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.
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.
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.
Let it rest for 5 minutes. This will help for the paneer to get soft and soak in the flavors and soften.
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.
Hope you enjoy this easy one-pot Palak Paneer recipe.
If you love spinach, here are some more Indian spinach recipes:
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
- 1/4 cup Water
- 1 teaspoon Garam Masala
Spices
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground Turmeric (Haldi powder)
- 1/2 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
Nutrition
Check out other Instant Pot Curries you might enjoy:
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
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.
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.
Hi Natan – Glad the changes worked well. Thank you for sharing your experience making the palak paneer 🙂
When you say green chili pepper, is it jalapeño?
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!
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!
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!
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.
Hey Carolyn – So glad to hear you enjoyed the Palak Paneer. Thank you for sharing that queso fresco worked well!
We love this recipe in our home! Quick question on the pressure cook mode for IP – do you recommend normal or high pressure? Thanks!
Hi Jhumur – For this palak paneer, use the default high pressure mode. Hope you enjoy it!
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.
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.
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!
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!
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
Hey Sneha – So happy to hear you enjoyed the palak paneer. Thank you for sharing your review!
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!
Hey Sonal – Use 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste in this palak paneer. Hope you enjoy it!
Hello! Can I make this ahead and freeze? If so, for how long would it last?
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.