Homemade Naan
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There’s nothing quite like warm, homemade naan straight from the skillet. Soft, chewy, and blistered in all the right places, it’s the perfect companion to curries, soups, or anything with lots of sauce to soak up.
Naan is a pillowy flatbread traditionally baked in a tandoor, a cylindrical clay or metal oven used in kitchens across the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, and Central Asia. These ovens get scorching hot and give food that signature smoky flavor. The naan dough is rolled out and slapped onto the tandoor’s inner walls, where it sticks and cooks fast over open flames. Once it’s done, it gets brushed with melted butter. In this homemade naan recipe, I replicate the process using a hot skillet—and the results are just as soft, chewy, and delicious.
Aside from the rising time, this easy naan recipe is quick to make, and it’s far superior to anything you’ll find at the store. Pair it with saucy dishes like 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 activate the yeast, while salt brings out the flavor.
- Instant or rapid-rise yeast: Makes the dough rise quickly and gives naan its fluffy texture. You can use active dry yeast instead—just allow a little extra time for rising.
- Warm water, plain yogurt, and olive oil: These bring the dough together and keep it soft, tender, and easy to work with.
- Anise seeds (optional): Add a subtle licorice note. Or swap in nigella, poppy, or sesame seeds—or skip them entirely.
- Melted salted butter: Brushed on after cooking for that buttery finish everyone loves.
- Chopped parsley (optional): Adds color and freshness. Use cilantro if you prefer, or add minced garlic for a garlic naan variation.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast, sugar, anise seeds, and salt.
Step 2: Add the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk the yogurt, olive oil, and warm water, then pour into the dry ingredients.
Step 3: Stir. Stir with a fork until the dough starts to come together.
Step 4: Knead. Dust your hands with flour and knead into a soft, sticky ball, then cover with plastic wrap.
Step 5: Let it rise. Let the dough rise in a warm spot until it’s about doubled in size, 1 to 1½ hours. (The warmer the spot, the faster it’ll rise.)
Step 6: Prep the dough. Dust a work surface with flour and fill a small bowl with extra flour for dusting. Turn the dough onto the floured surface and sprinkle with more flour.
Step 7: Divide and shape. Shape the dough into a long rectangle and then cut into six equal portions.
Step 8: Heat the skillet and roll out the dough. Heat a cast iron or heavy nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until very hot. While it heats, roll one piece of the dough into an oval about 1/8-inch thick.
Step 9: Cook the naan. Place the dough in the hot skillet and cook until bubbles form and the bottom is browned in spots.
Flip the naan and let it cook a few minutes more, until golden brown with some charred spots.
Step 11: Finish and serve. Brush the cooked naan with melted butter, and repeat with remaining dough balls. Sprinkle with parsley, if using, then serve warm. Store naan in a sealed bag at room temperature for 1 day or freeze for up to 3 months.
Naan Recipe Video Tutorial
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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. When the dough is about to come together, dust your hands with flour and knead gently into a soft, slightly sticky dough (sprinkle more flour, little by little, if the dough is too wet to work with). As soon as it comes together, stop kneading.
- Lightly oil or spray a clean bowl 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 sit in a warm place for 1 to 1½ hours, or until about doubled in size (hint: the warmer the spot, the faster the dough will rise).
- Fill a small bowl with about ½ cup (65 g) flour. Dust a work surface with some of the flour and dump the dough on top. Sprinkle some of the flour on top of the dough and on your hands. Shape the dough into a long rectangle and cut into 6 equal portions, dusting with more flour as necessary so the dough doesn't stick. Roll each portion of dough in the bowl of flour to keep them from sticking.
- Warm a large cast iron or heavy nonstick pan over medium-high heat until very hot. Using a rolling pin, roll one of the dough balls into an oval shape about ⅛-in (3-mm) thick (it should be about 9 x 4 in/23 x 10 cm). Pick up the dough and flip-flop it back and forth between your hands to release any excess flour; then gently lay the dough in the dry skillet and cook until the top is bursting with air bubbles and the bottom is golden and blackened in spots, a few minutes. Flip the naan and cook about 1 to 2 minutes more until the the bottom is lightly browned and blistered in spots. Remove the naan from the skillet and brush with melted butter. Place the naan 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.
- To keep the cooked naan warm, place them in a 200°F (96°C) oven. Store leftovers in a Ziplock bag and reheat in a 350°F (175°C) oven wrapped in foil.
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.
