A simple step-by-step recipe for soft and pillowy, authentic Indian Naan Bread made on the stovetop with all your favorite toppings. Video.
To live in this world you must be able to do three things; to love what is mortal, to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it, and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go. ~Mary Oliver
I’ve been home from India for over a week now, still a little jet-lagged yet buzzing from the incredible experience there. The people! The food! The energy and the color, all my senses are saturated!
One of my favorite things was learning how to make naan bread, the authentic, Indian way. This traditional naan recipe is made with yogurt and instant yeast, and cooked in a dry skillet, giving the soft, pillowy naan a delicious crispy exterior which I fell in love with, while in India.
Today I’ve opted for whole wheat Garlic Naan, my favorite, but feel free to keep it plain and simple, or embellish with whole seeds – see the recipe for all the yummy variations, and find your favorite!
How to make Naan! | 40-second video
Ingredients in Naan Bread
- Flour: All-purpose white flour, bread flour , whole wheat flour , einkorn, or spelt flour – or a blend.
- Instant yeast: Using Instant yeast cuts the prep time in half while eliminating one whole step. (See recipe notes for regular active yeast.)
- SALT AND SUGAR
- Yogurt (or vegan yogurt)
- Olive oil
- Warm water
How to make Naan Bread
Step 1: In a large bowl, whisk together flour (here I’ve used part whole wheat flour and part white bread flour) the instant yeast, salt and sugar. You can also simply use all-purpose flour.
Step 2: In a smaller bowl, mix the warm water, yogurt and olive oil.
Step 3: Pour the wet into the dry and mix to combine.
Step 4: Mix the dough with a fork until it comes together.
With a floured hand, knead the soft dough for a minute or so and form a ball, and place it back in the bowl.
Step 5: Drizzle it with olive oil, rubbing the oil around the naan dough, coating it. Cover with plastic wrap or a wet kitchen towel.
Step 6: Place the naan dough in a warm spot in the kitchen until it rises, about 45-60 minutes. It doesn’t need to quite double.
Tip: The warmer the spot, the faster the naan will rise. I often place rising dough on top of my stove, with the oven turned on to the lowest setting.
If using regular Active Dry Yeast, it will require 2-3 hours to rise.
Step 7: Once the naan has rise, place it on a floured surface and roll into a 1o-inch log. Divide the naan dough into 10 equal pieces.
Step 8: Roll into rounds or ovals, roughly ⅛ – ¼ inch thick. If going for oval naan, they should measure, roughly 4 x 8 inches.
Naan really doesn’t have to be perfect and honestly can be any shape, as long as they are uniform in thickness ( or with the edges slightly thicker than the middle) and no more than ¼ inch thick.
You can keep the naan plain and simple, or season it with seeds – nigella, fennel, anise, poppy, or sesame seeds ( adding to the flour bowl) or add finely minced onion or garlic – my favorite! Nigella seeds add a delicious onion-y flavor.
If making garlic (or onion naan), simply press the finely minced garlic into the naan with your fingers, or roll it in.
Step 9: Cook the naan, and give it a nice crispy texture. Heat a DRY heavy bottom skillet, or cast iron skillet, over medium-high heat.
Cooking one naan at a time, placing the naan right in the hot skillet and toast, until large bubbles appear on the visible side. Take a peek underneath to see if the naan is deeply golden, adjusting the heat, either lowering or raising.
When there are large air bubbles on top of the naan bread, and the bottom side is nicely golden, flip. This will take anywhere from 2-4 minutes. Then cook the other side for another 2-3 minutes, checking to see that the air bubbles are not deeply golden but not burning. After the first one, you will get the hang of it.
TIP: To get the naan to puff up even more, after searing each side, place the naan directly on the gas flame (medium heat) using tongs. Naan should puff up beautifully. Stack the naan and cover with a towel to keep warm.
Once all the naan are seared in the skillet, brush or spread with ghee and sprinkle with pinch of salt. Sprinkle with fresh herbs- parsley, cilantro or even scallions or chives – right before serving.
You can also keep the naan warm for a while, stacked, wrapped in foil in a warm oven- then right before serving, sprinkle with the herbs so they look nice and fresh. 
A delicious and fun addition to any Indian meal.
My husband absolutely loves it when I make these!
Naan can also be baked ahead and frozen – just make sure to wrap the naan individually and very well with plastic wrap.
Place them frozen in a toaster oven or in a hot oven, directly on the rack, until soft and warm.
What to serve with Naan Bread!
- Emerald Dal
- Tandoori Hummus
- Butternut Tikka Masala
- Quick Vegan Cauliflower Masala
- Indian Butter Chicken
- Palak Paneer!
- Aloo Gobi!
- Instant pot Tikka Masala
Enjoy the naan, and please rate it in the comments below!
xoxo
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How to make Naan (like they do in India!)
- Prep Time: 65
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: breads, Indian cuisine
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: Indian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Quick EASY Naan Recipe- a simple step-by-step guide to making authentic Indian style, pillowy naan bread in a skillet with all your favorite variations- garlic naan, onion naan and seeded naan!
