This Vegan Palak Tofu Paneer is the easiest Vegan Palak Paneer with Tofu. Its dairy-free, gluten-free. Can be made soy-free w/ chickpea tofu, veggies or cooked chickpeas. 20 minute active time and ready in another 10. Serve over cooked grains of choice or with flatbread. Vegan Gluten-free Indian Recipe. Jump to Recipe
Any which way, lets get back to this Vegan Palak Tofu “Paneer”. Palak is Spinach and Tofu acts as the spiced up Paneer. I used to love the creamy palak paneer in my pre-gan days. Since vegan-izing it, I usually make it with Tempeh. With Tofu however it tastes even creamier. And the best part is it takes less than 20 minutes in the kitchen. Saute the Tofu, meanwhile blend up the spinach, no Blanching needed!, add to Tofu and let cook while you clean up, or prep/make the flat bread or rice. Drizzle cashew cream and serve. Done. For a more paneer like consistency, mix the tofu with the oil and spices and bake it for 20 mins. I find that panfrying is much quicker for a weeknight meal.
Another delicious Indian restaurant style curry veganized! Lets make this vegan Palak Paneer.
You can make it soy-free with potatoes and/or cauliflower, cooked chickpeas/beans or Chickpea Tofu . Serve with flat breads, or top a bowl of quinoa or brown rice, or make sandwiches or top a pizza!
The easiest and the tastiest Vegan Palak Tofu Paneer !
Back to this Saag “Paneer”. I often substitute half of the greens with other green leafies, like collard greens or mustard greens. This spinach gravy is a delicious to add greens to meals if you are not fond of green smoothies.
More restaurant style curries on the blog
Vegetable Jalfrezie – Veggies in tangyy smoky curry.
Tempeh Do Pyaaza – Tempeh in double onion curry
Dahl Makhani
Mango curry Tofu
Tempeh Tikka Masala curry
Gobi Makhani – Creamy buttery curry
Step by Step Photos:
Saute the Tofu in a little oil for 2-3 minutes.
Add all the spices and mix and cook for 8-10 minutes.
Meanwhile, collect all the ingredients for the spinach curry and blend them.
The tofu is all seasoned up by now.
Add the spinach puree, mix well and cook for 10-15 minutes.
Drizzle some cashew cream or coconut cream and serve hot.
This popular recipe is also in my cookbook! Now available internationally!
Vegan Palak Tofu "Paneer" - Tofu in Spinach Sauce
Ingredients
Spiced Tofu
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 7 oz (198.45 g) firm tofu block , 1.5 cups cubed tofu, pressed for 10 mins to remove excess moisture and then cubed
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) salt or to taste
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) garam masala
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) garlic powder
- a generous pinch of kala namak , optional, or use 1 tsp nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) cayenne to taste
Spinach curry
- 2 cups (60 g) packed Spinach washed, chopped if large
- 1/4 cup (62.5 ml) water
- 1/4 cup (56.5 ml) almond milk or coconut milk
- 2 Tablespoons soaked cashews , soaked for 15 minutes or use ground raw cashew (less or more for creamy consistency to preference)
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 inch ginger
- 1 Serano chili pepper or to taste
- 1 medium tomato chopped
- 1/4-1/2 tsp (0.25 tsp) salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon raw sugar or maple syrup
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) garam masala , less or more to preference, depends on the freshness of the spice mix and your preference of flavor
- cashew cream, pepper flakes to garnish
Instructions
- In a pan, add oil and heat on medium heat. Chop up the tofu and add to the oil. Mix to coat and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add all the spices under Spiced Tofu and mix to coat. (Add 2 tsp nutritional yeast for cheesy flavor if you like) Continue to cook for 8-10 minutes, partially covered on low-medium heat. See video.Alternatively: Toss the tofu in oil and the spices, spread on parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 400 F for 20 mins for a more paneer-ish texture.
- Meanwhile, wash the spinach and add it and all the other ingredients under Spinach curry except garam masala to the blender. Blend into a smooth puree. Add the puree to the sizzling tofu. Mix well. Add garam masala to taste. Cook covered on low-medium heat for 10-15 minutes or until the raw garlic smell is not detectable and desired sauce consistency is achieved. Taste and adjust salt and spice.
