Craving Indian food? Make this rich and creamy vegan saag chana recipe with easy to follow instructions for the Instant Pot or cooking it on the stovetop. This Indian-inspired curry with chickpeas is whole food plant-based, dairy-free and oil-free.
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Our version of saag chana with chickpeas, spinach, spices and cashew cream is rich, creamy and perfect served with basmati rice or flatbread.
🧄 Very useful ingredient notes
- Frozen spinach - (can be substituted for fresh spinach or frozen methi/fenugreek leaves, kale, swiss chard or other greens)
- Chickpeas - aka chana aka garbanzo beans. You can use canned or homemade chickpeas.
- Almond milk - Use an unsweetened, plain, unflavored almond milk. (not like vanilla, etc.)
- Raw cashews - prepared cashew cream (Cashew cream is the very best option for this recipe, based on my testing. To substitute, you can also use canned coconut milk, silken tofu sour cream or unsweetened, plain dairy-free yogurt.)
- Whole cumin seeds - Look for whole jeera (cumin seeds) at an Indian grocery store or well-stocked spice aisle of a grocery store. You'll add these at the beginning of cooking and they will soften by the time the dish is done.
- Garam masala - A popular mix of warm spices you should be able to find in the spice aisle
📋 Substitutions and variations
Don't have everything? Try one of these options:
- Cashew cream - cashew cream (blended raw cashews with a few seasonings) is the best tasting option to add thick creaminess to this recipe. If you can, use it. If you can't eat cashews, then you can use one of these options instead: 1 can full-fat coconut milk (omit almond milk if using this option), vegan sour cream, plain plant-based 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.
- Almond milk - sub with other plain, unsweetened plant-based milk. Soy milk would be my next best choice.
- Chickpeas - sub with baked or air fryer tofu cubes or cubed, cooked potatoes
Or, try one of these variations:
- Vegan saag paneer using tofu "paneer" - Instead of chickpeas, try adding baked cubes of tofu to this creamy spinach curry. This is a vegan, plant-based version of saag paneer and we love it!
- Saag aloo - Instead of chickpeas, use potato
- Mixed greens - Instead of just spinach, try combining your favorite mild-tasting chopped greens, like methi / fenugreek leaves (you can find these at Indian grocery stores in the frozen section or produce area), kale, swiss chard or collard greens.
🔪 Instructions
This delicious vegan saag chana can be made in the Instant Pot or on the stovetop. I've included detailed instructions for both in my recipe card below.
👨👩👦👦 Serving suggestions
Serve this vegan chickpea curry dish with basmati rice. For a super easy way to inject more flavor to your basmati rice, try making jeera rice, which is infused with cumin seeds while cooking.
This dish would also be delicious with roasted curried cauliflower, Indian flatbread, like naan or roti, cucumber tomato salad, or red lentil dal.
The options are many!
☕️ Tea pairing
This vegan chickpea spinach curry would be delicious served with a hot or iced chai tea latte, using soy or oat milk.
If you've never had chai, you may be wondering: What does chai taste like? It's spicy, warming, sweet and refreshing!
❓ FAQ
This dish freezes well. Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. To thaw, place in refrigerator overnight. Then, heat in microwave. You can also store saag chana in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Indian food, specifically curries, can be made without oil by using water or vegetable stock to sauté the ingredients. For the spices, carefully dry roast them in a dry pan to bring out the flavor without oil.
Cashew cream is the richest, thickest option for substitution of heavy cream in curries, in my opinion. Other options are: canned coconut milk (the dish will take on a sweet, coconut flavor), silken tofu sour cream (this is a good low-fat option), unsweetened, plain dairy-free yogurt. You can also use unsweetened plant-based milk but it will be a thinner consistency.
🗺 Cultural influences
This recipe is inspired by North Indian cuisine. In Hindi, "saag" means a mix of greens, but in America, those greens are usually spinach, perhaps mixed with methi (fenugreek) or other types of greens. "Chana" means chickpeas.
