Garlic Naan recipe is the perfect 4 ingredient Indian flatbread to eat with any of your Indian curry dishes, or really any dish that has a thick and fragrant sauce! Vegan and gluten free recipe.Â
Garlic naan is quite simply the best flatbread out there.
I’ve loved Indian food for years, but I’ve always ordered the same three things, chicken tikka masala, samosas, and garlic naan. I didn’t really venture out into the world of Indian food until our trip to India in November.
And let me tell you this – I’ve been missing out.
Indian food is so incredible and flavorful that I should have been ordering a different dish every time, just to at least sample everything on the menu at some point.
While I tried tons of different dishes in India, one of my favorites is still the classic Indian flatbread – garlic naan.
The best one I’ve ever had was at the Spice Paradise cooking class in Jodhpur where we made our own garlic naan recipe from scratch. Yep, not only did I get to eat tons of it but I even learned the family’s garlic naan recipe which is how they prepare the garlic naan every single day!
I have no idea what made this garlic naan recipe different from all the rest but it was incredible. So buttery and the dough so flaky with that punch of garlic and the heat coming off your fingertips. There simply is no other flatbread that even comes close. For me this is the flatbread of my dreams, that I could literally eat every single day and never get bored or tired of it. I mean I really feel that strongly!
I seriously needed nothing to accompany this garlic naan, I was perfectly happy to eat it on its own. We did though make a bunch of curries so I was able to dip this everywhere.
Have you tried making a garlic naan recipe before? It’s actually not that complicated at all. It only requires a couple ingredients namely:
- flour
- garlic
- cilantro
- yogurt
That’s it. Only four key ingredients for this magical flatbread!
In the class we used regular white flour and regular yogurt but I now make this garlic naan both vegan and gluten free.
How to make garlic naan vegan and gluten free:
- use a gluten free flour blend like Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur
- use a vegan yogurt like Kite Hill Almond Milk Yogurt, or Silk vegan yogurt, or make your own coconut yogurt at home
If you are not vegan or gluten free you can use this same exact recipe with regular all purpose flour, a thick Greek yogurt and ghee.
What to serve with this garlic naan:
- Roasted Cauliflower Soup
- One Pot Vegan Lentil Curry {GF}
- Thai Chicken Massaman Curry {GF, DF}
- Roasted Red Pepper Chicken with Almonds and Cilantro {GF, DF, Paleo}
- Red Snapper Recipe with Romesco Sauce {GF, DF}
The garlic naan is the best when dipped into a super rich and fragrant sauce, whether this be a curry, stew, or thick creamy soup. I personally never even need rice with my dish if there’s garlic naan around – the naan is perfect for soaking up a thick sauce.
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Why this garlic naan is the best:
- no yeast required so no waiting for the dough to rise
- authentic recipe from an Indian family in India
- only four ingredients needed
- can easily be adjusted for dietary restrictions and allergies
- easy to make at home
- stove top recipe (no oven required)
How to make my garlic naan recipe
You will want to combine the flour, yogurt, cilantro and minced garlic in a large bowl.
You’ll then mix everything together until it forms a round dough ball. If you need to add more yogurt feel free to do so. Depending on the yogurt you are using you may need to add more to get the dough to “stick” together.
You’ll want to let the dough rest for 15-20 minutes. At this point I also used about 1 tablespoon of melted vegan butter to rub around the dough balls, just to give it a bit more moisture.
You’ll then divide the dough into 4-6 sections, roll each into a smaller ball and roll out using a rolling pin. Do not roll it out too thin – each garlic naan should be three to four inches wide.
The last step is to pan fry the dough in a cast iron pan or cast iron wok. In the cooking classes we prepared the naan in a cast iron wok similar to this one, but you could also use a regular cast iron pan, or even a non stick frying pan if that’s all you have.
My ultimate comfort food is this garlic naan right here. Especially when it’s packed full of garlic and served hot – ooooh I just won’t be able to control myself! Carb overload for me any time naan is on the table. And now I’m happy to know I don’t have to go out to an Indian restaurant in order to eat garlic naan — I now know the secret to making it at home!
- 250 grams gluten free flour about 2 cups (can use a regular flour too)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3-4 cloves mashed garlic
- handful fresh cilantro chopped
- vegan yogurt start with 1/2 cup and add more as needed (can use regular Greek yogurt for non vegan version)
- 2-3 tablespoons coconut oil or vegan butter or ghee for non dairy version
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In a large bowl combine flour, yogurt, garlic and cilantro, and mix. Add more yogurt if necessary to make the dough less dry.
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Mix the dough until everything is combined and continue to knead the dough until you have a round smooth ball. Rub the dough ball with 1 tablespoon vegan butter. Let sit for 15-20 minutes.
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Break 4-6 small pieces off the dough and form a round ball. Using a rolling pin roll out the dough ball.
