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!
I loved it! Great recipe! I added ricotta to make it a bit creamier as I am not vegan! Haha. Delicious. Will make again for sure!
I use extra firm tofu instead of paneer – press and drain, cube, and add it to the mix. Delicious!
Me too! Except, I prefer previously frozen tofu – more chewy 🙂
I’m glad you updated this one! I’ve been using it as a base for pseudo saag shorba. Sometimes my local Kroger has mustard greens or collards for cheaper than spinach and they both work well too.
Flavor is so good!! I’d like to make this more of a soup consistency. Do you think chicken broth would be good for thinning it out? Or more milk?
Yes you could do vegetable or chicken broth.
Do you have a favourite brand of coconut milk, or one that you would recommend for this recipe?
Hi Mairi! Beth gets a lot of her canned goods from Aldi, a discount grocer. But you Thai Kitchen is a brand you’ll find on m most grocery shelves. Native Forest is a great organic option.
This looks amazing, and I’m super excited to try it out. I really appreciate the nutrition facts added at the end of recipes now – it helps so much for those of us tracking 🙏
Excited to try this! Is there a sub for the tomato? Or would it be ok to just cut out?
Yes you could leave it out.
Can frozen spinach be used?
We haven’t tried it with frozen but previous commenters have noted “I used frozen chopped spinach instead of fresh (putting it straight in to the pot, adding no extra water), and half-and-half/half cream instead of the evaporated milk. Heeded the warning about the cayenne pepper and only used about 1/4 tsp, but will probably chuck the whole lot in next time.”
I added a can of chickpeas and sliced mushrooms to this and it was so good! Thanks for sharing
Oh those are great additions Kayla!
That’s exactly what I was going to do! Glad someone beat me to it.
It’s more liquidy than I expected (I was anticipating something more like Boston Market’s creamed spinach, mine came out almost a soup… any way to adjust the recipe to fix that? (Adore the flavors!)
These ingredients are pretty heat stable, so you can just let it simmer longer (no lid) until it reduces some. It definitely won’t be thick like Boston Market’s creamed spinach, but it also definitely shouldn’t be like a thin soup. It should be more like “saucy.” :)
I didnt blend up my spinach as much as I probably should have and may have used a bit too much tomato, but I’m still enjoying this dinner immensely! Call me crazy but I kept adding cayenne until I’d added the fill teaspoon for my heat preference!
This was DELICIOUS! I added some cooked lentils and served with jasmine rice for a full meal. I didn’t have cumin so I subbed coriander but didn’t change another thing. Will make again and again.
Great recipe! I would like to make it vegan. What could I use instead of evaporated milk? Would a regular non-dairy milk work?
I would use a full-fat coconut milk for this one. :) Coconut goes really well with the spices in this dish.
Absolutely delicious! I have been looking at palak paneer recipes because I love it, and this is the first one I have made. It is a great, easy recipe and tastes fantastic. I agree with the other comment about less cayenne, but that’s for next time. The great thing about this recipe is that you can use the food processor for everything (except the garlic) without having to wash it in between. I diced the onion and ginger with the shredding blade, pulse-chopped some small tomatoes, and then pulsed the spinach as directed. I added some frozen, cubed paneer at the very end and voila! Thank you so much for the recipe.
wow wonderful twist to palak paneer. I am a typical indian searching for not so elaborate recipe for spinach and zucchini (i got a bit cheaper exotic veggie here) but I landed on this great recipe) thank you.
I made this again, using the wimpier amount of cayenne, and we enjoyed it a lot. The rest of the flavors come through when it’s not all heat. I served this creamed spinach and Beth’s curried lentils with Basmati rice, making a great weeknight meal. This dinner will become a standby, since everything in both dishes is in my pantry all of the time.