There's nothing more wondrous than tearing into a freshly made naan, hot from the tandoor, with that tantalizing aroma of fresh-baked dough. I love naan so when I went vegan I knew I had to create a vegan version of this amazing Indian flatbread with the exact flavor and texture of an authentic Punjabi naan. Here's that perfect vegan naan recipe.
I serve it with my favorite spicy curries and it always gets glowing reviews from my Indian friends, even those who aren't vegan!
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What is naan?
Naan is a pillowy flatbread associated with north Indian and Pakistani cuisine, and it is a mainstay of Indian restaurants around the world. Unlike most Indian flatbreads, which are unleavened and cooked on a griddle, a naan is made with yeast, proofed and then baked in a cylindrical clay oven, called a tandoor. The naan is slapped on the side of the screaming-hot oven and it bubbles up instantly as the moisture in the dough escapes, developing that signature smoky flavor and those delicious char spots.
Once you've eaten a naan you just have to have more. Indian flatbreads like roti and paratha are delicious, but a naan is just that much more special, with that fluffy, flaky texture that makes it perfect for dunking into thick, spicy north Indian curries.
Naan has become so popular in recent years that you can find it in most U.S. supermarkets now. But these naans often contain buttermilk or ghee and a long list of preservatives. If you have found yourself wishing for an easy vegan naan recipe that's free of dairy products but has authentic texture and flavor, I have a recipe for you. It's made with pantry ingredients and I am spilling all of my secrets, learned over years of making vegan naan, so you can serve and eat perfect naan each time.
What makes this vegan naan authentic
I grew up in India, eating naan at Indian restaurants. One of my friends owned a north Indian restaurant and I'll never forget the thrill of going into the kitchen to watch the Punjabi cook shape naan dough into a teardrop and place it on the inside of the cylindrical tandoor. The only thing that surpassed the experience was tearing into that freshly made naan minutes later to scoop up a spicy chana masala.
For me a good naan needs to have some definite qualities: it should be soft and pillowy with irregular blisters and char spots, and that wonderful, smoky flavor you get from the intense heat of the tandoor.
Of course, most of us don't have a tandoor at home, so I developed this recipe to recreate those flavors and textures as closely as possible on a stovetop. A soft, slightly tacky dough made with vegan yogurt gives the naan tenderness and stretch. I let the dough rise and rest and then shape it by hand so it has that slightly uneven thickness and rustic shape of a restaurant naan.
I also dock the naan with my fingertips so the naan develops lots of smaller bubbles and char spots. Then I cook it on a dry, blazing hot griddle, flipping it just once, exactly as if I were cooking it in a tandoor. The intense heat creates those lovely brown spots and that smoky flavor.
Finally, I brush the naan with my special garlic herb butter but only after it comes off the griddle. You can skip the garlic and herbs and use just vegan butter for a plain naan.
This isn't a naan cooked in a traditional tandoor but I've carefully replaced the dairy ingredients used in a traditional naan with vegan substitutes and designed the technique to reward you with the exact flavors and textures of the restaurant naan you know and love.
Choose your naan
This vegan naan is my go-to recipe, but you can also choose from these variations depending on how you like to cook or any special dietary needs:
- Classic vegan naan: this recipe
- Cooking outdoors: Grilled naan
- Wholegrain version: Whole wheat naan
- Gluten-free diet: Gluten-free naan
- Have sourdough starter/discard? Sourdough naan
Five-Star Reader Review
I absolutely loved this recipe!!! It was so simple and the results were simply delicious.
- Vickie
Recipe card
Vegan Naan Recipe
Ingredients
For optional garlic butter topping:
- 4 tablespoons vegan butter (olive oil works too)
- 6 cloves garlic (crushed or put through a garlic press)
- 2 tablespoons cilantro (finely chopped. You can sub with another herb like mint)
For vegan naan
- 2¼ teaspoon active dry yeast (1 packet. Instant yeast will also work)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 to 1½ cups water (lukewarm)
- ½ cup vegan yogurt (preferably at room temperature)
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or any neutral oil
- 3.5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Make garlic herb butter
- Place the vegan butter, garlic and cilantro in a small skillet. Turn heat to low. Once the butter has melted, let the herbs infuse into the oil for 15 more minutes. Stir occasionally while cooking, then turn off heat and set aside. You can add some salt to taste to the vegan garlic herb butter if you want to.
