Making vegan naan is really so much easier than you might think! Follow my step-by-step instructions to make this soft and chewy bread, perfect for scooping up of your favourite curries and soups.
Homemade bread, whatever its form, is one of my favourite things to eat. So much so that when making this recipe there may have been a naan that didn’t quite make it to the photographs as I just had to eat it hot straight out of the pan dunked in melted garlic butter.
Yes I am living my best life, thank you.
Naan is a flat-bread most commonly associated with Indian cuisine. It’s a super soft, chewy bread that is traditionally cooked by placing the dough against the inside wall of a tandoor, which is a big clay oven. And while we all might not have access to a tandoor, great results can still be made at home with a hot cast iron pan.
Once you realise just how simple these vegan naans are to make, I know you’re going to want to skip the supermarket options (which are never that good anyway) and whip up a batch to impress your family for your next Indian inspired feast.
Ingredients for vegan naan
To make this naan, you’ll need 6 ingredients plus some water and optionally some vegan butter, garlic and parsley if you want the garlic version (plain is good, but trust me, garlic butter is better!).
Note all ingredients and their quantities are laid out in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Yeast – as naan is a yeasted dough, we’re using instant dry yeast which gives this bread it’s structure and ‘bready’ taste.
- White sugar – sugar activates the yeast so is an essential ingredient for any yeast based breads.
- Plain flour – you can use bread flour if you have it for extra chewiness, but plain all purpose flour will work just fine for this recipe.
- Salt – so essential for flavour, leave it out and your bread will be bland.
- Coconut cream – now this is our key ingredient. Don’t use a can of coconut cream but rather, grab a can of coconut milk and put it in the fridge overnight. The next day when you open it you’ll be able to scoop out the super thick coconut cream from the top. This is what we need. This is going to ensure the naan has enough fat to be soft and chewy without needing to add eggs or dairy. You can sub this for a vegan plain yoghurt as well if you prefer, but your bread will not taste like coconut if you use this I promise.
- Olive oil – again for extra fat making the naan soft and pliable.
For the garlic butter I just melt about 3 tablespoons of vegan butter and add as much freshly crushed garlic as I can handle and about a tablespoon or so of roughly chopped parsley. This will get brushed onto the naan once they are cooked.
How to make naan
Homemade naan is really so simple to make. I was always intimidated by making bread at home, but starting with an easy flatbread is really a great way to take the fear out of this process.
To make this recipe, it will greatly help with how easy it is if you have a stand mixer with a dough hook. You can mix by hand with a wooden spoon but it will take a lot more muscle.
Start by blooming the yeast. You want to add the yeast, warm water and sugar to a large bowl (the bowl of your stand mixer if that’s what you’re using) and whisk it together. Throw a clean tea towel over the top and let sit for 10 mins until nice and foamy.
To the bowl, add the olive oil, coconut cream and half the flour. Start your mixer on low to begin incorporating it. Stop the mixer and add in the remaining flour and salt.
The reason we add the flour in these two steps is to make sure the salt doesn’t directly touch the yeast as it can kill it so making sure we are aware of the order of the ingredients is important here.
If you’re using an electric mixer with a dough hook, you’ll keep mixing on speed 2 (don’t go higher than this with the dough hook) until the dough comes together and starts pulling away from the sides. The dough will be really soft and sticky.
With floured hands, remove the dough from the bowl onto a well floured surface and complete kneading until smooth. Add back to the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a clean tea towel and set aside in a warm place for 45-60 minutes until the dough has doubled in size.
Punch down the dough and again turn out onto a floured surface. Knead gently, shape into a ball and then divide the dough into 8 portions.
Roll each portion of dough into a ball and then with a floured rolling pin, roll out into oval shapes around 15 cm in length.
Heat a large cast iron pan on high heat until very hot and without any oil in the pan, add the dough. Let cook for a couple of minutes and you’ll start to see big bubbles puffing up. When this happens flip the naan and cook for another minute.
