This vegan saag paneer has pan fried tofu cubes that stand in for cheese and are smothered in spicy curried spinach and coconut milk mixture.
I’ve been eating a lot of spinach lately. You might have noticed. A girl’s gotta get her iron. I’ve also been cooking and eating a lot of Indian food lately. I think that’s a fall thing. Hot, comforting and spicy veggie-packed goodness is always a nice little pick-me-up when the weather starts to cool down.
I had a bit of a revelation about veganizing Indian food recently: tofu, when covered in saucy, Indian spicyness, totally tastes like paneer. I should have known this. Years ago I had repeated discussions on this with vegan friend who ate paneer from a local Indian place, claiming it was tofu. She didn’t believe me when I told her it was cheese, and continued to eat it, confident that her meal was dairy-free. In hindsight, this totally makes sense, as tofu is pretty close to a vegan version of paneer, but made with soymilk instead of dairy.
If paneer can be mistaken for tofu, then tofu should totally be able to pass as paneer.
Anyhow, I decided to put my newfound knowledge of tofu and my recent affinity for spinach together, and I ended up with a mean vegan saag paneer. I was really happy with how this came out. Like, really, really happy. As in, if this had been served to me at an Indian restaurant as saag paneer, I’d never question whether the paneer was actually tofu, or if the spinach missing something. In fact, I’d probably say to the server, “This is some fantastic saag paneer!” That’s what I said when I tasted this version, only, I said it to myself, and inserted “vegan” before “saag.”
That “something” missing from the spinach would be heavy cream. I subbed a bit of coconut milk, and didn’t miss any of the richness of traditional saag paneer. There is a mild coconut taste to this, which I like. Coconut paired with any type of curry is always a winner with me. If you absolutely object to the taste of coconut, and I know a few people do, cashew milk might be a good substitute.
Vegan Saag Paneer (with Tofu Paneer!)
Ingredients
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 9 ounces fresh spinach
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 14 ounce package extra firm tofu, drained and pressed at least 20 minutes, and cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon Asian chili paste (sambal oelek)
- 2 teaspoons granulated vegan sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup full fat coconut milk from a can, or more, if you like
Instructions
- Place onion, ginger, garlic and spinach in food processor. Pulse, stopping to stir up everything a few times. You may need to do this in batches, depending on the size of your food processor bowl. Stop when spinach is very finely chopped, just shy of becoming blended.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add tofu. Cook about 10 minutes, until tofu cubes begin to brown lightly and crisp up, tossing a few times to ensure even cooking on all sides.
- Sprinkle turmeric over tofu and toss a few more times to coat the tofu cubes.
- Add spinach mixture, broth, lemon juice, cumin, garam masala, chili paste, sugar and salt. Stir a few times to mix everything up. Reduce heat to medium and allow to simmer about 10 minutes, until most of the liquid has cooked off.
- Add coconut milk, and cook another minute. Mixture should be thick and creamy.
- Serve with rice and naan.
Recipe Notes
I've made this a few times since originally posting the recipe, and found that I prefer a higher spinach to tofu ratio. If you do too, either cut the amount of tofu, oil, and turmeric in half (you'll get fewer servings though), or double everything else (in which case you'll get a few more servings).
Yummers! Saag paneer is one my favourite things of all time ever! If I was stuck on a desert island I would want it to be with saag paneer. I usually make my own paneer, but I think the tofu idea is great for changing things up, and I love that this is fully vegan. I may just have to have an Indian night this weekend!
Me too! I tried making paneer years ago and I couldn’t get it to come out right – it was always too soft. I was pretty psyched when I realized tofu worked because it made the dish vegan and avoided the whole making and/or seeking out paneer part of the process. :)
I need to give this a try, I normally resort to Saag Bhaji to avoid the cheese but I think this might work, I don’t know why I never thought of it before!
I know! Once I tried this I had to wonder why I hadn’t done it sooner! I think you’ll really enjoy it if you give it a try. :)
Made this tonight for dinner. It was delicious! And easy. And quick. Can’t beat that! Thanks very much.
Yay! Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Christa!
