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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 firm tofu block, , 1.5 cups cubed tofu, pressed for 10 mins to remove excess moisture and then cubed
- 1/4 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- a generous pinch of kala namak, , optional, or use 1 tsp nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp cayenne, Or use paprika for less heat
Spinach curry
- 2 cups packed Spinach, washed, chopped if large, Or 6-8 oz frozen spinach
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup almond milk or coconut milk, (use less or more for preferred consistency)
- 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 salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon raw sugar or maple syrup
- 1/4 to 1/2 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 fresh 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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Amazing recipe. My husband and I like it better than trader joe’s, or our local Indian restaurants!
wow! thank you
This could be my all-time favorite vegan recipe! It was so delicious and I ate both servings!
wow – love to hear it
This was absolutely delicious! The spicing was JUST right – SUPER flavorful.
I had a whole spice garam masala that I ground especially for the dish.
I don’t eat much tofu these days, but I am glad that I made a double batch of the spinach sauce and will grab another block of tofu when I’m out today. It is such a joyful dish to sit own to! Thank you
Awesome thank you
This was so delicious! Wow! Will definitely make it again! Thank you!
Could I use frozen spinach instead of fresh? And would I have to decrease the amount if using frozen?
just a little to 1 3/4 cup
So easy and so delicious- definitely the best palak tofu I ever made – I just found your website and love it – you made our Diwali and Christmas!
so glad you found me -thank you
This is my favorite go to palak tofu recipe! Family loves it!
yay!!!
I literally have NO words… ok I’ll try… SHEER GENIUS!! THIS IS DIVINE!! ( I’m finding my words, phew). I added cubed potatoes to the tofu and baked. Used the optional 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast. Added a little extra water for more of a sauce. Serving with rice later. Thank you Richa the kids will appreciate this after school today. Much love from a happy vegan family from London! 💕
Absolutely amazing dish. I cook a lot of curries and this one was so simple but had a lot of flavour. Baking the tofu really made the texture closer to paneer. I’m having a diwali dinner tonight so made this and I think everyone will love it. Thanks for your amazing vegan recipes 🙂
Awesome
This is by far the best palak tofu I have ever had.
I baked the tofu at 400F and then fried in a cast iron dutch oven with some nutritional yeast to enhance the flavor. Everything else I followed the Spinach recipe as-is. Was a little bland, but I added more salt and garam masala when mixing with the tofu. Definitely making this again
Awesome! Yes adjust to preference. Spinach when just cooked is an overpowering flavor. I usually let it mellow for 10-15 mins before adjusting salt and spice. They usually get stronger as it sits. If there’s some leftovers for the next day you will notice that increased flavor profile
Another hit! Love this recipe and love that it is spinach based to get in those greens! I like the spinach a little less chopped, so I blend all of the sauce ingredients first without the spinach then add the spinach and just pulse a few times. This will be a staple in my weekday dinner lineup.
Awesome