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Heat a pan (preferably cast iron skillet or wok) over medium heat and add a small amount of coconut oil or vegan butter to the pan. Lightly pan cook the garlic naan on one side, adding vegan butter or coconut oil to the top side and then flip over and cook on the other side.
If you are not vegan or gluten free you can make this recipe with regular all purpose flour, Greek style yogurt and ghee (clarified butter)
never knew you could make naan on the stove top, thanks for sharing! will be definitely attempting!
Neither did I before I took the cooking class! Hope it turns out well!
THIS LOOKS SO DELICIOUS!! I love garlic and the naan just…mmmm so good!!
Me too! Garlic naan is one of my favorite Indian foods, sounds so simple but really is so good!
I never knew naan was so easy to make! Love this, will definitely be trying it 🙂 thanks! Pinned!
It’s a lot easier than I thought too! Enjoy!
Looks delicious! Indian food is just what I love! 🙂
Same here! Thanks!
Love naan, especially spiked with garlic! Looks so good!
Thanks! One of my all time favorite Indian dishes has to be garlic naan – I get it every time!
I am addicted to garlic Naan, your cooking is slightly different to how I’ve always done mine but I do like the idea of just pan frying. So jealous of your trip to India.
I too love love love garlic naan and just had an incredible one the other day in Kuala Lumpur (freshly made and still hot too). How do you make garlic naan? This is just how the cooking class taught us. India was certainly unlike any other place I’ve traveled to (both in good and bad ways).
Hi Vicky,
This one looks so delicious and I’m surprised at how easy to cook it. I especially like the idea to add garlic in the naan.
Bookmarked and will definitely try this one out! 🙂
Thanks! The garlic is just perfect in the naan – gives it that extra flavor pop!
I’m right there with you on the “Indian food is awesome” sentiment. I haven’t met a dish I didn’t like and naan is hands down one of my all-time favorite snack foods. This recipe looks great. Most naan recipes I’ve found require oven baking with the oven cranked up to its highest temp. I appreciate the pan frying method. Pinning this to make later! Thanks for the share.
Naan is simply the best. The pan frying method might taste a little bit different than the over one, but I still absolutely loved this garlic naan, so I think it’s definitely still worth pan frying!
How much yogourt do you put in your recipe?
Start with 1/2 cup and add more as needed.
This is so easy and delicious, but I did not like not knowing the amount of yogurt I will need.
I decided to decrease the amount of garlic and used garlic salt instead of plain salt. I didn’t have ghee, so I cooked the naan in a little bit of olive oil & butter. My naan came out so pretty with the flecks of cilantro, it was light, a little crispy and moist on the inside. I will be making this often. Thank you
Sounds absolutely delicious : ) I love a good garlic naan : ))
Question, is it possible to use a gluten free flour? If I do , do you know if I need to add something else in order to replace de gluten?
I have not tried making it with a gluten free flour but imagine that a gluten-free blend should work. Please let me know how it turns out if you make it!
This bread sounds SO delicious, did you get a reply about Gluten free flour? Rice, Quinoa or potato?
No I am not sure which gluten -free flour would work best here. If I were to try, I would buy a gluten-free flour blend like the Bob’s Red Mill GF baking flour.
Has anyone tried chick pea flour?
I’ve never tried making this with chickpea flour and am afraid the consistency will be a bit more like a flatbread – something more like this: https://avocadopesto.com/vegan-squash-chickpea-flatbread/
Thanks for the recipe! A couple of questions… Most naan recipes I’ve seen have a bit of baking powder in there – is it unneccesary? Also some use yoghurt, some don’t – do you know what difference this makes?
From what I learned during the cooking class the yogurt makes for a softer dough. In the cooking class we did not use baking powder, I have never made it with baking powder so unfortunately cannot comment on the difference that it would make. Hope that helps!
This is a flat bread and it does not need baking powder as it tends to make the dough rise.With this dough you can also be creative and put all sorts with it,inside it;ie mash potatoes and herbs,sundried tomatoes,basil and garlic of course…..etc etc etc.
Yep no baking powder in this recipe. Would be delicious with a bunch of toppings stuffed inside too!
Hi ,
It looks and sounds delicious. Is ghee an oil? Can I buy that in a supermarket or does it have to be a specialty shop? Does it have to be a certain type of fry pan or will any do.
Ghee is clarified butter (so butter that has been cooked and had the milk solids removed – this creates a higher smoke point so ghee can be used in high temperature cooking without burning). Nowadays you can find ghee in the specialty section of Wegmans, Roche Brothers, Whole Foods, etc or you can purchase it online. In the cooking class we used what looked like a thin cast iron wok style pan, but a regular pan should work too (though cast iron might be better). Hope that helps!
Looks so good Question can buttermilk be use instead og yogurt
I have never tried making this with buttermilk but imagine it wouldn’t work as well because of the consistency – yogurt is a bit thicker than buttermilk, but if you do try it please let me know how it goes!
