My gluten free yeasted naan bread is just as soft and delicious as what you’ll find in Indian restaurants with beautiful charred blisters to boot!
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Ahhhh, naan bread. That soft and tangy flatbread always served in Indian restaurants to dip in curries and such. I remember years ago going to one of our local Indian restaurants, pre celiac. We ordered naan and roti as appetizers and they came with some kind of dip I can’t remember. I think that was the first time I had true naan and I was hooked from there on out. After that, I’d often pick up those packages of naan from the grocery store to make wraps filled with grilled chicken and vegetables. They were never as good as the Indian restaurants, though, but they were better than nothing.
Now, we’ve been demoted to nothing. Nothing is what we’re offered in the stores and in the restaurants. Unless we’re at Disney. The only place I’ve ever had gluten free naan is at Disney World at Sanaa. They were just “okay”, but nothing like I had at that Indian restaurant here in town. The best part of those naan at Disney, however, were the dips. If you ever get a chance to go, check out my review here because even though the naan isn’t the absolute best, the dips more than make up for it. Bonus: if you need a travel agent for your Disney trip, contact my sister at Magical Vacation Dreams by Pam Pine. She’s the best Disney travel agent there is!
I’ve actually been making gluten free yeasted naan bread for years now. And it’s always been delicious. But I found my old dough very difficult to work with. And apparently so did other people. So I got to work at reimagining a much better recipe. It’s not only soft and delicious and better than I could imagine, it’s a BREEZE to work with. I was actually able to flip the dough back and forth between my hands to dust off the excess flour (watch the video on my YouTube channel here if you don’t believe me)!
what you’ll need to make gluten free yeasted naan
- Kim’s gluten free bread flour blend — this recipe has only been tested with my bread flour blend.
- Greek yogurt — this is what gives naan its characteristic tang and also tenderness.
- Baking powder and soda — in addition to the yeast, the baking powder and baking soda offer an extra boost of lift for the ultimate in light and airy naan.
- Psyllium husks (affiliate link) — not every gluten free bread requires psyllium husks, but this one definitely benefits from the additional stretch offered by them.
here’s how easy it is to make gf naan!
- Mix up the dough. Add all the ingredients to a stand mixer (or handheld mixer with dough hooks, or use a Danish dough whisk).
- Let the dough rise for about 2 hours, or until doubled in volume.
- Refrigerate overnight.
- Knead dough briefly on a well-floured surface.
- Divide dough into 8 pieces and roll into 1/4-inch thick ovals.
- Shake off excess flour by flipping each naan between your hands.
- Cover and let rest on the counter for 30 minutes to an hour (mainly to take the chill off and allow them to proof ever so slightly).
- Heat cast iron skillet over medium high to nearly smoking (make sure you have good ventilation in your house or open a door or window or run a fan).
- Place one naan in skillet and immediately cover.
- Set a timer for 2 minutes.
- Flip and cover, and “bake” for another 1-2 minutes or until puffed and blistered.
- Brush with garlic butter, if desired.
gluten free naan bread faqs
Gluten free, and gluten filled, naan almost always have yogurt in the dough because it really creates a soft and fluffy dough and gives that characteristic tang to the naan. The tang also goes really well with curries.
While garlic naan is the most popular type of naan, it isn’t the only way to serve it. There are lots of ways to serve gluten free naan. You can leave it plain and dip the plain naan in dips and curries. Or fill it with cheese before it’s baked. You can also add herbs and spices to the dough prior to baking.
Gluten free naan will last for 1-2 days if well wrapped. To refresh it and bring it back to its previous fluffy life, you can do one of two things. If you have a gas stovetop, turn one burner on to a medium flame and hold one naan at a time over the flame using long tongs. Flip it back and forth until reheated. You can also heat a cast iron skillet over high heat and reheat one naan at a time in the hot skillet, flipping over a few times to get both sides.