Make vegan naan
- Place yeast in a large bowl with 1 cup water and sugar. Let stand five minutes until the yeast dissolves and bubbles.
- Add the yogurt and oil to the bowl followed by the flour and salt.
- Mix with a wooden spoon or your hand until a rough dough comes together. You may need to drizzle between ¼ to ½ cup more water. Use warm water. The dough should be a bit wet and should stick slightly to your hands.
- Turn out the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead just slightly until it's fairly smooth but still tacky. Coat the bowl with oil and place the ball of dough in it, covering the top with a bit of oil as well. Cover tightly and set aside to rise, about an hour.
- After an hour the dough should have doubled. Remove it to an unfloured surface and cut into eight pieces, like you would a pizza.
- Form each piece into a ball by tucking the sides under and then rolling the dough between your palms. Cover the balls of dough with a kitchen towel and let them stand 20 minutes.
- To form the naan, take one ball of dough. Shape it by pressing it into a four- or five-inch disc first with your fingers, then lifting it by the edges and letting the weight of the dough and gravity pull it down. Move your fingers along the edges until the naan is roughly six inches by eight inches, The naan should be about ¼-inch thick, with some spots that are thinner. After you shape the naan, use your fingertips to make some dents in the surface. This is called "docking" and it will keep the naan from bubbling up into one large pocket.
- Heat a cast-iron griddle over high heat. Place the naan on the hot griddle. It should begin to puff up and form large bubbles immediately.
- Flip the naan just once. Let it cook for another 45 seconds to a minute or until char spots appear on the bottom. Brush some of the garlic herb butter or plain melted butter on the naan and remove to a plate lined with a kitchen towel. Keep the naan wrapped until ready to serve.
Nutrition Information
My top tips for vegan naan
- Check the yeast. The recipe asks that you let the dry yeast "bloom" for five minutes in warm water. This helps activate the yeast and a little bit of sugar added to the water helps feed them. If the yeast doesn't become frothy after five or 10 minutes, it is likely dead and you need to buy fresh yeast.
- Use warm water to knead the dough. This helps the yeast work swiftly to proof the dough.
- Don't over-knead naan dough. Once the dough comes together turn it out on a floured surface and quickly knead it for a minute or two until you can form it into a ball. The perfect naan dough should feel slightly tacky and it should leave light traces of dough on your fingers.
- Let the dough rest before shaping. Once the dough has risen and you have shaped it into individual balls, let them stand for 20 minutes at least so they have a chance to rest and relax. This will make it much, much easier to shape the naans.
- Dock the naan: After shaping the naan, push into the surface with your fingertips to create little dents. This both helps to "dock" the naan, so it doesn't puff up in one large pocket like a pita, and it creates those wonderful texture variations and charred spots as the naan roasts.
- Don't oil the skillet. Roast the naan on a dry griddle or skillet and brush the garlic herb butter or oil on the naan after it's finished roasting for best texture.
- Control the skillet temperature. If you find that the naans are browning too fast, sprinkle a bit of water on the skillet to bring down the temperature.
- Wrap naans in kitchen towel to keep them soft and fresh. Serve the naan as soon as possible for the best flavor and texture.
Troubleshooting
- Dough not rising. Check the yeast and make sure it is still viable. See my "top tips for vegan naan" section above on how to do this.
- Naan not bubbling: The naan won't bubble if you rolled it or shaped it too thin. It should be at least ¼-inch thick in the thickest parts.
- Naan turns hard after cooking: This can happen if the dough was too stiff to begin with, or you cooked the naan over low heat. Make sure the dough is tacky to the touch, and do not skip the vegan yogurt, which adds moisture and elasticity to the dough. The griddle should be screaming hot when you place the naan on it.