Thank you for this recipe! I tried it tonight and it was delicious. Instead of chili paste (since it’s not something I use often enough to warrant purchasing a jar) I used chili powder & red pepper flakes, and I halved the sugar. Will definitely be making this again! :)
Awesome! Glad you liked it! :)
I can’t wait to try this. It is something that I have really missed since becoming vegan a few years ago! Thank you!
This was always one of my Indian restaurant favorites too. I hope you enjoy this version as much as the original! :)
One of the tastiest versions of this recipe I have tried. Perfect, not too rich, but creamy, taste very authentic, will be making this again :)
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed it!!
I love eating saag at Indian restaurants! I tend to overdo it at Indian lunch buffets XD I’m so glad you have a vegan recipe because I’m lactose intolerant, so recreating saag at home and knowing that I’ll be able to digest it properly is such a big help!
I totally know what you mean – Indian buffets can be so dangerous that way! Hope you enjoy this! :)
what would it be like to substitute a mix of other greens, like kale, bok Choy, mustard greens, etc. for spinach? I have a ton of greens from my CSA that I need to find so something to do with!
I think kale, mustard greens or even chard might be nice. You might need to adjust the cook-time a bit depending on what you’re using – kale particularly tends to take a bit longer. I’d love to hear how it turns out if you try it. :)
I fell in love with saag paneer at my local Indian restaurant but as I’m trying to steer away from dairy I was looking for a tofu alternative and stumbled across this recipe. I have to say it is amazing and just as good as the one from the Indian, the tofu actually soaks up the spices better than the paneer does making it even tastier. I will say though that the first time I made it I had to add cornflour because the extra liquid from the vegetable stock was not reducing at all, the second time I made it I just stirred half a vegetable stock cube into the coconut milk and didn’t add any water at all and it was a much better consistency.
Glad you’re enjoying this, and that’s a great tip about using a bullion cube. I’ll give it a try next time. Thanks Emma!
This is an awesome recipe! I only go to the Indian lunch buffets for this and now I can just make it at home! Very flavorful and definitely making it again, thank you!!!
But I’m interested in the nutrition content. Does anyone have any insight?
This is a great tool for calculating nutrition info.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Made this and it was delicious! Read the comments before preparing it, so I didn’t use the cup of broth. I crumbled a bullion cube into the other spices and added them all along with the coconut milk. My can of coconut milk had separated, so I used about a quarter cup of the coconut cream on top and a little bit of the coconut water underneath. Cooked for about ten minutes, and it turned out excellent! I’ll be making this again!
Yay! Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for publishing one of my favorite Indian dishes. I used Swiss chard in place of spinach because that’s what the farmer had available. It blends nicely and stands in fine.
Thank sounds great! I’ve been meaning to try this with some different types of greens – I’ll have to give chard a try. :)
Oh boy, thank you for this! Ive made s.p. Many times (with home made paneer) and Im so happy that usung tofu was easier and so much faster. We didnt miss the dairy at all and will make it this way from now on.
Yay! Glad you enjoyed it!
I’d like to try this with marinated baked tofu, to make it lower calorie.
I think that would work if you go with a flavor that’s relatively mild to avoid competing too much with the spices in the spinach. You could also probably just skip the pan-frying and add the tofu at the end – the texture will be a bit different, but still good I’m sure. :)
Thank you for the excellent recipe! Yummy and easy! I’ll make this regularly!
I’m glad you liked it!
Okay – I made this last night because I love Indian food and I’m new to the vegan-based lifestyle and THIS WAS AMAZING. AMAZING. I want to scream from the rooftops about it. This wasn’t hard at all! It didn’t take 17 years like other saag paneer recipes, the tofu was just like paneer! I’m amazed. I told my best friends about it all “okay I know you can eat cheese, but like…you don’t gotta with this dish). Fabulous work!
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Sabrina. :)
12/10. The best Indian I’ve had EVER. my husband is suuuper picky about Indian and it’s ridiculously hard to get him to eat leftovers. I made this last night. Doubled everything but the tofu, oil, and tumeric. I made my own garam masala mix, made some dairy free naan with it and some rice — He. Was. Hooked.
This afternoon he wanted something to eat and reached for the Saag leftovers!! He said it was even BETTER today because the flavors sat and and the tofu was super good. We’re adding this to our meal rotations. Fantastic work!
Yay!!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! This is a favorite in our house too! Thanks Emily!
