Garlic Naan (Fluffy, Chewy and Foolproof!)

Garlic Naan – this easy naan recipe creates soft, fluffy chewy flatbreads that taste amazing brushed with garlic butter. The perfect companion for homemade curries!

Garlic naan is one of those breads that never lasts long at the table – warm, buttery and perfectly chewy, it’s ideal for scooping up curries or simply enjoying on its own (I could eat it all day!).

While it’s a staple of Indian restaurants and takeaways, homemade naan is surprisingly easy to master and the results are fresher and softer than anything from a packet. This recipe shows you how to make garlic naan with just a handful of ingredients, a quick rise and a hot skillet.

Why You’ll LOVE This Recipe

• Soft, fluffy homemade naan that’s restaurant-worthy
• Made with simple pantry ingredients
• Brushed with garlicky butter for irresistible flavour
• Freezer-friendly and perfect for make-ahead meals

Get to Know Naan Bread

Naan has its roots in Indian, Central Asian, and Persian cuisine, where it has been baked for centuries in clay ovens known as tandoors. Traditionally made with yogurt and ghee to create its signature soft texture, naan the perfect sidekick for curries helping mop up every bit of the rich sauce.

Garlic naan is a more modern variation, beloved worldwide for its fragrant twist on the classic bread. While tandoors bake naan on their walls with intense heat, we will be using a hot skillet – much more home-friendly!

Here’s What You’ll Need

There are so many naan bread recipe variations out there… some are made with yeast and some without. The most common ingredient is yogurt which adds a tangy flavor and helps the bread rise. Let’s take a look at the key ingredients:

• All-Purpose Flour – Naan bread dough uses all-purpose flour for soft texture, with just enough structure for a satisfying chew.
• Instant Yeast – Helps the dough rise quickly, giving naan its light and pillowy texture. Instant yeast doesn’t need to be activated in water, you simply mix it with the flour – so easy!
• Spices and Seasoning – Sugar, garlic powder, asafoetida and salt – Sugar feeds the yeast and adds a touch of sweetness that balances the savory elements. Garlic powder and asafoetifa boost flavor in the dough itself, while fresh garlic goes on top. Salt enhances the taste while regulating the yeast.
• Baking Powder – Works alongside the yeast, reacting with the yogurt or buttermilk to create extra lift, helping create a softer, fluffier naan.
• Buttermilk or Yogurt – Enriches the dough, adding a gentle tang and helping keep the naan moist. You can also use natural plain yogurt, but I discovered that buttermilk creates a fluffier naan!
• Water – Combines with the buttermilk to hydrate the dough. Use lukewarm water to help activate the yeast and encourage a good rise. You can also use milk instead of water.
• Ghee – Ghee (clarified butter) is traditional in Indian cooking and lends a lovely nutty richness. Vegetable oil works perfectly well if that’s what you have to hand.
• Garlic Butter – Unsalted butter (or ghee), minced garlic and cilantro – Melted butter infused with garlic and cilantro (coriander leaves) is brushed on the cooked naan for that final touch of indulgence.

These tiny black seeds are also known as onion seeds or black cumin thanks to their appearance and aroma. Despite their name, they are actually seeds of nigella sativa, not the onion plant. Sprinkle them over naan before cooking, where they toast gently and add both crunch and a subtle depth of flavor.

How to Make Garlic Naan Bread

Make the Naan Dough

1. Place the flour, yeast, sugar, baking powder, salt, garlic powder and asafoetifa in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.
2. Add the buttermilk or yogurt and warm water. Beat together on low speed with a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with dough hook attachment. Alternatively, you can simply stir the dough together with a spoon until a shaggy dough forms.
3. Leave the dough to rest for 5 minutes and then beat again on low speed or knead by hand until it becomes smooth and elastic. Grease the bowl with a little oil, cover with a cloth and leave to rise for an hour or until doubled in size.

Roll Out the Naan

1. Dust your worktop with a little flour. Turn the dough out and shape into a log. Divide into 6 equal pieces – each should be about 2.6oz or 75g.
2. Roll each piece into a ball, cover with a cloth and leave for 5 minutes. Dust with a little flour and roll out into a small oval shape using a rolling pin or spread out with oiled hands. It should be about 3mm or just shy of 1/8 inch thick. Keep the any dough you are not using straight away covered with plastic wrap or a cloth to prevent from drying out.

Cook on a Skillet

1. Heat a large cast iron skillet over high heat and grease with ghee or vegetable oil. Place the naan on the hot skillet and cook until small bubbles appear on the surface. If the skillet gets dry, brush with a little oil or ghee. Lower the temperature to medium-high after the first flip.
2. Keep flipping the naan using a silicone spatula to prevent it from burning and adjust the temperature as needed (see notes). Each naan will cook in about 3-4 minutes and you some golden brown spots to develop on one side.
3. Remove from the skillet and keep wrapped in a cloth while you cook the remaining naan. Add the cooked naan to the cloth as you cook them to keep them warm and soft.

Brush with Garlic Butter

1. Heat the butter in a small pot until melted. Take off the heat and stir in the minced garlic and chopped cilantro.
2. Brush the warm naan with the garlic butter, sprinkle with the cilantro and seeds and serve with your favorite curry!

Serving Suggestions

Garlic naan is the ultimate side for Indian-style curries such as Butter Chicken, Rogan Josh, Keema Matar and especially daal. It’s also fantastic with grilled meats like kebabs, or simply served with dips like tzatziki, hummus, or baba ghanoush. Cut into wedges for an excellent party snack or use it as the base for pizza!

Leftovers and Storage

If you somehow manage to have leftover naan (rare in my house!), you’ll be glad to know it keeps really well. Pop the cooled breads (skip the garlic butter) into an airtight container and they’ll stay soft for up to three days at room temperature.

For longer storage, wrap them up and freeze for up to two months. I like to freeze them individually so I can pull one out whenever the curry craving strikes.

To reheat, mist or sprinkle the naan with a little water to rehydrate and toss onto a hot skillet for a minute or two, or refresh it in the air fryer or toaster. Brush with a little extra garlic butter and it’s as good as fresh — maybe even better!

Recipe Notes for Best Naan

• The skillet needs to be be really hot when you add the naan – you want it to puff up. After the initial hot blast, you must lower the temperature a little otherwise the naan will scorch. Remember that a cast iron skillet gets extremely hot so adjust the temperature as needed – you will get the hang of it after cooking the first naaan.
• Cook on a tawa pan over gas stove to imitate the tandoori cooking method. Preheat the tawa over high heat from about five minutes. Using your hand, spread water over the rolled out naan. Reduce heat to medium-low and slap the naan onto the hot pan – it should stick! Cook until bubbles form on the surface, then invert the pan to cook the top side of the naan bread over the gas, holding the pan above the flames so it doesn’t scorch.

I hope you’ll love this homemade Garlic Naan recipe as much as we do — soft, buttery, and perfect for any curry night. If you make it, let me know what you think in the comments below, and don’t forget to leave a rating!