Making garlic naan at home, from scratch is easier than you think and I am going to show you exactly how with my easy, foolproof, step-by-step recipe. These garlic naans are soft, pillowy and perfect for dunking into my creamy dal makhani or restaurant style butter paneer. They also freeze well, so that you can enjoy one whenever you crave it!
You only need a few basic ingredients to make these naans at home, and I am pretty sure you have them already in your pantry. Once you make these, you would never want to buy frozen ones again.
We grew up eating warm homemade roti at home on a regular basis, and naan was something we enjoyed at restaurants and parties too. I know, a lot of folks in the US think that Indians eat naan everyday but that’s simply not the case. In India, it was easier to get good naan from outside but once I moved to the US, I quickly realized that I need to make naans at home. The frozen, rubbery naans were just not making the cut.
After making these naans multiple times over the years, and multiple rounds of recipe testing, it’s safe to say these are my favorite homemade garlic naans. They are not chewy, or stretchy or rubbery. They are just perfectly soft to enjoy with your favorite curries.
My Garlic Naan Secret Ingrdient: Yogurt~
Like most breads, naan is made with basic ingredients like flour, yeast, water/milk, sugar. I like adding some yogurt to keep them soft (I make my butter naan the same way too!). I have tested this recipe with and without yogurt and the one with yogurt always yields softer naans.
Since this recipe is for garlic naan, I also add some grated garlic to the dough and then brush the naan with lots of garlic butter. The additional garlic butter on top takes them to the next level.
I made this garlic naan on the stove top. Traditionally naan is made in a tandoor (clay oven) but at home, I prefer the stove-top method because they are much softer and better when cooked on a stove-top compared to when cooked in an oven.
I highly recommend cooking these on a cast iron skillet. I have made these on non-stick and other pans; they taste so much better when made on a cast iron because the cast iron gets really hot (like tandoor) and retains heat (and distributes heat evenly), making the naan chewy. It also gives the naan a smoky flavor which you don’t get with non-stick pans.
Troubleshooting My Garlic Naan Recipe
- Dough too sticky: my recipe results in a sticky dough, but resist the temptation to add more flour as this will make then naans dough-y. Let the dough rest if it’s becoming difficult to roll and then roll gently. Apply some oil on your hands while handing the dough- it helps.
- Yeast not rising: If there’s no froth after 5 to 10 minutes of adding active dry yeast to warm water, discard the mixture and start over again. It most probably means either your yeast is old or the water you added was too hot (hence killed the yeast) or too cold (yeast couldn’t activate). Optimal range for active dry yeast to activate is between 105-115 F degrees.
- Unable to roll the naan: the dough is sticky so rolling the naan can feel tricky. Let the dough rest and then roll gently. Apply some oil on your rolling pin also while rolling these naans. Roll lengthwise first and then roll sidewise.
Let’s See How I Make Garlic Naan At Home!
- Let’s activate the yeast first
Since I use active dry yeast for the recipe, it needs to be activated first. Mix the yeast with warm water and some sugar and let it bloom. It should be nicely frothy within 5 to 10 minutes. Only then add milk, yogurt and oil.
- Mix in the dry ingrdients
Once the yeast is activated, add the flour and salt and make a sticky dough. This is a sticky dough, so do not try to add more flour at this point. I also add some grated garlic to the dough.
- Wait for the dough to rise
It will take around 60 to 90 minutes for the dough to double in size. If you live in a cold place, you can place the bowl in the oven with the oven lights on (but oven should be off).
- Then get to rolling!
Give the dough rest after each step. After dividing the dough into 8 equal parts, let the dough balls rest for a while before rolling them. Roll the dough gently using a rolling pin.
- Cook on a hot pan!
Once rolled, cook them on a cast iron skillet and and finish by cooking them on direct heat for that smoky flavor. Brush with more garlic butter before serving.
Freezing the naan
You can easily freeze these garlic naan- both cooked and uncooked.
Freezing cooked naan: You can freeze the naan after cooking them completely, just skip the step of brushing them with garlic butter. Let the naans cool down completely and then store (with layers or parchment paper in between each naan) in a zip lock bag for up to 3 months. Reheat in the microwave or pan and then brush with garlic butter before serving.
Freezing uncooked naan: To freeze the naan uncooked, make the dough and let it rise. Then divide the dough into equal parts and roll all the naan. Place a piece of parchment paper and then place a rolled naan on top of it. Now place another piece of parchment paper on top of the rolled naan and then place another naan on top. Basically, you stack them one by one, with a layer of parchment paper in between each naan. Once you have stacked them all, place them in a freezer bag, squeeze out as much air as possible and freeze. Cook on the skillet directly from the freezer when you want to eat them and brush with garlic butter before serving.
