Vegan Naan Recipe
Learn how to make easy Vegan Naan (Indian flatbread), from scratch! It’s pillowy soft and fluffy, and so delectable. Homemade naan is the perfect side for everything from curries to soups, and you can even use it for wraps!
Vegan Naan is a treasured side dish in our household. Indian food has always been one of my favorite cuisines and, needless to say, whenever I order it, I ask for extra naan.
I love ordering extras because it means that after the rest of the takeout is finished, I have naan to eat with my chickpea curry, my lentil curry, and even as a flatbread if I want.
Easy Homemade Vegan Naan
Let’s talk about the characteristics of naan before we get any further. The basic gist is this: it’s chewy, pillowy soft, and perfectly seasoned. Dusted with herbs and garlic, this bread is downright irresistible! You can even add a little parmesan if that’s to your liking.
Naan really exemplifies how easy, delicious, and rewarding it is to make your own homemade bread. I am particularly fond of this recipe because it only takes a little over an hour to prepare (and is resting for the majority of that time), so it really is possible to make it often!
What is Naan Bread?
Naan is a fluffy, leavened (made with yeast) flatbread that is usually baked in the oven. It’s chewy, soft, a touch sweet, and seasoned with a sampling of herbs and spices.
Note that this time, though, we’re going to make the naan in a cast iron skillet – so no need to preheat the oven today!
Finally, naan is a great bread to have sitting on your counter because you can eat it as-is and come away totally satisfied, but you can also enjoy it with a curry, or make a sandwich with it!
Notes on Ingredients
What goes into making loaves of naan bread? Nothing too complicated – just some flour, a little sugar, some yeast, and a couple more ingredients. Here’s everything you’ll need to have lined up on the counter before starting:
- Flour: I like to use all-purpose flour. Keep in mind you’ll need up to 2 tablespoons extra for kneading and flouring the bread.
- Sugar: A little brown sugar adds some sweetness to this bread, which makes it even more delicious.
- Baking Powder: To help with giving the naan a little lift.
- Active Instant Yeast: Yeast is the main agent that will help the bread rise.
- Seasoning: Gather up garlic powder, sea salt, and ground black pepper.
- Warm Vegan Milk: You can warm your milk up in the microwave.
- Greek Vegan Yogurt: Thick coconut cream from a can of coconut milk will also work (see notes below).
- Coconut Oil: Or olive oil, for brushing.
- Optional: Add vegan parmesan cheese, extra garlic, parsley, or cilantro, for topping.
How to Make Vegan Naan from Scratch
Mix Dry Ingredients: In a bowl, add the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, yeast, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Whisk the ingredients together. Create a well in the center of the flour.
Add Milk: Slowly add the vegan milk and vegan yogurt to the dry ingredients, and then mix together with a spatula until just incorporated. The dough should look shaggy.
Knead the Dough: Flour a clean surface, and then pour/add the dough onto the surface. Flour your hands and fold the dough together. Knead the dough for about 3 minutes with your hands and knuckles.
Let the Dough Rise: Lightly grease the ball of dough with some oil and place back into the bowl. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let it sit for 30 minutes on the counter in a warm area. The dough should rise and double in size.
Create 6 Balls of Dough: Divide the dough into 6 equal balls and roll each into a circle.
On your floured surface, press each circle down with your palm, then roll into a slightly oblong shape using a floured rolling pin. It should measure about 6-8 inches. I like to do this one at a time.
Cook the Naan: Over medium-high heat, heat a cast-iron skillet (preferably) or a regular large skillet. Brush both sides of the naan with a bit of the oil. Add a teaspoon each per naan of coconut oil into the hot skillet, and then add the naan. Fry up for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, until you see bubbles starting to form. They will puff up a little bit, but the indicator is the slightly darkened spots. Turn the naan over and cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute on the other side, looking again for the slightly darkened spots.
Let Cool: Remove the naan from the heat and place on a wire rack to let it cool. Sprinkle with vegan parmesan cheese, garlic, cilantro or parsley and a dash more of salt if needed. Continue with the other naan pieces of bread until finished. Serve and enjoy!
Tips for Success
And just like that, you’ve got a basket of vegan naan to complement your favorite curry or soup! Now that you see how easy this process is, the hardest part will be telling yourself that one batch of naan is enough for the week.
Read through these tips and tricks on naan to make life in the kitchen even easier:
- Use Fresh Yeast: As with all bread recipes, ensure your yeast is fresh and active and your baking powder is fresh, too!
