Vegan palak paneer with tofu is one of my most favorite meals EVER. Creamy spinach gravy with soft cubes of tofu and simple flavors coming from mint leaves, green chilis, tomatoes, ginger, and kasoori methi. It’s really easy to make if you’re intimidated by cooking Indian food and it’s the most indulgent way to get those greens in!
You’ve probably heard of palak paneer. It’s a north Indian dish made up of a spinach (palak) gravy with soft cottage-cheese cubes (paneer). It’s typically mild and doesn’t require many of the spices that are common in Indian curries. It can be made as textured or creamy as you’d like, but it’s often known for its creamy gravy. At restaurants, it’s made with heavy cream.
But you’re here for the vegan version, so I’ll talk about that now. It’s made with tofu, which isn’t exactly the same as paneer, but it’s still amazing in its own way. Subbing tofu for paneer is an exchange I’m willing to make! There are often misconceptions that vegan food is just the downgraded version of the original, but I think it’s all about the flavor. We eat things because we like the flavors, so this vegan palak paneer definitely brings the flavors I grew up loving. The creamy spinach gravy doesn’t have to include cashews or coconut milk either; it’s naturally just that creamy! But if you want a little something extra, I highly recommend the cashew cream I included here.
How to make vegan palak paneer with tofu
Press and marinate the tofu. People say they don’t like tofu and then you find out they haven’t been pressing it. Yikes. You’re going to want to press the tofu for at least 15 minutes and cut into cubes. Sometimes I prepare a quick marinade for it, but most times I don’t. I’ve noticed it doesn’t really make a difference.
Blanch the spinach. I’ll be honest – the only time I’ve ever had to blanch anything is for this palak paneer, so I understand if many people are in the same boat. Blanching just means boiling the spinach in water for a certain amount of time (3 minutes in this recipe) and then dunking it in ice cold water to stop the cooking process. This recipe requires 10 cups of spinach (a nutritional powerhouse, I know), but it all shrinks with the blanching! You’ll probably need to blanch in two batches depending on how big your saucepan is. You will then blend this blanched spinach into a puree!
Pan fry the tofu. Different people like to make it different ways, but I find pan frying to be the most convenient because you can keep your eyes on how crisp you want the tofu to be. You can also bake it (crisper) or boil it (softer). Do it vegan butter for extra richness!
Make cashew cream. Simply quick-soak about 10 cashews and process with water and lemon juice. It’s more neutral than coconut cream and does a great job making this gravy thick!
Whip up the spinach gravy. You’ll want to process mint (or cilantro), tomatoes, ginger, and green chilis before doing this. You fry kasoori methi, add the tomato-chili-mint-ginger paste, add ground spices, and finally, the spinach puree, cashew cream, and more kasoori methi. Right before it’s done, add the tofu!
You can make this without kasoori methi, but kasoori methi is what makes Indian food Indian, so I would recommend trying to find it if you can. It’s easy to find at your local Indian store or online! I linked the one I use here.
Serve with rice, roti, or naan to make it a meal!
Vegan Palak Paneer with Tofu
Ingredients
the tofu
- 1 14-oz. block of firm tofu
- 1.5 tbsp vegan butter *sub neutral oil
spinach gravy
- 10 cups of packed spinach (8-10 oz.)
- 1 cup water
- 10-12 mint leaves sub cilantro
- 1 medium tomato
- 1 inch ginger
- 2 green chilis *reduce if you want less spice!
- 1 tbsp avocado oil sub any neutral oil
- 2 tsp kasoori methi *see note
- ½ tsp red chili powder
- ½ tsp garam masala
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- water
- salt to taste
cashew cream
- 10 cashews (~ ¼ cup), quick-soaked *see note about quick-soaking
- ¼ cup water
- ½ tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Press tofu for at least 15 minutes. Then cut into one-inch cubes.
- Blanch spinach. Set aside a saucepan with ice cold water. Heat water in a separate large saucepan. Once it is boiling, put in about 3 cups of spinach in at a time or as much as will fit. 3 minutes later, take the spinach out and put it in the saucepan with cold water. Repeat until you’ve blanched all the spinach. Set aside to cool before blending with ~ 1 cup of water. Make sure not to blend it for too long. That would result in a texture that is a little too creamy.
- Pan fry tofu. Add vegan butter to a medium saucepan and pan fry the tofu, flipping when one side has browned (~ 3-4 minutes). Continue to prop the tofu onto another side so that the whole cube browns. When the tofu is nicely browned and not too crisp yet (takes about 10 minutes total), take it out of the pan. Save the pan for making the spinach gravy.
- In a small processor, process mint leaves, tomatoes, green chilis, and ginger.
- Add oil to the pan. Fry 1 tsp kasoori methi over medium for 30 seconds. Add tomato-chili-mint paste and cook until the tomato juices have fully evaporated. Then add red chili powder, garam masala, and coriander.
- Pour spinach puree into the pan. Simmer on medium for 5 minutes. Add water according to desired consistency. I used 3/4 cup of water to clean out the contents of the blender.
- Add salt to taste, cashew cream, and 1 more tsp of kasoori methi. After stirring that together, add tofu. Cook for 2-3 minutes before taking it off the heat. Enjoy with rice, roti, or naan!
Notes
For more vegan paneer recipes, check out…
This was amazing! My only wish was that the nutrition facts was included, because now I have to fogure it out 😩
I’m so glad to hear that Bella! Thanks for trying it!
Highly recommended! The spice blend smells amazing and I can’t believe it was so quick and easy to prepare! Making this again 😛
Glad you enjoyed it! It really is so simple.
Such a quick recipe! Faster than most other palak paneer recipes I’ve tried. Tasted great.