Restaurant Style Garlic Naan (Soft & Pillowy)
Ingredients
- 3 & ¼ cups + 3-4 tablespoons all purpose flour, 423 grams + 27-36 grams , also known as maida
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup water, lukewarm, 8 oz
- 1 tablespoon sugar, 12 grams , I used granulated white sugar
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- ⅓ cup milk, 80 ml lukewarm, I used whole milk
- 2 tablespoons plain yogurt, I used plain whole milk yogurt
- 3 tablespoons oil, 45 ml , I used vegetable oil
- 2 large garlic cloves, grated
- nigella seeds/kalonji, optional, to sprinkle on top of naan
Garlic Butter, to brush on naan
- 3 tablespoons butter, I used unsalted
- 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
Instructions
- In a bowl whisk together 3 & ¼ cups all-purpose flour (423 grams) with 1 teaspoon salt. Set it aside.
- To the steel bowl of your stand mixer, add 1 cup lukewarm water (8 oz) and then add 1 tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons active dry yeast. Give it a quick stir and let it bloom for 5-10 minutes. You will know the yeast is activated when it’s all bubbly and frothy on top.
- Once the yeast is activated, add 1/3 cup milk (lukewarm), 2 tablespoons plain yogurt and 3 tablespoons oil. Add the flour mixture and mix using the paddle attachment on your stand mixer until combined. Also add 2 garlic cloves (grated).
- Start adding the remaining 3-4 tablespoons of flour (27-36grams). Add 1 tablespoon at a time and add more if the flour feels very sticky. The dough will always be a little sticky, so do not add more flour to make it dry. I ended up adding extra 4 tablespoons flour (36 grams) at this point.
- Knead with hands or with the dough hook attachment of your stand mixer for 1-2 minutes until the dough is smooth. Transfer the dough to a greased bowl.
- Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm place for 60-90 minutes. If it is cold where you live, pre-heat your oven for few minutes and then turn it off. Then place your dough inside the oven (remember the oven should be off!)After around 90 minutes, the dough will be more than double in size. Punch the dough gently to release the air.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal parts (around 100-105 grams each). Dough will be sticky so oil your hands while dividing the dough. Cover the dough balls with a kitchen towel and let them rest for 10-15 minutes.
- Meanwhile melt 3 tablespoons butter, add 2 teaspoons minced garlic and 3 tablespoons cilantro (chopped) to it. Mix well and keep the garlic butter ready to brush on the naan.
- Heat up a cast iron skillet on medium-high heat. I highly recommend using an iron skillet to make these naans. Take a dough ball and roll it into an oval shape, around 10 to 11 inches long and 6 inches wide. Apply a little oil on top of the dough before you try to roll it. Also oil your rolling pin. Do not try to roll the dough like you roll a tortilla/roti/paratha. Simply stretch it length wise and then width wise.Dip your finger in water and then sprinkle some nigella seeds on top. This is optional.
- Transfer the rolled naan onto the hot skillet. Let it cook for a minute or two until you see bubbles on top. Brush the naan at this point with the prepared garlic butter. You can skip the step of applying butter at this point and apply it directly once the naan is cooked. I like applying it twice –>more garlic flavor!
- With the help of a tong, remove the naan from skillet, flip and transfer directly to the gas. There will be a little mess as the butter will pour down (cover the sides of the burner with aluminum foil to make cleaning easier if you want). Cook the garlic naan for 15-20 seconds (directly on gas) until nicely golden brown from both sides.
- Remove from heat and brush with more garlic butter. Serve these homemade garlic naans with dal makhani or butter paneer!
To Cook Garlic Naan in Oven
- To cook the garlic naan in oven – pre-heat oven to 500 F degrees. Arrange rolled naan on a baking tray and then bake for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown. Remove naan from oven and apply the garlic butter. If you want, you can then place the naan in the oven under broiler to get them charred.
Notes
- You can make smaller naans if you want, these are pretty big, like the ones you get in restaurants.
- The cast iron skillet needs to really hot before you add the naan on it. This way the dough rises faster and you get puffy naan!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Which brand yeast did you use? Can you please post it here?
Red star!
Thanks for this recipe! It turned out wayy too sticky though. Maybe the metric (grams) aren’t correct?
It’s absolutely correct, tested several times and have been made by hundreds of people with really good reviews. Not sure what went wrong if you measured in grams and followed the recipe exactly.
