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This homemade naan recipe makes soft, chewy flatbread with beautifully blistered spots and a buttery finish. All you need is a hot skillet—no tandoor required.
Naan is a soft, pillowy flatbread traditionally baked in a tandoor, a blazing-hot clay oven that gives it those characteristic bubbles and charred spots. Of course, most of us don’t have a tandoor at home, but I’ve found that a good, hot skillet does a wonderful job. The trick is to keep the dough soft and slightly sticky, then cook it over high heat so it puffs up and develops those beautiful golden, blistered spots.
This homemade naan recipe is one of my favorite breads to make because, aside from the rising time, it’s surprisingly quick and easy. And there’s nothing quite like brushing a warm piece of naan with melted butter and serving it alongside chicken curry, butter chicken, or chicken tikka masala.
“My search for the perfect naan bread is over—this recipe is the best!”
What You’ll Need To Make Homemade Naan
- All-purpose flour: The base of the dough. For best results, spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off.
- Sugar and salt: Sugar adds a touch of sweetness and helps the yeast along, while salt brings out the flavor.
- Instant or rapid-rise yeast: Helps the dough rise and gives the naan its pillowy texture. You can use active dry yeast instead, but allow a little extra time for rising.
- Warm water, plain yogurt, and olive oil: Bring the dough together and help keep the naan soft and tender.
- Anise seeds (optional): Add a subtle licorice note. You can substitute nigella, poppy, or sesame seeds, or leave them out.
- Melted salted butter: Brushed over the naan after cooking for a rich, buttery finish.
- Chopped parsley (optional): Adds color and freshness. Use cilantro if you prefer. For garlic naan, stir minced garlic into the melted butter before brushing it over the cooked bread.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How To Make Naan
Make the dough: Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the yogurt, olive oil, and warm water, then add to the dry ingredients. Stir with a fork until the dough starts to come together, then knead gently with floured hands until you have a soft, slightly sticky ball. There’s no need to knead it until smooth.
Let it rise: Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover. Leave it in a warm spot until it’s about doubled in size. The dough should look noticeably puffier and feel soft and airy.
Divide and shape: Turn the dough onto a well-floured work surface and divide it into six pieces. Dust with flour as needed to keep the dough manageable, then roll each piece into a thin oval. Don’t worry about making them perfectly uniform—a slightly irregular shape is part of naan’s charm.
Cook the naan: Heat a dry cast-iron or heavy nonstick skillet until very hot. Add a piece of dough and watch for large bubbles to form on the surface and golden-brown spots to appear underneath. Flip and cook until the other side is browned and blistered, with a few darker charred spots. Adjust the heat as you go; I usually lower it to medium after the first naan.
Brush and serve: Brush each naan with melted butter as soon as it comes out of the skillet, then keep it tucked in a clean kitchen towel while you cook the rest. Sprinkle with parsley, if using, and serve warm.
storage & Freezing Tips
Naan is best enjoyed fresh from the skillet, but leftovers can be stored in a resealable plastic bag. To reheat, wrap the naan in aluminum foil and warm in a 350°F (175°C) oven until heated through. Naan also freezes well for up to 3 months. Once completely cooled, wrap each piece tightly in plastic wrap and place them together in a freezer bag. To reheat from frozen, wrap the naan in foil and warm in a 350°F (175°C) oven until hot.
Naan Recipe Video Tutorial
Homemade Naan
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off, plus more for rolling (see note)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon instant dry yeast/rapid-rise yeast (see note)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Heaping ½ teaspoon anise seeds (optional)
- 3 tablespoons plain yogurt
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ¾ cup warm water (about 100°F/38°C)
- 2 tablespoons melted salted butter, for brushing on finished naans
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley (optional), for serving
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, yeast, salt and anise seeds (if using). Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, and ¾ cup (180 ml) warm water (about 100°F/38°C).
- Add the yogurt mixture to the dry ingredients and mix with a fork until the dough begins to come together. Lightly flour your hands and knead gently to form a soft, slightly sticky dough, adding more flour a little at a time if it’s too wet to handle. Stop kneading as soon as the dough comes together.
- Lightly oil a clean bowl or coat it with nonstick cooking spray (the bowl should be large enough to allow the dough to double in size). Transfer the dough to the prepared bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel. Let rise in a warm place for 1 to 1½ hours, or until roughly doubled in size.
- Place about ½ cup (65 g) flour in a small bowl. Lightly dust a work surface with some of the flour and turn the dough out onto it. Sprinkle a little flour over the dough and your hands.
- Shape the dough into a long rectangle and cut it into 6 equal portions, dusting with more flour as needed to prevent sticking. Roll each portion in the bowl of flour to coat lightly.
- Warm a large cast iron or heavy nonstick pan over medium-high heat until very hot.
- Using a rolling pin, roll one portion of dough into an oval about ⅛ in (3 mm) thick and 9 x 4 in (23 x 10 cm). Gently toss the dough back and forth between your hands to shake off any excess flour, then carefully lay it in the dry skillet.
- Cook for a few minutes, until air bubbles form across the surface and the bottom is golden brown with blackened spots. Flip and cook 1 to 2 minutes more, until the bottom is lightly browned and blistered in spots.
- Remove the naan from the skillet, brush with melted butter, and place in a tea towel-lined dish to keep warm.
- Repeat with the remaining naans, adjusting the heat lower if necessary as you go (I usually find it necessary to lower the heat to medium after the first naan). Sprinkle with parsley, if using, and serve warm.
