Easy vegan naan- soft, fluffy flatbread perfect for serving alongside Indian inspired dishes or even using as a wrap or pizza crust. Only 7 ingredients and easy to make!
Last week I made Vegetable Korma for dinner, and I thought it would be fun to have naan to go with it. Have you ever tried to buy naan at a store? For the life of me, I couldn’t find a brand that didn’t have eggs, milk or both of those in it! So what did I do? I decided to make my own, a vegan version, and wow am I glad I did!
Naan is basically an Indian style flatbread, that is soft, pillowy with beautiful bubbles from cooking it on the stovetop. There is yeast involved, but it’s quite failproof, unlike making a loaf of bread which is a bit harder to get right.
How do you make homemade naan?
- Combine instant yeast, sugar and warm water. Let it sit a couple of minutes until a bit foamy on top.
- Now add the flour, salt, baking powder, coconut cream and olive oil. Stir with a spoon, then knead a bit with your hands until it comes together.
- Place the ball of dough in a bowl and cover. If you have time, let it rise for about 30 minutes. If not, it will still turn out good!
- Divide the dough into 8 pieces.
Roll each piece of dough into an oval or circle, using a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface.
In a large pan (cast iron preferred) over medium-high heat, place the flattened dough. This is kind of like cooking pancakes, and you don’t need to oil your pan. Once bubbles appear, flip it over and cook for another minute or two. Repeat with the remaining dough.
You can also brush them with melted vegan butter once they are cooked.
Don’t have coconut cream? No problem! You can simply leave it out, or use unsweetened non-dairy yogurt instead. I have made it without and it was fine. It’s just a bit fluffier and richer with it.
What goes well with naan?
Naan goes great with any Indian inspired dish, such as Quick and Easy Vegetable Korma, Cauliflower Sweet Potato Curry Soup, Chickpea Curry, and especially Vegan Butter Chicken!
You can also use it for wraps, filling it with Falafel, Chickpea Tuna or hummus and vegetables.
It makes a great personal pizza crust- simply top cooked naan with pizza sauce, non-dairy cheese and vegetables.
Recipe adapted from Budget Bytes.
Easy Vegan Naan
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 cups all purpose flour or white whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 tablespoons coconut cream *may omit if needed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Optional: melted vegan butter for serving, minced garlic or fresh herbs
Instructions
- Add the yeast and sugar to a large bowl and pour the warm water on top (think bath temperature, not too hot or it will kill the yeast). Let sit for a few minutes until it is frothy on top.
- Now add the flour, salt, baking powder, coconut cream and olive oil. Stir with a wooden spoon until it becomes difficult, then turn the ball of dough out on a lightly floured surface (I just use my countertop). Knead the ball of dough for about 2-3 minutes, until the ball of dough is smooth and soft. If it is too sticky, add a little more flour.
- Place the dough in a large bowl, cover with a tea towel and let it rise for about 30 minutes. If you are in a hurry, you can skip the rising part. It will still come out quite good!
- After it rises, flatten the dough and divide into 8 pieces.
- Heat a large, heavy bottomed pan (cast iron preferred) over medium heat. Take a piece of the dough and roll it on a lightly floured surface into a circle or oval shape (about 1/4 inch thick). If using garlic, gently press a little minced garlic onto one side so it sticks at this point.
- Place the dough on the heated pan and cook until large bubbles have formed and the bottom is golden brown. Flip and cook 1-2 minutes more until that side is golden brown as well.
- Repeat with the remaining pieces. Cover the naan with a towel or wrapped in foil to keep warm until ready to serve. Serve plain or brush with melted vegan butter and sprinkle with fresh herbs, such as cilantro or parsley.
Video
Notes
- For the coconut cream, open a can of full fat coconut milk or coconut cream, and scoop out 3 tablespoons of the white, thick creamy part. May also substitute plain non-dairy yogurt (soy, almond, or coconut). Or leave it out, I have done this in a pinch and it worked fine.
- You could probably leave out the olive oil to make it oil free, but I haven't tried it.
- I haven't tested this with gluten free flour, but it would probably work ok. I would use a gluten free mix, such as Bob's Red Mill 1:1.
- If you only have regular active yeast, that is fine, you will just need to let the dough rise for longer (1-1 1/2 hours).
Just excellent and so easy! I used vegan coconut keffir instead of coconut cream just because I had it on hand and it worked beautifully. I have kept the raw dough in the fridge for 5 days and cooked it up as needed. The entire family loves it slathered with hummus.
This bread is delicious with hummus! I’m so glad you and your family are loving it! Thank you for your positive review and feedback!
I could eat the entire plate. One of the best recipes I’ve made this year. And super easy! Yum!
Thanks for your wonderful review and feedback! I’m thrilled you love the naan!
Amazing.
Excellent result, super easy, delicious, soft, 1st time using yeast for a long time.
How wonderful this turned out fabulous for you! Thanks for sharing your fabulous feedback and review!
Making now but won’t cook till later. Is it ok to proof for a few hours vs 1/2 hr?
Yes, that’s totally fine. Enjoy!
I love love love this recipe! It finally gave me a reason to use the can of coconut cream I’ve had in my pantry, and now I always keep coconut cream on deck. These are a staple in my house now.
Hi Shannon! That is so awesome you love the naan! Thanks for your fabulous review ad feedback! Wishing you happy cooking!
This bread is so easy and so delicious. I have not made bread before, and this turned out like I was a pro. Thank you Nora!
That is so awesome! You bet! Thank YOU for your stellar review!
10/10 from my husband and I! Thank you for another great recipe Nora! I added two cloves of minced garlic and 2 tsp of parsley and it’s so good!!! I didn’t have coconut cream so skipped that but it was still pillowy soft! Do you think these will freeze well? If kept frozen, would microwave be the only option to reheat?
You are welcome, Carrie. I’m so glad you and your husband loved the naan so much! Thanks for your amazing feedback! Yes, wrap the cooked naan well with freezer quality Saran Wrap, then wrap in foil to prevent freezer burn. You can also store the raw dough in the fridge for up to 3 months. You could reheat in an air fryer, microwave, or wrapped in foil in the oven on low heat. I hope this helps!
Wow! So good. I had to adjust the flour because my coconut cream was runny but so, so good and easy! This will be my go to recipe from now on. The dough is BEAUTIFUL!
I am so thrilled you love the naan and it is now your go to recipe! I appreciate you taking time to share you awesome feedback!
I use this recipe a lot . .you can sub coconut powder/milk for the cream part or like the author says any plant based milk. I just add a bit more oil .. I also add pepper flakes into the batter.
Plan to make this soon but I have a quick question: is it possible to use good quality, vegan creamer (like Country Crock plant cream) instead of the coconut cream?
Creamer should be fine here but I would suggest using only 2 tablespoons instead. Hope this helps!
This was great! And so easy to make and turned out fantastic. I did not have true can of coconut cream but I had a can of Coconut Milk, did not shake it and scooped off the 3 TBSP of coconut cream from the top. Five stars and will make again for sure!