Followed your recipe to make Naan it turned out fantasctic. Thank you.
awesome!
This is such a great recipe! I made it only a couple of weeks ago, froze half but then defrosted it the next night and made it again. We just had it (again!) tonight and can’t get enough of it. Very excited to try out all your recipes!!
Hi Manali!!
I just wanted to let you know that we’ve been making your Dahl Fry Before a few times now my absolute fav!! and Naan for the first time today but because we’re vegan we substituted for plain coconut yoghurt. They are the best!!! So fluffy and relish and topped with the garlic butter Yum!! Seriously you have saved me from spending so much $$ for my large fam of 7!! It’s like having the restaurant stuff at home..I love making the paste for the curry and follow your technique to a “T” even up to the pet of waiting for those juices is crucial! Thankyou again Manali!! Much love from Australia
Manali
It is very easy to made as per your SOP
I tried your recipe.. it turned out wonderful.. thanks for posting. Just like restaurant ones.. sift and tasty
Get to the point dam you talk so much. Just STFU and post the recipe nobody wants to read all that other garbage you write. If you speak as much as you write I feel bad for people that know you. Anyways that was my tip for the future.
wow so much frustration for a person you don’t even know over a recipe! ? well, there’s a Jump to recipe button right at the top. If you click on that you can skip all the talk and get straight to the recipe, that’s what it is there for. And believe it or not but a lot of people do like reading all the tips that I share in the text to make the recipe successful . So I will ignore your tip and continue to do so! Have a good day!
Wow, you are definitely a miserable person!
Oh wow! You truly are a horrible person, attacking someone on the internet under your cloak of anonymity. Let’s see if you can post your real self here with us being able to identify you and say all this stuff.
If you know anything about cooking you would know how valuable all her writing is.
I tried these naan today as was out of the frozen ones and during lockdown we were craving for paneer and naan. It came out so nice!! thanks for the receipe Manali!! Now I know which receipe to follow when i need to make naan.
Hi manali
Can I use instant yeast instead of dry yeast and if so how much should I put ?.
yes, I will probably use less of it though, around 1 & 1/4 to 1 & 1/2 teaspoons in place of 2 teaspoons that the recipe calls for.
Thank you manali! Very little effort, scrumptious taste! That’s it ! I will never yearn for garlic naan from restaurants again.
yay awesome 🙂
That was an awesome recipe and a keeper. Family loved the naan and said it was better than the restaurants. Thank you so much
This is probably like your 3rd recipe ive tried, and it was PERFECT. thank you from the bottom of my heart, because you made my favorite food easily accessible to me now.
The naan looks lovely! Do you have a cast iron skillet you love? I’m looking for one and would love a recommendation
I use the ones from Lodge!
How do I “thaw” the naan before I cook them again?
I would place them in the fridge overnight, they will thaw and then cook in the morning.
This is a gr8 homemade naan recipe. My family enjoyed this so much… I used only all purpose flower and was delicious and instant yeast. Thank you. Always wanted to try naan at home and this was a winner…
I made these today. Turned out really well but I used atta flour. I made some garlic, some plain and made sure I had cilantro and kalonji on hand. I didn’t need any extra flour I needed extra water and oil. Not surprising given that atta is whole wheat. Thanks for a great recipie. I especially liked how much it made, naan disappears As soon as it’s bought or made.
I’ve been cooking naan for years and never got it like you do in the restaurant. This was spot on!! A recipe I’m banking! Thank you!
welcome! 🙂
Can I use instant yeast instead of active dry yeast?
yes, I will probably use less of it though, around 1 & 1/4 to 1 & 1/2 teaspoons in place of 2 teaspoons that the recipe calls for.
Thank you for replying. Does that also mean I skip this part?
‘add lukewarm water and then add the sugar and yeast. Let it bloom for 5-10 minutes. You will know the yeast is activated when its all bubbly and frothy on top.’
Which means I add the instant yeast right to the rest of the ingredients?
you skip the proofing but not the ingredients.
Okay. So I basically skip the proofing of yeast and get straight to mixing the ingredients? Or?
If so, do I still incorporate the warm water and sugar? A little unclear here.
you will skip the proofing but will use the same liquid amount, that doesn’t change. IF you skip the water, that changes the recipe since you are reducing the liquid ingredients in the recipe. Having said that, I have not tested this recipe with instant yeast, so if you try it let me know how it goes.
I had really wanted to make this. I got all the ingredients and gave myself a little extra time before starting dinner to familiarize myself with the instructions, when I read that I have to let the dogs ride for over an hour. The prep time at the top of the recipe does not reflect that and the total time is listed as 35 minutes. Sadly, I do not have enough time to make this for dinner tonight with my chana masala and chicken tikka masala. I will have to find a simpler recipe to make instead.
