Saag Butter Beans (Beans in Indian Spinach Sauce)

Saag butter beans — creamy spinach curry with melt-in-your-mouth beans and lots of amazing Indian spices — is a hearty, veggie-forward main dish that’s just got an incredible flavor and texture! What makes it really special is the crispy garlic chili oil tempering that you drizzle on top. Serve with rice, naan, flatbread, or sourdough for an easy, flavorful meal. Gluten-free soyfree and nutfree

I finally got some butter beans to use in this simple saag. Saag basically means greens, and the most common saag uses mustard greens. For this saag we use spinach to make a really flavorful spinach curry with a set of spices for the authentic flavor. If you don’t have every single spice listed here, use whichever spices you have, and it will still turn out amazing. 

To get the right texture for the greens, use frozen spinach and pulse it in the food processor while it’s still frozen. That gives it this coarsely chopped texture which I really love in my saag. If you don’t like any texture in your saag, you can puree the spinach with some water or non-dairy milk and use that mixture.

Choose whichever method you like for preparing your saag. Whether the texture is chunky, chopped, or smooth, it will taste amazing, especially with these creamy butter beans and savory tempering!

Why You’ll Love Saag Butter Beans

• creamy butter beans in a deeply seasoned spinach curry sauce
• crispy chili garlic tempering oil adds even more flavor and amazing texture
• easy to make with any greens you like
• simple, 1-pan meal ready in about half an hour
• naturally gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free

Ingredients and Substitutions

• oil – To toast the spices and to sauté. You also need some oil to make the tempering/tarka.
• whole spices – Toasted cumin seeds, bay leaves, and cinnamon stick are your first layer of flavor.
• ground spices – You second flavor layer comes from ground coriander, Kashmiri chili powder (or paprika), garam masala, fenugreek, and black pepper. If you don’t have every single one of these spices, it’s fine to omit a couple. It will still taste amazing!
• onion – Adds umami.
• salt – Helps the onion cook properly and boosts the other flavors.
• ginger garlic paste – For umami and a little heat.
• tomato paste – For umami. You can use ketchup or tomato puree instead, if needed.
• frozen spinach – I like to finely chop it while still frozen in the food processor, but the texture you go with is up to you. You can use finely chopped fresh greens instead, if you prefer, like mustard greens, amaranth greens, or chard. Or use a mix of greens.
• non-dairy yogurt – Adds creaminess and tang. You can use other non-dairy cream, such as cashew cream or vegan sour cream. Choose nut-free and/or soy-free, if needed.
• water – To bulk out the sauce. For a creamier sauce, use non-dairy milk. Use nut-free and/or soy-free, if needed.
• cooked butter beans – You can use other white beans or chickpeas instead, if you prefer.
• garnishes – Garnish with pepper flakes and vegan parmesan. Go with nut-free and/or soy-free vegan parmesan, if needed.
• tempering – In addition to the oil, you’ll need a whole red chili such as cayenne or Indian chili, and a thinly sliced clove of garlic.

How to Make Saag Butter Beans

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and cook until they’re very fragrant and change color to be evenly dark brown. This can take anywhere from 1 to 3 minutes. Then, add in the bay leaves and cinnamon stick and mix in for 10 seconds or so, then mix in the ground spices. If the spices are starting to smoke, reduce the heat to medium low. Mix for just a few seconds, and mix in the onion and ¼ teaspoon of the salt.

Increase the heat to medium again, and continue to cook, adding splashes of water as needed, until the onion is starting to turn brown and has picked up the spices. This will take anywhere from 6 to 8 minutes. Once the onion is nicely roasted, mix in the ginger garlic paste, tomato paste, and a splash of water. Add the remaining salt, and mix in and cook for a minute, then stir in the non-dry yogurt, spinach and water, and mix in . then add in the beans. Mix well, then cover and cook for 6 to 8 minutes.

Taste and adjust the salt, flavor, and texture. If the saag is too thick, you can add some more non-dairy milk at this point. Or, if you want it thicker, then continue to cook, uncovered, for a minute or two. Garnish with some pepper flakes and vegan parmesan, and make the tempering.

Now, make the tadka/ spiced oil .

Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, break the red chili in half and add to the oil and let it cook until it starts to change color. Add the garlic, mix in, and switch off the heat. There will be enough residual heat in the oil to cook the garlic slices, if the garlic slices were pretty thin. If they’re thicker and not cooking down, continue to cook over medium-low heat for a minute or two before switching off the heat.

Once the garlic is starting to turn golden on some of the edges, stir really well and drop this onto the saag beans and serve.