This Easy Homemade Naan Bread is soft, chewy, and a quick bread flatbread recipe. Brush with a little garlic butter and serve as a delicious side to all of your favorite Indian-style recipes.
Naan also makes a great snack with a side of hummus, or can be used to make an open faced sandwich or mini naan pizza. Be sure to make plenty because they disappear quickly, but they also freeze great so you can stash some away for later.
Easy Homemade Naan Bread
This soft, pillowy garlic naan bread is a quick and easy take on the Indian-style flatbread that you’ll find at your favorite Indian restaurants. In order to keep the naan super tender, I like to use yogurt.
Email This Recipe
Get a link to this recipe emailed so you can save it for later + get all the latest Carefree Kitchen recipes!
By submitting this form you consent to receive emails from The Carefree Kitchen
While naan is traditionally baked inside of a hot tandoor oven, this one is cooked on a hot skillet. Once they’re golden brown and bubbly, top them with garlic butter and serve with Chicken Tikka Masala, curry, or any other favorite Indian dish.
Key Ingredients
- Water – the water should be lukewarm, or around 95-110 degrees F, in order to wake up the yeast.
- Yeast – this naan recipe calls for instant dry yeast which needs to be “proofed” with warm water and sugar before the rest of the dough is made.
- Sugar – you can use sugar or substitute honey.
- Yogurt – you can use Greek yogurt or another plain yogurt for this recipe. I recommend using yogurt with at least some percentage of fat since this will help to keep the dough soft.
- Flour – you will need all-purpose flour for this recipe.
- Olive Oil – this is used to cook the Naan in the skillet. You could substitute avocado oil or another vegetable cooking oil.
- Butter – for the garlic butter, you can use either salted or unsalted butter. A great substitute is ghee—a kind of clarified butter that is often used in Indian cooking.
- Parsley – a little fresh chopped parsley adds great flavor and color.
- Garlic Powder – this adds great garlic flavor without the small pieces of garlic. If you want to use fresh minced garlic, you absolutely can.
How to Make Naan Bread
- Proof the yeast. In a large bowl, combine warm water, yeast, and sugar and let it sit for about five minutes, or until bubbly.
- Mix the dough. Add the yogurt, salt, and 1 cup of flour to the yeast mixture, then stir until smooth. Continue adding up to 1 more cup of flour, using enough to make a soft dough that is no longer sticky. Knead a few times in the bowl until smooth.
- Let the dough rise. Remove dough, lightly grease the bowl, then place it back in. Cover and let rise for about 10 minutes in a warm place.
- Shape the dough. After the dough rises, place on a lightly floured surface and cut into 12 equal pieces. Use a rolling pin to roll each dough ball into a 6-8″ round circle, then cover gently with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest for about 10 more minutes. The dough should have risen slightly with bubbles beginning to form.
- Cook the Naan. Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil and add each circle of Naan dough. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown on the bottom. Flip over and cook for another 2-3 minutes, or until golden. Continue until all pieces of dough are cooked.
- Make the garlic butter. Melt butter in a small pan over medium heat. Add the garlic powder, salt and chopped parsley.
- Serve. Brush the bubbly side of each Naan with melted garlic butter. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
While both Naan and pita bread are similar styles of flatbread, there are a couple of main differences. First, Naan is a softer, more bendable bread because it is typically made with yogurt. The other main difference is that Naan is usually larger in size than pita bread and flavored with spices, herbs, and yogurt.
Any large nonstick skillet will work great, although a cast iron skillet is a great choice because it conducts heat evenly.
Freezing Naan bread is a great way to always have some around. To freeze cooked Naan bread, make sure it has completely cooled before wrapping in foil then storing in freezer bags for up to 2 months in the freezer.
Yup! You can also freeze Naan dough either in one large piece or individual dough balls. Place in freezer bags and make sure all air is removed, then store dough for up to 1 month. Thaw in the fridge overnight, then shape and bake as directed.
Storing and Freezing Instructions
- Refrigerator: store in an airtight container or freezer bag in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- Room Temperature: store in an airtight container or freezer bag at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: wrap baked Naan in foil, then store in freezer bags for up to 2 months in the freezer. You can warm it in a preheated oven, warm skillet, or microwave.
- Dough: dough can be made, covered, and stored overnight in the fridge to be finished the next day.
Homemade Naan Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup water, warm (95-110 degrees F)
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Garlic Butter
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
Instructions
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the warm water, yeast, and sugar and let it sit for about five minutes, or until bubbly. Add the yogurt, salt, and 1 cup of flour to the yeast mixture, then stir until smooth.
- Continue adding up to 1 more cup of flour, using enough to make a soft dough that is no longer sticky. Knead a few times in the bowl until smooth.
- Remove dough, lightly grease the bowl, then place it back in. Cover and let rise for about 10 minutes in a warm place.
- After the dough has rested, place on a lightly floured surface and cut into 12 equal pieces. Roll each dough ball into a 6-8" round circle using a rolling pin, then cover gently with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest for about 10 more minutes. The dough should have risen slightly with bubbles beginning to form.
- Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium heat. Add 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil and add each circle of dough. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown on the bottom. Flip over and cook for another 2-3 minutes, or until golden. Continue until all pieces of dough are cooked, then set aside while you make the garlic butter.
- In a small pan over medium heat, add the butter and melt before adding the garlic powder, salt, and chopped parsley. Brush the bubbly side of each Naan with melted garlic butter just before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Did you make this?
Don’t forget to leave a rating below and make sure to follow on Pinterest, Instagram and Tiktok for more!
More Easy Homemade Bread Recipes
- Pull-Apart Flatbread
- Classic Parker House Rolls
- Homemade Flakey Biscuits
- Quick Dinner Rolls
- Homemade Crescent Rolls
- Garlic Knots
- Potato Rolls
- Herb Focaccia Bread
- More Bread Recipes
- More Easy Sides
This soft and tender Naan recipe is covered in garlic butter and totally addicting. Serve with your favorite Indian dish, hummus, or even use a base for pizza.
