Garlic Naan or Garlic Butter Naan Bread is a soft and chewy, garlicky and easy to make leavened Indian flatbread that can be served with any of your favorite Indian dishes. This can be cooked in the oven or on a cast iron skillet (tawa / tava).
What is naan?
If you are new to Indian dishes, Naan is leavened flatbread traditionally cooked in clay oven.
Even if you have not tried making a bread before, I encourage you to try this. The little effort you put in, is worth it. You will make it over and over again.
If you visit any Indian restaurant you may have seen several types of naan listed on the menu and each one comes with a different flavor, thickness and texture. Some of the popular flavors are butter naan, garlic naan, tava naan, cheese naan, tandoori naan, keema naan, peshawari naan, kashmiri naan, nawabi naan
Garlic Butter Naan is one of my family’s favorite recipe, and also the most ordered bread when we visit any restaurant. The dish served above is chicken tikka masala and I will soon share the recipe for the same. Meanwhile you can also try grilled chicken or chicken tikka recipe.
This naan bread or flatbread can also be used as base to prepare pizza. Use naan as pizza base and add your favorite cheese, sauce and toppings. .
I prepare flat breads atleast twice or thrice a week and most of the time with variations. If you follow my blog, you know that I have shared recipes for some of them before. Check out this post which has more than 13 recipes Vegan flatbread recipes
These are some of the popular and most liked recipes from my blog. Don’t miss to check each one of them and let me know which one is your favorite.
Some of my favorite, best and easy, popular flatbread , naan or roti recipes
- Pita Bread – popular on blog
- Thai roti bread – popular on blog
- Rumali Roti
- Tava Naan
- Vegan flatbread recipes
- Amritsari kulcha
- Corn Flour Bread
- Oats Chapati
- Garlic Cheese Naan
How to make naan bread on stovetop (cast iron skillet or tava (tawa)) ?
- Sprinkle some water on one side of the rolled flat bread, and then place the wet side down on the preheated tava or skillet.
- Once bubble starts to form on the surface of the naan (or flat bread), flip the tava / skillet such that the top surface of the naan is about 1 inch from the flame and gets directly roasted over the flame for about 30 seconds to 1 minute or until it develops desired color.
- Flip the tava back, remove the naan using a flat spatula and transfer it to a plate. Immediately garnish with a mixture of melted butter (or ghee or desi ghee) and herbs.
- You can check the entire recipe for a plain and simple naan and more details here Tava Naan.
How to make Naan in the Oven or Tandoor Naan?
- Transfer the rolled out naan to a baking dish (e.g. cookie sheet or pizza pan), and generously apply the garlic butter mixture on top of naan.
- place the baking sheet into the oven and cook for 4 minutes or till you get golden spots, flipping it half way through.
- You can place them in the oven under broiler mode if you want it to be charred like the ones they serve in the restaurant. Alternatively, you can also cook the naan for 3 to 4 minutes by directly placing it over a preheated pizza stone placed in the oven.
If you are preparing naan for larger crowd or a big family then making it in oven is the best. It’s saves lot of time because you can cook multiple naan breads at once.
Can I make naan dough ahead or how to store naan dough?
Once the dough is prepared, place it in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. This allows the bread to leaven slowly. If you are still not ready to use by then, punch the dough, tightly wrap the bowl in plastic and refrigerate for upto 2 days.
How to store cooked naan?
You can store it in plastic wrap or airtight container at room temperature for upto 2 days.
Can we / you freeze naan bread ?
Yes. You can freeze naan bread and use for upto 2 months.
How to reheat naan bread?
Preheat the oven to 400 degree F. Place the naans on baking tray and heat it for 2 to 3 minutes.
You can also reheat in a microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute each or on cast iron skillet or tava for minute on each side till its heated through.
Can I make this naan recipe Vegan?
Yes. Simply substitute butter with vegan butter or olive or coconut oil. For yogurt or sour cream use dairy free yogurt. coconut is the best.
What is difference between naan and pita bread ?
Making of naan is similar to pita bread with only difference is the addition of sour cream or yogurt in dough. This is what makes your naan softer. And the garlic mixture that is slathered on top takes your naan bread to the next level.
Can I use wheat flour instead of maida or all purpose flour?
Yes, you can substitute wheat flour for maida or use 1:1 ratio. The taste and texture may change accordingly. Naan prepared using wheat flour will not be soft and light compared to naan prepared using all purpose flour (maida).
What should be the shape, size or thickness of naan bread?
