are:
- store-bought vegan sour cream or even vegan cream cheese
- full-fat coconut milk
- plain vegan yogurt
- silken tofu that has been processed or blended until smooth
Why tofu?
Saag paneer or palak paneer is a creamy spinach dish that traditionally contains cubes of pan fried Indian cheese.
So, what do I have on hand that can mimic the texture and flavor of paneer? Tofu is the answer.
Now, if I had added the tofu straight out of the box to cook with the spinach, it would fall apart. So, you have to bake it first to firm it up.
Voila! Vegan paneer. This vegan "paneer" is cubed tofu that has been baked at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.
Everything else about this traditional North Indian saag paneer is already vegan and plant-based, so we're good to go.
🔪 Instructions
Bake your cubed tofu (which is our vegan "paneer" for this saag paneer or palak paneer recipe).
Bake it 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.
Dry roast the whole cumin seeds for a few minutes, 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. But, when cooking these onions, that wasn't even necessary.
Next, add the tomatoes, garlic, ginger and spices.
Then, add spinach, cashew cream, baked tofu, salt and pepper.
Simmer for 15-20 minutes. (For Instant Pot Vegan Saag Paneer instructions, see recipe card below)
*If you like your saag pureed very fine, then add the baked tofu after you have cooked the spinach, then blended with an immersion blender (or transferred in batches to a blender or food processor).
👨👩👦👦 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
💜 More recipes you'll love
- Cumin Seed Basmati Rice (oil-free jeera rice)
- Vegan Sour Cream (cashew cream)
- Instant Pot Chickpeas (no soak)
- Instant Pot Pigeon Peas (no soak)
- Jamaican Pigeon Peas and Rice
🗺 Around the world
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!
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Please rate it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ down below. ⬇️ And, if you make it, please tag me @veryveganish on Instagram in your posted photos! I would love to see your creations. 😄
📖 Recipe
Saag Paneer - Vegan Indian Spiced Creamy Spinach
Restaurant-style vegan saag paneer recipe with both Instant Pot and stovetop instructions. Give this rich plant-based comfort food a try!
Ingredients
- 1 package firm tofu, cubed
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 roma tomatoes, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ cup unsweetened plain almond milk
- 20 ounces frozen chopped spinach, mostly thawed
- ½ cup prepared cashew cream (substitutions in Notes)
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
Stovetop Instructions:
- 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. (For air fryer: 400F for 9 minutes. Otherwise, pan fry in a non-stick skillet until lightly browned.)
- In a stockpot or pan over medium heat, dry roast cumin seeds over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.
- Add onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add tomatoes, garlic, ginger, garam masala, turmeric and cayenne and cook for 5 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 step: At this point, you can puree some or all of your saag with an immersion blender to achieve the consistency you want.
- Stir in tofu, then remove from heat and enjoy!
- Serve over basmati rice.
Instant Pot Instructions:
- 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. (For air fryer: 400F for 9 minutes. Otherwise, pan fry in a non-stick skillet until lightly browned.)
- Turn on "Saute" function on Instant Pot. Add cumin seeds and dry roast 1-2 minutes, 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".
- Optional step: At this point, you can puree some or all of your saag with an immersion blender to achieve the consistency you want.
- Stir in tofu. Serve over basmati rice.
Notes
Substitution Options:
- Cashew Cream: cashew cream is the best tasting option to add thick creaminess to this recipe. If you can, use it. If you don't have prepared cashew cream, then you can use: 1 can full-fat coconut milk (omit almond milk if using this option), 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.
- Fenugreek leaves: You can substitute up to half of the spinach for frozen or fresh chopped fenugreek leaves, (I buy them at an Indian grocery store).
- Almond Milk: sub with other plain, unsweetened plant-based milk
- Tofu: sub with chickpeas for vegan saag chana
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 193Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 6mgSodium: 197mgCarbohydrates: 13gFiber: 4gSugar: 4gProtein: 13g
Nutritional calculations are done using online tools, such as recipe widget Create. Even though we have tried to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates.
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.
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
Ethelyn Lakin says
It's hard to say
Abi Cowell says
Your saag paneer looks so delicious! I'm glad my recipe was a source of inspiration for your own version! 🙂