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!
Hi could I substitute the olive oil for avocado oil?
Thank you!
Super allergic to olives
Yes avocado oil will work great!
This was my first attempt making Naan. I added minced onion and garlic to the dough. It was so good!! I will definitely make this again!!!
Thanks for sharing the recipe. Very easy and Naan are really delicious.
Please can you provide an estimate of the calories per each naan. Thanks
I made this a few weeks back to enjoy with a new Dahl recipe. My in-laws fought over the last piece of garlic buttered naan! I want to make it again tonight but realized I don’t have plain yogurt. Could sour cream be a substitute?
Thanks for the amazing recipe!
Yes I’ve used sour cream in a pinch and it’s worked okay!
Do you put oil in the pan first before cooking the naan? If so, what kind of oil?
No need to oil the pan before. It will be just fine :)
Going to try this recipe they look great. Do you brush the naan with melted butter if you are going to freeze some of them?
You can certainly do that but it’s not required.
I really loved this recipe and how the naan came out. Thanks for sharing! However I think they could have been saltier. Do most people increase the amount of salt?
Amazing. I love cooking and pride myself on my food. Asian food is my home food and this recipe was spot on and very authentic.
I made this the other day and it was AMAZING. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! This may be a silly question, but I was wondering if the type of pan used matters? In the photos, it looks like you used stainless steel. I used cast iron and although it turned out delicious, I didn’t get nearly as many small bubbles as you did. Should I try a different type of pan? Also, I just want to make sure– the pan is UN-greased, right? Thanks in advance!
Hi Mona! Thanks! I use my cast iron to make these and I’d just suggest playing with your heat for more bubbles. But it doesn’t matter what pan you use.
Made these about a week ago and they turned out great! So easy. Planning to make them again tonight. I followed the recipe exactly as written. Thanks.
Thank you! This was so easy to follow and it was tasty. Had it with some yellow curry and it was perfect.
In Texas we call these flour tortillas. Cheap at HEB . No need to make your own.
Flour tortillas and naan are completely different things, with different textures, styles of cooking and ingredients. They are both flatbreads but that’s where the comparison stops.
What kind of flour do you use ?
Definitely different, though you can pick up naan at HEB.
Flour tortillas typically only call for flour, salt, fat (shortening, lard, butter, etc) and hot water.
I’d definitely give these a shot if you haven’t.
These are not tortillas and only resemble them slightly. They have a distinct flavor and texture and pair especially well with foods from their region.
I love mexican food and tortillas but do not mistake naan for tortillas.
Tortillas and Naan are two totally different things. No matter how inexpensive something is to buy, it is good to have the skill of making something fresh from scratch. I would rather have a fresh, from scratch, tortilla or naan, over a product filled with preservatives that was made to last weeks or months sitting on a shelf.
Made from scratch> store bought all day, everyday! And yes tortillas and naan are worlds apart, 2 different cuisines.
Hello! This recipe looks so good! Can I use greek yogurt instead of regular? Its all I have on hand.
Yes you can!
This looks delicious! Can I replace the yoghurt with milk or anything else?
Beth hasn’t tested it without yogurt herself. It really helps to give it some great flavor. But a few commenters have used sour cream or cottage cheese with success!
Perfect recipe, made them three times already. My family absolutely loves this Naan bread. Thanks so much!
Can you advise on altering the recipe if I used instant yeast?
You can use the same method, without any alterations, if using instant yeast. :)