Growing up in Houston, Texas, my family loved eating Indian food. We had a favorite restaurant we would frequent throughout my life, until it closed. It was called Taj Mahal on I-45 South near 610 in Houston.
Their saag paneer was too die for and is forever engraved on my tongue as the way saag should taste. All other saag (spinach) dishes are judged by that familiar flavor.
Another favorite from Taj Mahal was vegetable korma. Not too spicy, this dish was full of potato, cauliflower, carrot and green beans, all swimming in a rich creamy curry.
💜 More recipes you'll love
If you love this vegan saag chana recipe, check out my other Indian-inspired plant-based recipes!
Love this recipe?
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
Vegan Saag Chana - Instant Pot Chickpea Spinach Curry
Equipment
Ingredients
To make the cashew sour cream
- 1 cup raw cashews soaked
- 1 cup boiling water for soaking cashews, this water will be throw away
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅔ cup cool water to add to the blender
To make the rest of the curry
- 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 thawed
- 15 ounces canned chickpeas drained and rinsed (or about 1 ½ cups of homemade chickpeas)
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Make the Cashew Cream:
- Place cashews in a heat-proof bowl or glass measuring cup. Pour boiling water over cashews so they are covered. Let the cashews soak on the counter for at least 20 minutes, but up to 2 hours. Then, drain and rinse.1 cup raw cashews, 1 cup boiling water
- Then add cashews to a high speed blender, along with cool water, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and salt. Blend until smooth and creamy, about 60 seconds. Stop blender and scrape down sides with a rubber spatula, as needed. You may need to blend longer, if you still have pieces of cashew in the blender. Blend until it is completely smooth and no little chunks of cashew are present.2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, ¼ teaspoon sea salt, ⅔ cup cool water
Make the Curry - Stovetop Instructions:
- In a stockpot or pan over medium heat, dry roast cumin seeds for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant, stirring frequently so they do not burn.1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- Add onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.1 onion
- Add tomatoes, garlic, ginger, garam masala, turmeric and cayenne and cook for 5 minutes.2 roma tomatoes, 6 cloves garlic, 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, 2 teaspoons garam masala, ½ teaspoon ground turmeric, ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Add almond milk and stir to deglaze pan.1 cup almond milk
- Stir in spinach and simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring regularly. At this point, you can pureé some or all of your curry in a blender or using an immersion blender, so that the spinach is in smaller pieces. This is optional, but highly recommended and up to your personal tastes. I usually blend/puree it just a bit with an immersion blender, but leave some texture. I do not blend it completely into a smooth sauce.20 ounces frozen chopped spinach
- After blending (if you chose to do so), add half of the cashew cream (reserve the rest for garnish or other recipes), chickpeas, salt and pepper and continue to simmer/heat for 5 minutes.15 ounces canned chickpeas, salt and pepper
- Serve over cooked basmati rice or with flatbread.
Make the Curry - Instant Pot Instructions:
- Turn on "Saute" function on Instant Pot. Add cumin seeds and dry roast 1-2 minutes, until fragrant, stirring frequently, so they do not burn.1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- Add onions and cook for 3 minutes, stirring regularly.1 onion
- Add tomatoes, garlic, ginger, garam masala, turmeric and cayenne and cook for 3 minutes.2 roma tomatoes, 6 cloves garlic, 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, 2 teaspoons garam masala, ½ teaspoon ground turmeric, ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Add almond milk and stir to deglaze pan. Add spinach and stir together.1 cup almond milk
- 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". The steam is very hot, so be careful not to touch it with your hands.
- At this point, you can pureé some or all of your curry in a blender or using an immersion blender, so that the spinach is in smaller pieces. This is optional, but highly recommended and up to your personal tastes. I usually blend/puree it just a bit (but NOT completely smooth) with an immersion blender. I like it with still a bit of texture.
- After blending (if you chose to do so), add half of the cashew cream (reserve the rest for garnish or other recipes), chickpeas, salt and pepper and continue to simmer/heat for 5 minutes.15 ounces canned chickpeas, salt and pepper
- Serve over cooked basmati rice or with flatbread.
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