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!
Love this recipe! I’ve made it a few times, and it has been the perfect side for curry meals every time. I typically cook the bread on an electric griddle. Using the griddle allows me to cook 2-3 at a time, and they still turn out delicious and bubbly. Thanks for a great recipe!
I’m excited to try this recipe!
I was wondering if I could cook it in a Le Creuset Dutch Oven on the stove top, obviously not using the lid?
I would love to hear what other people have used to make it. Has anyone used an electric skillet or has everyone used a stove top pan? I will take any advice on this! Thank you so much!
Yes it can work in a dutch oven!
My first time making naan and it was amazing. Crispy and pillowy soft, exactly like a restaurant.
I used 1.5 tsp of fast acting yeast instead of regular, and messed up and mixed things out of order at the beginning but it wasn’t an issue. I also used nonfat Greek yogurt.
Also, my dough did not rise at all until I turned on the oven for a few min (warm only, not hot), and left it in there for an hour.
Love this recipe. My husband was wanting Naan bread. Since we’re under stay at home orders and I didn’t have yogurt. I used the cottage cheese I already had. It worked great! I’m hooked!
Can I use low-fat yorgurt for this? Trying to get rid of some yogurt. It looks really good!
It should be okay Maria!
I would like to try this! Do you have to use the dough immediately? I’d like to make some naan tonight and then some later in the week. Hi
Do you mean before actually cooking it? The only issue you might run into with refrigerating the dough is that it continues to rise in the refrigerator, and it might over proof, which will prevent proper rising while it’s in the skillet. The cooked bread holds up really well in the refrigerator, though! Just let it cool completely at room temperature, then pop it into a gallon-sized food storage bag.
This naan recipe is fantastic. Yes, you could add a bit more salt to the dough, if you are eating it all by itself. This was fantastic with hummus. The texture and taste is like the Greek pita you get when you order a gyros in Chicago. It’s so nice and soft, but doesn’t break apart. I’ve shared this with my niece who likes to bake, and I posted a link on my FB page. This is definitely a keeper. I like the fact you ‘bake’ this on top of the stove. Although, I might try doing this in the oven or in the backyard grill. Maybe if I read more comments, someone already tried it . Thank you so much for this recipe!
This is another great recipe. I followed it exactly, using Greek yogurt. For my first Naan attempt, I am very pleased with the result. For those who find it needs more flavor, you can easily add whatever flavor you like when it is finished. Brush it with melted butter or ghee and sprinkle on whatever you like. I used Garlic Salt and it is delicious. It would be good with just sea salt or anything you like. You will be very happy, and all you have to do is follow instructions!
Also tried the recipe with milk, and it worked well! Next time I will add a bit of salt as well because it was a little bland.
Delicious! Just finished this recipe, and it’s the best naan recipe I’ve tried. The bread turned out light and fluffy, and for me had the right amount of salt. So happy to have found my go-to naan recipe, thank you very much!
Delicious. Subbed Greek yogurt and used a cup of whole wheat flour and the rest all purpose.
My first try and it came out super yummy.. Everyone just loved it. Everyone must try dis Naan 😋😋 Thanks for such wonderful easy recipe..
This is my third time to make naan bread. I can’t remember if this is the first recipe I did but it is like my first. The 2nd one is not a good one. This is just rigth for curry meal😉
I have made this twice now. The first time I was disappointed, but they did the job. I thought they lacked salt and were thick and didn’t bubble well. I rolled it out to 1/4, maybe even less thick. This time, after watching about 4 youtube videos of people making Naan I used the same recipe because it had a shorter rise time than the ones in the videos, but used their techniques. They turned out so much better. I followed the recipe and instructions with two changes: I used more salt. I used 3/4 tsp and then used sea salt on top after brushing with butter. I also rolled them out crazy thin, like paper thin. They bubbled like crazy and tasted very good.
Mine wasn’t quite as thin as yours. Any tips? Too much flour? Thanks! Mandi
You may need to roll them out a little more next time.
I add fresh herbs and Olives and sundry tomatoes in mine. It is amazing!!!
I made this for the first time using your recipe.
The only change I made was instead of using plain yogurt I substituted for 1/3 cup of milk.
And it came out perfect! Thank you!!
Can we use milk instead of yoghurt?
Beth hasn’t tested it without yogurt herself. It really helps to give it some great flavor.