Easy Homemade Vegan Naan
This homemade vegan naan is a soft, pillowy Indian flatbread made without any milk or butter, just their plant-based versions and a handful of pantry staples. The dough is leavened with yeast, given time to rise, then cooked in a hot skillet until it puffs and blisters. It comes together with basic ingredients you likely already have, and it turns any curry or dal into a proper meal.
After my Vietnamese tofu banh mi, it felt like time to travel to another corner of Asia as part of this year’s food challenge, and my next culinary destination is India. This isn’t the first time I’ve cooked Indian food — I have a few other flatbreads, dals and curries on the blog — but it is the first time I made naan. It’s somehow similar to parathas, a flatbread I already tried last year, but unlike them, naan contains yeast and turns out a little more elastic.
What makes this naan vegan
Traditional naan usually leans on dairy yogurt and is brushed with ghee or butter. I made this one vegan, meaning no milk or butter were used, just their plant-based versions. Plain coconut yogurt stands in for the dairy yogurt, olive oil replaces the fat worked into the dough, and vegan butter (or a little more olive oil) does the finishing brush at the end. The result is every bit as soft and satisfying as the original, with none of the animal products.
A few notes on the ingredients
You only need a couple of basic ingredients here, but a few are worth a word. The yeast is what gives naan its lift and chew, so make sure it’s active — your water or veg milk should be warm to the touch, not hot, or you’ll kill the yeast before it can bloom. The coconut yogurt should be plain and unsweetened; it adds a gentle tang and keeps the crumb tender. A little ground cumin goes into the dough itself, and for the top I used fresh coriander, thyme and cumin seeds, but feel free to experiment with whatever fresh herbs you love. Unbleached all-purpose flour gives the best texture, and the pinch of baking powder alongside the yeast helps the naan puff a touch more in the pan.
Tips for soft, blistered naan
The two things that make or break naan are the rise and the heat. Give the dough its full time to prove — 2 to 4 hours for the first rise, then about 30 minutes for the shaped pieces to double — because a well-risen dough is what gives you that light, airy chew. When you cook, use a heavy skillet on high heat and let it get properly hot before the first naan goes in. Patting the top with a little water just before it hits the pan helps it steam and keeps it from sticking, and that steam is part of what puffs the bread. Cook for under two minutes a side, watching for the edges to dry out and the surface to bubble before you flip. Don’t crowd the pan, and finish each one with a brush of melted vegan butter or olive oil the moment it comes off the heat so it stays soft.
What to serve with vegan naan
Naan is happiest next to something saucy to scoop up. It’s perfect alongside a warm bowl of vegan red lentil soup or any of my dals and curries, and it also holds up as a side to a hearty vegetable main. Tear it, dip it, or use it to mop the last of the sauce off the plate — that’s really the whole point of a good flatbread.
Storing and reheating
Naan is best warm and fresh off the skillet, but it keeps well too. Store cooled naan in an airtight container or a zip-top bag at room temperature for a day or two, or in the fridge for up to three or four days. To bring back the softness, warm it in a dry skillet for a minute a side or wrap it in foil and heat in a low oven. You can also freeze the cooked naan with parchment between the pieces, then reheat straight from frozen. If you enjoy making your own breads and treats from scratch, you might also like my vegan pancakes and whole grain cookies for the rest of the day.
If you make this vegan naan, I’d love to know how it turned out — did yours puff up and blister in the pan, and what did you sprinkle on top? Please rate the recipe below and leave a comment with your herb combinations or the curry you served it with.
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Easy Homemade Vegan Naan
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water or warm veg milk
- 2 tsp active yeast
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour unbleached
- 1½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 4 Tbsp coconut yogurt plain
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- fresh greens vegan butter or roasted seeds for serving
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, add 1 cup of warm water or milk, yeast, and sugar. Stir and set aside, in a warm place and cover the bowl with a kitchen towel. It should be foamy in about 10 to 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, add flour, salt, and baking powder, cumin and combine.
- After the foam starts to appear, add the vegan yogurt and oil and mix well. Pour this into the dry ingredients and mix.
- Flour your work surface and add just enough to gently knead the dough and form a ball.
- Coat a bowl with a bit of oil and place the dough in. Rub the ball with a bit more oil and turn to coat. Set the bowl in a warm place, cover with a towel and let it sit for 2 to 4 hours to rise.
- Press down the dough then roll into small, egg-size pieces and place on a baking sheet. Cover them with a towel and allow them to rise again until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
- Heat a heavy skillet over a high heat
- Flatten the dough between your palms, then roll into a circle shape. Sprinkle some chopped greens and cumin seeds on the work surface, before rolling, so it will stick to one side of the naan.
- Carefully flip over and pat the dough with a bit of water so it doesn’t stick to the pan.
- Cook for less than 2 minutes or until the edges of the dough look dry and it starts to bubble. Then flip the dough with a spatula and cook on the other side.
- Repeat until all the naan dough is cooked.
- Finally, brush them with melted vegan butter or olive oil and sprinkle with more greens.
Frequently Asked Questions
Traditional naan is typically not vegan because it is made with dairy yogurt and often brushed with ghee or butter. This recipe swaps in plain coconut yogurt, olive oil, and vegan butter, so it is fully plant-based while keeping the same soft, chewy texture.
The most common cause is water that is too hot or too cold, which stops the yeast from activating. Your water or veg milk should be warm to the touch, not hot, and the yeast-sugar mixture should turn foamy within 10 to 20 minutes. If nothing happens, your yeast may be old and it is best to start again with a fresh batch.
This particular recipe relies on yeast for its lift, elasticity, and characteristic chew, so skipping it will change the result. If you want a quicker yeast-free flatbread, a paratha-style dough is a better fit, since it uses no yeast at all.
No. This naan is cooked on the stovetop in a heavy skillet over high heat, so no tandoor or pizza oven is needed. Just make sure the pan is properly hot before the dough goes in so the naan blisters and puffs.
In this recipe I used fresh coriander, thyme, and cumin seeds pressed into the dough before cooking, but you can experiment freely. Chopped garlic, other fresh herbs, or roasted seeds all work well; just scatter them on the work surface before rolling so they stick to one side of the naan.
Brush each naan with melted vegan butter or olive oil the moment it comes off the heat, then stack the pieces and cover them with a clean towel so they steam gently and stay pliable. To reheat later, warm them in a dry skillet or wrapped in foil in a low oven rather than the microwave, which can toughen them.
Made this three times now and has definitely become a staple recipe in our house. Thank you!
Glad you liked them! You’re welcome! 🙂