Yes, you can make gluten free naan in a nonstick skillet if you don’t have a cast iron skillet. Follow the same directions as if using a cast iron skillet.
more gluten free flatbreads
You’re gonna LOVE this gluten free naan bread!! It’s so soft and so versatile (naan pizza for one, perhaps?) you’ll be making it all the time 🙂
Gluten Free Yeasted Naan Bread
Ingredients
- 4 cups (560g) Kim's gluten free bread flour blend
- ¾ tsp instant yeast
- 1 tbsp whole psyllium husks
- 2 tsp granulated sugar
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ cup (60ml) hot water
- 1 cup (240ml) warm milk
- 1 cup (240g) Greek yogurt (I use whole milk Greek yogurt)
Garlic Butter
- 4 tbsp (56g) salted butter
- 1-2 cloves garlic, pressed or finely chopped
- 1-2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- In bowl of stand mixer, whisk together flour blend, yeast, psyllium husks, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. With the mixer running, pour in the hot water, followed by the milk and yogurt, and mix or knead until well combined. Turn the mixer up to medium and mix for 5 minutes. Alternatively, the dough can be mixed vigorously by hand in a large bowl with a Danish dough whisk or with a handheld mixer, preferably with dough hooks.
- Remove bowl from mixer and scrape the sides, moving the dough into a cohesive mass in the center of the bowl (or transfer the dough to another bowl). Cover bowl and place in a warm, draft-free area to proof until doubled in size. This should take roughly 2 hours, but it will depend on the warmth of your proofing area. You can speed it along by placing the bowl in a preheated and turned off oven or clothes washer.
- Refrigerate dough for several hours, preferably overnight or even up to 3-5 days ahead.
- Remove dough from refrigerator and knead briefly on a well-floured surface until smooth. Divide into 8 equal pieces (if weighed, they should weigh around 52 grams each). Shape each piece into a round and then roll, using a rolling pin, into an oval that's ¼-inch thick, but no thinner. Cover rolled naan with plastic wrap or large towels and allow to rest and come to room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour.
- While waiting for the naan, make the garlic butter by melting butter in small saucepan and adding garlic. Saute briefly and sprinkle in parsley. Swirl pan to fully combine, not letting garlic brown. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Heat a cast iron or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until nearly smoking. If you don't have proper ventilation, make sure to open a window/door or turn on a fan as it may get smoky.
- Place one naan in the hot skillet and immediately cover it with a lid. Set a timer for 2 minutes. Remove the lid, flip the naan over, and replace the lid. Continue to "bake" for 1-2 more minutes, or until puffed with charred blisters on the bottom. Remove naan from the skillet, wrapping it in a tea towel until you finish "baking" all the other naan.
- Brush garlic butter on each naan and serve warm or at room temperature.
- Store wrapped in foil on counter for just a few days. To reheat, preheat oven to 350° and reheat naans wrapped in foil for about 15 minutes, or until heated throughout. May be frozen well wrapped for 3 months.
Adapted and inspired by Half Baked Harvest’s Homemade Naan
Gluten Free Yeasted Naan was originally posted on May 13, 2019 and has been updated with an entirely new recipe, new pictures, and a video.
I have to comment on this recipe!! I used it for another purpose, and it turned out fantastic!!
I had some dough left over from making na’an, so I got to thinking about my summer in Russia 15 years ago and the piroshki I had there.
I rolled some dough, placed leftover cheesy mashed potatoes on one half, and folded the dough over to make a peroshki.
I let them rise for an hour, then baked one at 375 for 15 minutes and deep fried the other (which is the traditional cooking method).
Both turned out amazing!
So easy and so delicious. Thank you for your scrumptious recipes. They are the best I’ve found after years of trial and error after having to go gluten free.
Wow! I love your yeast free naan! Today I had some extra time and tried your yeast one. It is beyond delicious. It was chewy, tender and with salted butter on it, oh so delicious. I think I’ll have a container of this in the fridge for a quick bread to go with any dinner. Thank you ever so much for your desire to replace everything we have lost to the evil that is celiac.
I decided to try to stuff your naan with cheddar and a bit of mozzarella cheese with a Serrano pepper diced. Followed by your butter and garlic brush on. Wow! I cooked them in the oven on my cast iron pizza pan at 450. Don’t know how long I baked them for, sorry. It was fun rolling them out and folding them up to get them stuffed. Next time I’ll try the potato stuffing.
