Palak paneer is a popular Indian Vegetarian Dish consisting of paneer (Indian cheese) in a smooth, creamy and delicious spinach gravy. Learn to make the best palak paneer at home, all without blanching spinach and not over loading your dish with tons of spices. This is simply delicious, rich, absolutely flavorsome & tastes better than in any restaurant. Serve it with Paratha, roti, Butter naan, Jeera rice, Ghee rice or even with plain basmati rice.

If you are new to Indian cuisine and wondering what is it..
About Palak Paneer
Palak paneer is a classic curried dish from North Indian cuisine made with fresh spinach, onions, spices, paneer and herbs. ‘Palak’ is a Hindi word for ‘Spinach’ and ‘Paneer’ is ‘Indian cottage cheese’. So palak paneer translates to paneer simmered in a smooth spicy and delicious spinach gravy or sauce. The dish is more popular in the restaurants than in the households.
The conventional method of making palak paneer is to blanch the spinach leaves and then puree it. This spinach puree is later cooked with spices, onions and tomatoes until a thick curry like consistency is achieved.
Lastly paneer is simmered in that sauce. For a restaurant touch usually some cream is added to this. A lot of people also add some milk for a unique flavor.
My Recipe
If you have never loved your palak paneer before it is most likely for the way you cooked it. Not anymore because my recipe will help you master cooking the perfect spinach paneer.
Growing up we never liked palak paneer anywhere, even in the best restaurants for the way it tasted and looked. Later I always had a tough time getting even my toddlers to eat it in restaurants. After trying different ways of making palak paneer I finally arrived at this version that is always an huge hit with everyone around.
This palak paneer is the best, you are ever going to make. The best results are achieved just by not blanching your spinach and not overcooking it. So to avoid blanching we saute the spinach first and then puree.
Don’t worry about your palak paneer tasting bitter it won’t really, because we clean, saute the leaves until wilted & avoid overcooking similar to the way we do in a lot of other recipes like dal palak, spinach paratha, palak rice, aloo palak and many more.
A lot of people also ask if palak paneer and saag paneer are the same. I answer it here:

Palak Paneer vs Saag Paneer
Palak paneer is an authentic Indian dish originated in India, while saag paneer is what is invented by the chefs in Indian restaurant abroad, outside India. We would usually never find saag paneer on any restaurant menu in India. But we do find it outside.
Since palak means spinach, palak paneer is made with spinach. But saag typically refers to many different greens like mustard greens, radish greens, fenugreek leaves and few others. So usually saag is made with any or all of these. So if you order for a saag paneer in a restaurant, you are more likely to eat any or all of these in it.
There many different ways a saag paneer is made so it tastes totally different in every restaurant. The saag paneer I have eaten is made with spinach, coriander leaves and methi leaves (fenugreek leaves) which is far different from the palak paneer.
More Paneer Recipes
Paneer butter masala
Malai kofta
Paneer makhani
Easy paneer bhurji
Shahi paneer
Paneer tikka masala
How to Make Palak Paneer (Stepwise photos)
Preparation
1. This recipe needs about 4 cups loosely measured or 2 cups tightly packed (100 to 120 grams) palak leaves. Use only young and fresh spinach. Avoid using large stems or stalks, especially from mature spinach/ palak as they make the gravy bitter. If using baby spinach keep the tender stalks.
Rinse cleaned palak thoroughly in a large pot filled with water. I also spray some vinegar and salt to remove the pesticide residue first. Rinse a few times more. Drain off the water completely. If you are on a low oxalate diet then you can blanch the spinach by following the steps mentioned in the recipe card.

2. Add half tablespoon oil to a pan. then add 1 to 2 chopped green chilies. There is no red chilli powder used in this recipe. So use enough green chilies to give that heat. Adjust accordingly.

3. Add palak and 8 to 10 cashew nuts. Saute on a medium heat until the palak wilts off completely. This takes only 2 to 3 minutes. Do not overcook, spinach takes only 2 to 3 mins to cook.

4. Ensure the raw flavor from the leaves has gone. If there is any stock (moisture) of spinach left, you can use up to blend. You need not evaporate it.

5. Cool it completely. Transfer these to a blender jar. Pour ¼ cup clean water to the blender.

6. Blend this to a smooth puree. It has to be thick and smooth. Keep this aside.

Making gravy
7. Heat the same pan with 1 tablespoon butter and half tablespoon oil . Add 2 whole cardamoms, one inch cinnamon, 2 cloves and 1/8th teaspoon cumin seeds. If you do not have whole spices you may skip them. But we are not going to use much garam masala in powder form so I use them.