- Drizzle some cashew cream and Serve hot with Naan, Roti or other flat breads, or with quinoa or rice. Add pepper flakes for added heat. Sprinkle a pinch of cinnamon powder for variation.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Teresa L says
January 22, 2018 at 4:05 pmI made this out of the cookbook, which looks like the same recipe but doubled. It is fantastic! For a bit more creaminess, I added some homemade cashew sour cream (pureed cashews + rejuvelac cultured for two days and then strained in cheesecloth) to the sauce before the 10-15 cooking at the end. Oh, and I also used Swiss chard (with the stems cut out) because I had a bunch of it fresh the garden and no spinach. It is incredible! Thank you! I am making your butter tofu and lentil balls in masala sauce for friends this weekend.
Richa says
January 22, 2018 at 6:30 pmAwesome!!
Teresa says
January 22, 2018 at 4:07 pmHi Richa,
In my last comment, Google Chrome auto filled my full name, for privacy reasons, can you please delete my last name and just post my comment with my first name? Thank you!
Richa says
January 22, 2018 at 6:31 pmdone! that butter tofu andlentils balls are so good!
Teresa says
January 22, 2018 at 10:24 pmThank you! =) And excuse all of my typos…long day!
Anita says
February 2, 2018 at 7:35 pmRicha! You have the best recipes! My husband just made this for us tonight and we both agreed its awesome! Love your work! Thank you for such wonderful recipes!
Tina J Ruskin says
February 28, 2020 at 2:35 pmI never bother to comment on recipes I come across and try from internet and email links but just had to this time. I’ve just cooked the vegan palak tofu paneer. My mouth is still buzzing with all the flavours from such a wonderful concoction of spices. My partner who is (sadly) a carnivore said it was one of the best things I’ve ever cooked. Thank you for such a wonderful supper. Will try some more of your recipes. Very best regards to you.
James says
February 20, 2018 at 2:23 pmAwesome recipe and quick . I am making it again tonight for Dinner .
Bertha says
March 13, 2018 at 1:14 pmAbsolutely easy to make and amazingly delicious!!!!Tofu had never tasted so good. It is left with a very nice slightly crisp texture. I added salt, pepper and chili powder to the corn starch before coating the tofu for a deeper seasoning.
Excellent dish. Thank you!
Ginger says
April 7, 2018 at 10:27 pmWhat’s the serving size in ounces?
Richa says
April 7, 2018 at 11:46 pmit serves 2. See Serving: 2 under the recipe description area
Jessica says
April 17, 2018 at 10:43 amCan you tell me how much one serving is? a cup? 2 cups? thank you!
Richa says
April 17, 2018 at 1:16 pmits usually served with rice or flatbread and depending on the person’s appetite and how thick the sauce ends up being etc, can be anywhere between 1/2 to 1 cup.
Pam says
April 17, 2018 at 11:34 pmThank you so much for this delicious recipe! I’ve been searching for more tofu recipes. Baked sesame/soy tofu has been a favorite, but this palak tofu paneer just took first place! This recipe is so satisfying and packed with so much flavor, I will likely make it again at the end of the week so my boyfriend can enjoy it as well. Yum!
Dorian says
May 10, 2018 at 12:50 amDear Richa,
This recipe is amazing! It’s my partners all time favourite! we make it almoste veryweek and for special occasions. Its a stunner! Thank you! I just have a small question it says omit garam masala when using kala namak. is there a particular reason for this? Just curious.
Richa says
May 10, 2018 at 10:45 amAwesome! I couldnt find where it says that, maybe it says chaat masala? as chaat masala has a lot of kala namak.
Aja says
July 18, 2018 at 10:29 amThis is a quick go-to recipe for me! I’m obsessed with the velvety smoothness of the gravy, (I use an old, vitamix) I’ve often needed to sub frozen spinach and canned tomatoes when I don’t have fresh and it turns out just as good. Thanks!
Richa says
July 18, 2018 at 10:51 pmawesome!
Clémentine says
September 15, 2018 at 6:38 amI love this recipe! Made it a few times already, it’s always a hit with my boyfriend. Last time I made it with vegan fried halloumi instead of tofu. I’m going to make it again tonight, with tofu and also vegan feta in the sauce to give it a cheesy flavor :).
