Paneer Tikka Naan Pizza
Feb 23, 2021, Updated Dec 03, 2021
Paneer Tikka Naan Pizza- Indian inspired vegetarian pizza with paneer (Indian cottage cheese), spices and cheese! A fun and easy pizza to make at home when pizza cravings kick in!
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Paneer Tikka Naan Pizza- a super flavorful Indian style vegetarian pizza made using paneer, spices, cheese and homemade naan.
This pizza is perfect for a date night or whenever the pizza craving kicks in!
Can we ever get tired of pizza? I don’t think so!
We order in pizza very often, especially as the weekend gets closer, my pizza cravings really start to kick in.
At this point, I can be pretty sure that I have tried pizza from all popular pizza places around Seattle (those with good vegetarian options of course).
Few weeks back, as usual I was craving pizza and I had some homemade naan handy so I used those to make this Paneer Tikka Naan Pizza, a vegetarian pizza inspired by Indian flavors.
If you have paneer, a bottle of marinara sauce and naan (store bought or homemade) ready to go then you can make this pizza in no time.
The paneer cubes are first marinated with yogurt and spices and then placed on naan and baked with some cheese.
I tried this naan pizza in 2 ways while testing the recipe-
1) I straight away added the marinated paneer cubes on the naan and baked it with cheese.
2) For the second method, I first cooked the paneer tikka cubes in a pan with little oil until they were slightly browned (5 t0 6 minutes) and then used it as a topping on the naan.
My verdict- I preferred the first version more where you place the marinated cubes directly on naan and bake.
First of all, there’s no additional step of cooking the paneer and then the marinating spices and yogurt add to the flavor of the sauce and make it much more flavorful.
If you want, you can definitely cook the paneer but I prefer doing that for a tikka. For the pizza, there’s really no need to cook the paneer first.
Ingredients
The recipe uses paneer and naan as the main ingredients. And since this is Indian inspired, there are obviously some (or many!) spices!
Paneer: since this is paneer tikka pizza, the paneer is obviously the main ingredient for this recipe. I like using paneer from Gopi or Vadilal brands that you can find at Indian grocery stores.
A tip about using store-bought paneer, always soak it in warm water for around 20 minutes and then use in the recipe. So for this recipe, I first soaked the paneer in hot water and then pat dry it and then cut into cubes and use in the marinade.
You can also use homemade paneer if you want here.
Veggies: in addition to the paneer, the recipe also use red onion, green pepper and jalapeños. You can choose to skip the jalapeños to reduce the heat.
Naan: you can use store bought naan or homemade naan here but make sure the naan is cooked before you use it in the recipe.
Spiced tomato sauce: for the pizza sauce, I just used a bottle of regular marinara sauce and add some spices and butter to it to make it more suitable for an Indian inspired pizza.
But you can use simple marinara sauce as well, it will be fine.
Cheese: I used a cheese blend for this recipe but you can use any cheese you like.
Plain mozzarella is a great option.
Spices & yogurt: the paneer is marinated with yogurt and spices like coriander powder, chaat masala, kasuri methi, kashmiri red chili powder (for color).
Make sure the yogurt that you use for the marinade is not runny at all.
Cilantro chutney: I love serving this naan pizza with a drizzle of cilantro chutney.
You can definitely skip this but it adds to flavor and makes the pizza taste even better.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use regular pizza base?
Sure, if you don’t have naan and have a pizza base on hand, you can very well use that in recipe.
Can we make it vegan?
Yes with few substitutions/replacements-
-replace paneer with tofu.
-replace cheese with vegan cheese.
-replace milk yogurt with vegan yogurt (plain almond milk yogurt preferably).
-butter with vegan butter
-and make sure that naan that you use is vegan. I have a vegan naan recipe which I will share very soon.
Can we bake the pizza in air fryer?
Yes, air fry at 390 F for 7-9 minutes.
How to store and re-heat the leftovers?
I would wrap the leftover in aluminum foil and refrigerate.
Then re-heat in air-fryer using the re-heat setting or in an oven at 350 F degrees for 8-10 minutes.
Method
1- To a bowl add yogurt (make sure the yogurt is thick and not runny at all) and then add the ginger-garlic paste, mustard oil, coriander powder, chaat masala, kashmiri red chili powder, garam masala, kasuri methi and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
2- Using a whisk mix it all together until you have a nice smooth marinade.
3- Add the paneer cubes, peppers and onions to the bowl.
4- Using a spatula toss everything together until the paneer and the vegetables are well coated with the marinade mixture. Cover and refrigerate for minimum of 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.
5- Meanwhile add 1/2 cup of marinara sauce (any bottled sauce would do) to a pan and put in on heat. Add cardamom powder, garam masala, red chili powder, kasuri methi and butter to it and stir until the butter melts and everything is well combined.
Remove the pan from heat and set aside. Meanwhile pre-heat oven to 450 F degrees.
