This Indian Style Creamed Spinach is a bit like Palak Paneer, but without the paneer. …because my homemade paneer didn’t turn out. 😅 But that’s okay! The creamy spiced spinach is absolutely delightful on its own, so it’s still totally worth sharing. It’s amazing for dipping bread (preferably naan), spooning over rice, or using as a base for a more complete meal.
Make it Dairy-free or with Dairy
When I originally posted this recipe seven years ago I made it with evaporated milk. Since that time I’ve discovered how incredibly amazing coconut is with garam masala, so this time around I swapped out the evaporated milk for coconut milk. That also happens to make this recipe vegan and friendly to those who can’t consume dairy. If you prefer the dairy version, simply use one cup evaporated milk in place of the coconut milk.
Can I Use Light Coconut Milk?
Yes, you can use light coconut milk in place of the full-fat coconut milk, but the end result will be slightly less thick. I do not suggest using coconut milk sold in a carton, the type meant to be used as a dairy milk substitute. It will be far too watery for this recipe.
What to Serve with Indian Creamed Spinach
As mentioned in the intro, this Indian style creamed spinach makes a great side dish. You can serve it with dishes like Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala, Cauliflower and Chickpea Masala, or Slow Cooker Coconut Curry Lentils. Or, you can add a couple more ingredients into your creamed spinach and make that your main dish. Consider adding cubed tofu, a can of chickpeas, or a diced potato or two.
Is this Creamed Spinach Spicy?
This recipe does have a little heat, thanks to a ¼ tsp cayenne pepper. If you prefer a mild creamed spinach, simply skip the cayenne pepper.
Is there a Substitute for the Garam Masala?
If you can’t find Garam Masala in a store near you, you can substitute it with curry powder. Or, try your hand at making a homemade garam masala.
Indian Style Creamed Spinach
Servings 4 about 1 cup eachIngredients
- 1 13.5oz. can full-fat coconut milk ($1.79)
- 8 oz. fresh spinach ($1.29)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger ($0.30)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 2 tsp ground cumin ($0.20)
- 1 tsp garam masala ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp turmeric ($0.05)
- 1/4¼ tsp cayenne pepper ($0.02)
- 1 large tomato ($0.97)
- 1/4 cup water ($0.00)
- 3/4 tsp salt (or to taste) ($0.03)
Instructions
- Add the coconut milk and spinach to a large pot. Stir and cook over medium heat until the coconut milk is warmed through and has wilted the spinach. Remove from the heat as soon as the spinach has wilted to avoid over cooking the spinach.
- Transfer the warm coconut milk and spinach to a blender and pulse until the spinach is in small pieces (you can choose to blend until smooth, if you prefer). Set this mixture aside.
- Dice the onion, mince the garlic, and grate the ginger. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger to a large skillet along with the olive oil. Sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft (about 5 minutes).
- Add the cumin, garam masala, turmeric, and cayenne to the skillet. Stir and cook the spices with the onion, garlic, and ginger for about two minutes more.
- Dice the tomato and add it to the skillet along with about 1/4 cup water. Stir and cook the tomato with the other ingredients, dissolving any browned bits off the bottom of the skillet, until the tomato has broken down (5-8 minutes).
- Finally, add the coconut and spinach mixture to the skillet and stir to combine. Allow the mixture to heat through, stirring occasionally.
- Taste the creamed spinach and add salt to taste. Start with 1/4 tsp, adding more as needed until the flavors pop (I added 3/4 tsp).
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Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Indian Creamed Spinach – Step By Step Photos
Start by pouring one 13.5 oz. can of full-fat coconut milk into a soup pot.
Add 8 oz. of fresh spinach to the coconut milk. Stir and cook over medium heat just until the spinach has wilted (this should only take about five minutes). Do not over cook the spinach here. It should still be bright green in color.
Transfer the warm coconut milk and spinach to a blender and pulse until the spinach is in small pieces. You can blend until smooth if you prefer, but I like a little texture in mine. Set this mixture aside.
Dice one yellow onion, mince two cloves of garlic, and grate about 1 Tbsp fresh ginger. Add all three to a skillet along with 2 Tbsp olive oil. Sauté the onion, garlic, and ginger over medium heat until the onions are soft (about 5 minutes).
Once the onions are soft, add 2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp garam masala, ½ tsp turmeric, and ¼ tsp cayenne pepper to the skillet. Stir and cook the spices with the onion, garlic, and ginger for about 2 minutes more.
