Cottage Cheese: Paneer can be swapped with cottage cheese where the paneer has been

scrambled and added to the dish. But cottage cheese can be swapped with paneer only in some
recipes where grated or scrambled paneer is used.

Ricotta Cheese: The other substitute for paneer is ricotta cheese which works well in many
recipes. Remember to drain the ricotta cheese well before using it in the recipe.

Tofu: For a vegan substitute, firm or extra firm tofu is the best option in these recipes. Tofu
works well as it does not melt or disintegrate while cooking. Simply press and remove the extra
water or moisture from the tofu by keeping a heavy weight on it. You could also pan fry tofu
before adding in the dish.

Plant based Options: Though not exactly a substitute, Button Mushrooms and unripe Jackfruit
also work well in some recipes, where a soft meaty texture is needed. So you can take a call
when making these recipes and replacing paneer cubes with button mushrooms or raw unripe
jackfruit. Though for jackfruit you have to cook them prior to adding in the dish. So you can
either steam, sauté or boil them. For some recipes, you may have to cook the mushrooms
earlier by sautéing or stir-frying them before adding to the dish.

paneer cubes with a halved block of paneer on a black granite board

Featured Paneer Recipe

One of the most popular and a favorite Indian paneer recipe is Paneer Butter Masala. A smooth,
velvety, creamy tomato based gravy with soft and succulent paneer cubes. The dish is a
vegetarian take on Butter Chicken but fairly easy to make than butter chicken. This paneer
recipe is so popular that is often included in the menu of many Indian restaurants.

Below I feature my paneer butter masala recipe that is loved and liked by our readers and fans.
You get to see a handy list of the ingredients that you need and then you can decide i