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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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Certainly the best naan recipe I’ve seen as there is a tendency to over complicate issues. I’ve been making something similar as a generic flatbread without the oil or yogurt or sugar. I’ve substituted Spelt, a primitive grain for wheat, only because I had some and it works well. The finished product looks the same and retains a good soft texture and freezes well. If I remembered to make yogurt then I’d use it.
If you can do it safely then an upside down plain steel wok over a cooker hob produces a totally different bread using the same ingredients, in seconds really. Here you are going down the roti route.
Cook the first side on top of a stove in a hot skillet. Then shove it in a very hot oven, this will raise the top side creating a cavity which you can stuff like a pitta.
Stretch the dough in a larger lump into a ciabatta shape and that’s what you get. Complete with stretch marks
Hi Jenn, could the yogurt be substituted with buttermilk? I don’t generally keep yogurt but I usually have Buttermilk. Thanks
Sure, that should work. Please LMK how they turn out with buttermilk!
Will this work with white whole wheat flour? Do I need to make any adjustments? Thanks.
Hi Georgi, I’d suggest starting by using half whole wheat and half all-purpose to make sure you like the texture. If you do like it, the next time you make this, you can up the ratio of whole wheat to white a bit more. Also, you may want to consider white whole wheat as it’s lighter and milder tasting than regular whole wheat flour (yet just as nutritious). I’d love to hear how they turn out!
I made the dough at lunchtime. Should I leave it on the counter or refrigerate?
And can I pre-roll the naan and just fry at dinner time to save time and have less mess with guests?
Hi Nidhi, I’m probably weighing in too late to be helpful, but I’d refrigerate the dough while it sits. And while I haven’t done it, I think you could roll out the naan and refrigerate but probably wouldn’t do that more than an hour in advance. (I’d separate each piece with wax or parchment paper and keep it covered so the dough doesn’t dry out.
I followed the instructions carefully and this didn’t rise for me! My husband suggested that should have activated the yeast before adding it to the flour. Disappointed.
Make sure the yeast wasn’t expired. I’ve bought one that was just a lemon before.
Recipe worked well for me.
Finally found the naan recipe I will be using from now on. This was perfect, chewy & soft, great flavor. And comes together fast. Thank you!
So yummy! I have never made naan or any other flatbread before, but this recipe gave me a really good taste of it. There weren’t many leftovers and those that were left were gone so fast!
Hi Jenn,
My family loves this recipe!! I was hoping to try making the dough ahead of time and keeping it in the fridge till I’m ready to use it. Would that work? Thanks!
So glad your family likes these! You can definitely refrigerate the dough. Here’s a link with some instructions.
I tried this recipe this week and it was fabulous! The only change I made was to replace 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 cup water with 1 cup of sourdough discard. I should have doubled the recipe because my husband and I have 4 kids so we each got one but we all wanted more!
Hi, do you still like replacing the 1/2 cup flour & 1/2 cup water with sourdough discard? I want to try this today.
Thank you, Kathleen
Hi Jenn,
I made this naan bread last night it was really delicious nice soft and fluffy. I pair it with your oven roasted shawarma from your second cookbook I have both of your books. I only cook 100 percent from your recipes at home. Your recipes are always the best that I used when it comes to food. I’m just wondering if you have a recipe for pita bread. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
🌹 Rose G.
Hi Rose, so glad you enjoyed this and have had success with so many of the recipes! Unfortunately, I don’t have a proven recipe of my own for pita bread – I’m sorry! I’ll add that to my list of recipes to potentially develop – thanks for the suggestion. 🙂
Outstanding!!!