Thanksgiving is right around the corner and I’m SO excited to get together with friends and family for it!  Obviously, everyone’s favorite part is the nonstop eating, and I will never disagree with that. However, being a vegetarian is tricky when you are surrounded by 50 lb. turkey’s (I actually don’t really know how much they weigh), meat gravy, and a bunch of side dishes that always seem to have little pieces bacon on them. Luckily, my favorite Thanksgiving side dish is mac & cheese, and it’s also one of my favorite dishes in general.  As usual, we have a little Indian twist for this year’s Thanksgiving… I’ll be making my PALAK MAC & CHEESE!

In my opinion, palak paneer is godsent. You are eating a boatload of spinach and you don’t even realize it.  So, I thought to myself… the palak gravy would go really well with mac & cheese because spinach and cheese are an overall match made in heaven. And because of that… this recipe is straight up amazing.

When my mom makes palak paneer at home, she goes through a process of blanching the spinach, which I personally think is too high maintenance.  Why should I add an extra step when I can just chop, sauté, blend and serve?? I’ve simplified it a lot, so you can even use the exact ingredients and throw in paneer if you want to make a quick and easy version of Palak Paneer. Just be sure to increase the quantity of each ingredient you use!

As you can probably already see, it’s super easy and it’s something that your Indian family members will really enjoy because everyone likes a good palak gravy.  I’m sure it would also be a huge hit with people who haven’t even tried it before because it kind of looks like an Indian version of pesto. I hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving, especially with my Palak Mac & Cheese!