Next time I’ll know how long it takes. Please make the changes on your site to appropriately represent the amount of time this recipe takes so others don’t make my mistake.
I have actually written the resting time as 1 hour 30 minutes, but I don’t know why it doesn’t show up in the recipe plugin. When I go to my post in wordpress it’s there but not on the page, that it so weird. Sorry you had trouble because of this.
Tried your Nan reciepe today. Came out so well. Just like restaurant Naan. MY kids and husband enjoyed it . Thank u so much for posting a detailed version. Tried Naan recipe before but nothing compared to yours in softness , taste.
glad to know 🙂
Amazing recipe! I did on a sunday and it was fabulous! Amazing taste, texture, smell.. hmmm! I cooked half on an iron pan and frozed the other half. However, I just tried to cook one of the frozed ones and it didnt grow. It was more like a flatbrad. Tasted amazing also, but not looked like a naan. Maybe you meant we should freeze them after cooked? I frozed the rolled doughs. Thanks again for such an amazing recipe!
hmm not sure what happened. No, I did mean to freeze the rolled dough so you did the right thing there. Try freezing cooked naan next time. Glad you liked the recipe though!
Thank you so much for the recipe. It was perfect and so easy to follow. It’s my hubby’s favorite intercontinental dish. It has now become a family favorite, now that we can make it at home. Thanks Manali.
Chika.
Abuja, Nigeria.
Hi Manali! Have you ever had to make the naan or another flatbread without yeast or baking powder? Seems as though they hoard baking supplies here in Turkey! I plan to try to make this tonight! Thanks
we make our everyday Indian bread, roti & paratha which don’t need any baking powder or yeast, so you can check those out. Just search “roti” and “paratha” on the blog. Stay safe!
I was excited to try this recipe but I’m a little disappointed that after reading I needed to have a gas burner stove.
you can use an induction top
Great recipe, but instead of taking it off from skillet – i usually turn skillet upside down facing gas flame. this way you can imitate earthen oven feel and naan will be cooked on skillet without removing it and putting it on direct flame
Aman, when you do this,is the entire cooking process done on an upside down skillet, or just the one side after you’ve cooked it in the pan.Flipping a hot pan back and forth seems a little daunting to me, but I follow your concept-good idea!
Would it ruin them if I used a tortilla press? I know you said just stretch them and I will if you suggest it. I was hoping to make a large quantity so I figured I’d ask.
hmm you can try…I usually prefer just using my hands or a rolling pin
Hi Manali.
The naans look super yummy?Wanted to know if I can use wwf for this recipe? If yes,Will the measurements of other ingredients remain same?
Hi Sameera, I would do half all purpose and half whole wheat…that should be okay..I haven’t tested this recipe with 100% whole wheat so can’t comment on the outcome
Sameera
I have made this recipe with atta flour which is stone ground wholewheat. It needs more water and oil to get the texture soft and somewhat sticky. Other than that the rest of the process was similar. It held its shape incredibly well when rolled. It has a denser and slightly chewy texture. But still great. Second time I added close to 3/4 cup white flour to the 3.25 cups atta. And enough water to make it very soft and sticky it also needed more oil.
Don’t use atta flour at all for rolling it out use white flour if u need to As in its sticking to the table after rising. If it’s not that sticky use oil. Resist the temptation to keep adding flour. They turned out pillowy and soft with just the right amount of chewy texture. Liked them even more than the first time.
As for regular WW flour I have not tried that.
Hi ,i tried your recipe it was perfect, the recipe was easy to follow and the results were really restaurant style. tried many different recipes but did not get that soft and slightly charred taste. Thank you for sharing
welcome! 🙂
Hi there, I would like to use your naan recipe with curry potatoes fillings. Do you have dry curry potatoes recipe?
Please advice & Thanks a lot:-)
try this https://www.cookwithmanali.com/instant-pot-potato-masala/
Outstanding!
glad to know!
Should almond milk work in this recipe or is the dairy necessary?
I think it should work but I have not tried it myself
Hello Manali, Thank you for this recipe. I want to make them to take to a dinner party. Would I be able to cook the naan and then freeze them for later use? Could I re heat frozen, cooked naan in an oven?
I haven’t tried freezing cooked naan..but you can try. I would skip the step of brushing the naan with butter. Will do it before serving. Yes you can re-heat in oven.
Absolutely delicious and dead easy!
Thanks
Will be making them again.