Naans are generally served oval but you can roll or stretch it to any shape you love. If you want a fluffy naan, make it thick. But make sure you have good source of heat, specially if they are rolled thicker. Else, you are going to end up with an uncooked naan.
What do you eat or serve with flatbread? (Some accompaniments for flatbread like naan, roti, pita bread)
Any Indian dish or curry tastes great with naan bread or any flatbread. Some of my favorite accompaniments
- Grilled meats like Tikka and kebabs
- Hummus
- Chicken tikka masala – the one that is shown in the image.
- Butter Chicken
- Mushroom Butter masala – popular on blog
- Chana Masala (chole or chickpeas curry)
- Chicken Tikka
- Paneer Tikka Masala (Tofu Tikka Masala)
- Spicy Garlic mushrooms – popular on blog
- Mushroom in black pepper sauce (mushroom kali mirch)
- Tandoori Gobi (Oven Roasted Cauliflower)
- Palak Paneer
Detailed Recipe for Garlic Butter Naan Bread or Homemade, Simple and Easy Restaurant Style Naan
Garlic Naan Bread is a soft and chewy, garlicky and easy to make leavened Indian flatbread that can be served with any of your favorite Indian dishes. This can be cooked in the oven or on a cast iron skillet (tawa / tava)
- 3/4 cup Warm water (luke warm) (check tips)
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 1 pack Active dry yeast, 7g (2 1/4 tsp)
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 to 3 tbsp Sour cream or yogurt
- 3 cups All purpose flour or maida, plus more for dusting
- 6 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp Coriander leaves, finely chopped
- 4 tbsp Melted butter
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In a large mixing bowl, add luke-warm water, sugar, and yeast and let the yeast activate for about 5 minutes.
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Add salt, sour cream, and about 2/12 cup of all purpose flour or maida and then slowly add flour in increments and knead for about 5 minutes or until you obtain a smooth and supple dough. Cover and let the dough rise for about an hour or until doubled in size.
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Preheat the oven to 500F or the highest setting possible in your oven. (Click on this link if you want to cook naan on tava - Tava Naan / Skillet Naan Bread)
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Divide the dough into to seven or eight equally sized balls, and cover and let it rest for 10 minutes.
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Meanwhile, mix together finely chopped garlic, coriander leaves and melted butter in a bowl.
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Using light dusting of flour, roll out the dough into oval shaped naans of medium thickness (3 to 4 mm), like pita bread.
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Transfer the rolled out naan to a baking dish (e.g. cookie sheet or pizza pan), and generously apply the garlic butter mixture on top of the naan.
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Transfer the baking sheet into the oven and cook for 4 minutes or until golden brown spots appear, flipping it half way through. You can now keep it in oven under broiler mode for 30 seconds if you want it to get dark brown spots.
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Garlic Butter Naan is now ready. Brush it with some more melted butter just before you are ready to serve. Serve with your favorite entree and enjoy!
- If you love the rich naan flavor, then substitute water with warm whole milk or you can add 1/2 cup water and 1/4 cup milk if desired.
- The amount of flour may vary depending on the weather conditions and brand. the best way is to add flour in increments to get the desired dough texture.
- If you do not have an oven, you may cook the naans on stove top. Make sure the pan is hot before you place the naan. Here is complete recipe on how to cook naan in tawa or cast iron skillet
- If you do not like garlic, you may completely skip and prepare butter naan instead!
- If you do not have a large cookie sheet, you may cook the naans in batches of two. This is infact my preferred method.
- To make vegan naan, substitute butter with coconut oil and sour cream with dairy free yogurt. Coconut tastes the best.
If you like this garlic butter naan bread recipe,
Don’t miss to check out other delicious bread and flatbread, Indian curry and gravy recipes
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***Click below to save it on Pinterest***
Ingredients for Garlic Naan Bread
- 3/4 cup Warm water (luke warm)
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 1 pack Active dry yeast, 7g (2 1/4 tsp)
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 to 3 tbsp Sour cream or yogurt
- 3 cups All purpose flour or maida, plus more for dusting
For topping
- 6 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp Coriander leaves, finely chopped
- 4 tbsp Melted butter
Instructions to prepare Garlic Naan Bread
Step I
- In a large mixing bowl, add luke-warm water, sugar, and yeast and let the yeast activate for about 5 minutes.
- Add salt, sour cream, and all purpose flour in increments after 2 1/2 cup and knead for about 5 minutes or until you obtain a smooth and supple dough. Cover and let the dough rise for about an hour or until doubled in size.
