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).
Outstanding! Didn’t have coconut cream on hand so we used the thick part of from the coconut milk. Even the non-vegans LOVED this Naan!
Hi Dacia. I”m so glad you loved the naan! Thank you!
This is the best naan recipe I’ve ever made
Hi Natalia. Thank you!
I have made your naan many times. I use only the oil not the coconut cream. It turns out great. I serve this with a chickpea curry from “The Happy Pear” you tube. I love your naan and my guests love the bread with my curry. I also have made your pumpkin bars for parties many times. Thank you for your great recipes.
Hi Jill. Thank you for using my recipes! I’m glad that you and your guests enjoy them!
Amazing recipe once again, Nora! I just made this to go along with my chickpea curry and it is heavenly. Very simple steps and it turned out great.
Hi Mary. I’m glad you enjoyed the Naan! Thank you for sharing!
Perfect! Thank you!
You’re welcome!
Made this tonight along with the Vegan Butter Chicken. It was a bit of a risk since my kids haven’t had much exposure to Indian Cuisine. But they sure loved the naan! Haha! What’s not to like? Easy to make. Nora doesn’t disappoint.
Thanks so much!
Oh, I can’t believe I made leavened bread for the first time and it turned out great. Next time I will leave the ball of dough to rise in a warmer place and will moisten the tea towel. My dinner guests thought this was super yummy with your red lentil dal.
Thank you! Sounds like a wonderful meal.
Made this last night for Diwali and they came out great. Sprinkled some nigella seeds and a bit of minced garlic on them before cooking. Divine.
That’s so great to hear!!
One of the quickest and best naan bread recipe I have used. I think the coconut cream is a must it really works in the flavour. 5 stars thanks for sharing this really excellent bread.:-)
You’re so welcome!
SO delicious and simple!! Thank you Nora!
Thanks!
This is now my go-to naan recipe, not only is it easy but yields a fluffy inside and slightly crisp outside. I make a full batch and freeze the rest for easy meal nights with curries, stews, etc. Once again, followed the recipe as is and had no issues. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it 🙂
These were so fluffy and delicious! I found that the sticky dough was easier to handle when I coated my hands in olive oil than when I tried with flour. Thank you for another awesome, easy to follow recipe.
You’re welcome!
Hi Nora. Thx for sharing all your vegan recipes…I’m excited to try making most of them if not all of them! for this recipe is there a substitute for the yeast? Thx
Thank you so much! If you leave the yeast out, the naan won’t be very fluffy. But you could try it! There is really no substitute though.
Can you use coconut or almond flour instead of wheat flour?
Sorry, neither of those will work well here unfortunately!
Do you know if a 1:1 Gluten Free All Purpose flour would work?
I made these this weekend, but I’m GF. They weren’t bad, but the inside was super chewy and dense instead of fluffy.
Any ideas of where I may have gone wrong?
I haven’t tried it myself, but it’s likely the gluten free flour, which one did you use? Generally I like Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur Flour, but I have never tested it here.
Followed the recipe to a T with the exception of adding some Kalonji seeds – these came together quickly (I used the 1/2 hour rise time to make some chana masala), and tasted exactly like our local Indian restaurant’s naan! My kids were freaking out.
😀
Thank you for a great recipe!
p.s. I did probably add at least another 1/4 c flour as I found the dough too sticky (no big deal)
Hi, I loved this recipe and it’s relatively easy. However, I’ve found my dough to be very sticky. It made rolling them out a major pain. I tried adding more flour but didn’t want to add too much. Should I try reducing water next time? I also subbed the coconut cream with non dairy yogurt. I’d love to keep making these, just hoping to have an easier time with the dough. Thank you!
Try flouring your hands and don’t be afraid to add more dough until you can handle it easily. It will be fine. Working with dough just takes some practice, but having a floured surface and floured hands helps a lot! Also, handle it gently. Hope that helps!
Can I use a teaspoon of honey instead of sugar? I’m not using sugar in my diet.
Thank you
Sure!
Love this recipe! It’s so easy and delicious- comes out great every time. I always brush some vegan butter with garlic and cilantro on top after cooking. They go great with all of Nora’s yummy Indian recipes. I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m wondering if you could make the dough ahead of time and store in the fridge until ready to cook them.
That sounds wonderful with the vegan butter and garlic/cilantro. I like that, too. Yes, you could make the dough ahead of time, even freeze it if you wanted to.
Made this tonight- loved it! It was simple but really added that extra bit of carby amazingness to the meal. Thanks Nora!
You’re so welcome!!
Excellent! Thank you. Enjoying some right now with tzatiki. Will enjoy more later with some homemade purple carrot humus… Yum!
So glad you like it!
Oh wow! This was the best. So easy to make and turned out so so perfect. I only let it sit for 10-15 min. but it didn’t matter. I will definitely be making this again. Served it with chicken marinated in Trader Joe’s yellow curry, Yummy. Thanks for a great recipe.
You’re welcome!!
This was amazing! Thank you for sharing 🙂
You’re welcome!!
I made your super easy, super delicious vegan naan last night. Made them into ~4″ rounds. I had made your Vegan Meatloaf earlier in the week so reheated it, and made naan-wiches. What a hit! The naan was a perfect texture and didn’t go soggy even when we added more ketchup and toppings. No more store bought white bread burger buns at our house.
What a great idea! So glad it turned out great!
Does it turn out okay without the coconut cream? Have you tried non dairy milk?
I have left it out completely before and it was just fine, maybe not quite as soft.
I don’t have olive oil, only vegetable oil. Could I sub it out?
Sure!
Thanks a million. This came out perfectly. I have tried to make naan many times with different recipes and they never came out very well, rubbery. I kind of gave up. Then I found your recipe. And vegan too.
You’re so welcome!! Thanks for the comment!
Thanks for sharing! Would this work without yeast? I’m cooking for someone who doesn’t eat yeast. I know it won’t be the same fluffy naan, but do you think it’d still be good?
Yes, I think it would still work quite well actually. The baking powder helps a bit, it just won’t be quite as fluffy.