This is the easiest and quickest way to do a vegan palak paneer-style spinach sauce. Firm smoked tofu cubes replace the paneer and are packed with protein. This sauce is made from frozen spinach.

Super simple everyday food. This easy vegan Indian style palak paneer is so tasty, rich, and creamy—perfect quick food for weekdays after work. The sauce is ready while your rice cooks.

This is a gluten-free version since the tofu cubes are not baked in a flour mixture before added to the sauce.

What is palak paneer?

Palak paneer is an Indian sauce. Palak is spinach and paneer is Indian cottage cheese. So it is a curry made with spinach and cheese cubes. The spinach is usually pureed to be a bit more smooth sauce.

Traditional paneer also has cream added.

Why palak paneer is healthy?

It is very easy to eat lots of greens with this recipe that contains 500 grams of frozen spinach.

Did you know that spinach contains a lot of Iron, but it is more bioavailable as cooked instead of raw. And cooking removes oxalates from the spinach. Large consumption of oxalates can be harmful and lead to kidney stones. This is why spinach is best consumed as cooked.

One serving ¼ amount of sauce contains 7,3mg iron, 492 mg calcium, 59mg vitamin-c—also a good amount of potassium, phosphorus, selenium, and zink. Of course, about 10-20 percent of this disappears in cooking.

Different creamers for the sauce

Traditional palak paneer has cream in the sauce. In a vegan version you can use as a creamer:

Coconut milk
Cashew cream
Oat cream
Almond cream

What spices do you need for palak paneer?

Garam Masala
Ginger
Garlic
Chili

Garam masala is made of coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cardamom, black pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves. So, if you don't have Garam Masala as a ready spice blend, it is possible to make your own.

1 tablespoon ground cumin
1,5 teaspoon ground coriander, cardamom, and black pepper.
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
0,5 teaspoon ground cloves and nutmeg

Use 2 teaspoons of this mix in the sauce.

Can you make this ahead?

Yes, you can definitely make this ahead. The flavors will deepen and it gets even better the next day. To reheat the sauce, cook about 5 minutes until it is over 60 degrees C. If you have left the tofu in the sauce, it might have turned green from the spinach, so if you ant to serve white tofu cubes, then add the tofu cubes in the sauce always before serving.

How to store?

Store in an airtight container n the fridge. Eat within 3-4 days. You can freeze the sauce up to 1 month.

📖 Recipe