Set aside on a plate and if you’re doing the garlic butter version, brush both sides of the naan with the mixture, then place a clean tea towel over the top. This step ensures that the bread remains soft and pliable rather than getting crispy thanks to the steam being trapped.
Repeat until all 8 are cooked.
What to serve with naan
You can serve a side of naan alongside anything you think would love some soft bread to mop up all the deliciousness.
- It’s a requirement in my house to serve vegan garlic naan alongside my easy dairy free butter chicken with a side of my rice cooker turmeric rice.
- I can’t stop thinking about dunking this naan in my vegan tomato soup. It’s such a great alternative to sourdough or garlic bread.
Recipe FAQs
This is important to the results of the recipe. Don’t simply just use a can of coconut cream but rather, grab a can of coconut milk and put it in the fridge overnight. The next day when you open it you’ll be able to scoop out the super thick coconut cream from the top. This is what we need. This is going to ensure the naan has enough fat to be soft and chewy without needing to add eggs or dairy.
My favourite brand is the TCC one that you can get at the supermarket. And I promise you will not taste the coconut in the bread as that would be weird and I wouldn’t do that to you.
How long does this naan last?
Like most homemade breads without preservatives, this naan is best eaten the day it’s made, but if you want to keep it covered for another day or two you can. Simply reheat in a pan to make sure the bread stays soft and pliable.
The naan is best served fresh while still warm but if you have extras you can reheat them in the oven for 5 minutes wrapped in aluminium foil.
Yes, these naan freeze really well. Once cooled, wrap them individually in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for up to three months. Allow to defrost on the kitchen bench at room temperature and then reheat as above.
More bread recipes:
Olive and Herb Focaccia
Homemade Sandwich Bread
Greek-Style Lamb Pitas
Vegan Naan
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ teaspoons dried yeast 1 x 7 gram packet
- ¾ cup warm water
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 2 cups plain flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons coconut cream
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- extra flour for kneading and rolling
- garlic butter (see notes) for serving
Instructions
- Start by blooming the yeast. Add the yeast, warm water and sugar to a large bowl (the bowl of your stand mixer if that’s what you’re using) and whisk it together. Set aside for 10 mins until foamy.
- Add the olive oil, coconut cream and half the flour. Start your mixer on low to begin incorporating it. Stop the mixer and add in the remaining flour and salt.
- Keep mixing on low until the dough comes together and starts pulling away from the sides. The dough will be really soft and sticky.
- With floured hands, remove the dough from the bowl onto a well floured surface and complete kneading until smooth. Add back to the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a clean tea towel and set aside in a warm place for 45-60 minutes until the dough has doubled in size.
- Punch down the dough and again turn out onto a floured surface. Knead gently, shape into a ball and then divide the dough into 8 portions.
- Roll each portion of dough into a ball and then with a floured rolling pin, roll out into oval shapes around 15 cm in length.
- Heat a large cast iron pan on high heat until very hot and without any oil in the pan, add the dough. Let cook for a couple of minutes and you’ll start to see big bubbles puffing up. When this happens flip the naan and cook for another minute.
- Make the garlic butter (see notes) if using by mixing together melted vegan butter, crushed garlic and chopped parsley. Brush both sides of the cooked naan with the garlic butter and cover with a clean tea towel until all the dough has been cooked and you’re ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a guide only and is calculated using automated online tools, therefore we cannot guarantee the accuracy. We encourage you to make your own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe.
Dennis Dwyer says
I was worried about this recipe but they turned up absolutely AWESOME.! Cannot thank you enough. Served it with a Chickpea coconut, Dahl. RECOMMENDED
Sally says
Thanks Dennis, glad you enjoyed the recipe!
dennis Dwyer says
I need quantities for vegan naan recipe please
Sally says
You can find all quantities and ingredients needed in the recipe card above. Thanks!