Dice one tomato and add it to the skillet along with about ¼ cup water. Stir and cook the tomato with the other ingredients, dissolving any browned bits off the bottom of the skillet, until the tomatoes have broken down (5-8 minutes).
Finally, pour the coconut and spinach mixture into the skillet and stir to combine.
Allow the mixture to heat through, stirring occasionally. Once hot, give it a taste and add salt as needed. I added about ¾ tsp. I suggest starting with ¼ tsp and adding more to your liking. Adding the correct amount of salt will help the flavors pop.
Serve hot with some bread for dipping!
We made it last night and we loved it. We ate it with rice and some store-bought Naan bread.
Thank you!
This is absolutely one of my favorites!! It’s a repeat in my home. Do you think this would freeze well? It makes so much I usually end up throwing some out, and I’d love to have some on hand when I start craving it.
Hmm, I’m not sure! I’ve never tried freezing it. If you do, please let us know how it turns out. Thanks!
I should remember that you like your food spicy. LOL.
I’d never cooked with cayenne before. My parents would put it on my thumb so I didn’t suck it when I was younger. It eventually worked.
Delicious as always, just going to use less cayenne next time, my mother is on me about it!
You can also make your own evaporated milk from dry milk powder:
2/3 cup dry/powdered milk
3/4 cup water
Mix the water and dry milk powder together. Use in place of the evaporated milk in any recipe.
Yield: 1 cup (8 ounces)
Paneer
8 cups milk
4 tbsp fresh strained lemon juice
Bring milk to a boil, stirring to minimize sticking, then reduce heat, add lemon juice and stir. After ten seconds remove from heat. If curds don’t separate place on heat again adding more lemon juice if necessary. (I’ve never needed to.) Drain 1 and 1/2 hours in cheesecloth to use as a soft ricotta-like filling for lasagne or to fry with spices and tomato. You can also add herbs or spices in this stage.
For a firm curd, after hanging for 90 min you can put it in a mold or a colander, still in the cheesecloth, and place a weight on it. I will leave it for at least 3 more hours until it seems firm enough to cut into cubes and fry for sag paneer. You can marinate it in oil and turmeric before you fry it. I noticed on food tv they profiled some ladies in NY who were making “ricotta” this way although it’s not the traditional method and fancy restaurants were buying their product.
Thanks!
I made this a couple weeks ago along with the “(not) butter chicken,” which had left me with some extra plain greek yogurt. When I tasted how spicy this spinach was, I mixed in a little of the greek yogurt and it was WONDERFUL. Rich without being heavy, a little more mild, wonderful. I’m going to make this again tomorrow night with half the cayenne and a little yogurt on the side and I know it’s going to be great!!
@ Cindyrex – I will use coconut milk in place of evaporated.
Fantastic! We made this with your Tandoori Chicken Nuggets, too… Great job!
amberpepe – It just didn’t have much flavor or texture to speak of and then when I tried to fry it, it allllll fell apart :( I guess I just felt that it wasn’t even close to being worth the amount of milk that it took to make it.
Hi Beth! I’m going to be making this within the next couple of days along with your curried chickpeas (one of my and my husband’s favorite recipes ever) and naan. I was thinking about giving the homemade paneer thing a try too though and was wondering if you wouldn’t mind sharing what happened when you tried making it? I’ve recently succeeded in homemaking ricotta, and as far as I can tell, paneer making isn’t so different (just drained more and pressed), but I’d love to be able to troubleshoot in advance in order to avoid any potential disasters and/or wasted food. The fact that your paneer-making experience was less-than-wonderful has got me feeling a bit nervous about the whole thing.
Can’t wait to make this – I happen to have all the ingredients in the house right now. And I love spicy food!
I just made this too and the spice was overwhelming! I usually find myself able to tolerate spicy food, but this was way too much (I didn’t even put in all the cayenne it called for!). I also wish I had chopped my onions smaller, or put them in the blender as well. It would have been nice to have the textures meld a little better.
Just made this and it would have been perfect for the fact that it was way too spicy. I wish I’d read the comments here before I made it. I’d probably half the amount of cayenne pepper. I served it with rice, but nan bread would have been needed to further cut the spicyness.
I agree with some of the other posters… too spicy. I cut the cayenne pepper in half and my mouth was still on fire, and only my iron-tongued husband could eat much of it. It was pretty good otherwise, though. I’ll just have to tweak it for next time.
I agree with some of the other posters… too spicy. I cut the cayenne pepper in half and my mouth was still on fire, and only my iron-tongued husband could eat much of it. It was pretty good otherwise, though. I’ll just have to tweak it for next time.