8. Add ¾ cup fine chopped onions or boiled onion paste. Fry until the onions turn golden. Then add 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste. Saute for 1 minute or until the aroma of ginger garlic comes out.

9. Then add deseeded fine chopped half cup tomatoes or tomato puree and half teaspoon salt. Saute them well.

10. When the tomatoes turn fully mushy, add ½ to ¾ teaspoon garam masala. Please use a good flavorful garam masala. Saute until the masala smells good for 2 to 3 mins. (Optional if you don’t like chunky curry, then you may blend this as well with ¾ cup water. More in the recipe card notes)

12. Pour ¾ cup water and cook covered on a medium heat until the onions are completely soft cooked. After cooking, onion tomato masala has to be thick yet should have some water. (check video for consistency) Take half teaspoon kasuri methi in your palm and crush it. Add it here.

Making palak paneer
14. When the gravy thickens, lower the flame completely. Next add the palak puree. Mix it well and cook until it begins to bubble just for about 2 mins. I do not suggest cooking for long at this stage as it discolors the gravy. If you prefer your curry slightly thin, then you may stir in a few tablespoons of hot water at this stage. Taste test and add more salt.

15. Add cubed paneer.

16. Give a good stir. Switch off the stove. If using cream pour it now. You can skip cream is you have used cashews while pureeing the spinach. Honestly this recipe does not need cream & I don’t use on a regular basis. I only used for garnishing in the pictures below.

Serve palak paneer with butter naan, jeera rice, ghee rice, roti or plain paratha.

Pro Tips
1. Blanched Vs unblanched spinach: I would recommend blanching, if you have been on a low oxalate diet and do not consume spinach without blanching in any other foods like dal palak or any spinach curry.
To make palak paneer, always spinach is blanched prior to making a puree. But if you are trying to make the best palak paneer, give it a try without blanching.
I am sure you will wonder how good this tastes and completely different from the one made with blanched spinach.
2. Preserving the color of palak: To get the best color, keep garam masala to minimum in this recipe and also prevent overcooking spinach which darkens the dish.
3. Smooth creamy texture: I have used few cashews to give a slightly creamy texture to the palak paneer gravy. However you can just skip them and use about 3 to 4 tbsps cream. You can also use blanched almonds.
4. Paneer: Do choose good quality paneer as it is the key ingredient in this palak paneer recipe. I use this homemade paneer which is soft with a melt-in-the-mouth texture.
If using frozen store bought paneer then soak it in slightly hot water for 15 to 20 mins. Drain and use. This helps to keep it soft.
You can check more palak recipes here which I have shared on the blog.
Faqs
Saag refers to different kinds of greens like mustard greens, spinach, fenugreek, amaranth and a few others. Saag paneer can be made with any of these greens but palak paneer is made with palak (spinach) alone.
Bitter taste in palak is due to the high concentrations of oxalic acid present in old, mature, large dark green spinach. To prevent your palak paneer from tasting bitter, simply use young spinach which is more tender and sweeter in taste and flavor. Also overcooking spinach makes it more bitter. It only requires a few minutes to cook.
Yes you can freeze palak paneer for a month. Once the onion tomato masala is ready, turn off the heat and cool it completely & immediately. Later mix the spinach puree and transfer to air tight glass freezer safe container. When required, thaw it and heat on a low heat until bubbling and hot. You can also heat it in an instant pot.
How to Choose Palak
- Always choose tender palak that is light to medium green in color. Dark leaves are usually less tasty.
- Do not use the stalks or stems of palak as it makes the palak paneer bitter. It also leads to metallic taste.
- I have not made this recipe with frozen spinach anytime. But a few readers have had positive results even when made with frozen spinach.
Related Recipes
Recipe Card