- Possible Yogurt Substitutions: If you don’t have vegan yogurt, no problem! Stick a can of high-quality, full-fat coconut milk (don’t shake it) in the freezer for about 30 minutes, or leave it in the fridge overnight. Then scoop the thick part of to the equivalent (1/2 cup). It should be as thick as the consistency of yogurt. You can also sub vegan sour cream, buttermilk, or mayonnaise! For the buttermilk you can use the vegan milk + 1 tbsp of vinegar to the ½ cup mark, and let it sit until it gets like buttermilk. Start with 1/4 cup buttermilk, then add in the rest if the dough needs it!
- If Your Dough is Too Sticky: The dough can get kind of sticky, so you may need to add a little more flour to the mixture before kneading it (up to 2 tbsp). Don’t add too much, though, or the dough will become dry.
- Keep Loaves Warm in the Oven: I know, I know, I told you that you didn’t need to preheat the oven. But, since you’re cooking the naan loaves one at a time, you can use the oven to keep the warm if you want!
Serving Suggestions
One of the many wonderful qualities of naan is its versatility as a side dish. You can eat naan:
- With curries. I love it with my Chickpea Curry, my Red Lentil Curry and my Tikka Masala, specifically.
- As a flatbread instead of pizza dough. I love it for my BBQ Chickpea Pizza! Or, keep it simple with a little tomato sauce and some vegan cheese – do whatever your stomach tells you!
- With soups! It tastes incredible with my Coconut Curry Soup and my Coconut Curry Lentil Soup. Dipping crusty breads in soup is great, sure, but naan? You’ll just have to taste it to believe the goodness.
- As a wrap! You can use naan instead of the wraps in my BBQ Chickpea Wraps. Naan makes a great sandwich bread too.
How to Store Naan
Naan can be stored at room temperature for 2-3 days in a tightly-sealed container, or a tightly-sealed plastic bag. Toast a couple loaves in a toaster oven to reheat, or simply use a regular oven.
Can I Freeze Naan?
Freezing Naan is so simple. I recommend flash-freezing it, or wrapping it separately in parchment paper, cling film or foil, then into a freezer-safe bag. Thaw them in a toaster oven or on the counter or in the fridge.
Enjoy friends! If you make this Vegan Naan Recipe, please snap a photo and tag #jessicainthekitchen on Instagram! We’d also love it if you would leave a comment below, and give the recipe a rating! Thanks so much!
Vegan Naan Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour, + an extra up to 2 tablespoons for kneading and flouring
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup warm vegan milk, you can warm it in the microwave
- 1/2 cup greek vegan yogurt, or thick coconut cream from a can of coconut milk (see notes below)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil or olive oil, for brushing
- optional vegan parmesan cheese, extra garlic, parsley or cilantro, for topping
Instructions
- In a bowl, add the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, yeast, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Whisk the ingredients together.
- Create a well in the centre of the flour. Slowly add the vegan milk and vegan yogurt to the dry ingredients, and then mix together with a spatula until just incorporated. The dough should look shaggy.
- Flour a clean surface, and then pour/add the dough onto the surface. Flour your hands and fold the dough together. Knead the dough for about 3 minutes with your hands and knuckles. The dough will be sticky at first, but you add up to 2 tablespoons while flouring and kneading to make it easier to manage.
- Lightly grease the ball of dough with some oil and place back into the bowl. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let it sit for 30 minutes on the counter in a warm area. The dough should rise and double in size.
- Divide the dough into 6 equal balls and roll each into a circle. On your floured surface, press each circle down with your palm, then roll into a slightly oblong shape using a floured rolling pin. It should measure about 6-8 inches. I like to do this one at a time.
- Over medium-high heat, heat a cast-iron skillet (preferably) or a regular large skillet. Brush both sides of the naan with a bit of the oil and here you can add even more seasonings on the outside of the naan.
- Add a teaspoon each per naan of coconut oil into the hot skillet, and add the naan. Fry up for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, until you see bubbles starting to form. They will puff up a little bit, but the indicator is the slightly darkened spots.
- Turn the naan over and cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute on the other side, looking again for the slightly darkened spots.
- Remove from heat and place on a wire rack to let the naan cool. Sprinkle with vegan parmesan cheese, garlic, cilantro or parsley and a dash more of salt if needed. Continue with the other naan pieces of bread until finished.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
More Vegan Bread Recipes to Try
Looking to experiment with more easy vegan bread recipes? Here are a few of my favorites:
Are there alternatives to the Greek yogurt??
Hi Kaylee,
You could always use vegan yogurt. I’m not sure coconut cream would stand up.
This was delicious – before brushing on the olive oil to put it in the pan I sprinkled some garlic salt over it and it was just absolutely wonderful. Thanks! X
You’re SO welcome!! Thanks so much for letting me know. LOVE the garlic salt idea!
