Easy slow cooker saag aloo
I’ve been totally obsessed with spinach lately (much to the annoyance of my fiancé, who isn’t a fan – I know, I’m the worst girlfriend ever). So much so that I think I’m going to have to ban myself from buying any more for the next couple of weeks. It’s just so versatile – eat it in burgers, stick it in soup, use it to make pesto… this time I made saag aloo, an Indian spinach and potato curry.
Saag aloo isn’t tricky to make at the best of times, but I decided to make it even more super simple (read: for lazy people) by using my slow cooker. The best bit is that, like most of my other slow cooker recipes, it requires no pre-cooking whatsoever. I really don’t see the point of spending ten minutes at the hob before you even get to the slow cooker – by the time you’ve dirtied some pans and spoons, you may as well have cooked the whole meal on your stovetop. No, this recipe is for those days where you literally want to dump everything in the pot and return to your dent in the sofa.
I’m sure even the busiest of us have five minutes to spare to peel a few potatoes.
By the way, the usual disclaimer: I have no idea how authentically Indian this recipe is. Chances are, not very. But, it does the job – it’s easy to make, it’s healthy, and it tastes great – so I don’t really think I mind either way.
Since this dish lacks a protein element, it’s often served as a side dish. We had ours alongside a curry and some naan bread – it was a bit of a feast but it was awesome. If you’d rather have it on its own, you could always stir in some tinned chickpeas for the last hour or so of cooking time.
Oh, by the way, it’s vegan too! Told you I’d changed!
- 650g potatoes
- 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
- 50ml water
- 1/2 vegetable stock cube, crumbled
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp hot chilli powder
- Black pepper
- 250g fresh spinach, roughly chopped
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into chunks measuring about an inch. Add them to the slow cooker (mine’s a 3.5 litre one) along with the sliced onion, water, crumbled stock cube, oil, spices, and plenty of black pepper. Top with a couple of big handfuls of fresh spinach – however much you can easily fit in your slow cooker. I couldn’t fit all of the spinach in, so I came back and added the rest about an hour into the cooking time, once it had wilted down and created some space.
- Cook on medium (or high if you don’t have a medium setting) for around 3 hours, until the potato is soft – stir every hour or so to scrape down the sides. The exact cooking time will depend on exactly how big you cut your potato chunks.
I just tried it today. It was awesome thanks ! Are the potatoes expected to be so mushy or did I overcook it ?
Salt come from the veg bouillion cubes ? I m glad I didn’t add extra salt!
Hey Mya! Glad you enjoyed it :) They’re meant to be soft but I wouldn’t say mushy? Maybe cook it a little less next time – all slow cookers are slightly different, so you just have to figure out how the recipe works in your own one :) Yep I didn’t add any salt either, stock cubes are usually plenty salty!
Looks so yummy. I too make saag aloo in slow cooker. I also add garlic to it.
Hmm these look delicious, thanks for posting up this recipe, looks quite simple to make.
Simon
It’s very, very simple! :)
Tasted amazing. My Indian partner even like it, and he’s hard to please :)
Ooooh that really is a compliment, thank you!! :)
I make aloo palak in slow cooker as well. Slightly different spices though. :)
Found your site on Pintrest. Pinned it and making this for dinner. I didn’t have any garam masala so I substituted Harissa Verde. I also doubled the recipe, it’s all in the crock pot now! I’ll let you know how it turns out :) Thank You for a nice easy peasy vegetarian slow cooker meal!
Hope it worked out okay! :)
I just came across this recipe and can’t wait to make this! I want to be sure, is 50ml of water enough to cook all those potatoes? That doesn’t seem like much liquid at all. Also, if I do not have a stock cube, can I simply use 50ml of veggie stock?
Yep it’s enough! :) The potatoes basically steam rather than boil, and 50ml is enough to give some steam – if you used too much water you’d end up with a big wet mess. And yes, 50ml of veggie stock is fine!
Hi Becca, this looks delicious. About how many potatoes is 650g?
Hmm maybe about 4 large-ish potatoes?
I made this tonight to go along with chicken baked in Indian spices. I added the chickpeas so my vegetarian daughter could have a hearty meal, too.
I’m having a great time exploring your blog.
Thanks so much, really glad you enjoyed it! :)
I am making this now! I added a can of chopped tomatoes and used baby spinach, to avoid chopping. It will slow cook for 8 hours with chicken. I have tried to make saag before, and never succeeded. I am thinking about adding coconut milk at the end to to sweeten it up.
Hope you enjoy it Colleen, let me know how it turns out! :)