Step II
- Preheat the oven to 500F or the highest setting possible in your oven. (Click on this link if you want to cook naan on tava – Tava Naan / Skillet Naan Bread)
- Divide the dough into to seven or eight equally sized balls, and cover and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix together finely chopped garlic, coriander leaves and melted butter in a bowl.
- Using light dusting of flour, roll out the dough into oval shaped naans of medium thickness like pita bread.
- Transfer the rolled out naan to a baking dish (e.g. cookie sheet or pizza pan), and generously apply the garlic butter mixture on top of naan.
- Transfer the baking sheet into the oven and cook for 4 minutes or until golden brown spots appear, flipping it half way through. You can now keep it in oven under broiler mode for 30 seconds if you want it to get charred
- Garlic Butter Naan is now ready. Brush it with some more melted butter just before you are ready to serve. Serve with your favorite entree and enjoy!
Tips
- If you love the rich naan flavor, then substitute water with warm whole milk or you can add 1/2 cup water and 1/4 cup milk if desired.
- The amount of flour may vary depending on the weather conditions and brand. the best way is to add flour in increments to get the desired dough texture.
- If you do not have an oven, you may cook the naans on stove top. Make sure the pan is hot before you place the naan. Here is complete recipe on how to cook naan in tawa or cast iron skillet
- you may completely skip garlic and prepare butter naan instead if you are not garlic lover!
- If you do not have a large cookie sheet, you may cook the naans in batches of two. This is infact my preferred method.
- To make vegan naan, substitute butter with coconut oil and sour cream with dairy free yogurt. Coconut tastes the best.
wow! These garlic naan look so perfect and one of my favorite!
I’ve been wanting to try making this at home for so long! Thanks for breaking down the process and allowing it so seem so easy to do.
I do love ordering a garlic naan from a takeaway but nothing beats your own homemade garlic naan. Sounds absolutely wonderful and I will certainly be making some the next time we have an Indian ‘fakeaway’.
This Naan looks delicious. I’m going to make this over the weekend. My family is going to love it.
One of my favorite things to eat of all time! So excited now I have a recipe to try, thank you for this Kushi
I wonder if I have enough time to make this bread today. I have all the ingredients, just need to find time. That would be cool though because this recipe looks really simple to follow!
Your naan recipe looks fabulous! There is nothing better than homemade naan made with love! I cannot wait to share this recipe with my best friend as she loves naan too!!!
OMG this naan looks like the ones we get from the restaurant! I didn’t know it was so easy to make. Looking forward to trying it!
I’ve never made naan before, but now seems like a good time to start! I absolutely love naan and a garlic butter version sounds divine!
I really loved it! So flavorful! Can’t wait to make it again!
With Indian food, as a pizza crust, or just for snacking, I LOVE naan bread, and this recipe is one of the best out there! Love it!
now that we all are running out of pantry staples, we need to make our own bread..thanks for the recipe.
Although I have tried making paratha at home, I never tried making naan. I should definitely do that sooner or later, thank you for this reminder 😀
Your garlic naan looks so easy to make while we are at home and taking the time to do some baking, Thanks for all the great tips!
I’ve wanted to make this at home for a while, I’m so excited to have a recipe! We always buy a pack but this is way better, fresh and soft and delicious. Popping them in the oven made it so easy!
I love the Buttery look and Garlic flavor to this Naan. Perfect to go with any of my Indian dishes.
We certainly love our Naan and it certainly is easy to make. I love your instructions so easy to follow. The topping is what I’m excited to try. I’ve got everything ready to go and I know the flatbread won’t last long.
We were planning naan for dinner tonight and i found your recipe. Perfect timing and delicious recipe.
So glad I have yeast! We’ve been making cauliflower curry at home, but would love to make dinner feel more authentic! This naan will be a perfect addition to our Indian menu!
MmmMMMM. Garlic makes everything better. I love Naan. I’ve never made it myself before, though. This garlic version will be on my list for the weekend.
Oh my! Looks so good!! I’m so jealous of everyone making bread because I can’t find any yeast 🙁 As soon as I find some I’ll be making these beauties for sure!! Pinning for later!
I made this naan with dinner last night and everyone loved it! This will make a regular appearance at our house!
Thank you for the recipe! I loved that it is so easy to make!
Looks WAY better than the frozen naan I’ve been buying at our local store. I need to start making this homemade version!
Omg this naan recipe was perfect! It came out fluffy and soft, with just the right amount of flavor.
As soon as I can get a packet of yeast I’m going to make this quick and easy garlic naan.