This is delicious – thanks!
Instead of turmeric I sprinkled the cooked tofu with nutritional yeast – even more cheesy
Oh good idea! I’m glad you enjoyed it!!
This was amazing! Such a great way to eat lots of greens. We’ve already made it twice this week :) I skipped browning the tofu the second time I made it, and it turned out fine.
I’m so glad you like it!! This is one of my favorites too! :)
SO delicious, and even better the next day. Yum! Didn’t have the sambal olek, so I used Sriracha, which worked well. Used the full amount of broth, so I just let it simmer longer, and since the aroma of this cooking was incredible, that was no problem. In the past, I never had the motivation to make homemade paneer, and now as a vegan, I thought this dish was unavailable to me. Very excited to add this to my book of favorites. Thanks!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! Thanks so much Karen!
I’ve made a few variations of saag paneer in the past. I think this version is y favourite. Whole family loved it. My daughter is taking the leftovers for her school lunch today.
The tofu kept sticking to my frying pan and so didn’t end up crispy, but it was good as it is. I think next time i’ll just chuck it in unfried and save a bit of time.
I’m glad you liked it! Unfried will probably work. I use a well seasoned cast iron skillet and keep the heat moderate to get the tofu to crisp. Thank you for your comment! Enjoy!
Thanks so much for this Alissa! I have made it a number of times to the letter and with different beans and various greens (beet tops!). Sometimes I even forget to add something (garlic, sugar) and it still turns out great. I accidentally used the drinking kind of coconut milk once too (I had both in the freezer and couldn’t tell them apart, apparently). I’ve used quite a few different garam masalas and even used a rajma masala once, all great. I usually double or triple it and it freezes really well, perfect for lunches at work. It’s really a fool proof recipe that’s always delicious…and I’m rambling to encourage others to give this a try even if you don’t have the ingredients as listed. Thank you :)
I’m so glad you’re enjoying this, and I love all of those variations! I’m itching to try it with beet greens now!
Would frozen cut spinach be okay in this recipe?
I think so! The only adjustment I can think to make is to thaw and drain the spinach before using it. I’d love to hear how it works out!
I posted a comment below and then saw this. I used frozen spinach which I thawed quickly in the microwave. I didn’t drain it since the juice is nutritious (and I’m lazy!) and so just cut back a bit of the vegetable broth instead. Worked fine.
That’s great to hear! Thanks so much for sharing!
I used baked tofu marinated in sriracha, because that’s what I had. The spinach was excellent, although I thought the tofu was a bit rubbery compared to the traditional paneer. But I will try it again with regular tofu; I just wanted to let people know baked tofu works, too.
Oh interesting! Was Trader Joe’s sriracha baked tofu? I eat that all the time but never thought to try it in a dish like this.
Thanks for posting this delicious recipe! I had some frozen chopped spinach in the freezer for the longest time because I wanted to try making a tofu saag panier. (I had made a different recipe a few years ago with fresh spinach and by the time it cooked down, I couldn’t see why it would be much different than frozen spinach except that it would take more work and cost a lot more). Today, I finally got around to it, and googled and found this recipe. I’m in an improvised kitchen due to our Harvey flooded home, so no food processor or other blender was available. I just chopped the onions and garlic fine, let them cook down a little longer, and it worked well. I substituted more of regular coconut milk for the full fat coconut milk and some of the broth, used a mix of Tampico Mexican hot sauce and Sriracha sauce for the sambal oelek, but otherwise followed the recipe pretty much as written. My wife loved it! So did I. So, I guess it is going in the “keeper” recipe folder.
Nice improvisations! I actually have some spinach in the freezer right now and nothing planned for it, so perhaps I’ll give it a try. Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much Robert!!
So happy to have this recipe! I had an on-sale tube of greens that needed to get used up. It was perfect over rice. Even my 6-year-old crowed “I LOVE this!”
Note for folk who might only have medium tofu on hand (like I did last night–and the kind said 6-year-old prefers): Because softer tofu tends to fall apart when frying, I boil it first in water seasoned with turmeric, curry powder and Braggs until the cubes float to the top. This process toughens them for frying.
I’m so glad it was a hit! I’ve never tried that method of firming up tofu, but I’ll have to give it a go. Thanks for the tip!