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.

Palak Paneer Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
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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. 

Table of Contents

Watch How to Make Palak Paneer

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.

Palak Paneer Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Ingredients

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.

steps to make pressure cook spinach for palak paneer

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.

finishing steps to make palak paneer in instant pot

Let it rest for 5 minutes. This will help for the paneer to get soft and soak in the flavors and soften.

Palak Paneer Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

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.

Palak Paneer Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

Hope you enjoy this easy one-pot Palak Paneer recipe.

If you love spinach, here are some more Indian spinach recipes:

Palak Paneer Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
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4.86 from 255 votes

Instant Pot Palak Paneer Recipe (Pressure Cooker)

By: 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!
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4

Video

Ingredients 

  • 1 lb Spinach (Palak), washed
  • 2 cups Paneer or Cottage cheese, cut in bite sized cubes
  • 1 tablespoon Ghee or Oil
  • 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)
  • 1 Green Chili Pepper, chopped
  • 1 Onion, medium, chopped
  • 5 cloves Garlic, chopped
  • 1″ inch Ginger, chopped
  • 1 Tomato, medium, chopped
  • 1/4 cup Water
  • 1 teaspoon Garam Masala

Spices

US Customary – Metric

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.

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 or stovetop pressure cooker. 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.

Nutrition

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

Additional Info

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: North Indian
Diet: Gluten-free, Low Carb, Nut-free, Vegetarian
Tried this recipe?Mention @pipingpotcurry or tag #pipingpotcurry!

Check out other Instant Pot Curries you might enjoy:

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About Meeta

I strongly believe that each one of us has a chef inside us, we just need to explore the ingredients and create great food. My passion is to share easy, healthy, and wholesome recipes made using Instant Pot & Air Fryer, that are well tested, so you can cook with confidence.

Read More About Me

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4.86 from 255 votes (177 ratings without comment)

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179 Comments

    1. Hi – That sounds like such a fun and tasty idea—turning it into a naan pizza! I’m so glad the kids loved it. 🙂

      Reply

  4. I made this today and added 7 small florets of broccoli when I added the spinach to the instant pot. It came out so good. Thank you for this lovely recipe.

    Reply

  5. I’ve made about 6 recipes from this website, and each one is amazing. I don’t have a pressure cooker, so I just cook them on the stove top for a little longer than the recipe calls for. This was absolutely delicious. I used a Serrano pepper and didn’t fry the paneer. It was perfect. Thank you so much for your wonderful recipes. They feature weekly in our home.

    Reply

    1. Hi Tori – I’m thrilled to hear that you’ve had success with multiple recipes from the website and that they’ve become a regular in your home! Thank you for your kind words, and happy cooking! 😊

      Reply

  7. My wife and I have a CSA and in addition to spinach we throw all our random greens in there – mustards, beet tops, carrot tops, etc and it tastes amazing every time. We pan fry the paneer while the curry cooks and add more garam masala and salt than the recipe calls for.

    Reply