Best Homemade Naan Bread

Light, fluffy, buttery homemade naan bread that’s even better than what you find in restaurants. This is the best naan bread recipe, made easy on the stovetop.

 

Homemade Naan Bread

I grew up with a Mom who made homemade bread every single week. She was always making homemade bread, dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls…you name it…she made it. So my comfort food is definitely bread and butter. It is so simple yet so comforting. 

We love Indian food in our home. Some of my kids’ favorite meals are — Chicken Tikka Masala and Indian Butter Chicken. So this Homemade Naan Bread is the perfect thing to dip into a big bowl of Tikka Masala Chicken. My husband loves when I double the sauce so he can just use the naan bread to get every bit of sauce from the bowl. 

There’s nothing quite like warm, pillowy naan bread fresh off the stove — soft in the center, blistered and slightly charred at the edges, and perfect for scooping up curry or eating on its own with a swipe of melted butter. The good news is you don’t need a tandoor oven or any special equipment to make truly great naan at home. A hot skillet and a few pantry staples get you shockingly close to restaurant-quality results.

This homemade naan bread recipe uses a simple yeasted dough enriched with Greek yogurt, which keeps the bread soft and slightly tangy, plus a touch of sugar to help the yeast do its job. It comes together in about 90 minutes start to finish, most of which is hands-off rise time, and the stovetop cooking method takes less than 5 minutes per piece.

This Homemade Naan bread is so simple and easy! I have tested and re-tested it over and over again to get it just right. Recently, I did an online cooking class with Miele appliances and FeedFeed here in Scottsdale and taught how to make this easy naan bread recipe. So I wanted to make sure to get it just perfect!

I tested the recipe with more water, less water, more flour, less flour, more greek yogurt, less greek yogurt, more oil, less oil, etc. You get the point. I found that the more flour, the denser the naan turned out to be. The less flour and more water, the naan was lighter and bubbled up more. It was a stickier dough but we remedied that with a little flour on the counter. 

We even tried cooking this homemade naan bread on gas vs electric stoves. The gas definitely cooked it a little faster. One thing that we found was pretty important was adding oil to the pan before cooking the naan. The oil allowed the naan bread to bubble more and it definitely had more loft to it. 

When I order naan bread in restaurants, it is known for its dark, almost blackened, bubbles on the bread. I prefer it to be on the golden brown side rather than too burnt, so I lower the temperature down to medium or medium-low to allow the bread to puff up and cook through without becoming burnt. You are welcome to crank up the heat!

This is the best homemade naan bread recipe out there! It is the lightest, fluffiest, and ultra buttery naan bread. Light, fluffy, buttery homemade Naan bread that is even better than what you find in restaurants. 

Why this is the Best Naan Bread:

• Greek yogurt for tenderness. The yogurt keeps the dough soft and adds a subtle tang, similar to what you’d get from traditional naan made with a yeasted, slightly fermented dough.
• No tandoor required. A hot skillet or cast iron pan mimics the intense, dry heat of a tandoor closely enough to get those signature golden-brown blistered spots.
• Simple pantry ingredients. No specialty flour or hard-to-find ingredients — just flour, yeast, yogurt, oil, and butter.
• Freezer-friendly. Make a big batch and freeze extras for busy weeknights (details below).
• Make it into Garlic Naan Bread. Easy to turn into garlic naan, or adjust for whole wheat flour (see variations below). You can even make cheesy naan filled with melted cheese.

Ingredients:

Here’s what you need to make homemade naan bread at home. I am including some ingredient notes below.

• Warm water (about 110°F)
• Active dry yeast (1 packet)
• Sugar
• Flour
• Plain Greek yogurt
• Extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for cooking
• Salt
• Melted butter, for brushing
• Oil, for cooking

Ingredient Notes:

• Warm water temperature matters. Water that’s too hot (above 120°F) can kill the yeast before it activates; water that’s too cool will slow the rise significantly. Around 110°F — warm to the touch, like a baby’s bath water — is ideal.
• Active dry yeast vs. instant yeast: This recipe is written for active dry yeast, which needs to be proofed in warm water first. If you only have instant yeast, you can skip the proofing step and mix it directly into the flour, though proofing active dry yeast first is a good way to confirm it’s still alive before you commit the rest of your ingredients.
• Greek yogurt: Plain, full-fat Greek yogurt gives the best texture and tang. Regular plain yogurt will work too, but the dough may be slightly wetter since Greek yogurt is more strained and concentrated.
• Flour: All-purpose flour is standard here. You can substitute up to half the flour with whole wheat flour for a heartier, slightly denser naan — just add an extra tablespoon or two of yogurt if the dough feels dry.
• Oil for cooking: Don’t skip this. A light coating of oil in the skillet is what helps the naan puff up and develop those characteristic bubbles as it cooks.

