This Chicken Saag (Chicken Palak) is a classic Indian curry that is easy to make at home. It is a flavor-packed curry with chicken, onion, garlic, ginger, frozen spinach, and aromatic spices.
You can find everything you need for this recipe at the grocery store. And using frozen spinach makes it even more convenient.
There is no cream or dairy in this curry, yet it has a beautiful rich flavor thanks to the onions. They are the secret weapon for giving you a profoundly flavored curry. Serve this Chicken Saag with a side of rice and some naan for an Indian feast.
What is Chicken Saag?
The word Saag means leafy greens- so a saag curry will contain leafy greens like spinach, kale, mustard greens, basella, collard greens, or a combination.
This particular version uses spinach, known as palak in India. Giving this Chicken Saag the name Chicken Palak or Saag Wala Chicken. It is a mild to medium curry with a rich flavor.
Ingredients Notes
These notes are here to help make this recipe a success; they cover some but not all ingredients. For a complete ingredient list, check out the recipe card below.
- Spinach: The recipe uses frozen chopped spinach, which makes it super convenient. Just get it out of the freezer in the morning or when you get home from work, and it will defrost quickly and be ready to use. Squeeze out any excess water to avoid thinking down your curry,
If you use fresh spinach, remove any tough stems and finely chop. You will need to give it 3-4 minutes extra cooking time to let it wilt down fully. - Chicken: Use chicken thighs for the best taste and texture. The meat is simmered in the sauce for 20 minutes to infuse it with flavor. If you use chicken breast, it will end up chewy and dry.
- Broth: I use low sodium chicken broth for this recipe, but you can substitute it with vegetable broth.
- Spices: The spices in this recipe are all ground spices, making mixing up the spice blend easy. They are all easy to find in the grocery store.
The least common is Fenugreek powder (also known as methi powder). I find it in my grocery store, but you can leave that out of the curry if you can't find it. Or replace it with some crushed yellow mustard seeds.
The curry base.
To get a rich, almost creamy taste to the curry without adding any cream, Indian restaurants will create a thick curry base that can then be used to cook the chicken and spices in.
I recreate it here by frying off the onions until they are lightly golden and then pureeing them with some stock and a few spices. The resulting puree is rich and creamy and adds so much to the curry.
When it is added back into the pan, the puree cooks further, and the sugars in the onion caramelize and add depth to the curry. This is a quick way to add a slow cook taste to a quick cook dish.
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Is Chicken Palak spicy?
As written the recipe is on the mild side. You can easily up the spice level by adding more cayenne pepper or some red pepper flakes.
Or chop up a fresh green chilli and let people add it to their curry at the table if you would like extra spice.
What to serve with Chicken Saag
This chicken curry is delicious served with rice. Try this Indian Pilau or Basmati rice.
A side of naan is always a good idea (we love naan!) The kids always enjoy my garlic naan or sweet Peshwari naan, while we adults are big fans of this spicy bullet naan!
Other currys you might enjoy
Enjoy x
If you try this Chicken Saag, please leave a 🌟star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I really appreciate it, and it helps others to know that the recipe is trustworthy.
Any questions about the recipe? Use the comments section below.
Get the Recipe
Chicken Saag (Chicken Palak) Recipe
Ingredients
For the base
- 2 onions - yellow/brown
- 2 tablespoons oil - vegetable/canola
- ½ cup broth - chicken/vegetable
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
For the spice mix
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1½ teaspoon ground fenugreek - see note 1
- 1½ teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt (plus more to taste)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ¾ teaspoon ground cardamon
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper - see note 2
For the curry
- 1 inch piece of ginger
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons oil - vegetable/canola
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste/tomato puree
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 lb chicken thighs
- 1 cup frozen chopped spinach thawed (-see note 3)
Instructions
Make the curry base
- Peel and roughly chop the onions2 onions
- In a large pan, heat the oil until shimmering.2 tablespoons oil
- Add the onions and cook over medium heat until soft and golden in color. (About 10 minutes)
- Transfer the onions and oil to a blender, add the broth, ground cumin, ground coriander, and puree until smooth.½ cup broth½ teaspoon ground cumin½ teaspoon ground coriander
To make the curry
- Combine the spice mix ingredients in a small bowl and set to one side.2 teaspoons ground coriander1½ teaspoon ground fenugreek1½ teaspoon garam masala1 teaspoon ground cumin½ teaspoon sweet paprika½ teaspoon salt½ teaspoon turmeric¾ teaspoon ground cardamon¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Peel and grate the ginger and garlic.1 inch piece of ginger2 cloves garlic
- Heat the oil in a large pan (you can use the same pan you cooked the onions in, no need to wash it)2 tablespoons oil
- Add the ginger and garlic and cook over low heat for 2 minutes.