Hi Jessica,
I love this recipe, I make it about once a week and it doesn’t even seem to be enough. This recipe speaks to my soul. The only thing I struggle with is that the actual cooking is quite labour intensive – I was wondering if you had ever tried making them in the oven, and how that turned out?
Thanks!
Ims
Ok hi I just realised my comment ended up right under my other comment from the first time I made it and now it looks like I have dementia and forgot I posted that first comment. Whoops… I swear I’m not crazy, I just love naan. 🙂
Hey Ims,
Haha no you don’t seem crazy at all!! I’m SO glad you’ve been enjoying this recipe so often and thank you so much for sharing! I have never tried making this in the oven but I plan to make a video for this post soon and I will try it out then and let you know.
NOM NOM to this NAAAAAAAAN.. YUM YUM in the INDIAN TUM TUM
Madethis with some CurriedCoconut andsplit pea soup. Was wonderful. Thakns. This recipe is really quite simple tomake. Fast and easy, turned out great too.
Thanks for the recipe, I made it today every thing is gone
but I put garlic pieces in the top of the dough with some of parsley leaves
and I put in two of the dough olive oil and thyme (za’atar)
its perfect crust
I made this yesterday and we loved it! I was a bit confused about the yeast – the recipe says “nutritional”, but your later comments say “active”. Like you, I tend to look at multiple recipes, then create my own custom recipe based on what sounds best. I’m an avid bread baker, so I opted to use active yeast and left out the baking powder (I was afraid they would be too biscuit-like). I used my own homemade whole milk yogurt and added an egg (from looking at other recipes). So it’s certainly not vegan, but we aren’t, either :). I also broiled it rather than frying, and brushed it with ghee when it came out of the oven. It was so delicious! Crispy outside, tender & chewy inside, and a lovely golden brown color. You can do so much with this recipe to modify seasonings and flavors. Thanks!
Hi Terry,
So glad you enjoyed!! I’ll admit – this recipe is a BIT of a mess and something I intend to fix very soon! So happy you were able to decipher my original intention. I appreciate your feedback so much!
Hi Terrym, could you please post exactly as you changed it? I am confused about the yeast options. please include baking instructions.
thank you.
With apologies in advance to Jessica for hijacking her recipe :)… Here it is.
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon active yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/3 cup warm milk
1/2 cup greek yogurt
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 T ghee (basically, this is butter melted in a saucepan, then spooning out the whey (the white foamy part), so you are left more or less with clarified butter
1 teaspoon parmesan cheese for sprinkling (optional)
In a bowl, add both flours, brown sugar, baking powder, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Whisk the ingredients together.
Create a well in the centre of the flour. Slowly add the warm milk, egg and yogurt to the dry ingredients, and then mix together with a spatula until just incorporated.
Flour your hands and knead the dough for about 5 minutes. The dough will be sticky. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and let it sit for 30 minutes on the counter. This will allow the dough to rest and become manageable before making the naan.
Divide the dough into 6-8 balls (the smaller balls will puff up more) and roll into a circle. Press the dough down with your palm, then roll into a slightly oblong shape on a floured surface using a rolling pin. It should measure about 6-8 inches.
Place on baking sheet under broiler set on low. Check after 30 seconds or so (I don’t recall exactly how long I left them in, it was a while back), but I took them out while they were lightly browned, but still pliable. Brush with the ghee, and add the cheese and/or herbs (I just used the parm).
Hi Jessica, I recently found your page on IG and I’m in love … thank you for sharing. I see this recipe is from a 2014 post. I was wondering since you’ve become vegan have you revamped the recipe any . Can I substitute for the brown sugar or the all purpose white flour?
This naan bread was so easy and hardly took anytime to make. Since I don’t live in a big household, I froze mine for future meals. I simply pop it in the over for a few minutes on each side and it tastes as though it was freshly made! I’ll definitely be making another batch of these once I run out 🙂
Awesome Jessica! Thank you so much for reading! We’re glad that you found the recipe easy. We freeze them all the time as well so I’m happy that worked for you too.
I was a little intimidated because yeast is not an ingredient I’m familiar with, but once again your clear recipe instructions resulted in the most delicious and pillowy naan. When I added some fresh minced garlic on top it tasted just like the one I get at my favourite Indian restaurant! I’m quite eager to make this again to accompany your coconut chickpea curry recipe (which is made weekly in my household). Your recipes never disappoint!
Wow, thank you so much KC. We really tried to make this recipe as user friendly as possible, so this review really means a lot. To hear that it rivals your favourite restaurant is just the icing on the cake. Thank you again for reading and for your kind words. Have a great day!