Recipe FAQs
You can find versions of vegan naan made without vegan yogurt but I recommend using it for softer, fluffier naan. Indian cooks add yogurt to naan because the acidity softens the gluten in the naan dough and make it easier to stretch. The yogurt also adds more buttery flavor to the naan. Vegan yogurt is a nice substitute because it gives you both the acidity for texture and that buttery flavor. Use a store-bought yogurt with live cultures, or a homemade, probiotic version, like my cashew yogurt.
If you don't have yogurt, you can make a quick "buttermilk" by mixing ½ cup non-dairy milk like oat milk or soy milk with the juice of half a lemon or a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. Set aside for five minutes to curdle, then use it instead of the yogurt.
There's no right or wrong way to shape a naan. The typical restaurant naan is a rough teardrop shape but you can also just make it round or free-form. Once your naan is baked up and covered with the herby butter garlic mixture it will look beautiful and appetizing regardless of the shape. Here are three methods you can use to shape naan:
With your fingers: This is similar to the technique you'd use with a pizza dough and the most fun. Pat the dough into a four-inch disc with your fingers, then lift it by the edges and let the weight of the dough and gravity elongate the dough. Move your fingers around the edges, which will shape the naan as you go. If there is a tear, patch it up by pressing the dough together. Stop once the naan is approximately five inches wide and seven inches long.
With a rolling pin: Use the rolling pin to shape the naan into an oval. Then pull one end slightly to form a teardrop shape.
With water. Place the dough on a flat surface and push into it with finger tips that have been dipped in a glass of water. Apply pressure with the wet fingertips to shape the dough, moving your fingers outward quickly until you get the shape you desire.
Absolutely! A cast iron tava is perfect for making naan.
Place a pizza stone or unglazed tiles in the oven and preheat the oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit/260 degrees Celsius. Place the naan directly on the pizza stone or tiles and cook 3-4 minutes until puffy, then flip and cook the other side for a minute more.
Store the vegan garlic naan at room temperature in cool or temperate climates, for up to a day. Keep the naan loosely wrapped in a kitchen towel. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to four days. You can also place the naan in freezer-safe bags and freeze for up to four months. Thaw the naan if frozen, then place on a hot griddle and warm through on either side, about a minute per side, before serving.
I love pairing vegan naan with spicy curries, including baingan bharta, bhindi masala and rajma masala. You can also serve it with vegetable curry or with a thick dal like palak dal tadka or vegan dal makhani.
Lauren says
Hey! I love this recipe but just wondering whether it has been updated recently? I swear I’ve used this recipe about 50 times but don’t remember ever using yoghurt! Have you got an older version without the yoghurt?
Vaishali says
You can use an equal quantity of nondairy milk. Add a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar for softer naan.
Joy Drummond says
Love this recipe so easy , i just mix in bowl since no stand mixer. Everyone loves this bread and wants more. I used soy milk and coconut milk both turned out great. Thanks for recipie.
Gina says
Hello. Haven't tried making naan for some years, though we love it and know that homemade will be much better than 'supermarket' packaged naan. I usually make my tortilla-style chapatis, rather than tackle the challenge of naan. (Note: restaurant naan is so fab that it's hard to imagine making something that can compete). I did not follow your recipe in two important ways, regretfully: 1) I did add in all the water up front, instead of patiently waiting, resulting in a very wet batter (have added extra flour, but still quite sticky; 2) am being lazy and have it mixing in my bread machine. I should have googled about this--whether this can work or not. What's your take on making this in a bread machine--a bad idea? I need something that we can have with your very delicious chana masala recipe (have made a few times), which am also making (have just ordered chana masala powder, per your recommendation, but will this time again use garam masala and amchoor, which I have.) Thanks in advance for your thoughts on the naan situation. Love your recipes--thank you for sharing them with us.
Vaishali says
Hi Gina, you can knead the dough in a bread machine, that's no problem. You do need to make sure you don't add too much water though. Naan dough needs to be a bit soft and tacky so you can shape it easily but not so sticky that you cannot handle it. You can try adding a little more flour and see if that helps. Also make sure the griddle is screaming hot when you roast the naan.