Thank you ever so much for all your hard work perfecting your recipes. You have given me back so much joy in eating again. Bread that isn’t a sponge with an odd taste is a thing of the past! “Ritz” crackers, wow! Food that is gluten free and delicious!
Haha! So glad you enjoyed them, Gillie!!!
Can 5his be made dairy free or at least cow free?
Kim, have you ever tried a pita bread with a pocket?
I’m actually testing pita right now. Have had some success, but I’d like to get it perfected before posting.
Hi Kim! Excited to try yet another of your amazing recipes. Question about the naan recipe, you specify not using greek yogurt. May I ask why? It seems my grocery store does not realize there are plain yogurts that are not greek. Just want to make sure i’m not creating a litter of little naan gremlins if I use greek yogurt. Thanks for your time!
Haha! I’m so sorry, Nichole. I should have put the reason why on this post! It was one of my very early posts so I didn’t know what to include, but I will go back and put a substitution in the recipe card.
The reason is because Greek yogurt is too thick and the naan will be very dry. However, you can add milk, cream, or even water to a little bit of Greek yogurt to thin it out 😍
I’m confused- the recipe calls for greek yogurt but this answer to the comment say’s don’t use greek yogurt?
Also if using psyllium husk powder would it be 1.5 tsp as in your sourdough bread recipe?
I have revamped the recipe since that comment, so the new one does use Greek yogurt. Yes, 1.5 tsp would be right for psyllium husk powder.
Hi Kim. I had a naan catastrophe. I made the yeast free naan a few weeks ago and it was great. I tried this version and my dough was so sticky. No matter how much flour I added it was unworkable. I made some little “drop” naans just see how they would come out. They tasted ok but looked awful! For the first rise, the dough looked great. It deflated in the refrigerator overnight, though. Any thoughts on what went wrong? And are there any fixes when dough is too wet, sticky, impossible to shape or roll? I wonder if my yeast is bad? Thanks for any input.
Oh no! I’m so sorry it didn’t work out. The dough does deflate overnight in the fridge, but let’s troubleshoot. Did you use my flour blend or substitute anything within the blend? That’s the first key. Any chance you measured the water incorrectly? Or could you have had the temperature too high during your first rise that you killed the yeast?
I used your flour blend and I’m pretty certain I measured correctly. I did the first rise in my oven using the bread proofing setting. ( I think that’s around 90-100 degrees). Maybe that was too warm and I killed the yeast. I’ll give it another try without doing that. It has worked well for some of your other bread recipes though. I’ll report back :). Thanks you for your responsiveness! I’ve learned so much from you!
Hi Kim,
Thank you so much for taking the time to develop your recipes and especially your flour mixes. I now have a stash of your AP flour blend AND your bread flour blend in the cabinet (by the way, I used hemp protein for that and it works but does make the bread a greyish green – haha) – This Naan recipe was the best gluten free product I have ever made. I really appreciate your attention to detail and all the efforts you are sharing with all of us. Grateful from Northern California.
Awe, thank you so much, Janice!! I’m happy to share my gluten free baking successes with anyone who wants them 😍
Another amazing recipe! This is the second recipe I’ve tried from your website, the pizza crust being the first one and this one did not disappoint either! Since going gluten free I’ve missed eating naan and this recipe is amazing 🙂 thank you Kim!!
Thanks so much, Sofi! So glad you liked both recipes 🙂
Kim, this was yet another winner!!! I haven’t had naan since having to go GF and never thought I’d have it again, I’ve never seen it at stores. This was absolutely amazing!!! Spot on texture and flavor wise, wow! I didn’t give myself enough time so put it in the freezer to chill for about 20 minutes and it was very easy to work with. Thank you 🙂
Is it pliable enough to use as a wrap? Thanks for all of the great recipes! 💛
Aww, you’re so very welcome! Thank you for the kind words! It is pliable enough to use as a wrap. We use it in the summertime to make chicken souvlaki and fill it with grilled chicken kabobs, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. That’s one my favorite summer meals!