You can make this rich, buttery saag in no time at all. Instant Pot saag is my favorite way to eat my greens. This recipe for saag quick and easy to make. It’s so delicious that you might even forget this dish is good for you. 😉
What’s better than some creamy, dreamy Saag? Saag made in an INSTANT. Like, in an Instant Pot.
What is Saag?
I like to describe saag as the Indian version of creamed spinach; only the creaminess comes from the ghee. Saag translates to “pureed greens,” so you can essentially use any green vegetable to make saag. It’s a good clean out the fridge dish – you can use kale, spinach, brussels sprouts. If you’d like, go through the comments on this post to see what blog readers have used in their saag.
To make authentic Punjabi saag, you will want to use a combination of mustard greens (“sarson”) and spinach (“palak”). I prefer to use equal parts of spinach and mustard greens to make my saag. This is the version of saag that I grew up eating, and it’s the one that I prefer, but if you can’t find mustard greens, don’t worry, spinach will work just fine too. An all spinach saag will have a thinner consistency, though.
I know this is probably more than you cared to know about saag, but it’s a subject I’m pretty passionate about. If I’m being honest, I’m basically passionate about all things food-related. If I’m being REALLY honest, I’m more passionate about eating food than I am cooking. That’s probably the reason I’m in love with my Instant Pot – because I get to spend more time eating and less time cooking.
You can always add cooked meat or paneer to saag if you want – stir it in! And make sure to always top your bowl with extra ghee!
Instant Pot Saag
Instant Pot Saag
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons ghee
- 2 onions diced
- 4 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger
Spices
- 2 teaspoons salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cayenne adjust to taste
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 pound spinach rinsed
- 1 pound mustard leaves rinsed
- Pinch of kasoori methi dried fenugreek leaves
- Ghee or butter for serving
Instructions
- Press the “saute” button on the Instant Pot and add the ghee. Once it melts, add the onion, garlic, ginger and spices to the pot and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the spinach, stirring until it wilts and there’s enough room to add the mustard greens.
- Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 15 minutes at high pressure.
- Naturally release pressure.
- Remove the lid and use an immersion blender to puree the contents of the pot (or pour the contents into a blender and then add the blended mixture back into the pot).
- Stir in the dried fenugreek leaves.
- Serve with ghee.
Notes
- Make sure to rinse the spinach even if it is pre-washed. The little bit of water clinging to the leaves is enough to get the instant pot to start. Do not add more water to this! The spinach leaves will also release water as the pot comes to pressure. If you add water, the dish will be way too watery, trust me.
- If you are making this using 2 pounds of spinach then know that the saag will be a bit thinner than if you were to have used saag along with mustard greens. You can thicken the saag by pressing sauté at the end to reduce liquid if you’d like (or stir some corn flour into the saag to help thicken it up).
Indigo Perry says
This was the most delicious saag I’ve made in the 5 years I’ve been making Indian food. Full of flavor, and easy. Thank you.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Indigo, that’s great to hear – what a compliment, thank you 🙂
B says
Absolutely delicious. We tweak a little bit to get to our version of childhood (Punjabi) saag, but this is the closest we ever came to having someone right there, tearing up the greens or chopping things up, suggesting a pinch more of this. Thank you!!!
Adriane says
I found some paneer at the local market and went searching for a saag recipe to go with it. I didn’t have an instant pot so I cooked it in my dutch oven. Other than that, I was faithful to the ingredients in the recipe. It turned out soooooo good. I will definitely be making this again and again.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Adriane, I’m so glad you enjoyed this! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂
Christine says
Oh my, this was so good! And so easy! I used 3/4 mustard greens and 1/4 spinach. I threw 2 green chilis for heat, in lieu of cayenne. This is the most delicious way to eat a whole lot of greens.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how much you like this recipe 🙂
Michael says
Hey there… I tried to combine this with lamb and the lamb was very overcooked and chewy. Do you feel if I simmer at the end for maybe 7/8 minutes that would work?
Anna says
I have been making your slow cooker version of this recipe for years and even my pickiest child loves it. It may be our family’s favorite meal!
I borrowed an instant pot to try this one and would buy one just to make a quick version of the saag we love!
However, although I’ve made the slow cooker recipe so many times I know it by heart, this recipe in the instant pot won’t work for me. I’ve tried twice and the pot stops a minute into the pressure cooking saying “burn.” And it is indeed burning on the bottom. Do you know what I’m doing wrong?
Thank you!
Baker98 says
I used frozen spinach and frozen broccoli for this recipe and it still came out REALLY well!! Thank you so much for giving us all the recipe
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
That’s awesome! Glad to hear that you like it so much 🙂