14 Malabar Spinach Recipes For Beginners

Do you plan to go all healthy and serve wholesome meals from now on? Malabar spinach is an excellent leafy vegetable that you can use in soups, stews, and salads and create a rich and nutritious food for yourself and your family.

AKA Basella alba or creeping spinach, this tropical leafy green is high in vitamins A and C and has a flavor similar to regular spinach.

It is also rich in protein and is a good source of potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium.

But most importantly, any food with Malabar spinach tastes divine. So if you don't believe us, try these 14 recipes below and enjoy flavors you may have never tried.

Easy Malabar Spinach Recipes

Interestingly, this vegetable can help you make both quick and time-consuming recipes. However, the results of all are beautiful. Take a look at these options.

1. Stir-fry Malabar Spinach

One of the best qualities of Malabar spinach is that it serves as a great participant in stir-fries. In addition, the vegetable tastes great with other ingredients and complements the sauce in this recipe. Moreover, it retains its green color, meaning that your resultant dish looks as good as it tastes.

You can enjoy this stir-fried dish on its own. However, if you want to eat something fulfilling, we recommend it to enjoy it with bread or white rice.

2. Malabar Spinach Shakshuka

Who doesn't love shakshuka? If you are an egg lover, this dish might be your top favorite. However, do you know that you can make an amazing version of this dish by including malabar spinach with the other ingredients?

Not only is this recipe wholesome, but it is also delicious and perfect for pleasing a crowd. You can serve this flavorful dish with warm slices of crispy bread and enjoy it with a cup of tea or coffee.

If you want, you can even make shukshuka in the Instant Pot.

3. Malabar Spinach Fritters

Do you want to eat a healthy snack? Malabar spinach fritters are crispy, delicious and one of the healthiest snacks, provided you use very little oil to fry them.

These fritters taste great with all types of dips and sauces. But for an excellent food experience, we recommend enjoying them with green chutney or raita.

4. Mong Toi

This dish has to be your favorite because the combination of mushrooms and Malabar spinach is unique yet tasty.  Moreover, this recipe gives you a taste of Chinese cuisine and tastes quite like a light vegan main dish.

You can enjoy this dish on its own. However, to enjoy something fulfilling, experience it with bread or white rice and taste its goodness.

Mong Toi uses minimum spices. So, that's a plus, especially if you want to serve this dish to your kids.

5. Malabar Spinach Dal

It is hard to resist a hearty dal, especially if you are a fan of Indian cuisine.  A dal is a wonderful dish with lots of vitamins, nutrients, and other healthy ingredients.

Malabar spinach dal isn't an exception. It conveniently brings all the ingredients together and helps you enjoy the smooth and soft texture of the gravy.

This dal tastes great with Indian bread, also known as chapati. But if you don't want to consume the extra carbs, we suggest eating it alone. This way, you can appreciate all its flavors separately.

6. Vegan Malabar Curry

This curry uses Malabar spinach, onions, tomatoes, mustard seeds, curry leaves, chickpeas, coconut milk, and other essential spices and herbs to create an excellent and mouthwatering main dish. The curry is rich in nutrients and is pretty fulfilling with all those ingredients.

Moreover, you can prepare a big batch and keep it in the refrigerator to be consumed later.  This dish tastes wonderful with bread and a glass of your favorite wine or cold drink.

Although it is mild in taste, you can still adjust the spice level according to your preference.

7. Malabar Spinach Soup

This soup is both nutritious and delicious. Also known as Chan Choy Tong, the soup is served with a duck egg allowing you to enjoy loads of flavors.

In addition, it gets ready within 30 minutes. So, if you want to have something on a busy weeknight, we can't recommend this dish enough.

The ingredients are pretty simple and usually available in most Chinese households. However, if you don't stock these things, ensure to head to a Chinese grocery store and find all ingredients in a single visit.

8. Malabar Spinach with Vegetables and Shrimp

This combination may come as a surprise, but Malabar spinach makes a great pairing with shrimp. The cooking time of this dish is 40 minutes; however, all that time spent and patience are worth the results.

You get an amazing green curry that can be enjoyed with rice and bread. Malabar spinach adds a soft texture to the entire dish, allowing you to eat a bowl quickly.

Since the recipe uses many spices, adjust them accordingly. This way, you can enjoy a dish as per your spice preference.

9. Malabar Spinach Chutney

This chutney is so heavenly and refreshing. Besides, it has a perfect consistency, making it ideal for enjoying with chicken pieces, wings, or even your meatloaf.

The chutney is also one of the best sides to be served with dosa. It has a tangy and peppery flavor, which is hard to find in store-bought chutneys.

Also, since this chutney contains Malabar spinach, it is a healthy dip. This means you don't have to worry about consuming excess calories while you enjoy it with your favorite salty snacks. Serve the chutney while it is fresh, but you can also store it in an airtight jar for future use.

10. Malabar Spinach and Nectarine Salad

There is nothing better than a bowl of healthy salad. It is refreshing, healthy, and awesome.

To make this salad, you will need ingredients such as Malabar spinach, field greens, nectarines, cucumber, and sliced almonds. In addition, this salad uses an amazing dressing containing balsamic, olive oil, Dijon mustard, honey, salt, and pepper.

This is a beautiful summer salad and worth every spoonful.

11. African Groundnut Stew

African groundnut stew is the best recipe if you want to enjoy Malabar spinach to the fullest. It uses this vegetable excessively, meaning you enjoy its benefits with every bite.

This is a summary and savory dish. It contains spinach, peanut butter, tomatoes, and okra. You will also have to add chicken for an ultimate flavor.

This recipe doesn't use many spices, which is a great thing. You can even serve this dish to your infant so they can enjoy the great benefits.

12. Malabar Spinach and Black-Eyed Peas Curry

This is a Mangalorean dish packed with loads of flavors and textures. Black-eyed peas and Malabar spinach make a wonderful combination, while the coconut curry is mouthwatering.

The recipe uses some spices, such as red chili, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, peppercorns, and turmeric powder. Make sure to add four to five garlic cloves to create a much-needed warmth in your dish.

You can enjoy this curry with rice. However, it can also be consumed on its own.

If you plan to feed your family, serve the curry in its cooking pot with all the gravy and spicy juices. This is the best way to enjoy every bit of it.

13. Tomato Malabar Spinach Quiche

Although you can easily buy a spinach quiche from a store, heat it and eat it, it doesn't match the flavors and goodness you receive from a homemade quiche. This recipe helps you use Malabar spinach to the fullest and make the best quiche.

According to the instructions, it takes only 40 minutes to bake this dish. No hard steps are required here, and the ingredients used are also very simple.

Whether you want to enjoy a nice lunch or treat yourself to dinner, this quiche recipe will spread a smile on your face.

14. Sweet Potato and Malabar Spinach

There is nothing better than a fulfilling salad to enjoy at work. It keeps you full and energized without making you lazy. Moreover, a salad works wonders for those on a diet.

This salad recipe is packed with flavors and can be consumed as a side dish or a meal.  It uses many ingredients, but you can add more to make your bowl full. Also, dress it up with lemon juice or a light wine dressing to elevate the overall flavors.