Palak Paneer - Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

Palak Paneer is one of the most popular dish from North India. It is made with Spinach and Cottage Cheese, cooked with ginger, garlic, onions and aromatic spices. This is a simplified one-pot version of the authentic palak paneer, made in Instant Pot, which takes just 20 minutes to prepare. This is a nutritious Vegetarian, Gluten-free and Low Carb dish.

Instant Pot Palak Paneer is made with Spinach and Indian Cottage Cheese. There is another popular North Indian dish, Mustard Greens Saag, which is very similar, however it is made with both Mustard Greens and Spinach. If you want to make this dish Vegan, check out the Palak Tofu recipe. And if you like to include Chicken in place of Paneer, check out my popular Chicken Saag.

Don't forget to check out my post on 23 Best Instant Pot Indian Recipes. 

How to make Palak Paneer in Instant Pot?

This is an easy to make dish, you don't need too many ingredients. The basic - onion, tomato, ginger, garlic and some spices. And off course spinach and paneer. I used a whole box of baby spinach from Costco.

1 - Start the instant pot and saute the ginger, garlic and onions in some oil, along with aromatic cumin seeds. Then add tomatoes and spices. I chopped the onions and tomatoes. However you could cut them into large pieces as we are going to blend them later.

2- Then add in the spinach and pressure cook for just 2 minutes. I prefer to release pressure after 5 minutes of the cooking being done. This helps to retain the beautiful color of the spinach.

3 - I use an immersion blender to blend the ingredients. You can leave it coarse or blend smooth, based on your preference. If you don't have an immersion blender, transfer to your countertop blender or food processor to blend.

4 - Stir in the Paneer and some garam masala, and let it rest for 5 minutes. This will help for the paneer to get soft and soak in the flavors. I don't fry the paneer, however if you prefer it lightly fried, that would work perfectly too. Palak Paneer is ready to be served with rice, naan or parathas.

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Instant Pot Palak Paneer Recipe (Pressure Cooker)

Meeta Arora

A North Indian favorite with spinach and cottage cheese, Palak Paneer. Make this instant pot palak paneer as a one-pot dish, super easy and delicious!

4.73 from 126 votes

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Servings: 4

Calories: 417

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: North Indian

Diet: Gluten-free, Low Carb, Nut-free, Vegetarian

Method: Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: 15 mins

Total Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 1 lb Spinach (Palak) washed1 lb Spinach (Palak) washed
• 2 cups Paneer or Cottage cheese cut in bite sized cubes2 cups Paneer or Cottage cheese cut in bite sized cubes
• 1 tbsp Ghee or Oil1 tbsp Ghee or Oil
• 1 tsp Cumin seeds (Jeera)1 tsp Cumin seeds (Jeera)
• 1 Green Chili Pepper chopped1 Green Chili Pepper chopped
• 1 Onion medium, chopped1 Onion medium, chopped
• 5 cloves Garlic chopped5 cloves Garlic chopped
• 1" inch Ginger chopped1" inch Ginger chopped
• 1 Tomato medium, chopped1 Tomato medium, chopped
• 1/4 cup Water 1/4 cup Water
• 1 tsp Garam Masala 1 tsp Garam Masala

Spices

• 1/2 tsp Ground Turmeric (Haldi powder)1/2 tsp Ground Turmeric (Haldi powder)
• 1/2 tsp Red Chili powder (Mirchi powder)1/2 tsp Red Chili powder (Mirchi powder)
• 1 tsp Coriander powder (Dhaniya powder)1 tsp Coriander powder (Dhaniya powder)
• 1 tsp Salt adjust to taste1 tsp Salt adjust to taste

Instructions

 

• Start the instant pot in sauté mode. Heat oil and add cumin seeds.
• When cumin seeds start to splutter, add ginger, garlic, green chili and onions. Sauté for 2 minutes.
• Add tomato and spices. Stir and let it cook for 2 minutes. 
• Add water and deglaze the pot (see notes). Add in the spinach. Press cancel and close the instant pot lid with vent in sealing position. Set on manual or pressure cook mode on high pressure for 2 minutes.
• Once the instant pot beeps, do a 5 minute natural pressure release, which means release the pressure manually 5 minutes after the beep. 
• Blend the ingredients in the pot to a creamy texture using an immersion blender.
• Add the paneer and garam masala. Let it sit for 5 minutes, so the paneer soaks in the flavors.
• Palak Paneer is ready to be served with naan, roti or paratha.

Video

Notes

Burn message: If your instant pot is a newer model and you have seen burn message before, then add 1/2 cup water.

Stovetop Variation: The exact same preparation can be done in a sauce pan. Do not use a non-stick pan, if you plan to use an immersion blender to puree the spinach. 

Fry Paneer: This is a personal preference. If you like to fry the paneer, you can fry in 2-3 tbsp oil in a pan or air fry it. Then add the fried paneer to the blended spinach. 

Frozen Spinach: You can use frozen spinach in this recipe. The same cooking time should work well. The instant pot might just take longer to come to pressure. 

Frozen Paneer: If using frozen paneer, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight. Then use it as suggested. 

Green Chili Pepper: I typically use Thai, Birdeye or Serrano Chili Pepper in my recipes. Don't forget to adjust to your taste. 

Created: This recipe was created in a 6qt Instant Pot DUO60 Multi-use Programmable Pressure Cooker.

Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.

Nutrition

Calories: 417kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 20gFat: 32gSaturated Fat: 19gCholesterol: 83mgSodium: 747mgPotassium: 770mgFiber: 4gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 10990IUVitamin C: 41.5mgCalcium: 673mgIron: 3.9mg

Keyword Healthy, Vegetables

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Check out other Instant Pot Curries you might enjoy:

• Aloo Gobi
• Punjabi Chole
• Paneer Butter Masala
• Pumpkin Curry