This quick and easy Chicken Saag (chicken and spinach curry aka palak chicken) is the fastest curry you'll ever make from scratch. It's healthy and delicious with a flavor bomb of spices. You'll never need to order Indian takeout again with this recipe in your arsenal.
(This recipe was originally published in March 2019, but was updated with new photos and content in 2020).
Since first making this chicken saag recipe, I have made it countless times. I always amaze myself with how easy it is to make, and how it satisfies my craving for Indian food. Although my favorite Indian curries when I go out to eat are chicken tikka masala and chicken korma, I have since fallen head over heels for chicken saag (palak chicken).
If you've never eaten or even seen Indian chicken saag curry, you may be a little surprised by it's appearance. It's a cooked spinach curry, so the color and texture is that of a muted green puree.
Take my word for it though, the aroma and flavors of this curry are out of this world! If you like Indian food, definitely give this recipe a try. The taste will speak for itself.
Believe it or not, this recipe rivals the saag at my favorite local Indian restaurant! I may even say I prefer my own heavily spiced concoction to theirs. It contains nearly a dozen spices and aromatics in the pureed spinach sauce.
Ingredient notes
- Chicken: Use boneless, skinless chicken breasts or chicken tenders for this recipe, and cube them into small, bite-size 1-inch pieces.
- Spinach: I use fresh baby spinach since it's already trimmed and easy to use. You can also use regular spinach and trim the stalky stems yourself. Alternatively you can also use a combination of spinach and other dark leafy greens like kale, mustard greens, or Swiss chard. Fenugreek leaves are also quite traditional to include.
- Aromatics & Spices: For this chicken and spinach curry you'll need onion, garlic and fresh ginger for your aromatics. For spices you'll need salt, ground coriander, garam masala (a spice blend), ground turmeric, ground cumin, ground cardamom, and chili powder (such as Indian chili powder or cayenne, NOT American chili powder which is a spice blend and not pure, ground chiles). If you are missing any of the spices you can omit them, but the flavor of the curry will be a bit different than the original. I recommend using all these spices for optimal results.
- Tomato Paste: Tomato paste comes in cans or resealable squeezable tubes. If you have leftover tomato paste to use up from making this chicken saag recipe, use it to make Tas Kebab, Czech Beef Goulash, Individual Beef and Mushroom Pies, Autumn Vegetable Soup with Sausage and Green Lentils, or Armenian Lentil Soup with Macaroni.
- Yogurt: Use plain thick yogurt such as Greek-style, but any thick unflavored yogurt will work.
How to make it
The first step in making this chicken saag curry is to make the spinach sauce. Heat a little bit of oil in a non-stick skillet, and add chopped onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook until softened and aromatic (PHOTO 1). Add your mixture of spices (PHOTO 2).
Stir your tomato paste into water to dissolve, then add it to the spices and aromatics in the pan (PHOTO 3). Mix until combined, and then stir in the spinach leaves. Cover the pan to allow the spinach to wilt. Stir the mixture until all the spinach is wilted, but still vibrant green (PHOTOS 4-6).
Remove from the heat and puree the mixture in your blender or food processor. It should still have a bit of texture so don't over-do it. The sauce is ready!
Next cook cubes of chicken in a bit of oil until cooked through (PHOTOS 7-8).
Pour the spinach sauce over the chicken, and continue to cook so the flavors can meld together (PHOTOS 9-10). Stir in a big spoonful of plain yogurt, and this healthy chicken and spinach curry is ready (PHOTOS 11-12).
Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
The recipe comfortably yields 4 servings, although if you are super hungry you can divide it into 2 or 3 larger portions of chicken saag.
I typically serve this simple chicken and spinach curry with plain basmati rice or jeera rice, basmati rice made with cumin seeds. You can also serve it with another dish, such as Chana Dal to expand the menu and yield more overall servings.
Expert tips
Making this recipe on a weeknight is fast and easy. You can prep your chicken in advance by cubing it up and refrigerating it until it's time to cook. You can also measure out all your spices, mix them together, and set them aside. The aromatics are also easy enough to chop, measure, and prep in advance. Then at the last minute, just get cooking.
The saag sauce cooks quite rapidly, as does the chicken. Your authentic, homemade Indian meal will be ready before you know it! Technically, you can even cook the spinach sauce ahead of time and refrigerate it, and then finish the dish by cooking the chicken and adding the sauce to heat it through.
This authentic chicken saag curry is just as delicious reheated the following day. I often take a portion to work for lunch and will admit it's probably the best work lunch ever! If anything the flavor gets even better over time, and it's very easy to reheat in a microwave if that's all you have access to.