This garlic naan is the perfect side to soups and stews, or for wrapping up my favorite sandwich ingredients.
These look so light and fluffy. You can’t beat homemade naan.
I love naan bread! This is so good with my fave curry!
I love garlic naan, it’s definitely a side bread that I order when I have a takeway.
Love garlic naan but never made it at home. Thanks for the recipe!
These look amazing and nothing beats the smell of garlic and bread cooking!
I had no idea I could make such delicious naan bread at home! We love it at the restaurants and to find this homemade version that is SO MUCH better makes me so happy!
Wow, I didn’t realize naan was simple to make. Will be definitely making it soon.
Such a delicious naan recipe! Love all the garlic!
I was wondering about how to make naan bread, and I am so happy I found your recipe. I made it tonight: it turned out great! Thanks a lot.
Oh this looks too tempting. Must have tasted delicious as well.
I love this Indian bread an cannot wait to try your recipe!
Yummy 😋 I love nan!!!
I love this with any Indian curry! Love that it’s so deliciously garlicky!
This garlic naan is delicious and so simple to make! I love it as a side with any Indian curry or even to snack on! I made it on the stovetop and loved how it turned out!
Yes, our family loves garlic naan. We get it every time we go to an Indian restaurant. With your recipe, we’ve been enjoying it at home.
Made this with hummus and it was so so perfect. Thank you!
I am a bread fanatic. This looks so delicious. Perfect as a wrap….great as an appetizer too.
I love garlic and naan, so this combination is perfect for me! They look delicious!
This recipe was so delicious and perfect for wraps, hummus, or as a dinner side! Thank you!
I absolutely LOVE naan bread and yours looks perfect! Can’t wait to try this!
I love naan but never thought to make I myself. Will have to try this as the garlic is a favorite flavor.
The garlic and coriander topping make this even more amazing. So good homemade
I’ve always wanted to try making my own naan. Thanks for the tips — these were delish!
Nothing beats homemade naan bread, this recipe is so delicious! I love the garlic flavor!
I always order double when it comes to garlic butter naan on Indian restaurants. This bread looks spectacular! Do you use room temperature yogurt or is it fine to take it straight from the fridge?
I can never say no to garlic naan! Can’t wait to try making this from scratch, thanks for the recipe!
Omg this would go perfectly with the curry that I was planning on making this weekend! I just love all the browned bubbles in homemade naan.
So glad to have this recipe since I have been buying naan at the store and you know what that tastes like. I will be making this from now on with your simple recipe.
I love Naan bread and can’t wait to try this recipe. I never knew the difference between Naan and pita. Thank you for the info. What a great idea for the topping. It adds a delicious flavor.
Your naan bread looks delicious, one of my favourite flat breads and I can’t eat a curry without one.
This garlic naan just looks like it could jump right off the plate, it’s so good and fresh. Love the fresh herbs and the fact that you included yogurt in the dough.
These naan bread look amazing. I am going to be cooking up a curry feast soon so I’ll pin & bookmark this recipe for then. My mouth is watering at the beautiful photos too.
This garlic naan is amazing! We used it to make pizza and it turned out so yummy.
I LOVE garlic naan, but I never take the time to make it myself. I’m so glad I changed that because this recipes is amazing. Fluffy and perfect.
Hubby and I eat a lot of curries and we love having naan bread with it! With this recipe, I can make it at home easily!
I always order garlic nan at Indian restaurants but have never made it. I really want to give it a try though. Yours looks delicious.
Garlic naan is so delicious and now a regular main-stay in our household! I love how easy this recipe makes it too!
There is nothing better than a homemade nan bread. They look super puffy and sooo delicious I am definitely planning on making these anytime soon. Thank you for sharing!
Those garlic naans look so soft and delicious. I love making them at home on the stovetop. This is such a detailed post for any beginners.
We love garlic naan and it is one of the dish we order when we go to a restaurant. Your garlic butter looks sop tempting and delicious.
I made some butter chicken recently and my husband said the only thing missing was the garlic naan so thanks for the recipe!
I love garlic naans so much – I never realised they were this easy to make! Will definitely give this recipe a go 🙂
This garlic naan is so easy to make and so delicious!!
I’ve been looking for a naan recipe and this one is a KEEPER! Easier to make than I thought and so flavorful!
This is a must when having homemade curry. So light and fluffy.
I LOVE naan!! It’s so delicious and goes with just about everything. Thank you for the recipe and tutorial, I’ll be sure to start making some.