Palak Paneer Recipe is a dish of North Indian origin consisting of palak (spinach) and paneer (cottage cheese) in a thick curry sauce based on pureed spinach, onion, tomatoes, and spices made in an Instant pot pressure cooker or stovetop. This healthy dish can be made in under 20 minutes in an Instant Pot. Vegetarian, Low carb, Keto, and Gluten-free!

We love Spinach at home, I usually make Palak Paneer Paratha, Spinach Rice, or creamy spinach pasta at home. If you are looking for more such easy spinach recipes do check Palak Recipes List from my blog.
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What is Palak Paneer?
Palak means Spinach and Paneer mean Indian cottage cheese in Hindi. Palak paneer curry is made with spinach, Indian cottage cheese along with some spices. So we can also name it Indian spinach curry.
Everyone has their own way of making this dish and honestly, I also make it in a different way every time I cook it.
People often get confused with Saag paneer vs Palak paneer, The main difference is Saag Paneer is made with mustard greens and spinach whereas, Palak paneer is made with spinach leaves only.
Also for those of you who do not have an Instant Pot, do check out the Stovetop pot recipe instructions below.
If you are on a Keto/Low Carb Diet I highly recommend you to try this keto palak paneer recipe. Don’t forget to check out my post on 40+ Keto Indian Recipes.
Palak Paneer Ingredients
Here are the ingredients to make the best palak paneer recipe.
Paneer: cubed into 1-inch pieces about 1 cup.
Palak: I have used 10 oz fresh baby spinach.
Onion, garlic, and ginger: I have used roughly chopped onions, garlic, and ginger.
Tomato: Use one large Roma tomato diced. Alternately, you can also use canned crushed or diced tomatoes.
Cream: I have used cashew cream. But you can also use heavy or coconut cream. In addition, you can make cashew-nut cream at home by blending a few soaked cashew nuts and water in a blender.
Oil: use olive oil suitable for sautéing.
Herbs & spices: I have used turmeric, red chili powder, coriander powder, and garam masala as spices and dried fenugreek leaves (Kasuri methi) to give restaurant-style flavor to the dish.
How to Make Palak Paneer in Instant Pot
Press SAUTE on Instant Pot. Add oil to the POT. Add cumin seeds once the oil is hot and let the cumin splutter.
Next, add onions, minced ginger, garlic, green chili, and saute until onions turn light brown.
Add diced tomato, red chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, salt, and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add water and deglaze the pot. Next, add in the fresh spinach.
Close the lid on the pot, and turn the pressure valve to the SEALING position.
Furthermore, Set the pot to MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK (High Pressure) and timer to 2 Minutes. If using frozen spinach then set the timer to 1 Minute.
Once the pot beeps, Do a QUICK RELEASE (QR).
Blend the ingredients in the pot to a creamy texture using an immersion blender. If you don't have an immersion blender then take the mixture out, cool it, and then blend in a regular blender and add the mixture back to the instant pot.
Lastly, add garam masala, kasuri methi, and paneer and mix well. You can also add some fresh cream or cashew cream. No need to boil/saute again after adding paneer. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
Delicious easy pressure cooker palak paneer is ready. Serve it with your favorite Indian bread variety (roti/naan/kulcha/paratha) or even plain rice.
Stovetop Pot Method
- Heat oil in a kadai/pot. Once the oil is hot add cumin seeds, and let them splutter. Then add onions, minced ginger, garlic, green chili, and saute until onions turn light brown.
- Next add diced tomato, red chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, salt, and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add water and spinach. Close the lid and cook for 3-4 minutes on medium heat. Then turn off the stove.
- Cool the mixture and blend the ingredients into a creamy texture using a blender. Later transfer the mixture into the kadai/pot.
- Add garam masala, kasuri methi, and paneer and mix well. No need to boil/saute again after adding paneer. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Delicious palak paneer restaurant style is ready. Serve it with your favorite Indian bread variety (roti / naan / kulcha / paratha) or even plain rice.
How to Serve Palak Paneer?
Serve Palak paneer with basmati rice, naan bread, or both. But I like eating with jeera rice too. You can also include it with vegetable biryani and drinks like mango lassi on the side.
Tips & Variations
- If you don't have paneer or tofu you can also add cubed boiled potatoes, mushroom, or boiled sweet corn to spinach curry.
- If you like you can also pan fry the paneer cubes till golden brown before adding them to the curry.
- Adding cashew-nut cream or fresh cream is optional. This is added to make the curry more rich and creamy. Make cashew-nut cream by blending a few soaked cashew nuts and water in a blender.
- You can also add kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) in the end.
- You can skip tomato and substitute with 2 tablespoons of yogurt for sourness. Or add the juice of half lime after pressure cooking.
- Make sure to quick release after the pressure cooking and not overcook the curry. It will lose its bright green color from the spinach.
- If the spinach is bitter, you can use ½ teaspoon of sugar.
Recipe FAQs
Traditional Palak Paneer contains dairy-like paneer and heavy cream. However, you can make vegan palak paneer with few substitutions.
