It’s been almost fifteen years since I first made this homemade naan recipe and it still blows my mind every time! This homemade naan is oh so soft and pillowy, full of lovely bubbles, and just so extremely versatile. Use it for mini pizzas, wrap sandwiches, dipping in stews and sauces, and more! Plus, this naan bread is very freezer-friendly, so it’s well worth the effort to whip up a batch. I promise, you won’t be sorry!
What is Naan?
Naan is a traditional flatbread made in South and Central Asian countries. It’s has a unique dough made with yogurt, which gives the dough a slightly tangy flavor, and egg, which keeps the dough extra soft and pillowy. Naan is traditionally cooked on the hot clay walls of a tandoor oven, which helps create the deliciously bubbly texture. It’s often used to soak up stews and sauces, but also works great as a base for wrap sandwiches and pizzas.
Ingredients for Naan
This homemade naan recipe is incredibly simple and delicious. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Yeast: You’ll need active dry or instant yeast for this recipe.
- Sugar: A small amount of sugar helps activate and supercharge the yeast, making the bread extra fluffy.
- Flour: I used regular all-purpose flour for this naan recipe, which makes it extra easy. I don’t suggest whole wheat flour for this recipe as it will be too heavy and dense. If needed, you can substitute up to 50% of the AP flour.
- Salt: A little bit of salt is essential to help the natural flavors of the naan pop.
- Olive Oil: Olive oil helps keep the naan dough tender and gives a deliciously subtle flavor.
- Yogurt: Plain yogurt adds a slightly tangy flavor to the dough and help keep the naan bread tender. You can use Greek yogurt, but you may need slightly less flour as there is a lot less moisture in Greek style yogurt. Do not use sweetened or flavored yogurt for this recipe.
- Egg: Egg also helps keep the dough tender and it helps make it just a little more fluffy. If in a pinch, you can skip the egg, but you may need to add less flour as eggs contain a decent amount of moisture.
Naan vs. Pita Bread?
While both types of bread are in the “flatbread” family, they hail from different regions of the world, their dough is comprised of different ingredients, and they are cooked using different methods.
Naan is a traditional flatbread made in South and Central Asian countries and is made with yogurt and egg which make it a little more tender and fluffy. It is traditionally cooked in a clay tandoor oven, which helps produce the bubbled texture.
Pita is found in the Mediterranean Middle East and is made with a very simple dough using just flour, salt, yeast, and olive oil. It has a dryer texture than naan and usually has one large characteristic pocket rather than several smaller bubbles like naan.
What to Serve with Naan
Naan goes great with pretty much anything. You can eat naan alongside a meal to sop up gravies or dip it into sauces, use it to make flatbread “wrap” sandwiches, top it with tomato sauce and cheese for a quick naan pizza, or use it in place of tortillas for quesadillas. Here are some of my favorite ways to eat naan:
- Dip it in homemade hummus
- Use it to soak up curries, like this Creamy Coconut Curried Lentils
- Use it as a base for mini pizzas
- Serve as a side with Curried Ground Beef with Peas and Potatoes
- Or wrap it around meat and vegetables for a wrap sandwich, like these Homemade Chicken Shawarma Wraps
How to Store Leftovers
After cooking this naan recipe, make sure to let it cool completely to prevent condensation. Once cooled, keep your naan in a gallon-sized zip-top bag. The naan will last 1-2 days at room temperature, or about 4-5 days in the refrigerator. You can also freeze naan for longer storage.
To freeze your naan, first let it cool completely at room temperature, then transfer it to a zip-top freezer bag, label and date it, then toss it in the freezer. Try to use up your frozen naan within a few months. Frozen naan bread thaws quickly at room temperature.
How to Make Garlic Naan
It’s really easy to transform the classic naan recipe below into garlic-flavored naan. Simply add about ½ tsp of garlic powder in with the flour and salt, and then after cooking the naan, you’ll want to brush it with some fresh garlic butter. To make the garlic butter, mince a couple of cloves of garlic and then stir them into a few tablespoons of melted butter.
Homemade Naan Recipe
Servings 8Ingredients
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and warm water. Stir to dissolve then let sit for a few minutes or until it is frothy on top. Once frothy, whisk in the oil, yogurt, and egg until evenly combined.
- In a separate medium bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour with the salt. Next, pour the bowl of wet ingredients to the flour/salt mixture and stir until well combined. Continue adding flour, a half cup at a time, until you can no longer stir it with a spoon (about 1 to 1.5 cups later).
- At that point, turn the ball of dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead the ball of dough for about 3 minutes, adding small amounts of flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. You'll end up using between 2.5 to 3 cups flour total. The dough should be smooth and very soft but not sticky. Avoid adding excessive amounts of flour as you knead, as this can make the dough too dry and stiff.
- Loosely cover the dough and let it rise until double in size (about 1 hour). After it rises, gently flatten the dough into a disc and cut it into 8 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a small ball.
- Heat a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat. Working with one ball at a time, roll it out until it is about 1/4 inch thick or approximately 6 inches in diameter. Place the rolled out dough onto the hot skillet and cook until the bottom is golden brown and large bubbles have formed on the surface (see photos below). Flip the dough and cook the other side until golden brown as well. Stack the cooked flat bread on a plate and cover with a towel to keep warm as you cook the remaining pieces. Serve plain or brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with herbs!
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Notes
Nutrition
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There is seriously nothing like a warm piece of naan with melted butter on top… 🤤
How to Make Homemade Naan – Step by Step Photos
Start by dissolving 2 tsp yeast and 1 tsp sugar into 1/2 cup warm water. Let the mixture sit a few minutes, or until it becomes frothy. Meanwhile, measure out 1/3 cup plain yogurt (regular or Greek style), 1/4 cup olive oil, and 1 large egg.
