Looking for a delicious way to spice up your leftover potatoes? Look no further than this quick and easy saag aloo recipe - a simple Indian curry on the table in less than 20 minutes!
Alternatively, if there are never any leftover potatoes in your house (join the club), you can instead use tinned potatoes, like I did here, to whip up a quick saag aloo in no time at all.
This easy saag aloo needs just a handful of ingredients, and in no time you'll be tucking in to this intensely flavourful, creamy spinach and potato curry.
The luscious creamy sauce soaks right into the potatoes, and makes an incredible Indian side dish to serve alongside your favourite vegetarian curry.
❤️ Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It's such a quick recipe, which can be on the table in less than 20 minutes! Perfect for busy weeknights when you're short on time.
- Using already-cooked potatoes (either leftovers or tinned potatoes) means you can skip the peeling and boiling process, saving precious minutes in the kitchen.
- Saag aloo is a versatile dish that can be served as a side dish, or dressed up a little to make a perfect main course.
- It's a really budget-friendly recipe, especially if you're using up your leftovers (which helps reduce food waste too!).
- The recipe is surprisingly low calorie, with less than 200 calories per portion - so there's plenty of scope for serving it alongside another curry, or with some naan bread or rice.
🥗 Ingredients
Here's what you'll need to make this recipe. You'll also need a few cupboard staples, like oil, salt and pepper. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.
- cooked potatoes - I used tinned potatoes, but if you have any leftover potatoes from a previous meal, they will work well too.
- spinach - I used fresh spinach, but frozen would be fine too.
- onion
- garlic - I used minced garlic from a jar.
- spices - garam masala, turmeric, and smoked paprika.
- cream (use a vegan version if needed)
👌 Top tip
If you'd prefer to serve this saag aloo as a main course, rather than a side dish, you may want to add some additional protein. Tinned chickpeas, paneer cheese, or fried tofu would all work really well!
📋 Instructions
Here's how to make this recipe - see below for the printable recipe with detailed ingredients and instructions.
Step 1: Fry off some chopped onion with plenty of spices.
Step 2: Add the cooked potatoes, and let them crisp up a little.
Step 3: Add some fresh spinach, and allow it to wilt.
Step 4: Finish the sauce by adding some cream.
Step 5: Serve as a side dish.
👌 Top tip
You won't want to leave any of the tasty creamy sauce behind, so I'd recommend serving some naan bread on the side to help mop up the bowl!
💭 Recipe FAQs
Absolutely! Ideally, you'll peel the potatoes, then cut them into bitesized chunks, and boil them until they're just tender. Then cook the recipe as written.
I'd say this recipe is more 'spiced' rather than 'spicy' - meaning there's not a huge amount of heat in it. Feel free to add some chilli powder if you like a bit of a kick!
This is the sort of curry that reheats really nicely - and if anything, the flavours will only get better over time! So feel free to prepare this quick saag aloo in advance when you have time, and store it in an airtight tub in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stovetop.
Leftovers should freeze nicely in an airtight tub. Beware that the turmeric in the recipe might stain a plastic tub, so use a freezer-safe glass container instead, if you have one!
🍛 More Vegetarian Curry Recipes
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📖 Printable Recipe
Quick and Easy Saag Aloo
If you've cooked this recipe, don't forget to leave a star rating!
Print Pin CommentIngredients
- 1 Tablespoon oil
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 345 g (~ 12 oz) cooked potatoes (I used canned), cut into bitesized pieces
- 3 large handfuls fresh spinach
- 75 ml (~ ¼ cup) cream
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Heat a dash of oil in a frying pan, and add the sliced onion. Cook for a few minutes over a medium heat, until it's beginning to soften. Add the garlic and spices, and cook for another minute or so.
- Next, add the cooked potatoes to the pan. Stir gently for a few minutes, until the potatoes are coated in the spices, and are beginning to crisp up.
- Add the spinach, and allow it to wilt. You can add one handful at a time, if you don't have room for all the spinach in one go - it will create more room in the pan as it wilts down.
- When the spinach has wilted, add the cream, and bring to a simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper. When everything is piping hot, serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.
Kim says
Looks lovely - does it matter if you use single cream or double cream?
Becca Heyes says
I think either would work fine :)
Thapelo Kooreng says
Looks yummy and I love it.
Becca Heyes says
Thank you!
Sophie Tang says
thank you so much!
The potatoes tended to be quite dry i didnt know how the sauce was created even when i added cream. Did you add water?
Becca Heyes says
I didn't, but that's interesting! Perhaps your potatoes were just particularly thirsty and sucked up a lot of the sauce (which I guess made them extra tasty!). You could definitely add a splash of water or a little more cream if you want it a bit saucier.
Audrey says
Excellent quick and tasty and low cal meal thank you. Is helping me I've lost 6stone and need meals like this. Great
Becca Heyes says
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks Audrey!
Stella Chipudhla says
Please send me a nice Indian chick pea recipe
Prabhat Ram says
I wasn’t going to cook anything for the night, but then came across this recipe and gave it a try. A very quick and tasty recipe, indeed. I deviated a little. I used cumin and mustard seeds, fried them till they sputtered, added a dried bay leaf, and then added onions. I can’t have any Indian dish without cumin and mustard seeds. At least cumin seeds is a must for me for Indian food. Next time, I might even add tomatoes. Will bring some sweet and sour taste to the dish.
Becca Heyes says
Ooh that was quick! Glad you enjoyed it and made it your own! :)