How to make the Best Homemade Naan Bread:

1. Proof the yeast. In a small bowl, combine the warm water, yeast, and sugar. Stir and let sit for 5–10 minutes, until the mixture becomes foamy and bubbly. If it doesn’t foam, your yeast may be inactive — start over with a fresh packet.
2. Mix the dough. In a large bowl, combine the flour, Greek yogurt, olive oil, and salt. Pour in the yeast mixture and stir. Combine with your hands — the dough may look shaggy at first, but keep working it until it forms a ball.
3. Knead. Knead the dough for 5–10 minutes, until it becomes smooth and elastic.
4. Let it rise. Cover the bowl and set it in a warm place to rise for at least 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
5. Divide and roll. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter or board. Divide into 8 equal portions. Roll each piece into roughly an 8-inch circle or rectangle, about ⅛-inch thick.
6. Heat the skillet. Heat a skillet or cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle with oil.
7. Cook the naan. Add one piece of dough to the hot pan and reduce the heat to medium. Watch for bubbles to form — this is the oil doing its job to help the naan puff. Cook for about 3 minutes on the first side, then flip and cook for 2 minutes more.
8. Watch closely. Naan can go from golden to burnt quickly. Lower the heat if it’s browning too fast before it’s cooked through.
9. Finish and serve. Remove from the pan, brush immediately with melted butter, and serve warm.

Naan Bread vs. Pita Bread: What’s the Difference?

Naan and pita are often confused since both are soft, round flatbreads, but they’re made differently. Pita is a lean dough (just flour, water, yeast, and salt) that puffs up into a pocket when baked at high heat. Naan, on the other hand, is enriched with yogurt (and sometimes egg or milk), which gives it a softer, richer texture and a slight tang — and it’s traditionally cooked on the wall of a hot tandoor oven rather than baked. This recipe’s stovetop method recreates that same intense, direct heat using a hot skillet instead.

Garlic Naan Variation:

Garlic naan is one of the most popular naan variations, and it’s simple to make from this same dough:

• Mince 2–3 cloves of garlic and stir them into the melted butter before brushing it onto the cooked naan.
• For even more garlic flavor, add 1 teaspoon of minced garlic directly into the dough when mixing.
• Finish with a sprinkle of chopped fresh cilantro or parsley.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why isn’t my naan puffing up? This is usually caused by a pan that isn’t hot enough, or not enough oil in the pan. Make sure your skillet is fully preheated over medium-high heat before adding the dough, and don’t skip the light coating of oil — it plays a big role in helping the naan bubble and puff.

Can I use instant yeast instead of active dry yeast? Yes. Instant yeast can be mixed directly into the dry ingredients without proofing in water first. If you’d still like to proof it as a way to confirm it’s active, you can, but it isn’t strictly necessary the way it is with active dry yeast.

Do I need a tandoor oven to make naan? No. While traditional naan is cooked in a tandoor, a hot cast iron skillet or heavy-bottomed pan on the stovetop gets remarkably close results, with the same golden, blistered spots and soft, chewy texture.

Can I make the dough ahead of time? Yes. After kneading, you can refrigerate the dough (covered) for up to 24 hours for a slow rise. Let it come to room temperature before dividing and rolling.

What’s the best way to reheat naan so it stays soft? A dry skillet over medium heat for about a minute per side is the best method — it warms the naan through without drying it out, unlike the microwave, which can make it slightly tough if overheated.

Popular Bread Recipes:

Homemade Bakery French Bread

Japanese Milk Bread Dinner Rolls

Miracle One Hour White Bread

Best Homemade One Hour Whole Wheat Bread

The Best Moist Cornbread Recipe