Keto Tofu Palak

About this recipe

Palak tofu is the vegan answer to paneer—and it's actually lighter, cleaner, and keto-friendlier. The genius of this dish is that spinach cream needs fat to taste luxurious, and coconut does the heavy lifting here without adding starch. Fresh spinach is essential; frozen can work in a pinch but the flavor flattens. Blanching the spinach first (and squeezing it thoroughly) removes excess moisture and bitter compounds, giving you a glossy, refined sauce instead of watery green soup. Many cooks skip the cauliflower florets thinking it's redundant with the spinach—but their mild sweetness and slight bite break up the richness and add textural variety. The nutmeg is the secret component; just a pinch transforms this from 'green curry' into proper North Indian palak. Don't go heavy-handed or it tastes medicinal. The tofu here is crumbled rather than cubed, giving you more surface area to absorb the sauce and mimicking the texture of soft paneer. If you want chunks, cut the tofu into small cubes and press it for at least 20 minutes first. This keeps 7 days refrigerated and freezes beautifully—portion it out before freezing so you can reheat individual servings without waste.