I wanted to know how to cook them after freezing the naan? Do you defrost then cook or just cook from frozen?
straight to the pan, you don’t need to defrost them
Hey..
Thanks.. It seems easy to make and thank you for detailed yet precised recipe..
Perfect??, will do it.
Thanks and have a nice weekend?
yum????
it sure is!
Could you use sour cream instead of yogurt?
hmm you can try, I have never tried it myself
Yes you can that’s what I use
Great recipe ? I found it was very easy to follow and the naan was fluffy and delicious.
good to know! 🙂
Any advice on how to prepare teh frozen naan dough? Do i have to defrost it first or can it go straight into the oven/pan?
Best would be to roll the naan and then freeze them , with parchment paper between each naan. That way you can straight away put them onto to the pan and cook. If you want to freeze the dough, I would thaw overnight in fridge.
These were fabulous! I don’t have gas either but I cooked them very nicely on my cast iron griddle. The only substitution I made was I only had 3 cups of AP flour so I subbed in some whole wheat. It was still great!
good to know!
Hi,
First time ever to venture into making naan. And thanks to you, it was an outstanding success at our dinner club. The theme was, yes, Indian.
Cast iron was an essential part of the final product.
All the best!
Awesome! Glad to know!
Hi Manali
Just wondering if you couple leave the dough over night then roll the next night?
should be fine!
Hi Manali, I made these tonight and had one issue- the dough was SO tender that when I tried to roll it out it would break. I’m thinking that I either should have added more flour in the dough (I only did 2 of the extra tbs) or I should have kneaded it more with the dough hook. I wanted the naan to be pillowy soft so I was hesitant to do either of those things, but it was unmanageable once I tried to cook it.
I should add, I didn’t have a rolling pin so I tried stretching them like pizza dough. That’s when the middle would inevitably break.
hmm maybe you should have let it rest a bit more…that’s what I do when it gets difficult to manage..I hope it still tasted good though..try adding little more flour next time and also rolling pin helps..
I had the same issue, the dough was SO sticky that I could hardly roll them our or stretch them. I added 3 T of flour in the mix, but maybe it needs much more. I also had the issue that after I rolled them out then tried to transfer them to the pan they just stretched like crazy in the transfer and the centers tore, it was kind of a mess. Some of them came out ok, but I really don’t know how so many people got these to turn out just right.
Hi Danny, sorry you had trouble. This is one of the most popular recipes on the blog and people keep making these and tag me all the time on social media. I have tested this recipe so many times and hundreds of people have made it successfully over the years so I am confident that this recipe works. Did you measure the flour correctly? I have give the measurements in grams just to make sure there’s no error. If you have trouble handling the dough, please liberally grease your hands with oil and then work with the dough. If dough is not rolling properly, please rest the dough for some more time and then try. Handle the dough gently, honestly it looks like you had trouble handling the dough, you can add more flour but that makes the naan not so fluffy. To handle high hydration dough, just grease hands with oil and try to work fast. More your practice, better it will become. Thanks for trying.
I suspect that the issue of breakage is due to not enough kneading or rolling them too thin. Mine came out perfect but I had made my first one too thin and it tore as I moved it to the griddle. By making the thickness the same throughout (and not thicker around the edges) the naans held their shape better. I am also using a bread flour with higher gluten which can affect your dough. I have to say that these are THE best naan I have ever made!!! Thanks Manali! I’ll be trying more of your recipes.
Very good recipe thanks. I didn’t have a gas hob or a cast iron skillet and they were still delicious
glad to know Helen!
How do you finally deal with the frozen naan? Cook frozen or defrost ?
Great recipe
You can straight away put frozen in the oven or stove top..just cook a little longer..
This recipe is spot on! I made these last night and they turned out amazing. The only thing I did differently because I don’t have a gas range, is I used a small butane torch to give them a bit of scorch on top (just a tad), then I turned them over briefly in the cast iron skillet before removing from heat. Honestly I think they would still be good just using the skillet, so for those of you out there without a gas stove or butane torch– go for it 🙂
Awesome! Glad you liked it and thanks for sharing the tip with butane torch. I am sure it will help those who who don’t have a gas stove.
I was looking for these for months and last it’s here . Thanks for sharing the details to cook naan at home. My son love naan bread and insist me to try at home. Now we both are delighted to see your recipe. Thanks again.
Welcome! hope you enjoy it!
These were amazing! We enjoyed them with palak paneer! Thanks Manali for the recipe
Welcome Shefali!
Thank you for posting this with detailed instructions.
You are welcome!
yes! Thanks Angie!