FAQs
This curry is quite healthy compared to many other curry dishes. The amount of oil is minimal, but can be reduced further if you prefer, especially if using a nonstick pan to cook it. You may also use reduced fat or fat free plain yogurt to save a few additional calories. Although you can make this chicken saag recipe with chicken thighs, I prefer white meat which is also leaner than the alternative.
"Saag" is more of a broad term for green leafy vegetable curries, and "palak" is specific to curries made with spinach. Both apply in this case, though I've always called it the former so that's what I'll stick with.
If using frozen spinach use about 3 ⅓ ounces of frozen spinach (or about ⅓ of a 10-ounce package) to get the equivalent of 8 ounces fresh spinach. Thaw before using, but no need to squeeze out the excess liquid (it will help keep your sauce the right consistency). You can skip the step of wilting the spinach in the spice sauce, and just transfer the spice sauce and thawed frozen spinach to the blender together and proceed as directed in the recipe. I've used as much as 5 ounces of frozen spinach in this recipe before and it's delicious too, just a bit more spinachy than usual!
Other recipes you may like
- Homemade Naan
- Chicken Vindaloo
- Chicken Korma
- Murgh Makhani (Indian Butter Chicken)
- Murgh Masala (Chicken Masala)
- Murghi aur Masoor Dal (Bombay-style Chicken with Red Split Lentils)
- Chana Dal
- Dal Makhani
- Gajar Matar (Carrots and Peas)
- Browse all Indian Recipes
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Chicken Saag (Chicken and Spinach Curry)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 large onion finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- 2 cloves garlic minced (about 1 tablespoon)
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt plus more as needed (preferably Diamond Crystal brand; start with ¾ teaspoon if using another brand—SEE NOTES)
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 ½ teaspoons garam masala
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon Indian chili powder or cayenne pepper or to taste
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ cup water
- 8 ounces baby spinach or trimmed regular spinach, washed and dried
- 1 pound chicken breast or tenders cut into 1-inch pieces
- ¼ cup plain yogurt preferably thick Greek-style yogurt
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat (if you plan to double the recipe, definitely use a pot instead of a skillet so you have room for all the spinach!). Add the onion, garlic, and ginger and saute until softened, about 4 to 5 minutes, stirring regularly, and lowering heat to medium-low if it starts to brown too quickly.
- Over medium heat, add the salt (SEE NOTES), coriander, garam masala, turmeric, cumin, cardamom, and chili powder, and stir on medium-low heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds or so. Dissolve the tomato paste in the water by stirring vigorously together in a measuring cup or bowl. Then stir into the spices in the pan, creating a thick spiced sauce, about 1 minute.
- Add the spinach and gently stir to combine, as the skillet will be very full. Cover and raise the heat to medium-high, allowing the spinach to start to wilt. Occasionally remove the lid, stir, and then cover again until most the spinach has begun to wilt, about 3 to 5 minutes (can depend on the size of your spinach leaves). Remove the lid and finish stirring the spinach until it is completely wilted but still bright green, another minute.
- Transfer spinach mixture to a blender and puree until relatively smooth but still a bit chunky (you don’t want it to be super smooth, a bit of texture is good). Taste and adjust salt and spice if necessary.
- Meanwhile, wipe the skillet clean with a paper towel, return it to medium-high heat, and add 1 tablespoon of oil. When the oil is hot, add the cubed chicken pieces, sprinkle salt over the top to season, and cook until almost completely cooked through, about 5 to 7 minutes. Pour the spinach mixture back over the chicken, using a rubber spatula to get every last bit out of the blender, and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes to allow the flavors to meld and the chicken to finish cooking. Stir in the yogurt, and serve immediately with basmati rice and/or naan.
Notes
- I typically serve this simple curry with plain basmati rice or jeera rice, basmati rice made with cumin seeds.
- The recipe comfortably yields 4 servings, although if you are super hungry you can divide it into 2 or 3 larger portions.
- You can also use a combination of dark leafy greens in this recipe. Try half spinach and half kale, mustard greens, or Swiss chard as another option. Those other greens are more bitter and will change the general flavor of this curry. Fenugreek leaves are also quite traditional to include. The combination of greens is simply a matter of personal preference.
- If using frozen spinach instead of fresh use about 3 ⅓ ounces of the frozen spinach (or about ⅓ of the 10-ounce package) to get the equivalent of 8 ounces fresh spinach. Thaw before using, but no need to squeeze out the excess liquid (it will help keep your sauce the right consistency). You can skip the step of wilting the spinach in the spice sauce, and just transfer the spice sauce and thawed frozen spinach to the blender together and proceed as directed. I've used as much as 5 ounces of frozen spinach in this recipe before and it's delicious too, just a bit more spinachy than usual!