- Substitute extra-firm tofu for paneer
- Replace coconut milk/cream or cashew cream with heavy cream.
Yes. Just 'Pressure Cook' on High for 1 minute. All other steps remain the same.
It can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2-3 days in the refrigerator.
More Spinach Recipes
If you like this curry, then check out more Instant Pot Indian Curries recipes below.
- Lauki Chana Dal
- Black Eye Pea Curry(Lobia curry)
- Zucchini Stir Fry
- Rajma Masala
- Beetroot & Chickpeas Stir Fry
- Mushroom Masala
- Instant Pot Channa Masala
Instant Pot Palak Paneer recipe (Pressure Cooker)
Equipment
Ingredients
Measuring cup used 1 cup = 250 ml
- 10 oz spinach(palak) (about 256 grams)
- 1 cup paneer (cottage cheese) about 100 grams
- 2 tablespoon oil or ghee
- 1 teaspoon cumin (jeera) seeds
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- ½ inch ginger minced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 green chillies finely chopped
- 1 large tomato finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon red chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- salt to taste
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon fresh cream or cashew cream (optional)
- 1 tablespoon kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) (optional)
Instructions
Instant Pot Method:
- Press SAUTE on Instant Pot. Add oil to the POT. Add cumin seeds once the oil is hot and let the cumin splutter.
- Next, add onions, minced ginger, garlic, green chili, and saute until onions turn light brown.
- Add diced tomato, red chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, salt, and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add water and deglaze the pot. Next, add in the fresh spinach.
- Close the lid on the pot, and turn pressure valve to SEALING position.Furthermore, Set the pot to MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK (High Pressure) and timer to 2 Minutes. If using frozen spinach then set the timer to 1 Minute.
- Once the pot beeps, Do a QUICK RELEASE (QR).Blend the ingredients in the pot to a creamy texture using an immersion blender. If you don't have an immersion blender then take the mixture out, cool it, and then blend in a regular blender and add the mixture back to the instant pot.
- Lastly, add garam masala, kasuri methi, and paneer and mix well. You can also add some fresh cream or cashew cream. No need to boil/saute again after adding paneer. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Delicious palak paneer is ready. Serve it with your favorite Indian bread variety (roti / naan / kulcha / paratha) or even plain rice.
Stovetop Pot Method:
- Heat oil in a kadai/pot.
- Once oil is hot add cumin seeds, let the cumin splutter then add onions, minced ginger and garlic, green chili and fry until onions turn light brown.
- Next add diced tomato, red chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, salt and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add water and spinach. Close the lid and cook for 3-4 minutes. Then turn off the stove.
- Cool the mixture and blend the ingredients into a creamy texture using blender. Later transfer the mixture into the kadai/pot.
- Add garam masala, kasuri methi and paneer and mix well. No need to boil/saute again after adding paneer. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Delicious palak paneer is ready. Serve it with your favorite Indian bread variety (roti / naan / kulcha / paratha) or even plain rice.
Video
Notes
Tips & Variations:
- If you don't have paneer or tofu you can also add cubed boiled potatoes, mushroom, or boiled sweet corn to spinach curry.
- If you like you can also pan fry the paneer cubes till golden brown before adding them to the curry.
- Adding cashew-nut cream or fresh cream is optional. This is added to make the curry more rich and creamy. Make cashew-nut cream by blending a few soaked cashew nuts and water in a blender.
- You can also add kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) in the end.
- You can also skip tomato and instead can add 2 tablespoons of curd for sourness or add the juice of half lime after pressure cooking.
- Make sure to quick release after the pressure cooking and not overcook the curry. It will lose its bright green color from the spinach.
- If the spinach is bitter, you can use ½ teaspoon of sugar.
Nutrition
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Brian says
Wow. I am definitely going share this with a few of my friends. Very cool information.
bhavana says
sure thank you let me know how it turns out if you happen to try
Giridhar Sharma says
Came out really good with instant pot !
bhavana says
Thanks Giri..So glad to hear you enjoyed the Instant pot Palak Paneer version..
Lauren says
Man, this was seriously restaurant quality!!! I got into Indian cooking during lockdown and have made some really good dishes, but this is legitimately the best Palak Paneer recipe I've come across. Thank you so much! Plus it was great using the IP, as it's 91 degrees in California right now and standing over an open flame on my stove sounded awful.
Awesome!
Bhavana Patil says
Yayyyyy!!!! Thank you so much Lauren 🙂 I am really glad to hear the recipe turned out very well. I totally agree with you on the California heat this summer. And yes Instant Pot is truly a wonderful gadget. Do try other recipes on the blog, share your feedback & leave such motivating & wonderful comments 🙂 Have a great day 🙂
Aarthi says
The BEST Palak Paneer recipe by far! I don’t add the cream and just sauté my paneer in a bit of ghee and then add that to the instant pot before pressuring it. I use normal spinach that I grind before hand. This recipe beats any instant pot or stove top ones out there thank you!
Bhavana Patil says
Thank You Aarthi. Even I grind the palak sometimes and add it to Instant pot along with paneer. love making both ways.