Ingredients
- 2 cups AP flour (see notes)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, more for sprinkling
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast or rapid-rise yeast (see notes for Active Dry Yeast)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt (or sub vegan yogurt)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Garnish: 2 tablespoons Ghee (or butter, or olive oil, but really, ghee is best! ) 1-2 tablespoons fresh herbs – cilantro, parsley, scallions or chives.
Optional Additions:
- 1/2–1 teaspoon whole seeds: nigella, cumin, fennel, caraway, anise, or sesame seeds- or a combo
- finely chopped garlic ( 2 tablespoons) or finely chopped onion or shallot (2 tablespoons)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk flours, sugar, yeast and salt together. If adding whole spices, add them now.
- In a medium bowl, stir ¾ cup warm ( 100F) water with olive oil and yogurt.
- Pour the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture and combine with a fork, and with a floured hand, knead the dough for 1-2 minutes. The dough should feel soft, but not sticky. If sticky add a little more flour. Form a ball. Drizzle with a little olive oil to coat all sides of the ball and place it back in the same bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place the bowl in a warm spot in the kitchen (the warmer the spot, the faster it will rise) and let rise until it almost doubles in size 45-60 minutes. (TIP: I’ll often place rising dough on the top of my stove with my oven set to the lowest setting.)
- When dough has risen, place it on a well-floured surface, and roll into a 10 inch log, then divide the log into 10 pieces.
- Roll each piece out into a ⅛-¼ inch thick oval, about 4 by 7 inches long. They don’t have to be perfect and can be any shape, just make sure thickness is uniform and it is not more than ¼ inch thick. If adding garlic or onion, press some of the finely minced garlic into the dough on one side, just using your fingers and you can actually do this in the pan if you want. You can also roll the garlic into the dough, when it rolling out.
- Heat a DRY cast iron skillet over medium to med-high heat. Cooking one naan at a time, place it in the hot skillet, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface, and bottoms are golden ( check after a couple minutes) then flip. Cook for a few more minutes on the other side until the bubbles are deeply golden. If you have a gas stove, you could place these cooked naan, directly over the gas flame, to get them to puff up even more. Set each one aside and cover with a towel or foil to keep warm.
- Cook all the naan, then brush each one with ghee, and a light sprinkling of salt, stacking. (You can keep them stacked, wrapped in foil in a warm oven until ready to serve.)
- Right before serving, sprinkle with chopped cilantro, parsley, or scallions.
Notes
Flour: feel free to use part whole wheat or rye, or experiment with other flours like einkorn, buckwheat, or spelt.
These can be made ahead and frozen, individually wrapped tightly in plastic wrap ( use a double layer). Place them frozen, directly on the rack in the oven or toaster oven until soft and warm.
If using regular, Active Dry Yeast- rising time will increase to 2-3 hours. You will also need to mix the yeast with the warm water and the sugar first, let it stand for 10 minutes until it activates and is frothy, before adding the yogurt and olive oil to it. Continue with recipe as stated.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1- Brushed with 1 teaspoon ghee
- Calories: 220
- Sugar: 2.5 g
- Sodium: 392.6 mg
- Fat: 6.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 34.5 g
- Fiber: 1.3 g
- Protein: 4.9 g
- Cholesterol: 11.1 mg
I’ve made this multiple times with much success! My Pakistani born and bred parents were so Impressed… I have a flat cast iron (tawa) that is great for this.. and I actually wet the bottom of the naan when I lay it on the pan and then after it bubbles, I flip the whole pan over— and the naan sticks and gets heated directly on the flame/and puffs up- so fun!!
That’s is what I’ve been doing too lately, just puffing on the gas burner. Yes, fun!
I used atta flour which is supposed to be good for Indian breads, but my dough barely rose in an hour….
It rises faster when placed in a warm spot ( 80F). I place on the stovetop with the oven turned on.
This recipe for naan was fast and easy. Love the tip about putting in the gas burner to puff up- brilliant!
This is my go to naan recipe! It turns out every time, I have a quick naan recipe I use in a pinch but taking the time to make it this way really pays off! I’m looking forward to it tonight with your middle eastern lamb stew.
Great to hear this works for you!
1teaspoon of yeast didn’t rise my dough. Are you sure you’re accurate? I looked at other recipes and it appears they put 2 1\4 oz. I used active dry yeast and let it sit for hours, and you didn’t specify if it’s the same amount as instant. I got runny dough that didn’t rise. No naan for my butter chicken. 🙁
Hi Jamie, I’ve made this many times with 1 teaspoon, but I will have to test this with active dry instead of instant. Did you use yogurt? Is it possible your yeast got too warm or is old? Did it froth?
Looks really nice! I had a question does the 2 cups of flour stay the same when you’re scaling the recipe x3?
Thank you
Hi Mary, the scaling for this must be off. Please manually calculate and sorry about this!
Looks amazing! Would it be okay to use greek yogurt in place of regular yogurt?
