Vegan Naan

Naan is a staple of Indian cuisine, but it can be tricky to find a vegan-friendly version at restaurants. This Indian flatbread is usually brushed with butter, and the dough often contains dairy (sometimes even eggs, depending on the recipe). Luckily, though, it’s not too difficult to make your own at home with just a few simple ingredients.

If you’re new to making bread, don’t worry! This is actually a great place to start, as naan is one of the easiest bread recipes out there. Homemade vegan naan can be made by hand, with no stand mixer or hard-to-find ingredients required. All you’ll need is a mixing bowl, a rolling pin, and a skillet.

Why You’ll Love This Vegan Naan Recipe

• Easy to make. As far as fresh bread goes, naan is one of the easier ones to make at home.
• Fluffy & soft. What makes naan great is just how perfect the texture is. It’s great for dipping into your favorite Indian-inspired dishes, like palak tofu or chickpea curry.

Ingredients for Vegan Naan

• Water.
• Nondairy yogurt. Vegan yogurt makes the dough extra tender and adds a nice flavor. My favorite is the plain cashew yogurt by Forager, but any plain unsweetened variety should work just fine.
• Sugar + salt.
• Yeast. Active dry or instant yeast will both work in this recipe.
• Oil. I use olive oil, but another neutral oil can be used, or even melted vegan butter.
• Flour. Regular all-purpose flour is what I use for this recipe. It keeps the naan nice and soft, rather than chewy.

Toppings

• Butter. My favorite dairy-free butter is the one from Country Crock. For this you can use vegan butter sticks, or the kind from a tub.
• Garlic. Optional — if you want to make garlic naan. Finely minced a clove or two.
• Cilantro. Optional, but very delicious. Adds a nice freshness to the buttery naan.

How to Make Easy Vegan Naan

1. Proof yeast.
2. Mix wet ingredients.
3. Stir together wet & dry ingredients to make a shaggy dough.
4. Knead on a lightly floured surface till smooth.
5. Transfer to greased bowl.
6. Rise at room temperature till doubled.
7. Divide into 6 pieces and roll into balls.
8. Roll out naan.
9. Cook naan.
10. Brush with butter.

Frequently Asked Questions

Serving Suggestions

If you’re like us and love Indian food but miss having the experience of dipping fluffy naan into your extra sauce, you have a few options! Sometimes we’ll actually order takeout from our local Indian restaurant but make our own naan at home to get the full experience. Or, we’ll make naan alongside one of our many Indian-inspired dishes:

• Palak Tofu (Vegan Palak Paneer) – Chunks of tofu in a creamy, blended spinach sauce.
• Easy Chickpea Curry – An easy weeknight dish that is quick to throw together but still incredibly flavorful.
• Butter Tofu (Vegan Butter Chicken) – My vegan version of one of the most popular Indian dishes, butter chicken. Similar to tikka masala, but creamier and a little more mild.

Vegan Naan

Soft and fluffy vegan naan, made right at home! Perfect for dipping or just slathering with garlic butter.

5 from 3 votes

Print Pin Rate

1x2x

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Resting Time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 6

Author: Sarah Sullivan

Video

Equipment

• Rolling Pin
• Cast iron skillet or griddle

Ingredients

• ▢ 1/3 cup warm water plus up to 1/4 cup extra, as needed
• ▢ 1 teaspoon active dry yeast see notes to substitute baking powder
• ▢ 1/4 cup plain unsweetened nondairy yogurt I like Forager brand
• ▢ 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil plus extra for the bowl
• ▢ 2 cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled, plus extra for kneading
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon fine salt

To Finish

• ▢ 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
• ▢ 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• ▢ 2 tablespoons vegan butter
• ▢ pinch salt

Instructions

Make the Dough

• Proof the yeast: In a mixing bowl, stir together 1/3 cup warm water, granulated sugar, and active dry yeast. Allow the mixture to proof for about 5 minutes, or until foamy.
• Mix wet ingredients: Whisk olive oil and yogurt into the proofed yeast mixture.
• Add dry ingredients: Add all-purpose flour and fine salt into the wet ingredients. Mix with your hands or a spoon to form a rough dough. If there is still some dry flour at the bottom of the bowl, add in extra water as needed, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring between additions, until there is no dry flour left.
• Knead the dough: Lightly knead the dough for about 5 minutes, or until smooth. I like to knead directly in the bowl, but you can knead on a clean surface if you prefer. The dough should be on the slightly firm side — not overly soft and sticky.

Rise and Shape the Dough

• Rise the dough: Shape the dough into a ball. Lightly oil the mixing bowl (or a new clean bowl if you prefer). Place the dough ball in the bowl, giving it a turn to coat its surface with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic or a lightly dampened kitchen towel, and allow to sit for about 1 hour. Since the dough is firm it may not double in size — that's ok.
• Divide the dough: Divide the dough into 6 portions. (You can use a scale for precision.) Shape each portion into a ball by tucking the edges in toward the center. Loosely cover the dough balls with the same plastic or damp towel you used to rise the dough. Allow them to rest for about 10-15 minutes so the gluten relaxes.
• Roll out the naan: Roll out each dough ball into a circle or oval about 1/8" thick. Since the dough is quite firm I usually don't need to flour my work surface, but you can use a very light dusting of flour if needed. You can also roll the naan out between two pieces of parchment if it is sticking a lot. (Too much extra flour tends to burn when cooking the naan, so I recommend using as little as possible when rolling.) Keep the rolled out naan covered so it doesn't dry out.

Cook the Naan (Stovetop Method)

• Preheat a cast iron, carbon steel, or stainless skillet over medium heat. Make sure the pan is thoroughly preheated (a droplet of water added to the pan should hiss and evaporate right away). Do not oil the pan.

  I recommend running the vent fan or opening a window because this process can make your house smell a bit smoky.
• Lightly wet your hand and brush some of the water on one side of the naan. Place the naan in the pan with the dampened side down.
• Cook for about 60 to 90 seconds, until the naan is very puffy. Then flip and cook for another 60-90 seconds, until there are some blistered and slightly charred bits.
• Gas stove option: If you are using a gas stove, rather than flipping the naan you can carefully flip the entire pan over and finish cooking the naan over the flame. The naan should stick to the pan due to the water we brushed on. Cook the naan over the flame for about 1 minute until it begins to char. (This is trickier to do with cast iron because it's very heavy. It works great with a lighter pan.)

Cook the Naan (Oven Method)

• Preheat oven to 500°F with a pizza stone in the middle rack. Preheat for at least 30 minutes (preferably 1 hour) to ensure the stone is nice and hot.
• Depending on the size of the pizza stone, cook a few pieces of naan at a time. You can slide them on using a peel or the back of a cookie sheet. Bake them for about 3 minutes total.

Finish the Naan

• Brush the cooked naan with melted vegan butter and enjoy!

Notes

• Baking powder: You can use 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder instead of yeast. Skip the step where you proof the yeast, and add in the baking powder along with the flour. You will still need to cover and rest the dough for at least 30 minutes; it will not rise during this step but it’s necessary to achieve the right texture. Otherwise follow all the same steps. The texture of the naan is slightly different — a little chewier and less fluffy (similar to a fresh tortilla), but still delicious.

Did you make this recipe?We’d love for you to leave a review on the website! You can also share a photo on IG and tag @sarahsvegankitchen_ or #sarahsvegankitchen.