Garlic Naan is a soft, buttery homemade bread that’s easy to make and perfect for serving with your favorite Indian dinners! Try it today!
Warm Naan is a classic Indian Bread Recipe that’s easy to make at home and serve with your favorite Indian dishes. For more bread recipes like this, try my classic Flatbread and Roti.
Why You’ll Love This Bread?
- Perfect for wraps or dipping in the sauce of your favorite Indian dishes.
- Made with simple ingredients you already have in your panty.
Sabrina’s Garlic Naan Recipe
This is an easy side dish that makes the whole meal more filling, and it doesn’t take that long to make. Naan bread is a staple in Indian cuisine, and adding the extra garlic-butter taste just makes the dish even more incredible. I like cooking the naan until it’s lightly charred in some spots. It gives it that delicious, more authentic flavor and texture.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 3 1/4 cups flour
- 2 cups greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 cloves garlic , minced
- 1/4 cup cilantro , minced
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter , melted
Instructions
- Add flour, greek yogurt, baking powder, salt, garlic, and cilantro to a large bowl.
- Mix well, then remove from bowl and knead for 3 minutes.
- Cut into 24 balls.
- Roll the balls on a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 seconds.
- Roll out with a rolling pin.
- Brush butter lightly in a large heavy pan, cook naan for 1 minute on the first side and about 20 seconds on the second side.
- Brush with additional butter and top with kosher salt if desired.
Nutrition
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Sabrina’s Tip
The traditional way to cook naan is in a very hot tandoor oven. It is also common to fry naan in a skillet, which will cook it through and let it raise while also browning the outside. This recipe is made using a cast iron skillet. Raise the stovetop to medium-high heat, then add the naan to the hot skillet. Cook for a couple of minutes until the bread is cooked on both sides with light golden spots on the surface.
Table of contents
About this Recipe
You can make a soft, savory flatbread that’s just as good as what you’d get at Indian restaurants. The naan recipe uses basic pantry ingredients like flour, Greek yogurt, garlic, and cilantro. After combining the ingredients and kneading the bread, it only takes a bit of time to bake the fluffy-restaurant-style bread on a cast-iron skillet.
Ingredients
- 2 cups of Greek Yogurt: This homemade Garlic Naan recipe is made with easy and basic ingredients that you probably already have in the house. The plain yogurt makes the bread nice and fluffy. It also adds tangy flavor, which is similar to what yeast would bring the recipe. Thanks to the greek yogurt, you can make this bread without yeast.
- Dry ingredients: Along with the yogurt the other key ingredients in this recipe are baking powder, salt, and flour.
- 4 tablespoons of Butter: Used to cook the bread and give it a rich, buttery outer layer.
- Flavorings: The dough is flavored with salt, garlic cloves, and fresh cilantro for an amazingly bold, and savory flavor that goes great with classic Indian dishes.
Can This Be Made Ahead of Time?
You can make the dough balls and wrap them individually in plastic wrap up to 24 hours before cooking. Then fry the naan so that it’s fresh and hot when you serve the rest of your Indian meal. If you’d like to cook the naan in advance as well, skip brushing any additional butter after cooking. Then store it wrapped tightly at room temperature for 1-2 days and reheat it on a hot skillet before brushing butter and adding salt or fresh herbs.
Pairing Suggestions
Naan is the perfect addition to your favorite Indian dishes, from classic chicken dishes and Curry to Chicken Shawarma, where it makes an excellent wrap. Serve it alongside Channa Masala, Tandoori Chicken, and round out the meal with Indian Spiced Honey Roasted Carrots and Indian Bombay Potatoes and Peas.
How to Store
- Serve: After cooking naan, you can keep it at room temperature. Let the bread cool to room temperature, then put it in a Ziplock bag, or wrap it in plastic wrap or aluminum foil for up to a week.
- Store: Alternatively, you could package the bread and keep it in the fridge for 2 days.
- Freeze: Frozen Naan Bread can keep well in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Ideas to Serve
- Naan Pizza: Garlic Naan makes a delicious base for individual pizzas. After cooking, top with pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella, and your favorite toppings and bake at 400 degrees for 5-8 minutes until melted and gooey.
- Indian Pizza: Give your homemade naan pizzas more Indian flavor by using a tikka masala tomato sauce and chopped cubes of paneer cheese as your pizza toppings. This is a great way to use up leftovers after cooking an Indian meal. You can even top your Indian Naan Pizza with chunks of curry chicken or chana masala chick peas.
- Naan Chips: Cut Naan into triangles and bake at 400 degrees for 6-10 minutes until crispy. Then serve with an Indian chutney or dipping sauces.
- Salad Topping: Slice leftover naan into long narrow strips and toast them to make a crunchy and flavorful salad topping.
Oven Method
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees, and line an aluminum pan with foil. Brush both sides of a rolled piece of dough with melted butter and bake for 8-12 minutes until it’s cooked through and edges are golden.
Frequent Questions
It’s easy to substitute the traditional Greek yogurt in this naan recipe for your favorite non-dairy yogurt. Coconut yogurt would work great for both the texture and the flavor complementing Indian food. You’ll want to also substitute a non dairy butter alternative for the butter in the recipe. Swap the butter and yogurt cup for cup and follow the rest of the recipe as written.
Even though Naan appears flat, is it actually a leavened bread that is baked in a traditional tandoor (clay oven) or fried in a pan. Naan originates in central Asia and is typically made with wheat flour, yeast, and yogurt. It is flavored with salt, herbs, and often garlic. This recipe uses the quick and easy pan fry method, and no yeast which makes it even easier.
Variations
- Wheat flour: Instead of regular white flour, you can add some extra nutrients to this recipe by using wheat flour. Just keep in mind that it will make denser bread.
- Vegan: You can make a vegan Homemade Garlic Naan recipe. The only ingredients that aren’t already vegan are butter and Greek yogurt. To replace the butter, you can use vegetable oil, olive oil, or avocado oil. Then use a dairy-free yogurt instead of regular yogurt. Coconut yogurt is a favorite to use, and the light coconut flavor goes well with Indian dishes.
- Seasonings: You can add other spices and fresh herbs to your Naan Bread recipe. Try mixing in onion powder, cumin, red pepper flakes, fresh parsley, anise seeds, or coriander.
Related Recipes
More Indian Sides
These photos were in a previous version of this post
The first few pieces were perfect but on subsequent pieces the butter in the pan began to burn. Should the pan be wiped out occasionally during cooking?
Perhaps turn the heat down a smidge next time? Alternatively, you could add a bit of butter as well in between pieces to ensure that each piece doesn’t burn?
So easy and a great recipe for Naan!