Naan Bread

This easy homemade Naan Bread Recipe is perfectly soft, chewy, and pillowy, just like you get at your favorite Indian restaurant. No electric mixer required – just your hands, a bowl, and cast iron skillet. So delicious and completely irresistible!

Serve naan with Chicken Tikka Masala for the absolute perfect pairing!

Easy Homemade Naan Recipe

Fresh homemade flatbread right off the griddle and slathered in garlic butter has got to be one of life’s best things. Or at least it is for me! My sister and I used to dine at a local Indian restaurant just for their naan, eating our weight in it, barely having room for anything else. I make naan bread at home now pretty regularly since it’s so easy and my kids absolutely love it, too.

What is Naan?

Naan is a traditional Indian flatbread, which is soft and pillowy, full of neat little air pockets. Authentic naan is baked in a blazing-hot Tandoor clay oven, but you can get great results simply by using a hot cast iron skillet.

Naan Bread vs. Pita Bread

These are both classic Indian flatbreads, but their origins, ingredients, and cooking methods are different. Pita bread is from the Middle East and just includes flour, salt, yeast, and olive oil and forms one huge air pocket. Naan hails from India and includes yogurt and egg in the dough, which causes several little bubbles to form, making it nice and fluffy.

Ingredients Needed

There’s only a short list of pantry ingredients needed to make this homemade naan recipe:
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)

• Warm water: To properly activate the yeast, the water needs to be around 110°F. To be precise, you can use a thermometer. If you don’t have one, know that it should feel warm, but not hot to the touch.
• Dry yeast: You can use active or instant dry yeast. For this recipe, we use instant, but still allow it to bloom.
• Sugar: This adds just a bit of sweetness to the bread. (Alternately, you can use an equal amount of honey, if you prefer.)
• Olive oil: Adds richness and helps keep the dough tender.
• Yogurt: Either plain yogurt or plain Greek yogurt.
• Egg: This helps bind the dough together and also adds some richness.
• Salt: A touch of salt adds flavor and also heightens the flavors of the other ingredients.
• Flour: Just all-purpose flour. Make sure when measuring, it’s spooned and leveled.
• Garlic Herb Butter (optional): The combination of melted butter, garlic, and parsley basted on at the end of cooking is like icing on the cake. It’s purely optional, but I never make naan without it.

How to Make Naan Bread

As mentioned above, traditional naan bread is made in a tandoor/clay oven. Not many people have one of those, though! Luckily, it’s super easy to make this flatbread recipe in a cast iron skillet (or on a griddle) while maintaining all the authentic ingredients. Here are some tips to get as close to the real deal as possible:
(Scroll down to the printable recipe card for all the details and measurements, and don’t miss the video below.)

• The temperature of the water matters: To properly activate the yeast, the water needs to be around 110°F, which feels warm, but not hot to the touch. If it’s too hot, it can kill the yeast and alternatively, if if it’s not warm enough, the yeast won’t proof. To be precise, we recommend using a thermometer.
• Make sure the yeast is fresh: If the yeast doesn’t foam after 5 minutes, it’s likely not good anymore and you’ll need to start over.
• Measure the flour correctly: Spoon and level the flour, don’t scoop. Too much flour in the dough can lead to dense dry bread.
• Don’t worry about perfectly shaped naan: You’re shooting for 6″ rounds once each dough ball is rolled out, but don’t worry at all if some are oval. They will still cook fine. Just make sure they are all the same thickness.
• Thin vs Thick portions: 1/8-inch thick dough will typically be pretty thin and form a lot of tiny bubbles, whereas 1/4-inch thick dough will be thicker and chewier, with fewer bubbles. Totally up to you!

How to Store Naan

• Storing leftovers. Once cooked, wrap naan in a clean kitchen towel or place in 200°F oven to keep it warm. To store leftovers, cool completely, then transfer to a resealable plastic bag. It will keep at room temperature for 1-2 days or 4-5 days in the refrigerator.
• Can you freeze naan bread? Yep! Once cooled completely, wrap each piece in plastic wrap, then transfer to a resealable freezer-safe plastic bag. It will keep up to 2 months. Frozen naan thaws fairly quickly at room temperature. To reheat naan: wrap in foil and warm in a 350°F oven until hot.

Video: Naan Bread Recipe

What to Eat with Naan Bread

There are so many delicious ways to use this bread. Here are a few suggestions:

• Enjoy on its own: Baste it with the melted garlic butter, tear into pieces, and snack away. BLISS.
• Serve as a side: Chickpea Curry and Chicken Tikka Masala practically beg for it.
• Flatbread and pizza: Naan can easily be used as a pizza crust or as a base for Turkey Keema and Strawberry Balsamic Flatbread.
• As a wrap: It’s perfect piled with delicious Beef Kofta or falafel or use as a wrap for gyros.

I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!

Naan Bread

5 from 16 Ratings

This easy homemade Naan Bread recipe is perfectly soft, chewy, and pillowy, just like you get at your favorite Indian restaurant. No electric mixer required – just your hands, a bowl, and cast iron skillet. So delicious and completely irresistible!

Print Recipe Rate Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Rise 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 naan flatbreads

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup warm water (about 110°F)
• .25 ounce packet instant dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (plus more for the skillet)
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1 large egg , beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour , spooned and leveled

For the Garlic-Herb Butter (optional)

• 2 tablespoons melted salted butter
• 2 teaspoons garlic , minced
• 2 teaspoons fresh chopped parsley

Instructions

• In a large bowl, combine warm water, yeast, and sugar; let sit for 5-10 minutes until foamy. (If it doesn't foam, your yeast isn't good anymore.) Add in the olive oil, yogurt, egg, and salt. Stir until incorporated and smooth.
• Using a wooden spoon, stir in the flour, until a shaggy dough forms. Then switch to your hands and bring it together into a ball until smooth and shiny. As soon as it comes together, stop kneading. (If the dough is very sticky, add 1-2 extra tablespoons flour at a time to bind the dough, only if necessary.)
• Lightly oil or spray a clean bowl with nonstick cooking spray (the bowl should be large enough to allow the dough to double in size). Transfer dough to the prepared bowl, dust the top very lightly with flour, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. (I set it on a heating pad to speed things up!)
• Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle some of the flour on top of the dough and on your hands. Pat down slightly. Cut into 6 equal pieces, then shape into smooth balls by stretching the surface and tucking it under. (Watch the video for help, if needed.)
• Flatten each round of dough with your hand, then using a rolling pin, roll out each ball into a 6" circle, 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick. (It's totally ok if they are slightly oval.)
• Preheat a cast iron or heavy bottom skillet to medium-high heat. Brush with a teaspoon of oil. Pick up the dough and flip-flop it back and forth between your hands to release any excess flour; then gently lay the dough in the skillet and cook until the top is bursting with air bubbles and the bottom is golden brown in spots, 60-90 seconds. Flip over and cook for another 45-60 seconds until the bubbles become deep golden brown and blistered in spots.
• Remove, set aside and keep warm in a clean kitchen towel, while you repeat with remaining naan, taking care to regulate the heat of the skillet so it doesn't get too hot. (You don't want the bubbles to get too charred or burn. I usually find it necessary to lower the heat to medium after the first naan.)
• Combine melted butter and minced garlic together in a bowl. Brush each warm naan with the garlic butter and sprinkle with just a bit of chopped fresh parsley. Devour and enjoy!

  (See full article and video for tips and helpful information for making the best naan.)

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 235kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 32mg | Sodium: 185mg | Potassium: 75mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 131IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.

Other Notes

Course: Bread

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: naan, naan bread, naan recipe

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