• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Rhubarbarians
  • Home
  • About me
  • Recipes
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • About me
  • vegetarian
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Home
    • Recipes
    • About me
    • vegetarian
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×
    Home » Recipes » Dinner

    Easy saag paneer recipe

    Published: Mar 28, 2020 by Trish Bozeman · This post may contain affiliate links · 15 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Easy saag paneer recipe! A flavorful Indian creamed spinach and greens curry with paneer cheese. A great vegetarian meal!

    Saag paneer with yogurt

    As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

    Hi, Rhubarbarians!

    A suuuuper flavorful Indian dish comin atcha today. Saag paneer!

    Jump to:
    • Creamed greens with Indian cheese
    • How to serve
    • Storing and freezing
    • FAQs
    • Recipe
    • Comments and reviews

    Creamed greens with Indian cheese

    Saag paneer is a very popular Indian dish. It's made by cooking down greens with spices and pureeing them with some cream and serving with Indian cheese (paneer).

    It's creamed greens with Indian cheese. Usually served over rice with naan bread on the side.

    For this saag paneer recipe, we use a mix of spinach, mustard greens, and kale. We mellow out the bitter flavor of the greens by blending them with heavy cream.

    Do you know the difference between palak paneer and saag paneer? Palak paneer is made with only spinach, while saag paneer is made with a mix of greens.

    Saag paneer recipe

    How to serve

    Serve your saag paneer with cooked basmati rice and naan bread. You can also serve with raita or yogurt for the top, fresh cilantro leaves, and maybe some chili sauce for some extra heat.

    Click here for all of our vegetarian dinner recipes!

    Cooking paneer in a frying pan

    Storing and freezing

    Storing: Saag paneer can be stored in the refrigerator in an air tight container for up to 5 days. It may dry out a bit in the refrigerator, but adding a touch of water before reheating will solve that.

    Freezing: Saag paneer freezes very well! Store in an air tight container in the freezer for up to 6 months. We recommend letting it defrost in the refrigerator before reheating and serving.

    Have you tried our coconut cauliflower curry stew?

    Indian creamed greens
    Homemade saag

    FAQs

    1. Can I use different greens? YEP! You can use any greens that you have on hand. Or make palak paneer with just spinach. You may need to adjust the amount of spices and cream if you are switching from bitter greens.
    2. Can I use an immersion blender? You can, but we don't recommend it. Saag paneer should be very creamy and an immersion blender just doesn't get it creamy enough. But if that's all you have, go for it!
    3. Can I make this in an Instant Pot? You can, but it's not necessary and may actually add to your cook time. You want to sauté the aromatics and would only be closing the lid to cook the greens, which doesn't take much time at all.
    4. Can I substitute oil for ghee or butter? YEP! It's won't be as rich, but coconut oil is a great sub for the butter.
    5. Can I use coconut milk rather than cream? YEP! Using coconut milk and coconut oil is a wonderful plant based option.
    saag paneer recipe with rice

    Recipe

    Saag paneer with yogurt

    Easy saag paneer recipe

    Trish Bozeman
    Easy saag paneer recipe! A flavorful Indian creamed spinach and greens curry with paneer cheese. A great vegetarian meal!
    5 from 4 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 minutes mins
    Cook Time 40 minutes mins
    Total Time 55 minutes mins
    Course entree, Main Course
    Cuisine Indian
    Servings 6 servings
    Calories 454 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 12 oz paneer cheese, cubed
    • ¼ cup plain yogurt
    • 1 ½ teaspoon ground turmeric, divided
    • 5 teaspoon garam masala, divided
    • 2 teaspoon ground cumin, divided
    • 5 tablespoon ghee or butter, divided
    • 1 medium red onion, diced
    • 4 medium garlic cloves, minced
    • 1 2" piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
    • ½ teaspoon ground cayenne
    • 8 cups packed kale, stems removed and leaves chopped (about 2 bunches)
    • 4 cups packed mustard greens, chopped
    • 4 cups packed spinach, chopped
    • ¼ cup water
    • 1 cup heavy cream
    • salt and pepper
    • fresh cilantro, cooked basmati rice, yogurt, and naan bread for serving

    Instructions
     

    • Combine the paneer, yogurt, 1 teaspoon of the turmeric, 1 teaspoon of the garam masala, and 1 teaspoon of the cumin in a medium bowl. Set aside and let marinate while you prep the rest of the ingredients, at least 10 minutes.
    • When your greens are chopped and ingredients are prepped, heat 1 Tablespoon of the ghee or butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the paneer, and sauté, stirring often, until golden on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
    • Reduce heat to medium and add another 3 Tbsps of ghee in the skillet. Add the onion and sauté until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, cayenne, and remaining turmeric, garam masala, and cumin. Stir well until and sauté until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Begin adding your kale, a few handfuls at a time, stirring until greens are wilted. Continue until all greens are wilted and cooked down, including mustard greens and spinach, adding ⅛ cup of water as necessary, about 10 minutes.
    • Place greens in a large blender along with the heavy cream and blend until smooth. Return to skillet.
    • Stir in paneer, and reheat curry until hot. Stir in another tablespoon of ghee until melted and combined. Season generously with salt and pepper to taste.
    • Serve curry over basmati rice, topped with yogurt and fresh cilantro. Eat with naan bread (optional).