Anonymous says
Naan update: This turned out fantastic, thanks to your recipe. I will follow your instructions more carefully next time, but the main thing is that your recipe for the dough is spot on. I've tried a few different naan recipes, over the years, and none produced such a nice result. Needing yogurt, as in many naan recipes, put me off making it, as I don't often have yogurt, but in your recipe, I used org. unsweetened soy milk with great success. Many thanks!
Vickie says
I absolutely loved this recipe!!! It was so simple and the results were simply delicious.
Vaishali says
So happy to hear, Vicki! Thanks for letting me know.
Abigail says
Can I use Instant Yeast? If so, how much would I need?
Vaishali says
Use 2 tsp of instant yeast!
Karyn Quackenbush says
Unbelievable!!! So delicious !!!
I’ll have to freeze some. What’s the best way to heat up after freezing?? I adore all of your recipes!!!
Karyn
Vaishali says
Hi Karyn, so happy you loved the naan! Reheat the naan (after thawing) on a hot griddle.
Marion says
As always your recipes are perfect!! Thank you so much. With the pandemic, husband and I haven’t been able to visit our fav Indian restaurant but no worries bc I’m cooking at home!
Saffron says
Hey Vaishali☺️
I was hoping you could let me know if I’d be able to use the discard from day 3 of my sourdough starter in this? And if so, what all of the quantities would be changed to to accommodate 1/2 a cup of sourdough starter?
Thank you for all of your wonderful content, looking forward to hearing back from you☺️
Vaishali says
Hi Saffron, you an just add the starter before mixing the dough, no need for other adjustments. You prob will just need less water.
Diana says
These are amazing! Easy to make, turned out great. Despite me not being able to fry them in a screaming hot cast iron. So I did them "low and slow" in a non-stick skillet. Worked great. Thank you so much for this recipes. I've been trying to get my nerve up to make naan, I'm glad I waiting to find you first.
Vaishali says
Hi Diana, so happy you liked them!
Roslyn Levin says
Hi, I wondered if you have a recipe for a sourdough naan? I avoid gluten but find that sourdough, even made with regular flour, does not bother my gut. I also love naan so marrying sourdough with naan would be wonderful!!!!
Thank you for all your recipes.
Many Blessings for 2021
Vaishali says
Hi Roslyn, I have a vegan sourdough naan recipe on the blog!
Rachel says
Made this recipe stuffing the naan with some of the garlic along with sautéed chives and yellow onion. It was sooo good! So glad to finally make my own naan and be a better vegan for my husband who’s allergic to milk proteins.
I replaced the all purpose flour with organic Bread flour so needed much less water. So soft! And used flat ceramic skillet.
Would love to try the peshwari version.
Vaishali says
Hi Rachel, so happy it turned out well for you! I love the addition of chives--even more garlicky and oniony!
Alma I Reed-Herrera says
Delicious! I used whole wheat and white flour.
K says
Looks great! Can I make the dough the day before cooking it on the griddle?
Thanks x
Christa says
Delicious! I made it with guacamole and rotisserie chicken and it was PERFECT.
Poonam says
Delicious. I used part whole wheat and part all purpose. I also froze the other half of the dough. Thank you for this super easy recipe!
Marilyn says
Hi,
Love your recipes. Would it be easy to turn this into a peshwari naan? Could I create a pocket and fill with ground almond and desiccated coconut?
Thanks.
Wotnomeat says
to make it into peshwari naan, i roll the naan into a crcle, add a spoon of filling in the centre. then gather up like a parcel,press together to seal.flatten in your hand.turn over and carefully roll out
Loriann says
Would this recipe work with whole wheat bread flour? Are there adjustments that would need to be made?
Vaishali says
You would not get naans as soft and fluffy--they'd be more dense. But you can certainly make them with whole wheat if you want a healthier alternative.
raani says
new to your site and very inspired by it.
I would like to make the Himalayan bhatura that the local women in Himachal Pradesh make.
Any way that I can inspire you to learn how to make them. Maybe using this recipe I could experiment. They are very very good and usually nicely soured.
Thank you
Raani
Elizabeth says
I love naan so much! My sourdough bread is on its 2nd rise right now, and I am already excited for what I might make with the discard starter next weekend. I wonder if I can use some in this recipe?
Thanks for your site!
