With only 8 ingredients, our shortcut keto palak paneer recipe is quick and easy to make and simply delicious!
Palak paneer is a comforting vegetarian dish from India that is made with pureed spinach, paneer (a type of Indian cheese), and several other flavor enhancing ingredients and spices.
To make this palak paneer low-carb and keto-friendly, we minimized higher carb ingredients and incorporated a few alternative ingredients that pack a lot flavor. But, don't worry, this keto palak paneer is just as delicious as a restaurant palak paneer!
You can serve this low-carb and keto vegetarian dish over riced cauliflower or with low-carb pitas. It takes less 25 minutes to make and is 5.7 net carbs per serving. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
What is Palak Paneer?
Palak paneer is a popular vegetarian dish from Northern India. In Hindi, palak means spinach and paneer means cottage cheese.
It's usually made with pureed spinach, sautéed tomatoes and onions, paneer, ginger, garlic, garam masala, turmeric and other spices. Palak paneer sometimes includes heavy cream or yogurt to enhance the flavor and texture. It is usually served with naan, chapati, paratha or rice.
Ingredients
Palak paneer is typically made with at least 10 or more ingredients. However, this shortcut keto palak paneer is only 8 ingredients to keep things simple.
Just a few notes on key ingredients:
- Paneer: You can find paneer in most specialty grocery stores or in Indian food stores. You can use store-bought or homemade.
- Fresh spinach: Many palak paneer recipes call for boiled spinach and we prefer to do so since it reduces the rather high level of oxalates (an antinutrient that prevents the absorption of nutrients in the body) in the spinach. Most people don't have to worry about oxalates, but we tend to eat foods high in oxalates so we're more careful. Alternatively, you may cook fresh or frozen spinach in a pan (just be sure to use the same amount).
- Rao's Arrabbiata Sauce: Palak paneer typically includes sautéed tomatoes. Arrabbiata sauce is a shortcut ingredient that adds a deep, spicy flavor. We prefer to use Rao's Arrabbiata Sauce since it's one of the best low-carb sauces out there.
- Heavy cream: Just a few tablespoons to make the sauce a little creamy.
- Garam masala: Garam masala is a must. It's the most important spice in this dish.
- Grated ginger and curry powder: Two other important ingredients that can't be skipped.
How to Make
Step 1: Boil water in a small pot. Cut paneer into 1-inch cubes. As soon as the water comes to a boil, turn off the heat, lightly season the water with salt, and add the cut paneer. Let the paneer soak for 10 minutes. Please note: this process for softening the paneer is for store-bought paneer only. You can skip if using homemade paneer.
Step 2: Boil water in a medium pot. After water comes to a boil, generously season the water with salt and add the spinach. Let it cook for two minutes and then drain the spinach. Be sure to get as much of the water from the spinach as possible.
Step 3: In a food processer, pulse the grated or minced ginger, arrabbiata sauce and drained spinach to a smooth consistency.
Step 4: In a skillet over medium heat, add the pureed spinach mixture, ⅓ cup of water, garam masala and curry powder. Stir well to combine. Then, cover the pan and slightly reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 6 or 7 minutes, while stirring occasionally. After, season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the heavy cream and softened paneer and cook for 2 or 3 minutes more.
Step 5: Serve palak paneer in a bowl alongside riced cauliflower, low-carb pita, or other low-carb or keto Indian dish.
How to Serve
We typically serve this low-carb and keto palak paneer with riced cauliflower or even a low-carb pita. Sometimes, we'll skip the riced cauliflower or low-carb pita and serve alongside tandoori chicken drumsticks. There are many options — it all depends what you prefer!
Other Low Carb and Keto Indian Recipes
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear your feedback! Leave a comment, rate it, and tag @lowcarbsimplified on your photo of this recipe on Instagram or Facebook. We hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!
Recipe
Shortcut Keto Palak Paneer
Ingredients
- 4 ounces fresh organic spinach
- 5 ounces store-bought paneer cut into 1-inch long rectangles
- ⅓ cup Rao's Arrabbiata Sauce
- 1 teaspoon ginger freshly grated
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon curry powder
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Get started: Boil two pots of water - one small and one medium. As soon as the small pot comes to a boil, turn off the heat, lightly season the water with salt, and add the cut paneer. Let the paneer soak for 10 minutes. Please note: this process for softening the paneer is for store-bought paneer only. You can skip if using homemade paneer. After the medium pot of water comes to a boil, generously season the water with salt and add the spinach. Let it cook for two minutes and then drain the spinach. Be sure to get as much of the water from the spinach as possible.
- Make the palak paneer: In a food processer, pulse the grated or minced ginger, ⅓ cup Rao's Arrabiata Sauce and drained spinach to a smooth consistency. In a skillet over medium heat, add the pureed spinach mixture, ⅓ cup of water, garam masala and curry powder. Stir well to combine. Then, cover the pan and slightly reduce the heat and let simmer for 6 to 7 minutes, while stirring occasionally. After, season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the heavy cream and softened paneer and cook for 2 or 3 minutes more.
- Plate and serve: Serve palak paneer in a bowl alongside riced cauliflower, low-carb pita, or other low-carb or keto Indian dish.
How many servings does the recipe make?
Can the recipe be adapted for the slow cooker or instant pot?
Glad you asked about the servings since we didn't have it in the recipe card. We just added the servings to the card and it is 2 servings. It's a quick short-cut recipe in which most of the time is prep and combining ingredients. The cook time is not that long since it just needs to heat up. So not really a recipe for the slow cooker or instant pot. But it is easy to make.