- Add the combined spices, tomato paste, and water. Then stir to combine.1 tablespoon tomato paste/tomato puree2 tablespoons water
- Add in the onion base and cook over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes until thick and darkened in color.
- While the base is cooking, chop the chicken into bitesize chunks.1 lb chicken thighs
- Add the chicken and cook for 10-15 minutes until just cooked.
- Add the defrosted spinach (no need to drain) and stir to combine with the sauce.1 cup frozen chopped spinach
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- If you can't find ground fenugreek, you can replace it with ½ teaspoon of mustard powder or yellow mustard seeds.
- The cayenne adds heat; as written, this is medium-mild curry; you can increase the cayenne to make it spicier.
- If you want to use fresh spinach, use ½lb, remove any tough stems and finely chop. You will need to give it 3-4 minutes extra cooking time to allow it to wilt down fully.
Nutrition
Nutrition is per serving
Monika says
I like to add bell pepper to it. This recipe is my absolute favourite!
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
Bell peppers are a wonderful addition.
Thank you for taking the time to coming back to comment.
Cx
Ellie says
It looked so delicious in the pan that I could have told my husband that it came from a restaurant and was equally delicious. We LOVED it but maybe I'll try adding a wee bit of curry powder the next time I make it. I used cut up, bone in chicken breasts and my calculations say 2 WW points! Thank you for making me feel like I can make an authentic Indian dish. I was only missing the roti! PS: left out the cayenne bc I don't like spice. Did NOT miss it!!
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
So happy you loved it 🙂
Thank you for taking the time to coming back to comment.
Cx
Danielle says
This chicken was so flavorful! My family loved it! I served it over some white rice and now it is in my rotation of meals! Thank you so much!
Amy Liu Dong says
This sounds like an easy and delicious dish to make for my family. Yum!
Elaine says
Oh wow, this is such a delicious recipe to make over the weekend. I simply love it!
Luke says
No need for takeaway when you have this chicken saag recipe; it was delicious, perfect for a Friday night curry side dish 😉
Claire McEwen says
Oh I am glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Cx
Gwynn says
This is a favorite of mine to order in a restaurant and I'm so excited that I can make it at home now too! And it's so easy to make!
Cathleen says
This is perfect!! I love new chicken recipes and this one is for sure going to be made on repeat at my house!
Dona says
I love chicken saag but we are trying to save money at the moment so haven't been ordering takeout for a while. When I say this satisfied my cravings plus some, I am not exaggerating! The fact that this was so easy, and used simple ingredients sealed the deal for me.
Claire McEwen says
This makes me smile so much 🙂
Cx
Sherry says
With your easy step by step instructions, I had a healthy meal on the table for my family in just over 30 minutes. Full of flavor with the fall apart chicken pieces, your chicken recipe was a huge hit with my family!
Rupali says
Any recipe that combines meat and greens is a winner for weeknight dinners. My kids loved it with rice too.
Sachi says
Considering how much my family loves Indian food, I don't know why I haven't made chicken saag before. Thanks for this recipe, it was easy to put together and so delicious!
Claire McEwen says
So happy you enjoyed it 🙂
Cx
Alexi says
I made this for my friends who love curry dishes and they thought it was fantastic! Thanks for another great recipe, Claire!
Claire McEwen says
You are welcome!
So pleased you and your friends loved it 🙂
Cx
Mandy Applegate says
I love Indian food and saag is one of my favorites, this chicken saag was perfect!
Cindy says
Really highly flavorful and delicious! And it wasn’t hard at all to make. Using the frozen spinach is truly a time saver.