Yes, Greek yogurt should be just fine!
They’re so EASY! I thought this would be challenging. I’ve not yet made bread of any kind so this was my first attempt at anything bread like. They were SO good! Thank you! I made them with your Lentil Dal with Spinach Sauce and the Balinese Fish. Amazing.
Yay! Glad this worked for you Laura! 🙌
I like this. Recipe.
This was easy to make and turned out so well! Thank you, Sylvia!!
Hello Sylvia, your Naan images look delicious! I was browsing around for food blogs and saw this recipe of Naan. Few interesting notes to add to the naan recipe- actually Indians don’t make Naan in a skillet. The most common forms of flat bread in India is a chapati or Roti mostly consumed in mid and north India. Chapati is made with whole wheat flour ( closest is white wheat flour in supermarket if you cannot get “Atta” from an Indian store) and water. The dough consistency should be somewhat between a Ciabatta and loaf bread dough. I grew up in India and unlike many Indians, make my own Chapati/Rotis.
If you add Oil/butter/ghee to roti while cooking on a skillet, it becomes Paranta. And Roti can be cooked on the skillet itself or part skillet and then part open flame where it puff up to form a balloon like shape.
Anyways coming back to Naan; Naan is made typically in a Tandoor or clay oven. Most urban folks don’t have a Tandoor at home. When I was growing up, skilled Naan cooks would travel from town to town and have a temporary shelter where they would create a Tandoor in ground. The homeowners would bring dough (Atta) and for few cents a Naan, or Tandoori Roti, the cooks would bake it for them.
Now the recipe- If you use whole wheat flour, you only need water to bake Tandoori Roti. If you use white flour to make Naan, you can add, 2 cups white flour, one egg, small amount of milk or yogurt, pinch of baking powder, salt and let it rest. Indians did not have access to dry yeast like in the west. Hence Yogurt/milk with baking powder was used to give it a rise and fluffiness. I have used only small amount of milk and some oil to make a soft dough and shaped the naan by hand. The results have been perfect. The dough should be of Ciabatta bread dough consistency. You can use a small amount of yeast with water and salt and still the Naan comes out great. And the use of Yogurt (aka Curd in India) made from Buffalo milk will not make a Naan sour. Buffalo milk simply has more fat content. Eggs, a bit of oil will make the Naan softer (especially if you are going to store it for later use).
I have baked Naan to restaurant quality perfection in an oven and now I use my BBQ to make it with a Pizza stone. The trick is to wet the raw Naan side before placing on the Pizza stone.
I have very nice pics of Naan baked in BBQ but I don’t think your blog site allows pics upload.
Thanks for this- very interesting and informative! I appreciate it so much.
thanks for these fabulous tips
Perfect receipt. Like it very much.
Best recipe yet for naan bread …….Thank you
Awesome Julie! thanks!
Awesome recipe, thanks so much! Followed the directions exactly, turned out perfectly, this is a keeper for our family!
Simple, process, great taste, used who li e wheat and AP flour for a richer flavor. Diced scallions and garlic and rolled into each before dry frying. Was the bomb.
Yum! Sounds great!
Hey, wanted to ask you – do I have to add sugar ?
No! you dot have to!
This works with Oat yoghurt too for any vegans/dairy free folks!
So amazing :’)
thank you!
Thanks Blake!
Fantastic is the word.
Thanks Fred!
I don’t think I’ve commented on this recipe before, but just in case.. This Is Outstanding! It works like a charm, and the flavor and texture is perfection. Thank you for posting this!
~Miller
Thanks so much- so glad you like it!
FYI…your multiplier at the top of the recipe does not increase the flour.
Thanks Holly, I’ve been having problems with it! May have to delete it for a while…
Absolutely delicious!!
So happy you enjoyed this!
I am gluten-free, do you think there is any way to make a GF version of nann? It has been the hardest thing to give up since having to stop eating Gluten.
Hi Jordan! Yes, I think there is a way, I just personally haven’t tried it. If you do try, will you leave notes on how to do it? Im sure this would be really helpful to others. Thanks!!!
I need GF too. If you find a way, I’d love to know about it! My son has Celiac Disease and the poor guy absolutely LOVED bread– Naan was his favorite.
I’ll look into it!
This recipe is great! I use 50-50 whole wheat to unbleached white flour, and add cumin, fennel caraway, anise seeds.
I tried this last night, and it was probably due to me trying to translate cups to grams and centilitres but the dough was so wet I had to double the flour. Even then they weren’t as fluffy as in the pictures. Is there any way of giving the ingredients in metric for non-US fans please? Thanks!!!
Hi Gill, I’m sorry about that! I will try to get it translated to metric!
I made it yesterday night, but it turned out sour. Maybe because I used buffalo curd, instead of yoghurt because it’s difficult to find plain yoghurt in Sri Lanka. Anyway, I added finely chopped garlic and cumin seeds to the dough. The hint of garlic actually makes the naan really yummy! Thank you very much for the recipe.