This aloo palak is super comforting and packed with flavor! A vegan spin on the classic Indian potato spinach curry that's surprisingly easy to make.
Meet my ultimate comfort food curry! Potato spinach curry was always one of my favorites from Indian restaurants.
A few years ago I made a killer version of vegan saag paneer. If you were a fan of that, I think you'll love this. It's pretty similar, but uses potatoes in place of tofu. Potatoes make just about anything more hearty and comforting.
My homemade version of aloo palak is surprisingly easy to make, gluten-free, and totally vegan. It's an excellent curry to enjoy when you're craving some carby comfort food, especially when paired up with basmati rice, homemade vegan naan and/or baked samosas.
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Yellow potatoes. Yukon gold potatoes are the most common yellow potatoes I've seen, and they work great in this recipe. You can substitute other types of potatoes like red or russet potatoes (a.k.a. baking potatoes) if needed.
- Vegan butter. This is sold near the regular butter at most supermarkets. Earth Balance, Miyoko's and melt are a few popular brands to look out for.
- Onion.
- Garlic.
- Ginger.
- Serrano pepper. You can skip this ingredient if you prefer a milder curry, or substitute another type of hot pepper like a jalapeño if that's what's available.
- Spices. We're using a mix of ground cumin, whole cumin seeds, garam masala and turmeric. You may need to take a trip to an Indian market for the whole cumin seeds, but it's worth it.
- Fresh spinach. Frozen spinach can be substituted if needed. Just make sure to thaw, drain, and squeeze it to remove excess water before adding it to the recipe.
- Water.
- Coconut milk. We're using full-fat coconut milk from a can. Coconut milk isn't exactly an authentic ingredient in aloo palak, but I loved the richness it added to my vegan saag paneer, so I included it in this curry as well.
- Lemon juice.
- Salt and pepper.
How it's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Most of the work is in prepping your spinach. It takes a while to chop up 12 ounces of spinach by hand! If you choose to do it that way, make sure to chop it super finely.
The easier method of chopping spinach is to use a food processor. Do this in batches, filling the bowl (but not stuffing it) with spinach, and pulsing the machine until your spinach is finely chopped. You'll probably need to scrape down the sides of the bowl every so often.
Peel, chop and boil some potatoes in some salted water.
Now melt vegan butter in a skillet. Give the butter a minute to heat up, and then add diced onion. Cook the onion for about five minutes to soften it up.
Spices and aromatics go in next.! Add minced garlic, grated ginger ginger, a minced serrano pepper, cumin (both seeds and ground), garam masala, and turmeric. Toast the spices briefly, then add some spinach and a bit of water. Cook the spinach until it wilts.
Finally, add your coconut milk.
Now gently stir in your potatoes. Cook everything briefly, just to heat up your potatoes.
Take the skillet off of the burner and stir in some lemon juice, salt, and pepper. I sometimes like to sprinkle my curry with some chopped fresh cilantro.
Enjoy!
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover potato spinach curry will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 3 days. I don't recommend freezing this dish, as freezing can alter the texture of potatoes.
Leftovers can easily be reheated in the microwave or in a skillet on the stove. Thin the sauce with a splash of water when reheating if it's gotten too thick.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is.
The serrano pepper adds a bit of heat. Feel free to leave it out if you prefer a milder version. For extra heat, add a pinch (or more!) of cayenne pepper or hot red chilli powder.
I can't taste the coconut, but if it's a flavor that you particularly dislike, try swapping it out for another non-dairy milk. Go with something rich and fatty, like a good cashew milk.
More Indian-Inspired Curries
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
📖 Recipe
Potato Spinach Curry (Aloo Palak)
Ingredients
- 1 pound yellow potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 3 tablespoons vegan butter
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 ½ teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- 1 serrano pepper, seeded and finely minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 12 ounces fresh spinach, very finely chopped
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup full-fat coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Place the potatoes into a large pot of salted water and set it over high heat. Bring the water to a boil and cook the potatoes until fork tender, about 10 minutes.
- Drain the potatoes into a colander and return them to the pot.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook it until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the garlic, ginger, serrano pepper, ground cumin, cumin seed, garam masala, and turmeric to the skillet. Toast the spices for about 1 minute, until very fragrant.
- Add the spinach and water to the skillet. Stir everything and cook until the spinach has fully wilted and most of the water has evaporated, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes.
- Add the coconut milk and potatoes to the skillet. Gently stir everything to distribute the potatoes while you bring the coconut milk to a simmer.
- Remove the skillet from heat and stir in the lemon juice. Season the curry with salt and pepper to taste.
- Divide onto plates and serve.
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This is one of our top ten meals. Easy, healthy and delicious. Best way to enjoy spinach, but also with chard, as we had today. Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
super simple, healthy, fresh, and easy. It is a go-to
This is terrific made as written. But I was in a hurry today and took some shortcuts. I used dried minced garlic,and ginger, frozen chopped onion and spinach, and dried cayenne pepper instead of serrano. It was still delicious.
This is an amazing recipe. The whole family loved it. Excellent with a side of cabbage!
Made this tonight and it was fantastic. Super tasty and made enough for leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch! Thanks for posting this recipe!
Delicious! My first time making something like this and it turned out great. The whole family loved it!
Thank you. I eat WFPB and this recipes can be done as I’m sure other’s can. Taste fantastic!!!
Thank you.
This looks so good .. thank you for helping keep us sane.. it's weird, I swear your in my head because everything I'm craving.. there it is in my inbox. :-)