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).
Ah-mazing. I didn’t think I would be able to pull it off, but it was just like the restaurants! I struggled with stickiness, but added more flour to be able to handle it and roll it out. It worked. You must try it!
I’m so glad you liked it!
Can you make this using almond flour????
Sorry, I don’t think it would work!
Do you think it would work without a sweetener?
Yes, you can just leave out the sugar.
Oh OK, thank you. My mom is allergic to yeast however, I would really love to try this recipe. Do you know if there is a yeast substitute i can use instead?
Thank you!
Sure! I’ve seen other recipes use baking powder instead, so that could work! I would try 1 teaspoon of baking powder instead of yeast, and then there would be no need to let it rise, you could skip that step but still knead it a bit, then cook it right away. Hope that works!
This looks delicious! 1 question, do you think it would work without the yeast?
I don’t think so, it would be very flat and not fluffy.
Thank you! This is amazing Naan bread and so easy to make.
You’re welcome! Glad it turned out great!
I added a clove of garlic into the dough while mixing. I brushed vegan butter on each side as it cooked. These were amazing!
Wonderful, thank you!
Hi Nora,
This naan looks so yummy yummy!
Could I substitute the flour for Spelt flour?
I’m allergic to Wheat 🙁
Thank you
Sarah
I think that would be fine, though the bread will taste quite different. Thanks, and I hope you enjoy!
I was skeptical that I’d be able to make my own naan, but that was super easy. They came out great! Thank you!
Oh great, thank you!
Thats me right now. Im about to try it. *fingers crossed*
This is a wonderful recipe! It’s super tasty, especially with minced garlic and cilantro. We had this with the vegan butter chicken by Nora. We ran out of white flour and substituted with banana flour and it worked great. I’d recommend adding oil before each piece of dough. The hotter the skillet, the better!
Love this recipe!! We’re newly vegan and I am making this recipe for the 3rd time. It is just as good as anything I’ve purchased or better while at an Indian restaurant! My husband and son love when I make this to go with our curries or just to steak fresh out of the skillet!
This naan is amazing!!!! What a hit at my house! I’m wondering what’s the best way to store? Leave it out on the counter in a closed container or put in the refrigerator? Thanks so much for another amazing recipe!
Thank you, I’m so glad you enjoyed the naan! A closed container on the counter is fine, or wrapped in foil or plastic wrap. You could also keep it in the refrigerator to help it last longer, but mine’s always gone within a day! 🙂
Made them yesterday with vegan sour cream instead of the coconut cream. They are excellent. Thanks
So good and so easy. What a simple, non-sticky dough! So happy to have vegan naan.
Thank you, happy you enjoyed the naan!
I’ve made this recipe a few times for my 5 kids and husband and it is their favorite part of the dinner when I make curry! Pretty easy to make and has always turned out yummy. Thanks for a great recipe!
Thanks Tami! I’m so happy your family enjoys the naan! It’s always my kid’s favorite part of dinner, too.
Amazing, I tried this recipe two o three times already, and always is perfect. Thank you, Nora!
This naan was a big hit! Both myself and the SO loved it. Will try the oil free next time, I just didn’t want to stray from the original recipe on the first go. Made with your falafel and added carrots and cucumber, delicious!
Looks amazing! Is there a sub for something lighter than coconut cream? Like vegan yogurt or sour cream?
Yes, either non-dairy (unsweetened) yogurt or vegan sour cream should work. Thanks!
I tried a few vegan recipes for Naan and this one is my favorite by far!
This sounds amazing! Do you know if these would freeze well?
Yes, you could freeze the naan after cooking. We just eat it so fast it never gets to that point, hah!
You can also freeze the dough. I tried it: Naans from defrosted dough is just as good as fresh!
This sounds both delicious and easy! Would it work with almond or coconut flour?
Thanks! Unfortunately, I don’t think it would work with either of those. I’m sure whole wheat, white whole wheat or spelt flour would work quite well, but almond and coconut flour are quite different to work with.
What can I do with the rest of the can of coconut milk?
You could add it to smoothies. Make creamy vegetable curry or tofu.
Do you oil the pan at all?
No, you don’t need to.
Do you think this would work well using a gluten free all purpose flour?
I’m not sure as I haven’t tried it, but it may not work out the same. I know working with gluten free flours is a bit tricky!
I attempted this Naan with all-purpose gluten free flour and waited over 2 hours for something to rise, only thing to rise was my sadness. Lol, fail. But the taste was still good, it was just super dense and not quite the texture like regular Naan. If you ever try it with a GF flour and it works, PLEASE let me know.
This naan is unbelievably good! I was surprised how easy it was, too.