Instant Pot Chicken Saag (Chicken & Spinach Curry) is a delicious dish from north India. A step-by-step recipe to prepare this in the Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker.
Chicken is simmered in a creamy spinach sauce. Sounds exotic? Don't worry, it is super easy to make. This curry is full of flavor and loaded with nutrients. You will always find some version of this spinach curry in any Indian restaurant, which is a popular one to order.
“Saag” is a Punjabi term used for leafy green preparations. These could be made with spinach, mustard greens, chard, etc. I used spinach in this Chicken Saag, but feel free to use other greens you like. This curry is a healthy way to incorporate leafy greens in a kid's meal.
My daughter loves everything saag, so I make multiple versions - Palak Paneer, Saag Paneer, and Saag Aloo with mustard greens and Vegan Palak Tofu.
Love Spinach? Check out this collection of 21 Indian Spinach Recipes.
How to make Chicken Saag in Pressure Cooker?
This is a very quick, one-pot recipe. Start the instant pot and add in the oil, cumin, ginger and garlic. Then add in the chopped onions and sauté for a few minutes. The ingredients can be cut into large pieces as we are going to blend them later.
Add the spices and stir them with the onions. Add water and deglaze the pot (important for newer versions of instant pot). Then add in the spinach leaves and place the chicken on top of the spinach leaves. Cook on manual or high pressure for 8 minutes.
When the instant pot beeps, quick release the pressure manually. Remove the chicken pieces on the top and keep aside. Then use the immersion blender to grind the ingredients in the pot to a smooth paste.
You can also use a normal blender to grind and then transfer the saag back to the instant pot. If needed, cut the chicken pieces to the desired size and transfer them back to the saag in the pot.
Simmer for a few minutes so the chicken is mixed well with the greens. Use a glass lid when simmering as there could be some splutters when spinach boils. Chicken Saag is ready to be enjoyed with naan or rice.
Enjoy the goodness of spinach and chicken in this hearty and healthy recipe. Give this recipe a try and I am sure you are going to love it as much as we do!
If you are looking for more Instant Pot Chicken Curry Recipes, check out these -
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Chicken Saag Recipe (Pressure Cooker)
Ingredients
- 10 ounces Spinach (Palak)
- 1 lb Chicken thighs boneless, cut into 2-3 pieces
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)
- 1" inch Ginger chopped
- 6 cloves Garlic
- 2 Onion medium sized, cut into pieces
- ¼ cup Water
Spices
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Turmeric (Haldi powder)
- ½ teaspoon Cayenne or Red chili powder
- 2 teaspoon Coriander powder (Dhaniya powder)
- 1 teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Start the instant pot in SAUTE mode and heat oil in it. Add cumin seeds and saute for 30 seconds
- Add the cut onions, ginger and garlic. Saute for couple of minutes. Add the spices and stir well. Add water and deglaze the pot.
- Add the spinach and carefully place the chicken pieces on top of the spinach. Press CANCEL and close the instant pot lid with vent in sealing position.
- Press MANUAL or Pressure Cook mode for 8 minutes. When the instant pot beeps, do a quick pressure release. PRESS Cancel.
- Open the lid, remove the chicken pieces and set aside. Blend the spinach and other ingredients to a creamy texture preferably using an immersion blender.
- If needed, cut the chicken into smaller pieces and then add it back to the spinach curry.
- Press SAUTE and give the curry a quick boil. This could splutter out, so cover with a lid.
- Chicken Saag is ready. Enjoy with naan, roti or rice.
Notes
- If you don't have an immersion blender, you could transfer the ingredients to a regular blender, blend to a smooth paste and then transfer them back in the instant pot insert.
- I used spinach in this recipe. However I have made this using spinach and chard or spinach and mustard greens, and they come out great.
- If the chicken is not well cooked, then boil for a bit longer in step 7.
- If using chicken breast, cut into 2-3 pieces and pressure cook for 6 minutes.
Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.
Vic says
Hello from Sydney, Australia!
Just tried this one out and it is perfect! Been looking for a simple and delicious recipe for saag chicken for a while now and I think I've found it.
Thanks for sharing Meeta, and look forward to trying out another one soon.
Cheers
Sansa says
I am a beginner cook, and this was the first desi dish I've made on my own and I could not be happier! It was super easy to follow the directions, and the flavor came out amazing. I had a few modifications - I used drumsticks with bone in (ended up pressure cooking for 8 minutes twice but probably could have done less), I didn't blend the spinach mixture to make it easier for myself, and I used mixed coriander and cumin powder because I didn't have plain coriander powder. The dish is so well spiced and mild. I will definitely be making it again, maybe even for a party!
Piping Pot Curry says
Hi - So happy to hear that. Thank you for sharing it 🙂
Saket says
Can we use ghee instead of oil?
Meeta Arora says
Hi Saket - Sure, you can use use to make the saag. Hope you enjoy it!
Wait Up says
Great recipe. I used Costco boneless/skinless thighs (2 of 6 = 2+ lbs) an 4/5 power greens and proportional spice increases. Added pot-in-pot basmati. I added almond butter prior to immersion blender. Great meal with leftovers. Next ice I'll add m so color doesn't go from green to......
wait up says
Next time I will add lime.......
Meeta Arora says
Hello - So glad to hear you enjoyed the saag. Thank you for sharing back your feedback!
Gerhard says
The flavor seemed a bit off. I followed the recipe carefully. Maybe it should use a garam masalla spice mix rather than constructing the seasoning from scratch? IDK. I may try adding some tomato paste and yogurt and see if that improves the flavor. Also -- for a short time my Instant Pot was showing the dreaded "burn" status, so maybe a bit more liquid.
Meeta Arora says
Hello Gerhard - Sorry to hear you did not enjoy the flavor of the chicken saag. Typically Garam Masala is added in addition to the basic spices. So feel free to add that at the end to any curry to taste. You can certainly add some tomato paste to this saag too. Cream or cashew cream can be added at the end to make it creamy.
Michelle Segal says
I would like to double the amount of spinach. Would you recommend doubling the amount of spices too?
Meeta Arora says
Hi Michelle - I would do 1.5x the spices if you are doubling on the spinach. If you are adding more chicken as well, then do 2x. Hope you enjoy the curry!
Sayani Ghosh says
Hi Meeta,
The recipe looks delish!
I do not have an insta-pot. Should I follow the same steps for regular pressure cooker cooking or is there a modified version of this recipe specially for regular pressure cookers?
Thanks
Sayani
Meeta Arora says
Hi Sayani - Thank you. You can follow same steps in a stovetop pressure cooker. But add 1/2 cup water and cook for about 2 whistles on medium-high heat. Hope you enjoy the chicken saag.
KCL says
Delicious! Making again and doubling recipe.
Piping Pot Curry says
Hi - So happy to hear that. Thank you for sharing it 🙂
KCL says
This was absolutely delicious! Not sure why I waited so long to make this at home?! Super easy! Thank you
Piping Pot Curry says
Hi - So happy to hear that. 🙂