6- After 30 minutes are up, remove the paneer marinade from the refrigerator. Now, take one naan (this is a medium size naan, around 8-10 inches in length and 5-6 inches wide) and spread around 2 tablespoons of sauce on top of the naan. I usually leave 1/2-1 inch on the side while spreading the sauce.
7- Then top with cheese, around 1/4 cup shredded cheese or as much as you like.
8- And then place the marinated paneer, pepper and onions on top of the cheese. Place the naan on to a baking sheet (if using aluminum foil, make sure to grease the foil a little with oil before placing the naan).
Bake at 450 F degrees for 9 to 10 minutes and then broil on high for 1 to 2 minutes (this is optional, broil if you want the cheese and paneer to brown up a little).
Remove the paneer tikka naan pizza from the oven and let it sit for 5 minutes. Then remove from pan and transfer on to the serving plate. Drizzle with cilantro chutney and serve!
If you’ve tried this Paneer Tikka Naan Pizza Recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram to see what’s latest in my kitchen!
Paneer Tikka Naan Pizza
Ingredients
Paneer Tikka
- 1/2 cup yogurt 120 grams, plain milk yogurt (make sure yogurt is thick and not runny)
- 2 teaspoons ginger-garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon mustard oil
- 1.5 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1/2 teaspoon chaat masala
- 1 teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder mainly for color, this is not hot
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon kasuri methi crushed, dried fenugreek leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 225 grams paneer cut into cubes, soak store bought paneer in warm water for 20 minutes before using
- 1/2 of large green pepper diced, 1/2 to 3/4 inch
- 1/2 medium red onion diced, 1/2 to 3/4 inch
- 1/2 jalapeño sliced
Spiced Pizza Sauce
- 1/2 cup pizza sauce use any bottled marinara sauce
- 1/8 teaspoon cardamom powder
- 1/8 teaspoon garam masala
- pinch red chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kasuri methi
- 1/2 tablespoon butter you can use salted or unsalted
For the Pizza
- 1 cup shredded cheese or more to taste, mozzarella cheese or cheese blend
- 4 medium naan homemade or store bought (cooked naan)
cilantro chutney, to drizzle
Instructions
- To a bowl add yogurt (make sure the yogurt is thick and not runny at all) and then add the ginger-garlic paste, mustard oil, coriander powder, chaat masala, kashmiri red chili powder, garam masala, kasuri methi and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Using a whisk mix it all together until you have a nice smooth marinade.
- Add the paneer cubes, peppers and onions to the bowl.
- Using a spatula toss everything together until the paneer and the vegetables are well coated with the marinade mixture. Cover and refrigerate for minimum of 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.
- Meanwhile add 1/2 cup of marinara sauce (any bottled sauce would do) to a pan and put in on heat. Add cardamom powder, garam masala, red chili powder, kasuri methi and butter to it and stir until the butter melts and everything is well combined.Remove the pan from heat and set aside. Meanwhile pre-heat oven to 450 F degrees.
- After 30 minutes are up, remove the paneer marinade from the refrigerator. Now, take one naan (this is a medium size naan, around 8-10 inches in length and 5-6 inches wide) and spread around 2 tablespoons of sauce on top of the naan. I usually leave 1/2-1 inch on the side while spreading the sauce.Then top with cheese, around 1/4 cup shredded cheese or as much as you like.
- And then place the marinated paneer, pepper and onions on top of the cheese. Place the naan on to a baking sheet (if using aluminum foil, make sure to grease the foil a little with oil before placing the naan).Bake at 450 F degrees for 9 to 10 minutes and then broil on high for 1 to 2 minutes (this is optional, broil if you want the cheese and paneer to brown up a little).
- Remove the paneer tikka naan pizza from the oven and let it sit for 5 minutes. Then remove from pan and transfer on to the serving plate. Drizzle with cilantro chutney and serve!
Air fryer Instructions
- You can also air fry the pizza. Pre-heat your air fryer according to manufacturer's instructions. Then Air fry at 390 F for 7 to 9 minutes until cheese melts and paneer is golden brown.
Notes
- You can make this using a pizza base as well. It will probably make 1 regular size pizza.
- This made 4 medium size naan pizzas for me, it can make more or less depending on the size of naan you are using.
- Skip jalapeños to cut down on spice. The jalapeño that I used here weren't spicy at all, so it might be a good idea to check their spiciness before using in the recipe.
- Please note that the Kashmiri red chili powder used here is very mild, it's mainly use for that bright red color. Do not substitute it with regular chili powder, else it will become very spicy.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Very nice recipes love 💕 thank you so much
Tried this recipe today. It turned out really really good. Thanks for formulating this
Tried this recipe today. Made some slight modifications in masalas. But the rest ditto. It turned out really really good. Thanks for formulating this
Another killer recipe. Thank you!
glad you liked it Megha!
Such an amazing recipe.
My daughter loved this recipe! It was polished off fast.
yay!
Tried making it today. Turned out delicious. Thank you for sharing this recipe!