Notes
- I use King Arthur flour, which is higher in protein than some other all-purpose flours. If using a flour with a lower protein content, such as Gold Medal, you will likely need to add a few more tablespoons of flour.
- Active dry yeast may be used instead of instant/rapid-rise yeast, however, the dough will take longer to rise. To give active dry yeast a boost, you can dissolve it in the lukewarm water and let it sit until frothy, about 10 minutes. After that, add it to the flour, sugar, salt, and anise seeds, and proceed with the recipe.
- To keep the cooked naan warm, place them in a 200°F (96°C) oven.
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
See more recipes:
Ways to Use Naan
Naan is delicious alongside curries, but there are plenty of other ways to enjoy it. Serve it with a bowl of mulligatawny soup, use it as a base for individual flatbread pizzas, or fold it around grilled chicken, kabobs, or roasted vegetables for a sandwich or wrap. You can even top warm naan with fried eggs for a quick and satisfying breakfast.
More Homemade Bread Recipes You’ll Love
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Nooooo way – was soooo dry. I made again to try to understand why! This time l put 1 cup water. I will say later how it is done this time!
I wished I had read some of the lower reviews before attempting to make this. The ratio for water was way too high, the dough was extremely sticky. I had to add over a full cup of flour to make it less sticky but it still stuck when trying to roll it out. I cooked one just to see if I could salvage it and it tasted very bland with a slight sourness from the yeast. Ick. I like some of your other recipes, this one however was horrible. Not quite sure what all of the 5 stars are about, really hope you didn’t buy reviews :/
Okay so either
a. you either pay for 5 star reviews
b. no one who reviews actually makes it, and just think it looks good
or
c. both of the above
because there is way too much liquid. I must have dumped at least an extra cup of flour in while kneading to get the texture described and pictured. I am letting the dough rise right now, so I don’t know how this will turn out, but I think it’s fair to review before it’s done, in this situation.
Sorry to hear you had such a problem with this, Jill! Are you using a standard liquid measuring cup for the water and a dry ingredient measuring cup for the flour?
I’ve made these twice in 24 hours. Perfect. I followed the recipe to the letter and had no problems. I’m in the UK and don’t use cup measurements but have a set of ceramic cup measures which I’ve used for the naan. I can not fault this recipe at all. And I’m not paid for my review 🤣
Hello I just made and it turned out just fine, my husband liked them. I think you learn as you go with bread and yeast. I’m a beginner, and have lots of thoughts for the next time I make these, like using a different pan. Mine burnt in the middle and didn’t cook on the outer so I’m rolling thinner, making them smaller and rounder and maybe just a touch more water in the initial dough mix. But overall its a fail proof recipe for my first attempt.
I’ve been making this recipe for the past couple of years now. I am definitely not paid for my review and I can confidently say that this is the easiest, most versatile bread recipe EVER! Some days the dough is really sticky and I just add more flour until I can handle it. Some days the dough is drier but softens up after rising. I’ve substituted 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of ap flour for whole wheat flour; and greek yogurt, goat’s milk cheese, almond milk and coconut milk for the yogurt and all have worked out fine. I make all the naans, freeze the leftovers and pop them in the toaster oven whenever I need them. They make a fast mini pizza crust which my kids LOVE to eat. Honestly, so grateful to Jenn for posting this recipe 🙏🏼
Thank you for this recipe! I tried this yesterday, it was easy to make. I substituted 1/4 of the flour with whole-wheat flour to make it a bit more wholesome. It tasted delicious. But the naan did not turn out quite as fluffy as I would have liked it. Is it because I used some whole-wheat flour? Should I add a bit of baking powder next time? It is not a big deal, just wondering if I can perfect it with the whole-wheat flour option. I will make this again, already imported it into my CookBook APP. Not affiliated, just sharing that in my view, this is be best app for organizing recipes.
Hi Karin, I feel confident that the use of whole wheat flour made the naan a bit flatter. I would not recommend adding baking powder to the mix. So using the whole wheat flour is fine — it will just make the naan less fluffy.
Sorry. This was awful. Used traditional yeast and followed your instructions and I give it a big fail! So disappointing. I have a great recipe for naan at home but am on vacation and did not have access, so was excited to use your recipe with such a strong 5 review. Although it did indeed rise, it did not fluff up upon cooking. Please try again with the traditional method and come up with measurements that produce a quality product.
My first time making bread of any kind and this turned out wonderful! Great instructions! I ended up substituting sour cream and cumin seeds because I was using what I had on hand. I ate them with cauliflower korma but they were delicious right off the skillet!
Could I use sour cream in place of yogurt as I don’t have any yogurt at home and it’s raining like a monsoon out there so I don’t fancy the grocery store?!
Sure, Sarah, sour cream will work. Hope you enjoy the naan!
I consider myself an pretty competent homecook, but bread and pastry are not my strong point… this recipe is AMAZING… My naan turned out simply perfect, exactly like the picture… husband approved too!! Thank you so much, this is a really great recipe!! Definitely going into the rotation.
I just made this recipe for the first time. I used half whole wheat flour as this was mentioned in the reviews. Turned out so well! It was quite easy too. I will never buy store bought naan again.
Can you use whole wheat flour and if so, how much would you use?
Hi Laura, I would start by subbing 1/2 of the flour with whole wheat flour; it will be a little more dense, but still good.