Once the yeast mixture is frothy, whisk the yogurt, oil, and egg into the yeast water until smooth.
In a separate bowl, mix only 1 cup of the flour with 1/2 tsp salt until they’re evenly mixed.
Pour the bowl of wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients and stir well.
Continue adding flour, a half cup at a time, until it forms a cohesive ball of dough that you can no longer stir with a spoon.
Turn the ball of dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 3 minutes. Add small amounts of flour as needed (to keep the dough from sticking) until you have a smooth, very soft ball of dough. I used about 2.75 cups of flour total for the dough. Avoid adding too much flour as you knead because this can make the dough stiff and dry, and prevent the classic bubbles.
Shape the dough into a ball, loosely cover, and let rise until it is double in size (the photo is BEFORE it has risen).
After it has risen, flatten it out slightly and cut it into 8 equal-sized pieces.
Shape each piece into a small, smooth ball.
Heat a skillet over medium flame. While waiting for the skillet to get hot, roll out a ball of dough until it is 1/4 inch thick or about 6 inches in diameter.
Place the rolled-out dough in the hot skillet and cook on one side until large bubbles form and the side touching the skillet is golden brown. The bubbles will start small, like in the photo above, but eventually grow and merge together to form larger bubbles.
Flip the dough over and cook on the second side until golden brown as well. Naan is kind of like pancakes in that the first side is smooth and has relatively even brown marks, while the second side (where the bubbles were), has a different texture or pattern in the browned surface.
Here’s that second side flipped back up so you can see the characteristic browned bubbles.
As the naan come out of the skillet, stack them on a plate and cover them with a clean towel to keep them warm.
Brush the homemade naan with melted butter, garlic butter, or traditional ghee!
I loved it. Super easy to make only thing, i added a pinch more salt for my taste it was under flavored 😍😍😍😍 Thank you so much
I saw in a previous comment where you said one could freeze the dough. Would I freeze it before or after that one hour rise? Also, when I need it do I just pull it out of the freezer and let it thaw then rise again or just thaw and cook? Thank you a million! you are helping me feed my family in very tough times.
Yep, you’re correct. :) Freeze before the rise and then let it rise as it thaws when you’re ready to make it (the time needed for that can vary depending on the ambient room temperature, so you’ll probably want to play it by ear the first time).
I’ve tried several different naan recipe and this one is my go to! I’m making it again tonight with your Dahl recipe. Love your blog!
Hi, have you ever tried it with a type of whole wheat flour?
I haven’t, but generally whole wheat flour will produce a much more dense product. I don’t suggest substituting any more than 50% of the flour with whole wheat flour.
Yesterday, attempted another naan recipe (from a large retailer of baking goods/products) – it was time consuming & went into the trash. Today I made your recipe – delicious! Amazingly simple & easy recipe that turned out perfect! Thank you for posting.
Can you freeze the dough?
Yes, bread dough freezes great. :)
We can’t do dairy, do you have any ideas for a good yogurt substitute in this recipe?
The yogurt is pretty central to this bread, as it gives it a unique flavor and helps keep it soft. You might be able to try a non-dairy yogurt (like coconut), but I’ve never tested those ingredients so I’m not sure how they would turn out. To leave it out all together I’d definitely have to do some testing because that will change the ratios of moisture to flour.
Hello!
I am making this tomorrow and I was wondering if I can make the dough a few hours before making. I won’t be making it until 8 or so but was hoping to get it ready early like 4pm or so. So about 4 hours in the fridge rising?
Definitely put it in the fridge to slow down the rising. That being said, I’ve never tested this recipe with a four hour refrigeration, so I can’t say for certain how it would affect the results.
Thanks so much. I am going to make it then make half of them and leave the other half in the fridge. I will let you know how it works.
Can you make this dough ahead of time and fry it the next day?
It might over proof if you leave the dough that long (definitely keep in in the refrigerator if you try). I’ve also never tried frying this dough, so I don’t know how that would turn out, either. I cook it in a dry skillet.
Can the dough be made the day before the meal ?
It might over proof if you make the dough the day before, but I’ve never tried it. If you do try it, definitely keep it refrigerated to slow the yeast down.
I’m going to make these tonight to accompany our spicy lentil stew! All I have is plain Greek yogurt. Will that work or is it too tangy for this recipe? Thank you for sharing! Looking forward to trying some of your other recipes too. Happy new year!
I think that would work, although you may need slightly less flour since there is less moisture in Greek yogurt compared to regular yogurt.
Hi there! How did it turn out? I am making this tomorrow and only have Greek yoghurt as well.
I always use greek yogurt for this recipe & it’s always terrific. You just may need to use marginally less flour, just let the doughball tell you how much flour it wants.
Looks great– can’t wait to try it!
Do I need to put anything in the skillet to prevent sticking? Or just put the dough onto a dry skillet? Which do you recommend– stainless or cast iron? Thanks!
You can just put it right into the skillet with no oil. :) The super hot skillet and the light dusting of flour keep it from sticking. I’ve made it with both stainless and cast iron, and they both work great.
These look good.
But do I really have to use yogurt in this recipe?
Can I just leave it out? I do not like yogurt in
bread. Can I substitute maybe sour cream?
But I would leave that out as well. Please let me know.
The yogurt does give the bread its characteristic flavor and the fat in the yogurt helps keep the bread very tender. You could do sour cream. If you decide to leave it out completely it will change the flour to liquid ratios, so I wouldn’t be able to offer specifics on how much of flour and water to use without testing it first.
I used sour cream and it tasted great! I’ve done it with the yogurt before and loved that as well. I just didn’t have any tonight. Great recipe!
Great recipe! Thank you.
What can I replace for egg?
I’ve made it without the egg before and it’s still fairly good. The texture is just slightly different.