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.
Recipe Video
Instant Pot Palak Paneer Recipe (Pressure Cooker)
Ingredients
- 1 lb Spinach (Palak) washed
- 2 cups Paneer or Cottage cheese cut in bite sized cubes
- 1 tbsp Ghee or Oil
- 1 tsp 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 tsp Garam Masala
Spices
- 1/2 tsp Ground Turmeric (Haldi powder)
- 1/2 tsp Red Chili powder (Mirchi powder)
- 1 tsp Coriander powder (Dhaniya powder)
- 1 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 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
Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.
Nutrition
Check out other Instant Pot Curries you might enjoy:
sheela says
Hi Meeta
Which immersion blender do you use? I think i need to buy this as I m tired of cleaning blender everytime.
Thanks
Sheela
Meeta Arora says
Hi Sheela – I have the cuisinart immersion blender, which I purchased from Costco. Kitchenaid is also a good brand. It is definitely convenient to have a hand blender for curries and soups.
Natan the Cook says
I have an 8 quart. The IP instructions say to always use at least 18 oz liquid. I can get away with 14-16 oz, but less than that and I WILL get a BURN. I thought perhaps enough water would cook quickly out of the spinach that I could get away with only adding a cup of water, but no! So I add 2 cups of water and then after releasing the pressure switch to saute and let some liquid cook off. It only takes a few extra minutes, then puree and add garam masala and paneer.
Meeta Arora says
Hi Natan – Glad the changes worked well. Thank you for sharing your experience making the palak paneer 🙂
Pia Loeb says
When you say green chili pepper, is it jalapeño?
Meeta Arora says
Hey Pia – I typically use Thai, Birdeye or Serrano Chili Pepper in my recipes. Don’t forget to adjust to your taste. This question does come up often, so I have mentioned this in notes too. Hope you enjoy it!
Raagini says
Hi! If we double the recipe do we use two pounds of spinach? I know it seems like an obvious question but it just looks like so much spinach!
Meeta Arora says
Hey Raagini – You are right that 2 lbs of spinach does seem a lot and it may actually not fit in the 6qt instant pot at once. However spinach also reduces down a lot, so even 1 lb of spinach just serves 4 with this recipe. It just depends on how many people you are cooking for. If you do try to double the recipe, here is a suggestion. Add the spinach that fits in, then cover with a lid for 3-4 mins. Once it has settled down a bit, add the remaining spinach and pressure cook. Hope you enjoy it!
Carolyn says
Finally! The palak paneer recipe I’ve been searching for. I’ve made several before and this one is the closest to what we get in restaurants…plus it’s so easy in the IP! I didn’t change a thing other than using quest fresco because it’s more easily available where I shop.
Meeta Arora says
Hey Carolyn – So glad to hear you enjoyed the Palak Paneer. Thank you for sharing that queso fresco worked well!
Jhumur says
We love this recipe in our home! Quick question on the pressure cook mode for IP – do you recommend normal or high pressure? Thanks!
Meeta Arora says
Hi Jhumur – For this palak paneer, use the default high pressure mode. Hope you enjoy it!
Karie says
Love this recipe. Made it about 4 times already. Only thing is I add 1 cup of water because my instant pot says “burn” if I only add 1/4 cup. I also use 1 TBSP of cumin seeds and Garam Masala. I also add a TBSP of Kasoori Methi in with the spices. Just a splash of cream makes it a little richer.
Meeta Arora says
Thanks Karie. Wonderful ideas to add Kasoori methi and a splash of cream to make the palak paneer richer. The newer instant pots are more sensitive to burn, so good point about adding more water. I will mention this in notes.
Jess says
Hi Meeta! I love your site. Is it possible to use frozen spinach? My preference is fresh, but where I live overseas at the moment it can be harder to come by. If so, how should the recipe be modified? Thank you!
Meeta Arora says
Hi Jess – yes, frozen spinach will work in this recipe too. I think it will work without any changes. The instant pot might take a bit longer to come to pressure. Hope you enjoy it!
Sneha says
This recipe was very tasty (tastes just like restaurant Palak Paneer without all the cream). I have made it three times already! Thanks for the recipe
Meeta Arora says
Hey Sneha – So happy to hear you enjoyed the palak paneer. Thank you for sharing your review!
Sonal Taneja says
I’m looking forward to trying this recipe tonight! Can I substitute the ginger and garlic with ginger-garlic paste? If so, how much should I use?
Thank you!
Meeta Arora says
Hey Sonal – Use 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste in this palak paneer. Hope you enjoy it!
Catherine says
Hello! Can I make this ahead and freeze? If so, for how long would it last?
Meeta Arora says
Hey Catherine – I think palak paneer would freeze well. You can also just freeze the spinach sauce and add the paneer when eating it for dinner. Do freeze in small portions. I have not tried, however I think it will easily last for 1-2 months in the freezer in an air tight container.