One of the very first recipes I ever posted to Everyday Maven was this Slow Cooker Vegan Saag Paneer Recipe. I’ve since played around with it and made it with shrimp, chicken and of course – real Paneer cheese.
I even tried pork, but wasn’t crazy about the results.
My favorite variation of the Saag Paneer is this Chicken Saag version. It is perfect for a mostly hands-off weeknight dinner, it’s filling, freezes well, super easy to make, has a healthy dose of greens in the dish and makes almost everyone in my family happy.
Plus, it’s naturally Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Paleo, Whole30 and Low-Carb!
I like to serve it over Cauliflower Rice (or this Ginger Coconut Cauliflower Rice) to keep the carbs low but if you are looking for a “real” rice recipe, this foolproof Instant Pot Rice is so easy!
NOTES:
- This is intentionally MILD (you can thank my 5-year old for that). To add a bit more heat to this, add 1 or 2 dried chilies. Make sure to remove and discard them before pureeing the spinach mixture!
- If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can transfer the spinach mixture to a food processor or blender to puree.
- I used a 6.5 Quart Slow Cooker for this recipe.
Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating below!
Slow Cooker Chicken Saag. Paleo Chicken Saag. Dairy Free Chicken Saag.
- 4 to 5 large cloves garlic finely chopped
- 3 inches fresh ginger root finely chopped
- 15 ounce can of organic tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt separated into 1 teaspoon and 1/2 teaspoon
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 13.5 ounce can of full fat coconut milk
- 2 16 ounce bags frozen chopped or whole leaf spinach
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
- fresh cilantro for garnish (optional) chopped
- cooked white rice or
-
Add all ingredients EXCEPT for chicken, cilantro and 1/2 teaspoon salt to slow cooker.
-
Set to low and cook for 4 hours.
-
At about 2 hours and 30 minutes, use a handheld immersion blender to puree mixture until creamy.
-
Next, add in cubed chicken, additional 1/2 teaspoon of salt and continue cooking covered for remaining 1 1/2 hours.
-
Serve over white rice or cauliflower rice topped with chopped cilantro and Enjoy!
-
Keeps well in the fridge for leftovers and freezes great
Did you make this recipe? Tag @EverydayMaven on Instagram with the hashtag #EveryDayMaven and please give a star rating below.
Funny to see this one here. I love making your saag and now make it with chicken pretty frequently, but I just cooked the chicken separately and added it at the end. Ill have to try it this way.
Hope you loved it!
I just added the chicken but even after blending it, mine looks so dark. Yours looks much much lighter, should I add another can of coconut milk?
I didn’t add another can, and finally after cooking tasted it. It tastes like creamed spinach without the cream and with chicken in it! I can’t believe another poster said the garam masala was too strong bc I can barely taste anything but spinach! What can I do to spice this up?
Hi Colleen! It definitely shouldn’t taste like creamed spinach. Are your spices on the older side by any chance? I would add some additional ginger and a pinch of all the spices, taste and keep adding pinches of spices until it tasted right. I highly recommend seeing if your spices are fresh as spices tend to lose A LOT of flavor as they sit. Let me know for sure 🙂
Hello! I’m going to make this today. How would I convert this for i-Pot? Thx
Hey Kenda! Great question. I haven’t converted this to the Instant Pot yet so I can’t give you instructions that I know would work. I would use your IP as a slow cooker and just follow the directions. Hope you love it!
I make this in my instant pot all the time. Here’s how I do it. I cook the chicken first. I put the whole breasts or thighs (fat trimmed off) in a steaker basket, add a half cup of water then steam for about 10 minutes on poultry setting. I take them out to let them cool and then chop them up. If they’re not fully done I don’t worry because I can finish them when I cook everything together. I remove the steamer basket, drain the liquid and lightly rinse out the pot.
Then I dump all the other ingredients in (spinach is still frozen) and cook on soup setting for 30 minutes. It might finish faster than that – I just haven’t tried adjusting it. Then I use the immersion blender to make it smooth. After that, I pop in the chopped up chicken. If the chicken is fully cooked, it can be eaten right away; otherwise I give it another 10 minutes or so on the same setting until the chicken is done.
Freezes beautifully as well, though I usually freeze it without chicken and add that later.
I’m doing this tonight in my pressure cooker thx!
Does the chicken cook thoroughly for only 1.5 hours at the low setting?
Hi Chelsea, Yes, because it is cut into chunks. Hope you love it!
Hello. Thank you for this recipe! I’m making it today for dinner tonight. I realized I forgot ginger. Will this affect it much, or should I bite the bullet and go back to the store?
I think no ginger would really impact the taste. What did you wind up doing?
Simple ingredients and easy, Delicious!!!!! Would eat it again!
So glad you liked it Sarah!
Have you tried this with chicken pieces?
on the bones? No because then you would need to remove the chicken from the saag and deal with the bones. I prefer this as a meal in a bowl!
I tried this today. It’s a great idea to do this in the slow cooker. I halved everything but did increase the spices proportional. I also sautéed onions before adding. I didn’t add the tomatoes and didn’t miss it. The taste was very good. I think I puréed it a bit too much. Next time, I won’t. I’ll certainly make it again. Thanks for sharing.
This recipe is super easy and delicious. I increased the amount of cayenne and the spice was perfect. Mine came out a little water, though. Is there a way to thicken it? Or should I cook and drain the spinach first?
Hi Maria,
You could cook uncovered for the last 30 to 45 minutes to let some of the liquid evaporate. Glad you liked it!
Can I substitute regular milk for the coconut milk? Will it affect the flavour?
My suggestion would be to stick to the coconut milk. Regular milk will not only affect the taste but it will curdle while cooking. Coconut milk is the best for slow cookers.