If you love soft fluffy naan from your favorite Indian restaurants but can’t always get out to eat, try our simple recipe and make it at home!
Warm homemade naan is total comfort food. Made with just a few simple ingredients it’s perfect as a snack or side dish. Try it plain, with your favorite dinner, or with a smear of garlic cream cheese dip.
Naan
Naan
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Naan Ingredients
- Water – Warm, filtered.
- Sugar – Granulated.
- Yeast – Active dry yeast.
- Flour – All purpose flour.
- Yogurt – Plain, unsweetened.
- Egg – Large.
- Oil – Vegetable oil (I like to use olive oil).
- Salt – Regular table salt.
- Optional – Garlic, butter, fresh herbs.
What is naan?
Naan is a leavened flatbread that has Indian origins. It is traditionally cooked on the sides of a tandoor oven, but in Western kitchens is cooked in a skillet, usually cast iron or non-stick.
How do you make homemade naan? (step-by-step)
⭐ First, dissolve sugar into the warm water and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow it to bloom.
⭐ Next, in a separate bowl, combine flour, yogurt, egg, oil, salt and water mixture. Knead until the dough forms a smooth ball.
⭐ Then, place dough ball in a clean bowl and cover with a damp cloth until the dough rises to double its original size.
⭐ Finally, cut the dough into small portions and stretch or flatten with a rolling pin. Cook rolled out dough in an oiled or nonstick skillet until puffy and turning golden brown. Flip and repeat.
Preparation
Can you make naan dough ahead of time?
Yes! You can prepare the dough 2 – 3 days in advance. Allow it to rise, punch down to release gasses, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until ready to use. You can also store it in the freezer for several weeks.
I like to divide my dough before refrigerating so making the flatbread is super quick when I’m ready to eat.
Can you make naan bread ahead of time?
Definitely, you can make the bread a few days in advance and eat it cool or at room temp when ready, or warm it back up in the toaster oven or on a buttered or oiled skillet before enjoying.
What kind of skillet to cook naan?
You’ll want to use a non-stick skillet or well seasoned cast iron skillet. Use a pan that can get very hot as that’s how the puffiness is created.
Does it have eggs?
Yes, this recipe calls for one large egg.
Garlic naan
To make a garlic butter version, melt a stick of salted butter (or ghee) in a skillet over medium low heat. Add a tablespoon of minced garlic and saute until garlic is fragrant and starting to turn golden (be careful not to burn).
Remove from heat and brush garlic infused butter liberally over both sides of freshly cooked naan bread.
Leftovers and storage
How long does homemade naan last?
Leftovers will keep 3 – 4 days if kept in an air-tight container at room temperature or up to a week if refrigerated.
Can you freeze naan bread?
For long term storage, you can freeze the bread. Allow it to cool to room temp then wrap tightly and freeze in a freezer safe airtight container or freezer bag.
Tips, tricks, and frequently asked questions
What if my naan doesn’t puff up?
There are a few reasons your bread may not bubble or puff up. Most likely is that your pan isn’t hot enough.
Also possible is if the leavener (yeast) was old or didn’t activate, your dough wasn’t moist enough, or it was rolled too thinly.
Why did my naan bread recipe get hard?
If you cook the bread too long or on too low of a heat it can cause a tough or hard result.
Should I hand stretch or roll?
Traditionally the dough is hand stretched, but I will usually roll it out because I’m making food for eleventy billion kids and I find it faster. Be careful not to over roll or roll too thinly though!
Thin or thick dough?
This is definitely a matter of preference. I tend to err on the side of thicker so it gets a nice soft puffy finish with good chew.
Is naan the same as pita bread?
No, while they are both flatbreads that look similar, the recipe, process, and outcome are not the same.
What to eat with naan (serving suggestions)
Well, definitely butter chicken with coconut rice, but honestly we enjoy this recipe even when we’re not making Indian inspired dishes! It makes a great flatbread pizza base (see our peppers and onion flatbread pizza or white pizza flatbread), is super delish with a smear of olive tapenade, and when used to scoop up your pizza dip.
More Indian inspired recipes
More delicious bread recipes
- Homemade white bread
- Pumpkin bread recipe
- Garlic knots
- Beer bread recipe
- French bread recipe
- See all our bread recipes!
Tools we love
- Pre-seasoned cast iron skillet – I have six of these (not kidding).
- Non-stick skillet – These are great if you don’t want to use a lot of oil or butter.
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How to Make Naan
Naan
Ingredients
- ½ cup warm water
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup plain yogurt unsweetened
- 1 egg large
- 1 tablespoon oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a small bowl, dissolve the sugar into the warm water and sprinkle the yeast on top. Let it bloom for about five minutes.
- In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, yogurt, egg, oil, salt and yeast water. Knead about 10 minutes, until the dough forms a smooth ball, adding a little flour as necessary if the dough is too sticky.
- Place the dough ball in a clean bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise in a warm location until the dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Cut the dough into 8 equal portions and stretch or roll out to about ¼" thickness.
- Cook each piece of rolled out dough in an oiled or nonstick skillet over high/medium-high heat until puffy, about 1 minute, then flip and repeat on the other side.
Notes
Nutrition
Naan
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Katie says
We all love naan!! My favorite way to use it is for homemade gyros. So delicious!
Stephanie says
So delicious! This was so easy to make and came out perfect1
Beth says
We love this recipe! So delicious and very tasty! So easy and so much better than store bought!