Lisette says
October 16, 2018 at 12:45 pmMy supermarket was out of tofu, made it with chickpeas. Delish as always!!! In love with vegan Idian Food ❤️
Norm says
November 8, 2018 at 1:38 amYou know, you can substitute tofu with aubergine. Give that a try next time. I do that all the time and I turned this actually into a raw food dish because I don’t heat food. Yummy. 🙂
Tsuf says
November 16, 2018 at 10:42 amThis is absolutely fantastic! Super easy and super tasty.
Christine says
November 28, 2018 at 5:55 pmMade this for dinner tonight and it was EXCELLENT! My only complaint (and it’s not really a true complaint) is that the spices emanated my apartment and made the air a bit “spicy”! The dish itself was not overly spicy thought. I used a jalapeño in the sauce because it’s what I had and it worked well. Next time I might use a little more tofu.
I’ll definitely be making this again. It was one of the best and simplest Indian dishes I’ve tried.
Richa says
November 28, 2018 at 6:30 pmawesome! indian cooking lingers in the house so you remember the amazing flavor. To get you to cook more indian food again 😉
H-man says
April 7, 2019 at 6:49 amHello. Thanks for the recipe.
What exactly is 1cup in grams? There seems to be different uses for 1 cup, all with varying measurements of grams. Would be good if you could switch to grams as it’s far more easier and accurate to measure.
Thanks.
Richa says
April 8, 2019 at 3:24 pmthe conversions are there. See the US and metric link buttons right below the ingredient list. Click metric an the values will convert to gms
Sharlene says
May 7, 2019 at 2:32 amDelicious! Easy to put together. We were eating in less than 30 minutes. This one goes in our favorite file. I’ve also made the tofu without the spinach sauce & had it on a salad. The seasonings on the tofu gives it a really good flavor. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Richa says
July 14, 2019 at 11:17 pmyay!
Lisa says
May 10, 2019 at 5:48 amOh my goodness! I made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious! Another amazing recipe from you Richa! This will become a staple in my house – easy to make and so tasty. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Richa says
May 10, 2019 at 10:41 amyay!!
Sue says
May 23, 2019 at 2:30 pmI was going to make your new labdar recipe, but I chose this instead because I had a lot of spinach to use up. Mmm mmm good. This is totally creamy goodness and I love, love, love it!! Thanks Richa.
Richa says
May 23, 2019 at 4:24 pmawesome! yeah everyone in the fam now knows this recipe well, even hubbs andhe can whip it up within minutes too!
Deborah R says
June 4, 2019 at 7:02 pmThis was fantastic! I have a ton of spinach and arugula that bolted in the heat this week, and this recipe was a perfect use for them this evening. The only thing I did differently was sauté some mustard seeds along with the spices because I love them, and I also added a splash of lemon juice at the end.
Do you think the sauce would freeze well and retain its color? I have so many greens in my garden, I was thinking of freezing batches of this for an even quicker weeknight option.
Richa says
June 4, 2019 at 7:13 pmAWesome! I think it should freeze fine in a container that fits the amount without much air on top. Thaw and reheat. The color might not stay as vibrant once you reheat.
Melané Fahner-Botha says
September 1, 2019 at 2:30 pmGreat recipe! I was happy to see you encourage creativity so I substituted the spinach with fresh garden kale and the tofu was discarded in favour of rice tempeh which I prefer to soy tempeh. Really good,
Leslie Capobianco says
June 25, 2019 at 9:46 amMade a triple batch of this, and it did not disappoint.
I omitted the green chilli due to some stomach issues, and it’s still incredible. Look forward to being able to add it next time.
I’ll also add chick peas just to see how it fares.
Thanks for a great recipe! I make at least one of yours a week!
Richa says
June 26, 2019 at 2:09 pmawesome!
Lauren says
June 26, 2019 at 6:58 pmI was skeptical at first but after making it, tastes EXACTLY like the kind you get at the restaurant with cheese! Astounded! So glad I bought this cookbook, thank you vegan richa I will never doubt the versatility of tofu in a recipe again!
