Swiss Chard Paneer – Creamy Indian Spiced Greens with Fried Cheese

This twist on the classic Indian dish, saag paneer, includes a healthy dose of sauteed rainbow swiss chard, and turmeric fried paneer cheese, in case you missed it… I just said greens with fried cheese! Serve with toasted naan bread and basmati rice for a complete vegetarian meal.

Love Indian-inspired dishes? Then you’ll also love Nourishing Gut Healing Ayurvedic Kitchari and Creamy Pumpkin Cauliflower Curry with Chickpeas.

Fried cheese is the glue that holds the world together. Ok that might be a bit dramatic, but hear me out: it’s crispy, but also fluffy…cheesy, but not so melty that it can’t be considered a full meal. And, of course, I’ve added a healthy dose of greens to keep it balanced. This Swiss Chard Paneer is the best of all worlds!

You Will Love this Recipe!

• Greens with fried cheese…’nuff said.
• Hidden nourishing ingredients like Swiss chard, ghee, turmeric, and ginger make this meal an absolute nutritional delight.
• If you’re like me and crave curry on a regular basis, this can be your go-to recipe.
• LEFTOVERS! Oh my goodness the leftovers are so good! I usually have it for breakfast the next day because I just can't wait.

Let's Get Cooking!

Ingredients and Substitutions for Swiss Chard Paneer

You will find the detailed measurements and specific ingredients within the recipe card at the end of this post.

• Paneer — Paneer is an Indian-style cheese, called a “fresh, acid-set” cheese. It is milky and super creamy. Paneer is a non-melting cheese, making it perfect for frying and cubing in recipes. The only substitute for paneer would be another non-melting cheese like halloumi cheese, farmers' cheese, or queso fresco.
• Swiss Chard — Aka rainbow chard is beautiful, colorful, and nutrient-dense. If your local market doesn’t have any on hand, collards or kale would work just as well.
• Spices — Turmeric, garam masala, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and cayenne pepper. This is an Indian-inspired recipe, therefore a plethora of aromatic dried spices are absolutely necessary.
• Ghee — You can use butter or olive oil.
• Garlic, Ginger, and Jalapeno Pepper — The aromatic base of this dish will perfume your kitchen with the magical “OMG, what are you cooking” scent.
• Coconut Milk – Traditionally heavy cream or milk is used in this dish, but I prefer to cut down on the amount of dairy. You can certainly use cow's milk/cream if you prefer.

Tools You Will Use

• Cutting board
• Knife
• Large saute pan

How to Make Swiss Chard Paneer

Detailed instructions can be found below in the recipe card but here you will find a few helpful tips and tricks and a quick general overview of how to master this recipe!

STEP ONE: Paneer

• Toss paneer in dried spices and fry in ghee until crispy

STEP TWO: Spices + Aromatics

• In the same skillet you used for the panner, toast mustard seeds, and cumin seeds, Add finely diced garlic, jalapeno, and ginger. Add tomato, garam masala, turmeric, and cayenne.
• **This dish is all about building flavor so don't skip the toasting of the spices step. Toasting dried spices allow the flavors to bloom. Once you've toasted the dried spices you will continue to build flavor with garlic, ginger, and jalapeno.

STEP THREE:

• Saute Swiss Chard: Add swiss chard and a bit of water to the pan, allow the greens to wilt but still retain some bite.
• ALERT! ALERT! Don't overcook the greens 🙂 I personally love swiss chard in this recipe rather than the more traditional spinach simply due to the texture of the swiss chard. You want a little bite a little texture to the greens.

STEP FOUR:

• Add Coconut Milk + Paneer: Add in coconut milk, stir until creamy and then add the paneer back in and stir, being cautious to not break the paneer.

What to Serve with Swiss Chard Paneer

There are many nights this dish serves as a main event for me, I enjoy it with brown rice or basmati rice and when I'm feeling ambitious I'll make this gluten-free Naan.

You can also enjoy greens and paneer as a side dish with any kind of curry, or butter chicken.

Recipe Tips!

Save Your Chard Stems!

I’m a huge proponent of closed-loop cooking, which is basically a low-waste way of cooking that focuses on using all of the plant, animal, or ingredients you have on hand. Swiss chard is perfect for this because typically the stem of Swiss chard is a throwaway bit. But when pickled…oh boy do you have a stellar snack on hand.

Try this recipe for Pink Peppercorn Pickled Swiss Chard Stems.

Briney, crunchy, goodness, with floral coriander, a pop of bright fruit from pink peppercorns, basically YUM!

Toast Spices Whole

Toasting your spices whole makes them more aromatic because heat draws out the oils from the spices, emphasizing and emboldening the flavor. It’s like sending your spices to finishing school, they come back all proper and mature.

As your spices toast, use your senses to determine if they’re ready. They’ll be darker, more fragrant, they’ll make little popping noises.

Storage and Reheating Tips

• Storage – Let the dish cool completely, cover, and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
• Reheating – Reheat in a saucepan on the stove.
• Freezing – I don't recommend freezing this recipe.

Dietary Modifications

This recipe is naturally gluten-free, vegetarian, keto, and modifiable in the following ways:

• Vegan — Swap out paneer for vegan non-melting cheese or tofu, and use coconut oil rather than ghee.
• Low-FODMAP — Coconut milk is low FODMAP at 1/2 cup serving size as is paneer at a serving size of 120g.

I can’t wait for you to try this Swiss Chard Paneer! If you’ve tried this recipe, don’t forget to rate it and leave a comment below. I love to hear from people who’ve made my recipes!

More Leafy Green Recipes You Should Try

Spicy Kale and Spinach

Swiss Chard and Feta Quesadilla

Kale and Black Bean Stuffed Sweet Potato

Kale Salad with Warm Mushrooms and Delicata Squash