- This recipe uses kosher salt (aka cooking salt, kitchen salt, coarse salt outside of the US), preferably Diamond Crystal brand which has larger flakes (this is the brand used in many restaurants, and the brand I use to test all my recipes). If you are using table salt or a fine (less coarse) kosher salt (such as Morton), scale down the salt to ¾ teaspoon to start, and add more later if needed.
Nutrition
*All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.*
Debbie Robert says
Oh my word. I've only had one from a supermarket and it was lovely but this one is just divine. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe. Have made it twice now. In three days!
Nath says
Perfect curry to make, the whole family loved.
Made a few diy changes that being only half a teaspoon of garam masala into the pre spinach and onion paste before blending and half a tube of mutti tomato purée
then cooked the chicken and added 1/4 tsp of turmeric so it would add some colour to the chicken (learnt this from making scrambled tofu), chilli flakes and tikka masala curry powder (all that was in the cupboard) finally chopped up a boatload of mushrooms.
Then added the blend into the frying pan on a low heat and also for why the heck not and added a whole 150g pot of fage 0% Greek yoghurt to the mix.
This was the panick moment when the curry turned white LOL, thought I’d messed it up but left it to cook on the job for a while and the green oils dispersed from the spinach blend overtime to return the green colour.
Resolidifying this grubs intention of being a saag. Had it with rice and a naan bread drizzled in honey and voila. A curry to feed the family.
Jo says
Simple and delicious, a family favourite
Amy says
Delicious!
Gwyneth says
This is the BEST! Even my kids love it!
Jill says
Husband absolutely loved it, he is a saag fan & has converted me. 1 question... can I freeze if making lots?
Victoria says
Hi Jill,
Great question! Personally I've never frozen it because I always eat it all in a matter of days, however you should be able to freeze it prior to mixing in the yogurt. Separate out the amount you plan to freeze, then add yogurt to the remainder you plan to eat right away. Then when you reheat the thawed leftovers you can stir in some yogurt. Enjoy!
Wilmo says
Delicious I’ll be making this again.
Casstastic says
We made this tonight and it was amazing. I've always had Saag Paneer in restaurants so it was lovely to try chicken and it was just as good as a restaurant Saag curry! Do you know how I would go about using Paneer instead of chicken?
Victoria says
I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe! It's one of my favorites! If you'd like to use paneer instead of chicken, that's easy to do. Make the sauce as directed through the blending stage. Then in a skillet you can sear some cubed paneer in oil (in place of the chicken) and then proceed as directed. Alternatively, after blending the sauce you can add it to a skillet and add the yogurt as you normally would and then just stir in plain cubed paneer (without searing it first). That is just a personal preference if you want to sear/brown the paneer first in some oil or not. I would plan to use about 8 ounces (or half a pound) of paneer for this amount of curry, but you can adjust that to your desired amount.
Mary Ellen says
Outstanding! I love lamb or chicken saag. It’s sort of an indication to me of the quality of an Indian restaurant. This compares with the very best. Thank you.
Victoria says
Thanks so much!! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Ruth Michalec says
I’ve never made, or even heard of, saag. I made this yesterday & oh my gosh, it’s amazing. I followed the recipe exactly except I used pre-minced garlic & ginger, and I sub’d allspice for cardamom because I didn’t have any cardamom. I can’t wait to try other recipes from you!
Victoria says
I’m so glad you discovered saag and loved it! It’s one of my favorites. I hope you enjoy my other recipes as well!
Mary Ellen says
Outstanding! I love chicken (or lamb) saag! I use it as a benchmark to judge the quality of an Indian restaurant. Since I’ve made this recipe, I will not have a reason to go go to an Indian restaurant again. Only kidding! But seriously, I followed directions to the letter and found this to be one of the very best recipes I have ever tried.
Emma Rising says
I've made this twice for my family now and we love it! It tastes so authentic and better than our local curry house's!
Stephen J LeBlanc says
I didn't quite have all the right spices, but close. I cooked the spinach and it tasted a little bland. I added butter and seasoned to taste. Once I finished the chicken and added the yoghurt, it tasted like a nice restaurant version, but fresher. Easy and delicious.
Olivia says
Hello! I’m so excited to try this recipe! I have whole green cardamom pods and was wondering if there’s a way I can use these instead of buying ground cardamom. Could I grind them or toss them in whole? Thanks for any help!
Victoria says
Hi Olivia,
You can most definitely use your whole cardamom pods here. Just crack open the pods and remove the seeds from the shell, then grind the seeds in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. You could also omit the cardamom and it would still be delicious!
Nikki says
Just tried this tonight and it was fantastic! I’m a real curry lover and have tried loads of recipes but I must say, this one is great. I would definitely recommend and will be making again!
Gwyneth says
This is unbelievably delicious!!! It DOES taste better than a restaurant! I also added a big heirloom tomato, diced. Thank you!