Richa says
June 26, 2019 at 10:51 pmAwesome! You can add some vegan butter and more garam masala for a richer restaurant style flavor!
Nil says
July 23, 2019 at 3:48 pmAnother winner! I had lots of kale in the garden so I used that instead of spinach. It was delicious. My husband and I used to love palak paneer before we became vegan many years ago. He was overjoyed and ate it with gusto! Thank you.
Richa says
July 23, 2019 at 5:13 pmawesome!!
Roxana says
July 27, 2019 at 7:00 pmJust made it finally…delicious! We added cauliflower bc we had a bunch to use 😊 Yum!
Richa says
July 27, 2019 at 7:47 pmawesome!
Aryeh says
August 28, 2019 at 12:38 pmI love all your recipes. This is the first time I noticed the serving scaling option, which is a great idea. Note: it changes only the weights, so if you have any further numbers in the ingredient it can be misleading (for instance, no matter how many servings it is always 1.5 cups cubed tofu).
Richa says
August 28, 2019 at 4:01 pmthe left values change. sometimes I add alternate measures which are not part of the measuring column, which is the left column. Anything inthe left column changes to reflect serving size change
Janine says
August 31, 2019 at 9:32 amThis recipe is one of my favorite! Saved me a ton of money on take out and helped me to get more confident with Indian recipes. The spice combinations always intimidated me in the past, but this recipe was a great starting point!
Richa says
August 31, 2019 at 11:33 amI know right! its so easy and so good and versatile!
Meghan Sheehy says
September 11, 2019 at 5:40 amThis recipe is incredible and so quick – especially if you have precooked rice in the fridge! I LOVED this so much. Thank you!
Richa says
September 11, 2019 at 1:02 pmThanks!
Morgan says
October 22, 2019 at 3:25 pmI fell in love with this recipe when I lived in Germany. Though I used a different chili pepper and I actually doubled the recipe for leftovers. It’s my favorite recipe ever. And honestly super easy. I’m back in the states and finally settling back in and I’m gonna make it again.
Richa says
October 22, 2019 at 3:33 pmAwesome! Thanks!
Julia says
November 5, 2019 at 1:55 amSo yummy!
Alpa says
April 5, 2020 at 1:33 pmLoved it! Made it without o/g! Tastes amazing! Thank you
Tiny beluga says
November 5, 2019 at 7:24 pmWow this recipe was amazing! Super easy and absolutely delicious. We had it with basmati rice for dinner and will be making it again for sure. Thanks for posting it!
Richa says
November 5, 2019 at 7:28 pmawesom! thanks
Richa says
December 15, 2019 at 9:05 pmMade this for the first time today and the flavor was delicious ! I didn’t have any cashews so I omitted that ingredient and the puréed spinach ended up being very watery and thin after blending it in my vitamix for about 60 seconds – what do you suggest I do next time if I don’t have cashews ? Is that why it came out watery ? Thanks !
Richa says
December 15, 2019 at 9:15 pmYes the cashews thicken the mixture quite a lot. You can use less water and add 1 tbsp flour for thickening.
Shandan says
December 23, 2019 at 9:18 pmMade this tonight for dinner. Amazing. IMHO, this is tastier than the paneer version. Thank you for all the wonderful recipes…I never feel like I’m missing out as a vegan 🙂
Richa says
December 24, 2019 at 10:41 amthanks!
Kathy says
January 5, 2020 at 8:41 amMade half recipe last night. Delicious—my husband loved it, which is a big deal! Making other half today to use up tofu. Also made Avocado Naan. Yum! Thanks for another outstanding recipe!
Morgan says
January 17, 2020 at 8:01 pmThis recipe is fantastic. After months of digging, I finally found this palak tofu paneer to be comparable to the one I fell in love with at a restaurant. I did play with the spices a bit and used what I had – some green curry paste, red Chinese chili paste for spice, extra nutritional yeast, and extra maple syrup. This recipe is now in my top 5 all-time favorites and I’ll be sure to tell my friends about it. Thank you!
Nicola says
January 20, 2020 at 8:54 amAmazing recipe! Made it without cashews because of nut allergy. My husband says it tastes better than what we get at our favorite Indian restaurant. Love your recipes!!
Richa says
January 20, 2020 at 2:32 pmthanks!