What kind of Pan is that you are using? Looks like a shallow wok.
Yes – it’s exactly that – a small cast iron shallow wok.
Thank you!! Not seeing one that shallow but will keep looking 😉
You can use a regular wok or a cast iron pan – I am either will be fine
What is ghee? Sorry if this is a stupid question..
Ghee is clarified butter – it means that the milk fat is rendered from the butter to separate the milk solids and water. It’s made by melting butter and skimming the fat off of the top.
https://thepioneerwoman.com/food-and-friends/how-to-make-ghee/
Thank you so much for the recipe! White flour-is this ‘unbleached’ flour that you are using? Thank you so much for your time in advance.
Yes – regular all purpose flour – though I am sure you could try this with a different flour too.
What kind of yogurt did you use? Greek or regular?
Regular plain yogurt, though plain Greek yogurt will work too.
Hi there!
How far in advance do you think I could make the dough and shape the naan before cooking? I’m trying to minimise the cooking stress for a dinner party by prepping this early!
Thanks!
I’m sure you could prep the dough hours before, or even prepare the naan itself the day before and then just throw it into the oven for a few minutes to heat up right before the dinner party.
I look forward to trying this version it seems so rustic and simple. I guess ther are plenty ways to make naan depending on the region or even family. Recipe. My Indian friend’s version uses a little dry yeast and is very Good but in lieu of a Tandoor I use a Pizza stone at 500deg. Let it heat for 45min.- 1 hour. Garlic and Nigella seeds too But this looks really good. .mahalo!
That’s interesting that your friend uses dry yeast – in the cooking class this was the way the family made theirs – no yeast!
I made this and froze some in portions and grab out of freezer when need and it still cooks up perfectly Thanks for sharing
So glad to hear that Carol! Thanks for taking the time to comment and let me know! Glad to hear this is a freezer friendly recipe too!
Hi, looks amazing, I love garlic naan, one question, is the two to three tablespoons of coconut oil added to the ingredients, or is that the amount you’ve put there for the frying? May seem a daft question, but I want to get it right! Cheers for the recipe.
Garlic naan is the best! The coconut oil is added to the dough and then additional coconut oil is added to the pan for cooking. Hope that helps! Enjoy the recipe ; ))
When you say plain flour do you mean strong bread flour or just plain? Thanks.
Just regular all purpose flour was what we used in the class.
Mine turned out dense and chewy, not like traditional naan. What could i have done wrong? The dough wasn’t sticky, it was easy to work with.
Hey Jenny, Sorry to hear the naan didn’t work out for you. It’s hard to say what could have gone wrong. My best guess for why it would come out dense would be if you over kneaded the dough.
This recipe turned out FABULOUS! I ate 2 whole rounds with a chili-bean soup i made. I used half a cup of Greek yoghurt (vanilla was all I had) and then I needed about 2 and a half tbsp extra. They were flaky but chewy and a nice crush well done on the outside! This recipe is a keeper! Thank you for posting!
A nice Crunch on the outside*
Yay so happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe Heather!! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and share how you feel!
It was so lovely!! I made several other recipes but this is the real one and soooo easy to make , Many thanks and greetings from Holland
Aw thanks so much Jantien! So happy to hear that! Thanks for taking the time to comment and let me know what you thought of the recipe!
This is essentially a ‘ garlic paratha ‘ recipe which is much more commonly made in indian household than a typical ‘nan’ . The consistency of a Nan is different.. If I tell my mum she made me Nan almost every week when I was a child., ( same recipe she used to make) , she will probably laugh at me.
Interesting! This is the recipe that was presented in the cooking class as a Garlic Naan – so that’s all I can say : )
Fantastic! I used Bobs cup for cup gf flour, and Greek yogurt. Made tikkka masala in my instant pot and it was a win win!!
So happy to hear that Heidie!! : ))
Looks wonderful!
Do you add the oil/ghee to the dough or is it just for cooking?
When I made the naan in the cooking class we did not add any oil/ghee to the dough itself — but if you want a richer naan I am sure you could add a tablespoon, or smooth some oil over the dough balls!
This recipe looks great and nice and simple. Can you tell me roughly how many naan you made with this amount of ingredients?
This should make about 8 naan.
Hi, it looks so good. I want to make it but i wonder. By using cilantro you mean the seeds or coriender?
I mean fresh cilantro/coriander
Hello!
I would like make your recipe because it’s look very delicious !
But how much flour must it? 250 grams or 500 grams ? Sorry I am french and I don’t understand english very well…
Use 250 grams of flour.
Thank you sooo much for this recipe, I love Naan bread I have to make it!! God bless!!
Naan bread is the best!!
This is not naan, it is more akin to a white flour chapati. Naan is fluffy and to be naan it must haveyeast in it..
This is just based on the recipe I learned at an Indian cooking class in India.