- Freezing Instructions: The naan can be frozen for up to 3 months. Once it’s completely cooled, wrap each piece securely in plastic wrap and put all the rounds in a sealable plastic bag prior to putting in the freezer. To reheat, wrap the naan in aluminum foil and warm in a 350°F (175°C) oven until hot.
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.
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I have made this recipe several times, it’s a family favourite! I’ve used a cast iron pan, which worked great, but have also used our pizza stone both in the oven and on the BBQ. The key to success is ensuring the stone is very hot before you cook the naan. I have made no substitutions and it always turns out perfectly. Do not forget the butter at the end. Thanks Jenn!!
A great, very easy recipe! I made this exactly as written, adding a tsp of minced garlic to the dough instead of the other suggestions – used Rapid Rise yeast and had it doubled in less than an hour. Yogurt, as others have said, is a key ingredient here, and I wouldn’t omit or substitute for it. Managed well with a 10″ non-stick skillet, and brushed a little butter on them after removing from heat. Stacked them in a wax paper liner to protect our tea towel, placed it in a Pyrex pie plate to keep warm in a 150 degree oven while I finished an Indian style dinner. Removed the towel wrap from the Pyrex into the same wonderful Williams Sonoma basket pictured in the recipe. Bread baskets like this are so hard to find now, I highly recommend them. These naan were fluffy and delicious and we froze the left overs as directed; next time I’d add even more garlic. Thanks for an easy Naan recipe!
This recipe is excellent. My family loves it. It goes well with Mediterranean and Indian dishes and the way you wrote the recipe makes it pretty easy for it to come out perfect. Thank you Jenn! You are one of my favorite chefs/instructors. I make many of your recipes!
Thank you !
Awesome recipe. Turned out perfect!
Loved it. Thankyou. I made a few amendments due to personal preference and after watching some recipe videos. It’s pretty cold here so I mixed the warm water, yeast and sugar together first to help the yeast activate. I also only used a teaspoon on sugar and I used 1 and a quarter tsp yeast. I also used the dough hook on my mixer because generally I’m HORRIBLE with dough. Cast iron skillet, made 7, after cooking I brushed with a mix I’d already zapped in the microwave of nutalex, oil, heaps of garlic, salt and dried parsley. During cooking I just reoiled the skillet with a tiny bit of normal oil after each naan. Very easy to follow and recreate, even for a dough screweruperer like me.
Thank you for sharing this recipe! It turned out exactly as you described. Perfect taste and texture. It was delicious with spicy pickled eggplant and homemade raita. Can’t wait to make it again for a dinner party! Bon appétit!
Oh my gosh- the instructions were wonderful and the naan was so simple to make! Family loved it! We skipped the anise seeds and brushed with melted ghee. Next time we will add garlic to the butter. This recipe is EXCELLENT and easy. Thank you!!
Made these tonight. Simple, easy to follow recipe, dough came together easily; wasn’t sticky, rose nicely and was easy to roll out. Used my cast iron pan which worked well. My only complaint? Not a lot of flavor. I added onion and garlic powder and brushed the cooked naan with garlic infused butter but they still had very little flavor. Maybe I didn’t add enough salt? Not sure. Had to make do with pantry ingredients so I used white whole wheat flour and subbed almond milk for yogurt. Texture was good, dough was easy to work with but next time I’ll add more salt.
I think you should try with yogurt next time? I have made breads with and without yogurt and the yogurt does add a significant flavor (which i love!). Without it, you just have a regular yeast bread. It is possible to make yogurt from almond milk in an instant pot i think if you do not do dairy. But could be a salt thing too.
Yummy! Have made your naan bread a few times now and it is a real hit with our house. It is so soft and tasty and so very easy to make.
I didn’t have any seeds to add, but sprinkled some garlic powder on after brushing with butter for a light garlic flavour.
👌 Simple recipe and bloody delicious. Well done and thank you Jenn. I am also a trained chef – just not really spent much time making breads. I made my dough the night before (prepared it at the same time that my tandoori was marinating) and let rise in the fridge overnight like I do with my pizza dough when I make it. Also I used ras el hanout for my spice (so tasty). Might try garam masala next time. Also I melted butter with olive oil, fresh crushed garlic, chopped parsley and lemon thyme. Then smothered each rolled out naan in the mix – both sides, before putting on my char grill. What a game changer. I won’t be buying packet naan ever again. The whole family loved it. So easy. Thank you again.
I have not tried this recipe yet. But will suggest mix fenugreek flakes/ cilantro with garlic and in melted butter. Brush your rolled dough with mix and cook it. It will give you aromatic flavor and taste.