Alex L. says
March 10, 2020 at 5:31 pmBeen trying out your recipes lately and literally everything I make is the best thing I’ve ever made! Thank you SO MUCH!
Aneshka says
March 30, 2020 at 1:47 pmThis recipe is delicious and super easy to make !
It could totally work well without the sugar though
Found it turned out a little too sweet
Amber says
April 13, 2020 at 10:35 amAwesome recipe, I’ve made this several times and even tried a tempeh variant when I couldn’t get hold of my usual tofu. Delicious either way! Thank you.
Karen says
April 20, 2020 at 7:11 pmThis was fantastic!
Emiko says
May 16, 2020 at 3:14 pmGreat recipe! I love how simple it is to make, I just make a really big batch when I buy a lot of spinach and freeze portions (can confirm that this freezes well, even with the tofu inside). I will admit to doubling the cashews just because I really like how creamy it tastes and also adding extra tofu and making it crispy instead, but that’s just my preference. Overall, great job and thanks for my new go-to recipe!
Vegan Richa Support says
May 16, 2020 at 3:31 pmI’m really glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for stopping by!
Alexis says
May 18, 2020 at 4:21 pmThis was AWESOME! I baked the tofu, then also fried it. I used a whole block of tofu, so I added a bit more of everything for the blender sauce ingredients. I meant to add in big chunks of cauliflower -instead of rice- but forgot – will definitely make again!
Vegan Richa Support says
May 18, 2020 at 4:28 pmI’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Kelly Evans says
May 30, 2020 at 11:15 amDelicious easy recipe. Only modification I made was adding onion.
DD says
June 7, 2020 at 2:13 pmThanks for this simple and delicious recipe. I made it last night and it turned out good. I think my gravy was thicker than yours perhaps because I used the nutritional yeast or cooked it a bit longer than necessary. I did think it was a bit heavy I served it with rice and naan. Could you possibly recommend a side that might tame the richness of the dish.
Richa says
June 7, 2020 at 3:53 pmThe thicker sauce would make it feel heavy. Just add some more non dairy milk. You can serve it witb any veggie sides such as cauliflower potatoes or cabbage or eggplant or a light red lentil dal
Alina says
June 10, 2020 at 2:20 pmLoved how creamy the spinach turns out!! Super easy to make and oh so yum
Vegan Richa Support says
June 11, 2020 at 11:30 amSo glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Amanda says
June 10, 2020 at 7:02 pmAmazing recipe! Super quick and simple. I subbed the Serano pepper for a Jalapeño pepper. Very happy with the result served over rice.
Andrea says
June 14, 2020 at 12:01 pmHi Richa. Thank you sooo very much for this GREAT recipe :-))) We just LOVED it. Loads of greetings from Munich, Andrea & Simon
Vegan Richa Support says
June 15, 2020 at 2:11 pmmunich – wow!! awesome
Louise says
July 1, 2020 at 8:25 pmI am having some people for dinner and thinking of making this the day before . I don’t use tofu very much. Would it change the flavour / freshness to make a day before and re heat on the night ?
Richa says
July 1, 2020 at 8:30 pmNope it tastes much better the next day anyway. You might want to add a drizzle or some freshly made cashew cream before serving
Ana says
July 2, 2020 at 6:56 pmI really like this recipe. I modified some ingredients because I don’t like spicy food.
This dish is a hit always with my husband and kids.
Thank you so much!
Vegan Richa Support says
July 3, 2020 at 6:04 pmAwesome Ana! thank YOU!!
Christine says
July 6, 2020 at 3:13 pmQuick and yummy recipe! We had it for supper on top of humongous baked potatoes. I’m going to use the leftovers to mix with rice and use as quesadillas filling. Your recipes are always awesome!
Anna B says
July 10, 2020 at 6:58 amI always forget to review recipes but felt compelled to as this was so delicious! It’s definitely going to be a staple in my house now as the whole family loved it. The only changes I made were I didn’t add any milk (didn’t think it needed it) and added a tablespoon of (vegan) butter at the end to give it a bit richer flavour. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Vegan Richa Support says
July 10, 2020 at 8:26 pmI’m honoured, really , thank you so much!