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1cup approx.Calories: 454kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 15gFat: 39gSaturated Fat: 24gCholesterol: 117mgSodium: 171mgPotassium: 758mgFiber: 5gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 12873IUVitamin C: 141mgCalcium: 505mgIron: 3mg
    Keyword vegetarian
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

    If you make this recipe, please let us know on social media or in the comments below! Leave a star rating in your comment or tag us on Instagram with #Rhubarbarians

    LIKE WHAT YOU SEE? GET FREE WEEKLY RECIPES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX! SIGN UP HERE!

    More Vegetarian dinner recipes

    • A square photo of curried cauliflower and butternut squash soup in a bowl.
      Vegetarian recipes for butternut squash soup
    • A square photo of a bowl of butternut squash soup with chickpeas and green onion on top.
      Butternut squash soup with chickpeas and smoked gouda
    • A square photo of pan fried tofu in a white skillet.
      Best taco meat substitutes for meatless tacos
    • A square close up photo of sweet potato tacos.
      Ten flavorful vegetarian taco recipes

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Comments and questions Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




    1. May

      August 11, 2023 at 7:13 pm

      5 stars
      This was delicious and simple to follow. I absolutely loved it! I paired it with some garlic naan. I will definitely be making this again. Thank you for sharing this recipe.

      Reply
    2. Kerrie

      March 05, 2022 at 7:28 pm

      5 stars
      Absolutely love this recipe. I use it as a base.. I mix up and use whatever veg I have to use.. I've made parsley, root veg, spinach; spinach, broccoli, kale; etc. The flavoring is spot on. Cheers and thank you so much for this!

      Reply
      • Trish Bozeman

        March 09, 2022 at 10:01 am

        I'm so glad you love it! I do the same, toss in whatever greens/veggies I have to use up. Thanks, Kerrie!

        Reply
    3. Nora Chavez - Punjabi Desi Foods

      December 06, 2018 at 9:12 am

      5 stars
      I heard that this was an absolutely delicious dish, and I am curious. Isnt it wonderful that there are so many ways in the world to make food. Is your recipe hot? meaning you put red pepper or hot palak? This Indian dish combines fresh spinach and ricotta in a creamy palak paneer. Use paneer if you can find it! It is absolutely wonderful with basmati rice or naan.

      Reply
    4. Corina

      May 18, 2016 at 7:09 am

      Fantastic use of spices! This sounds so tasty.

      Reply
      • Patricia Bozeman

        May 19, 2016 at 12:53 pm

        Thank you so much, Corina!

        Reply
    5. Cyrus

      June 27, 2015 at 6:46 am

      Trish you've outdone yourself here. Love the swapping in of kale into the saag paneer. I'm curious if the addition affected any of the spices you were intending to put into the dish? Anything you'd either want to put in extra or leave out?

      Reply
      • Patricia Bozeman

        June 28, 2015 at 10:19 am

        hey Cyrus! I kept the spices the same, however I had to really adjust the yogurt. The kale has a more bitter flavor than spinach, so I had to add less plain yogurt than I normally would. I think using coconut milk here would be amazing, but not very authentic. 🙂

        Reply
    6. Through Her Looking Glass

      June 26, 2015 at 10:01 pm

      Tricia - this recipe looks amazing! I always learn so much when I come to your blog. Always enjoy the visit. This dish would be lovely with a glass of pinot. Cheers!

      Reply
      • Patricia Bozeman

        June 28, 2015 at 10:17 am

        Thank you! Cheers to you too!

        Reply
    7. hooplah

      April 01, 2015 at 9:12 pm

      This sounds so interesting to me. Lots of flavors going on that I haven't had much experience with - but that's my loss, cause I'm obviously missing out. Think I'll have to fix that by trying this recipe over the weekend 😀

      Reply
      • Patricia Bozeman

        April 02, 2015 at 8:35 am

        Let me know if you try it out Chrisy! Definitely not for everyone, but I LOVE saag!

        Reply
    8. Tina Jui | The Worktop

      April 01, 2015 at 3:18 am

      Oh I LOVE paneer! So happy to see your recipe for it 🙂 Ps. I still like you after your 3 days off. Whew.

      Reply
      • Patricia Bozeman

        April 01, 2015 at 10:53 am

        ha! Thanks Tina!

        Reply
    9. Angi

      March 31, 2015 at 2:35 pm

      I'm hungry. Saag paneer is one of my favorite Indian dishes! And I've been on a huge naan-making kick lately so I think I need to add this recipe to my "to-cook" list for the near future...I love the idea of using kale.

      Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Rhubarbarians profile photo 200px

    Hi, I'm Trish, a vegetarian mom with a passion for cooking meatless meals with seasonal produce. I'll help you create vegetarian recipes that your whole family will love. Welcome!

    More about me →

    Popular

    You must use the category slug, not a URL, in the category field.

    Footer

    Trish Bozeman is a vegetarian mom with a passion for cooking meatless meals with seasonal produce. She will help you create vegetarian recipes that your whole family will love. Read More…

    Pages

    • About me
    • Accessibility statement
    • Privacy policy
    • Recipes

    Sign up for our newsletter

    Rhubarbarians newsletter

    Copyright © 2025 Rhubarbarians on the Foodie Pro Theme

    saag paneer recipe