Saag Paneer Recipe

Indian dish full of saag paneer with a dish of brown rice in the background.

5 from 2 votes

This easy Saag Paneer recipe features hunks of mild cheese in a creamy leafy greens sauce. Serve it with steamed rice and naan for an incredible meal!

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Total Time35

Course: Main Dishes

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: Indian food, Indian recipe, meatless meals, saag paneer, vegetarian recipes

Servings: Servings

Calories: 367kcal

Author: Julia Mueller

Ingredients

2 Tbsp avocado oil ghee, or butter
1- inch nub ginger peeled and finely minced
2 large cloves garlic minced
1 green chili finely chopped
¼ tsp asafetida Hing
1 cup yellow onion finely chopped
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp garam masala
¼ tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp kashmiri red chili powder
8 ounces baby spinach chopped*
8 ounces collard greens stems removed and leaves chopped
⅔ to 1 cup heavy cream or full-fat coconut milk**
6 to 12 ounces paneer cheese cut into cubes
1 tsp sea salt to taste

Instructions

Heat the avocado oil (or ghee or butter) in a large thick-bottomed pot such as a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
Add the ginger, garlic, green chili, and asafetida. Sauté, stirring constantly until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Transfer the chopped onion, coriander, garam masala, turmeric, and kashmiri red chili powder to the pot. Continue sauteing, stirring occasionally, until the spices are very fragrant, about 10 minutes. If at any time the onion begins browning, reduce the heat to medium heat.
Stir in the heavy cream. Add the chopped spinach to the pot in three batches, stirring very well in between each batch. Allow the spinach to cook down a little before adding more so that the pot isn’t overflowing. Once all of the spinach is in the pot, cover it with a lid for a few minutes to encourage it to cook down.
After the spinach has wilted, transfer the saag to a blender or a food processor (or use an immersion blender). Blend to your desired consistency. Pour the saag back into the pot and add the chopped paneer cubes. Heat for a few minutes until the saag paneer is hot.
Serve saag paneer with steamed white rice or brown rice and naan bread.

Notes

*Use 16 ounces of baby spinach if that is easier than using two types of leafy greens. Our grocery stores carry large plastic 16-ounce containers of spinach, which I find very convenient for making this recipe.

**Replace the cream with buttermilk, or with mostly water and a little cream if you’d like. Or part Greek yogurt, part cream. If you use frozen spinach, you may need less liquid

Nutrition