Vaishali says
Hi Elizabeth, yes! You can follow the directions in my sourdough aloo kulcha recipe, just skip the potato stuffing and shape it like a naan.
Capucine Nina Hinshaw says
Did you mange to make you naan from your starter?
Elizabeth Jorgensen says
Hi! So excited to try this, I've been missing naan since I had to stop eating dairy while breastfeeding. Question, though... can I use my sourdough starter to make this? I started last week from your recipe and I'm obsessed.
Thanks so much!
Vaishali says
Hi Elizabeth, you definitely can. Follow my sourdough aloo kulcha recipe but skip the potato stuffing and shape the dough like naan, then proceed with directions for cooking the naan.
Ashley says
At first I was worried because the dough seemed incredibly sticky, but these turned out amazing! I highly recommend making them, as an earlier comment noted - this recipe is very forgiving. I am so excited to make these again, thank you for an awesome recipe!
Julie from Asbury Park NJ says
This recipe rocks! I've been a vegetarian for 43 years (since I was 12) and in these virus times we've been cooking even more than usual - had made a sweet potato, paneer, and spinach curry the other night with rice and thought it would be fun to try to make naan. I have vegan aspirations (working on it) and had the almond milk on hand to make this.
Turned out amazing - we used olive oil for the garlic brush after the griddle - used mint from our neighbor's hedge - fantastic and I'll never buy naan from the store again. Super easy, forgiving recipe. I worried that the dough was too wet after using just 1/2 C of the water but it turned out perfectly. My wife was ecstatic and I look forward to making this for years to come.
Excited to try more of your recipes - Cheers - J
Anonymous says
Family loved it! There were two left over after dinner and my daughter advised me not to put it away. That she would snack on it through out the evening.
Cedar says
I have a random question, would I be able to bake these? I only have an old non-stick pan and no griddle. Would I be able to use that? Dealing with my pans at that high of a heat is a bit intimidating but I’ll give it a go whenever I get more flour. Also, for making the dough, could I just add some garlic to the dough? Like, when I’m first mixing everything together?
Vaishali says
You could add the garlic to the dough but you won't get the same flavors and it may make the dough a little harder to roll out since there'll be bits of garlic sticking out. And yes, you can bake them--heat your oven as high as it will go, if possible place a baking sheet or a pizza stone inside (unglazed tiles work too) while the oven preheats. Once it has heated, carefully, taking care not to burn yourself, place the naan directly on the stone or baking sheet and bake about 2-3 minutes. When the dough bubbles up and underside is golden brown, flip over and cook the other side.
Judy Jones says
These were amazing! Soft, fluffy and yummy. Cooking them on the griddle makes it so quick! Loved them, thank you for the recipe.
Wyatt says
These are great! Thanks!
Niveditha says
These look like they're straight from a restaurant! I'm gonna try it!
Sagarika Ghosh says
Hi Vaishali, I don't think I have a griddle. Will a normal pan work to make the naan? Thank you!
Vaishali says
Yes, anything wide enough for the naan to fit will work. A skillet is better because it has shorter sides and the naan won't steam, but if you have your stove turned to high heat you should be fine.
Sagarika Ghosh says
Thank you! I just made these today and they turned out delicious. It was also my first time having naan since going vegan!
Maureen Cram says
Great to find a recipe without yoghurt in :). Have you tried freezing them at all? There are only two of us and as much as I love Naan bread I don't think we will get through them all in one go!
Vaishali says
Hi Maureen, you can absolutely freeze these. Place in an airtight bag or container and before eating, put the frozen bread on a baking sheet and into a hot oven -- 350 degrees. Spray lightly with water and bake for about 5 minutes or until soft and puffy again.
Nina Simon says
Hey thanks for sharing the recipe!
I've never had naan ever since I turned vegan. Now I finally can!
Mary Kay says
Hi there. I appreciate your recipes and use them often. I think you may have neglected to direct the 1 tsp of salt to be mixed in with the flour, at least I could not see where it was mentoned. My eyes are not the best, though.
Vaishali says
You were absolutely right -- I missed it. Added now, in step 2, with the flour. Thanks!