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
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Add all ingredients EXCEPT for chicken, cilantro and 1/2 teaspoon salt to slow cooker.
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Set to low and cook for 4 hours.
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At about 2 hours and 30 minutes, use a handheld immersion blender to puree mixture until creamy.
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Next, add in cubed chicken, additional 1/2 teaspoon of salt and continue cooking covered for remaining 1 1/2 hours.
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Serve over white rice or cauliflower rice topped with chopped cilantro and Enjoy!
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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.
This was very disappointing. Very bland- but more than that, the taste is off. We might end up having to toss the whole thing. Which is a shame because a lot of time went into preparing for it. I’ve really liked chicken saag in the past. I’m glad this was not my first experience tasting it. It tastes like this recipe is missing something or a lot of somethings.
Hi Annie, That sucks – I hate wasting good ingredients.
Wonderful recipe! My two boys (7 and 1) eat this once a week. It freezes really well, and they love it. Any other favorites for young children?
Hi Emily! So glad to hear it 🙂 What are some of your boys other favorite ingredients or food types? I’m happy to make some recommendations.
Made this exactly as written. Tweaked it for personal taste. It is a magical recipe, comes together just as promised. Better than take-out by far. Will be making this whenever the urge for Indian food appears and will recommend it to anyone!
What a wonderful compliment Erica! Thank you so much – it makes me so happy to hear how much you love this!
We love this recipe, but the cooking time for the chicken was off. Would recommend cooking the chicken (boiling it or pan frying) and adding at the end (this is how we now make it after the chicken not cooking the first time (and we usually find that our slow cooker cooks meat a lot faster than cook times).
Hi Mim, So strange. I’ve never heard of that happening. Glad you figured out a solution that works and that you all like the recipe 🙂
I love this recipe!!! Now I have an Instapot & would love to know your thoughts on converting this.
Hi Amber! So happy to hear you love this recipe :). I haven’t made this in the IP yet on pressure cook but I have made it in my IP with slow cooker mode (not sure that helps you). If you experiment, come back and let me know!
It tastes great if you use beef roast instead of chicken as well. I love lamb, but haven’t tried it because it is expensive and rarely available here.
Great to know Kimberly!
Hi there just wondering, do you put the spinach in while still frozen or do you thaw it out and squeeze out the liquid first?
I put it in frozen!