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!
Heeey if i have just frozen spinach, i use the same quantity? And also, fo i first need to cook it and than ad it to the milk or i put it frozen with the milk and i add more milk sk that it doesn t evaporate cause if it s frozen it should take longer to cook
:)
You can follow the method I used in this Chana Saag Curry, which is a very similar recipe but it uses frozen spinach. :)
We absolutely loved this. I did add an habanero pepper to it and my husband said this was his favorite dish. We put scallops on top. The best dish ever.
Thank you for sharing this. It was super easy and will be my dinner tonight! I will be making it again.
Hi! If we were wanting to add more to the dish like chickpeas, when would be the best time to add them in the cooking process?
Check out my recipe for Chana Saag Curry, which is almost the same as this, but with chickpeas. :)
The chickpeas are a really nice addition to this great recipe, I love it! I did use frozen spinach which worked really great and easy, I was out of fresh. Thank You!
Lovely flavour but even using less coconut milk and no water this recipe comes out very wet indeed. It needs adjusting if to be used as a side dish for a curry meal. It is so watery it runs across the entire plate. It does taste nice though!
I’m running into the exact same issue. I’ve now been boiling the end mixture for 15 minutes trying to reduce it down enough to serve with naan.
Can I add tofu on this recipe ?
I haven’t tried it, so if you decide to give it a shot let us know how it turns out!
Oh man this is delicious. Tried this for the first time this evening and will definitely be making this again. I used a 10oz block of frozen chopped spinach, defrosted, and just blended it with the coconut milk before dumping it in the pan. I also probably doubled all the spices and took the suggestion of adding a can of chickpeas, which made a great meal. We are it over rice for dinner and I am a huge fan. The coconut milk adds a really nice richness that balances all the cayenne I added 😎 This is definitely going in the regular dinner rotation!
So tasty though I made some changes! I added some heavy cream (maybe 1/3 cup), added lots more spinach and doubled the spices. I also added about a tablespoon of cornstarch at the end as it was a little wet for my taste. Served with sour cream & peanuts. Delish.
Have you ever made this with frozen spinach? Any hints on substituting it for fresh?
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.”
This was easy to make and delicious. I needed to use some produce form my garden, so I subbed chard for the spinach, sauteing the stems with the onion, and added a handful of fresh shelling peas at the end. I agree that you could easily add more greens. Very tasty!
I’ve made this 6 times now, great recipe, everyone I’ve made it for comes back for seconds and thirds and wants the recipe
I add a lot more spinach and it works out fine, also made it with cream and coconut cream for vegan friends, both ways are equally delicious
Yummy and easy. I make a double batch and have it for lunch or dinner the next day.
I’m looking for a side dish to take along to a bbq – will this be good cold?
Yes it could be but warmed would be so much better! We have this round up of 25 Recipe Ideas for Summer BBQs and Potlucks which is great to reference for other ideas.
Ok this was seriously amazing. I never have to order this out again!! I cut back on the cumin, added leeks to my onion mixture and cilantro to my spinach mixture. Served with white rice and blackened salmon. Thank you so much for this recipe!!
Yummmmmm! I actually couldn’t wait to comment until I was done eating. I added a diced up medium sized sweet potato to the pan with the olive oil for about 5 minutes before I put in the onion, garlic, and ginger because I needed to use it and to help make it more filling. It’s pretty awesome.
I really was missing the paneer and was eating spicy chicken vindaloo that needed something cooling on the side so I stirred in some plain cottage cheese that I had in the fridge – took this dish to the next level. Thanks!