Palak Paneer Recipe | Spinach Paneer
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
- 1¼ cup paneer (150 grams) Indian cottage cheese
- 3½ to 4 cups palak (spinach) (100 to 120 grams) (2 cups tightly packed)
- 2 tablespoons oil (or 1 tbsp oil & 1 tbsp butter)
- 2 green chilies (deseeded) (less spicy kind)
- ¾ cup onions (fine chopped) (2 small, 90 grams)
- ½ cup tomatoes (deseeded & chopped) or puree (2 small)
- 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste (or 1 tsp each fine chopped)
- ¾ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
- 8 to 10 cashewnuts or 7 blanched almonds
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon garam masala (adjust to taste)
- ½ teaspoon kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) (skip if you don't have)
- 3 tablespoons cream (optional)
(optional) Whole spices for palak paneer
- ⅛ teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera) (optional)
- 2 green cardamoms (elaichi) (optional)
- 1 inch cinnamon (dalchini) (optional)
- 2 cloves (laung) (optional)
Instructions
Preparation
- Pluck only the young & tender spinach leaves and discard the stems as they may leave a bitter taste. If using baby spinach you can use the stems as well.
- Add them to a large pot of water. Rinse them well few times & drain to a colander.
- Allow the water to drain completely otherwise it will let out lot of moisture while cooking.
- Heat half tablespoon oil in a pan. Saute green chilies, cashews and spinach for 3 to 4 mins until the leaves wilt off thoroughly & raw smell of spinach has gone away. [OR another option is to blanch the palak in 4 cups of hot water with ¼ tsp salt for 2 mins. Then immerse in ice cold water. Drain completely.]
- Cool this completely. Blend this along with ¼ cup water to a smooth puree. The puree should be smooth and thick. You may add 1 to 2 tbsps more water to help in blending.
How to Make Palak Paneer
- Heat 1 tablespoon butter and half tablespoon oil to the same pan, Once they melt, add cinnamon, cardamoms, cloves & cumin seeds.
- When the spices begin to sizzle, add onions and fry till they turn transparent to golden.
- Next saute ginger garlic paste for 1 to 2 minutes or until you begin to smell it nice.
- Then add tomatoes with salt. Saute until they break down and turn mushy.
- Add garam masala & saute until the masala smells good. This may take 2 mins. (for a smoother curry refer notes)
- Pour ¾ cup water and cook covered until onions are completely soft. There should be some water left in the pan. (for consistency check video)
- Lower the flame, add kasuri methi and pureed spinach. Mix well and cook until it begins to bubble for about 2 to 3 mins. If the curry is too thick you may add a few tbsps of hot water.
- Avoid overcooking. Add paneer & mix well. Turn off and remove to a serving bowl. Optionally garnish with cream.
- Serve palak paneer with naan, roti or Jeera rice.
Notes
- This recipe can be doubled.
- For a smoother gravy, after sauteing the onion and tomatoes with garam masala cool it & blend to a smooth puree with ½ to ¾ cup water. Cook this until you see traces of oil. When the gravy thickens add the palak puree.
- If using baby spinach, stems can be used. If using mature spinach, avoid using stalks & stems as they may lend a bitter taste. Cut off each stem from the leaves. Overcooking palak can leave a bitter taste.
- You can use more spinach if you like.
- Whole spices are optional. But they do add a lot of flavor to the dish. However you can skip them and add more garam masala to suit your taste.
- Optional: If using store bought paneer, then cube them and add to 2 cups hot water. Keep these immersed for 10 mins. Drain and use.
Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.
For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.
Video
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes

I love your website and recipes!
I make several of your recipes including this one on a regular basis. Thank you for your work on culinary deliciousness
Happy yo know Nat,
Thank you so much!
Swasthi, Thank you for the recipe. I have been making this palak paneer quite often because my family loves it. Can I use more palak than given in the recipe? I am often left with 4 cups more spinach. I make 2x recipe. How does that affect the taste?
Hi Ananya,
Good to know you all love this. If you have more spinach, you should increase all the ingredients proportionately to get the same taste. If you feel that’s a lot of paneer, you may cut down. But Yes, increasing only the amount of spinach changes the flavor & even the texture. Hope this helps.
My hubby and I love all different cuisine!!! Thank you for sharing. We meal prep for a week and this is one of our regular !!
That’s awesome Jin
Thank you! So happy to know!
i love this site
Thank you Natasha
This was my first time eating and making Palak Paneer. I first made your garam masala, then this, I wasn’t sure how it was supposed to taste, but I loved it. I didn’t use the full amount of chilli but will do next time, I shared some with a friend who has eaten PP many times and she told me it was lovely. I had left overs the next day and have to report that it was even better then. Thank you, I am now bookmarking recipes to try but tonight Gobi Pakoda is getting the rounds here and I can’t wait.
Thank you so much for sharing how your palak paneer turned out. Hope you all love the gobi pakoda too.
🙂
I found your website a few months ago while looking for a tadka dal recipe. I made the dal and my family loved it pretty much! We have been making a lot of Indian foods and all from your amazing recipes. I am yet to come across one that has failed us. We 3x this recipe and the palak paneer was delicious. I think we never ate anything this beautiful and healthy before. Keep the recipes coming and keep up the great work! Cheers!
That’s Awesome! Thank you so much Jose. So happy to know you all loved it. Sure will keep posting.
🙂
This was my first time making your naan and palak paneer. I have made both earlier from other recipes. But this recipe makes insanely delicious palak paneer!!!!! My family felt so refreshing after eating this. Made 2x and was not enough for a family of 2. The butter naans also turned out soft and delicious. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Thank you so much Shelley for sharing how it turned out. 2x recipe makes for 4 or at least 3 large servings. Glad your family enjoyed it.
🙂
Turned out awesome, Thanks Swasthi.
Kavitha, Glad it turned out good. Thank you so much!
Hello Swasthi. I have a question. Are the cashew nuts raw and unsalted?
Hi Pablo,
They are unsalted raw cashews. If you have only salted you can still use them. Cut down the salt in the recipe.
Made this last night for a dinner party and it was AMAZING! Tripled the recipe – skipped whole spices and used more garam masala as suggested. A couple of guests initially skipped over this dish but I INSISTED they try a spoonful – they had never tried palak paneer before. Both were expecting a “bland, spinach-like” taste but were blown away by the flavors and, yes, they eagerly put more on their plates. Keeping your recipe and notes forever – THANK YOU for such helpful guidance.
Hi,
Happy to know your guests liked it. Thank you so much!
Delish! This Palak paneer is delicious. Will be making it often. Thank you!
Glad you like it Jane.
Thank you!
Hi Swasthi! I tried this recipe today. It turned out to be perfect, ekdum restaurant style vala. I have tried before palak paneer recipe but this is the best one. Thank you so much for sharing such an easy recipe. Keep going and sharing such wonderful recipes. ☺️
Hi Kanchan,
So happy to know you like it. Thanks much for letting me know how it turned out.
🙂
Is there a substitute for cashews? This recipe looks delicious and will be making it soon. Will it taste the same without cashews because I can’t eat nuts. Thank you
Hi Rose,
You can skip the cashews and add more cream before finishing the dish. It will taste almost the same with cream.
I used a 10 ounce package frozen chopped spinach which made the end result perfect! Toward the end of cooking, instead of adding more water to thin the gravy I used about 3-4 Tblsp whole milk. I finished it off with some extra methi and chatt 😋 Yum yum yum! I didn’t have paneer so I used firm tofu which was good, but paneer is better, of course. This is real comfort food!👍
Hi Liz,
Glad to know it turned out good. Thank you
I made this for the first time last night and it was delicious! I will never buy this in a restaurant again! It tastes very fresh, clean and healthy. I used blanched almonds. I skipped the purée step and used a strong fork to stir the spinach–so it was still pretty smooth. Next time I promise to follow the directions. :). Thank you for sharing your recipes. This is going to help us eat our greens!
Hi,
Glad to know you like it. Thank you so much for sharing how it turned out.
This was sooo delicious! And very easy to make too. Can’t wait to make it for my family.
Thanks Anushka
Easy to follow just by seeing the photos. My mom loved it!!. Swathy, may I know the Utensil you have used for cooking? Thanks in advance
Sharmila, it’s a clay pot
Such an amazing and easy to follow recipe. Tried it for the first time and loved it. Better than anything that i have had at restaurants
So Happy you like it. Thank you so much
Awesome recipe
Thank you!
I adore your recipes but I really wish you would make the ingredient list copy and pastable via smart phones. The only website I have issues doing this on 🙁
Hi Anna
Thank you! Yes you can do it
Wonderful recipe, thank you! Your step-by-step instructions were clear and comprehensive without being excessive. I love Indian cuisine but have little experience making it, so the explanations for the prep and each stage of cooking gave me more confidence to try.
I have ruined past attempts due to a heavy hand with curry, so I needed that talk about conservatism with the garam masala. I did not have the whole spices on hand, so did increase the garam masala to 1 tsp.
I have reflux issues, so I tried making the recipe with a few more cashews and a little less onion and tomato than the recipe calls for, but it does need the brightness from the tomato for the right flavor balance.
I’m sure by your standards it would not taste quite right, but I was very pleased.
Hello Kim.
So glad to know it turned out good even with so many changes. Actually you can leave out onion and tomatoes completely. Use only spinach and cashews. The quantity will be lesser but turns out good. Thank you!