Short answer: a cup of palak paneer (about 220 g) has roughly 260 to 460 calories. A lighter homemade version without cream lands near 260 to 350, while a restaurant version finished with butter and cream pushes toward 370 to 460. Per 100 g, expect 120 to 210 kcal. The spinach is almost free. The paneer, the cooking fat, and the finishing cream decide the number.
Palak paneer is spinach blanched and blended into a smooth gravy, spiced with garlic, ginger, garam masala and green chilli, with cubes of paneer simmered in it. It comes from Punjab, it is a staple on Pakistani and North Indian menus, and it is usually eaten with roti, naan, or rice. It is also one of the more forgiving desi dishes to track, because its two main ingredients pull in opposite directions: spinach barely registers, paneer carries real weight.
What decides the number
How much paneer is in the cup. Paneer is the calorie engine here. The USDA FoodData Central lists paneer at roughly 260 to 300 kcal per 100 g, with 18 to 22 g of protein. A home pot might use 100 g of paneer for the whole degchi, so each serving gets a modest share. A restaurant pot is generous with it, and the cubes are often fried first, which adds oil on top of an already rich cheese.
Cream and butter at the end. Many restaurants finish palak paneer with a swirl of cream and a knob of white butter. That is where the top of the range comes from. A home cook who skips the cream and uses a spoon of milk instead saves 50 to 100 calories per serving without changing the flavour much.
The oil in the tarka. The spinach itself is about 23 kcal per 100 g raw, so the base gravy is light. But the onion, tomato, and spice base is cooked in oil or ghee, and one tablespoon of cooking oil adds around 120 kcal. A measured tablespoon or two for the pot keeps things reasonable. A free pour from the bottle does not.
Fried vs plain paneer. Cubes dropped straight into the gravy absorb flavour and stay soft. Cubes fried golden first taste better to many people, and they also soak up oil. Frying typically adds 30 to 60 calories per serving, depending on how much oil the pan holds.
Palak paneer calories and macros
| Portion | Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 g, homemade light (little oil, no cream) | 120 to 160 | 7 to 10 g | 5 to 8 g | 8 to 12 g |
| 100 g, restaurant (butter and cream) | 170 to 210 | 7 to 10 g | 6 to 9 g | 13 to 18 g |
| 1 cup, homemade (about 220 g) | 260 to 350 | 15 to 22 g | 11 to 18 g | 18 to 26 g |
| 1 cup, restaurant (about 220 g) | 370 to 460 | 15 to 22 g | 13 to 20 g | 29 to 40 g |
| Half cup, homemade (about 110 g) | 130 to 180 | 8 to 11 g | 6 to 9 g | 9 to 13 g |
| Plus 1 roti | add 100 to 140 | add 3 to 4 g | add 20 to 25 g | add 1 to 2 g |
| Plus 1 restaurant naan | add 300 to 450 | add 8 to 10 g | add 55 to 70 g | add 5 to 10 g |
A cup of restaurant palak paneer with a naan is a 670 to 910 calorie meal. The same cup at home with two rotis lands around 460 to 630. The bread matters as much as the gravy, so log it separately (see roti calories and naan calories).
Palak paneer vs sarson ka saag
People mix these two up because both are green. Palak paneer is spinach plus paneer, smooth and mild. Sarson ka saag is mustard greens, earthier and usually finished with white butter and served with makki ki roti. Saag often runs richer per serving because of the butter finish and the corn roti alongside it. Palak paneer with a plain roti is usually the lighter of the two plates, though a creamy restaurant palak paneer closes that gap fast.
The honest way to log palak paneer
Count the paneer cubes, then judge the richness. Six cubes in a light homemade gravy is a different meal from ten fried cubes swimming in cream, even though both are "one cup of palak paneer". If you ate out, assume the restaurant end of the range. If you cooked it, you know whether cream went in.
In CalsFlow, type:
"homemade palak paneer, 1 cup, no cream, with 2 rotis"
You get the estimate with the assumptions spelled out: paneer share, oil level, cream or no cream. Eating the dhaba version tonight? Switch the cream on and watch the number move. After a few logs you will know your usual order by heart.
Is palak paneer good for weight loss?
It has a lot going for it. A cup gives 15 to 22 g of protein, which keeps you full, and the spinach base adds iron, folate, and vitamin K for very few calories. The iron in spinach is the plant kind, which the body absorbs less easily than iron from meat, but the tomatoes and lemon in the gravy help with that. If protein is your target, how much protein you need per day is worth a read.
The watch points are the same ones as everywhere in desi cooking: the oil, the cream, and the bread. A light home version fits a calorie deficit comfortably. A restaurant version with naan can quietly use up half a day's deficit in one sitting. The fix is simple and does not ruin the dish: measure the oil, skip or halve the cream, keep the paneer to a fist sized portion, and eat it with roti instead of naan.
FAQs
Is palak paneer good for weight loss? The homemade version, yes. It is high in protein, built on spinach, and filling. The restaurant version is heavier because of cream, butter, and extra paneer, so portion and bread choice matter more than the dish itself.
How much protein is in palak paneer? About 15 to 22 g per cup, mostly from the paneer. A cup with more paneer cubes pushes toward the top of that range. Pairing it with daal or a glass of lassi raises the protein of the whole meal further.
How many calories are in palak paneer with naan? Roughly 670 to 910 for a restaurant cup with one naan, and 560 to 800 for a homemade cup with one naan. Swap the naan for two rotis and the meal drops by about 100 to 300 calories.
Does restaurant palak paneer have more calories than homemade? Usually yes, by about 100 calories per cup. Restaurants use more paneer, fry it, and finish with cream and butter. Home cooks control all three, which is why the homemade range sits lower.
Can I make palak paneer lighter without losing flavour? Yes. Use low fat paneer or a smaller amount of full fat paneer, cook the base in one measured tablespoon of oil, finish with milk instead of cream, and skip frying the cubes. The spinach, garlic, and garam masala carry the flavour anyway.
The bottom line
Palak paneer: 120 to 210 kcal per 100 g, 260 to 460 per cup, with 15 to 22 g of protein in a cup. Count the cubes, check for cream, log the bread separately. Having it tonight? Describe it in CalsFlow and get your real number, assumptions included.
Cover photo: Palak paneer by Lopanayak via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
CalsFlow provides nutrition estimates, not medical advice.