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.
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 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
- ¼ cup Water
- 1 teaspoon Garam Masala
Spices
- ½ teaspoon Ground Turmeric (Haldi powder)
- ½ teaspoon Red Chili powder (Mirchi powder)
- 1 teaspoon Coriander powder (Dhaniya powder)
- 1 teaspoon 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
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:
I have been using this recipe for two years now and it’s awesome! I do double the spices as we don’t add the pepper. I will also add a bit of dried funugreek leaves when I add the paneer. It’s a hit even with my 4 year old!
Hi Tim - Glad to hear you have been enjoying the recipe. Thanks for sharing back!
Can I make this with other greens, like Swiss Chard, and have it come out well? l
Hi Barbara - I have to tried myself, but have heard people enjoy the taste of Swiss chard for saag. Would love to hear if you do try!
Hi Meeta,
I tried the recipe but unlike others I have made on stovetop, I found the spinach becomes too dark and slightly bitter. Any thoughts?
Yum!!!
Tried palak paneer for the very first time and it turned out amazing. I added peas with paneer at the end. This recipe is so easy and quick. Thank you so much for sharing!!!
Hi Dipti - Glad to hear you enjoyed the palak paneer!
Sorry for the typo Meeta! I will definitely be following you and am excited to try your other recipes.
Meets- this is the BEST palak paneer recipe! I can’t thank you enough for sharing. My husband said it was better than his mom’s 😂 and he doesn’t even really like palak paneer but has now asked me to put it in our weekly rotation!
Hi Rekha - So happy to hear that. Thank you for sharing it 😊
Ok made this twice. first time was a huge rush. I cooked the veggies quite a bit longer than the recipe and it came out better. Also the spinach frozen following the time listed remains frozen. Caution, the chili pepper is VERY hot. I personally love it but no good for people who dont like hot food. Sub out a jalapeño to be safe when cooking for delicate eaters.
Forgot to add, if using frozen spinach make sure its good and drained of excess water. This gets watery very fast.
Thanks for sharing your feedback Bruce. It is very helpful!
I love this recipe! So easy and delicious. I love how creamy it is.
Hi Stephani - So happy to hear that 🙂
Followed the recipe as written, with the exception of paneer, (don't have any on hand), it was delicious, the hand blender step is a game changer, so darned rich & creamy! I saved this recipe to make again, thank you Meeta!
Hi - So glad to hear that. Thank you for sharing back 🙂
Awesome recipe. My go to favorite palak paneer recipe. Palak paneer has never been so easy. I took 2 10 oz bags of fresh pre washed palak and pressure cooked for 3 mins and released after 5 mins. I added a bit more water to it instead of 1/2 cup as I was afraid to get burn notice. I could have done without the extra water. It will turn out good by adding cashew / cashew paste / heavy cream for more richness and creamy. I have seen many other recipes of yours but this one super easy, fast and less vessels to wash than the traditional palak paneer method.
Hi Tejal - So happy to hear you loved the palak paneer. I agree that adding some cream would be great too. I wanted to share my mom's everyday recipe, converted to the instant pot 🙂 Hence I skipped the cream. Thank you for sharing back!
I must get some spinach and try this. I would use needs oil, maybe lo cal (PAM?) Mixed with a little olive oil. Also I think feta cheese might work. Thank you.
Hello - Sure, other oil would work too. Although I dont think feta will work well in this recipe. You can try this recipe with firm tofu or I read that halloumi cheese could work too.
Followed the recipe without any deviation, came out wonderfully! I’ve made this twice in the last week.
Hi Silpa - So glad to hear that. Thank you for sharing it 🙂