Gluten Free Naan

Learn how to make homemade gluten free naan with this step-by-step recipe. Irresistibly soft & Pillowy, with a light and fluffy crumb and a blistered exterior pockmarked by the quick baking process, this easy gluten free naan bread is made from 7 simple ingredients: gluten free bread flour, yeast, water, yogurt, salt, sugar, and olive oil. Refer to the recipe notes for overnight instructions and the best gluten-free blend flour to use.

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This recipe is naturally egg-free and easily made vegan by substituting dairy yogurt with a plant-based alternative and using margarine or a dairy-free butter for the topping.

What is Naan?

Naan is an oval or round-shaped leavened flatbread that is traditionally baked in a tawa or tandoor. Although it is most associated with Indian and Persian cuisine, naan can also be found in Central, Southern, and Southeast Asia, as I read in Britannica. Traditionally, naan is made from simple dough that includes basic bread ingredients—flour, a leavening agent (often yeast), water, salt, ghee, or yogurt —with optional additions like milk, butter, egg, or honey, resulting in a light, fluffy texture.

The key difference between today’s recipe and authentic naan lies in two things. First, this naan recipe is baked in a regular pan, while the authentic one is baked in a tandoor or tawa. The second is that it uses gluten-free flour but with the exact same taste, flavor, and texture of regular naan, including the formation of air pockets in the dough that impart fluffiness and softness.

If you are looking for something crispy and chewy, make this homemade gluten-free bread. For soft & fluffy inside, with light and airy crumb, make these gluten-free hamburger buns.

Here’s Why You’ll Love This Gluten Free Naan

• Unique texture: Soft, pillowy, and fluffy interior with a satisfyingly chewy bite thanks to the use of yeast.
• Irresistible flavor: While traditionally it is baked in a tandoor or tawa, which develops a smoky flavor. This gluten-free Indian flatbread is baked on a hot pan which develops a subtly toasted flavor that offers a quick way to enjoy its signature chewiness.
• Richness and aroma: This gluten free naan is brushed with herb butter immediately after baking, giving it a lovely, aromatic finish and an irresistible, savory richness. You can also use ghee instead of butter.
• Perfect for pairing: Ideal as a scoop or vehicle for eating rich, flavorful Indian and South Asian dishes such as Thai Curry, Makhani Gravy, and stews, as it absorbs sauces exceptionally well.
• Versatility: While this recipe yields delicious butter naan, its basic dough is highly versatile and can easily be turned into popular flavored and stuffed varieties such as Garlic naan, fresh herbs naan, Peshawari naan, and cheese naan.

Ingredients You Need For the Dough

7 ingredients come together to make the perfect gluten free naan: 

• Water: You’ll need warm water to combine all the ingredients together. For this recipe, you want to warm water to about 110°F (43°C) to activate yeast and the structural components like psyllium and gums, which give you pliable, risen dough.
• Sugar: Granulated white sugar feeds the yeast and slightly sweetens the dough.
• Salt: For truly delicious naan, buy yourself some Mediterranean coarse sea salt.
• Yeast: I use instant dry yeast, but active dry yeast works just as well! But the rising time will be slightly longer!
• Yogurt: Yogurt promises tender, more pliable, and tender flatbread. I typically use plain or Greek yogurt, but you can use any kind: dairy or nondairy; full-fat, low-fat, or nonfat yogurt.
• Flour: You’ll need a custom gluten-free flour blend optimized for bread dough. Although I use King Arthur gluten free bread flour in this gluten free naan bread recipe, feel free to substitute it with your favorite 1 to 1 gluten-free flour blend. I also recommend Bob’s Red Mill and Caputo brands. 
• Olive oil: The recipe calls for extra virgin olive oil, which gives a superior flavor profile, but you can substitute vegetable oil if you prefer.

These Step-by-Step Photo Will Help

Although you can make the dough in your stand mixer, as I write in the printable recipe below. Most flatbread recipes call for simplicity—just a mixing bowl, silicone spatula, or wooden spoon, and a pan or cast iron skillet are enough to make the best gluten free naan bread.

Start by mixing the warmed water, sugar, and salt. Add your gluten free bread flour and combine for 3 minutes until all the flour is incorporated. You’re looking for crumbly and shaggy, just like this:

After the dough comes together, add the olive oil and knead it by hand for a full 5 minutes.

This gluten free dough is supposed to be soft but not sticky to fingers, so don’t add more flour or water than you need. The left photo below shows the right texture of the dough that you should achieve.

The dough is now ready to rise. Here is the soft dough before and after the rise time:

You don’t need to punch the dough down; lightly flour your work surface with a Gf flour and place the dough on top.  

Use a sharp knife or bench scraper to divide the dough into 6 pieces, each about 2 ounces (60grams). Shape each piece into a smooth ball. You may need to sprinkle a little flour on your hands to get smoother balls. Arrange on your work surface, cover, then let the dough balls rest.

The left photo is when the dough is divided, and the right photo is after shaping:

Prepare your topping and preheat the pan.  

Using a floured rolling pin, roll one ball of dough into your preferred shape (oval, round, or rectangular). I like to shape this gluten free naan into an oval roughly 5×6 inches (12×15 cm). The exact size of each naan may vary slightly if you didn’t measure the dough balls precisely. The key is to keep the thickness under 1/4 inch (5 mm).

Place the rolled gluten-free naan dough onto the prepared hot pan or skillet. Bake for about 1 minute, or until you see bubbles forming on the surface and dark brown spots underneath. Flip the naan and bake for another 1 minute until the naan is golden brown and puffed up.

These three photos below illustrate the steps of placing the rolled naan onto the hot pan, watching for the surface bubbles to form, and achieving the final golden brown, puffed-up result.

Baking tips: Make sure to clean your pan or skillet between pieces by wiping away any burnt butter or residue with a paper towel. Keep a close eye on the baking speed and modify the heat as needed. If the naan is browning too quickly, lower the heat slightly; if it is taking too long to brown and isn’t puffing up, increase the heat slightly.  

Butter & Parsley & Other Naan Variations

For the finishing touch on your gluten free naan bread, you only need two ingredients: parsley and melted salted butter (or ghee). This simple combination provides the classic flavor used in this gluten free naan recipe. If you’re looking for different variations, try one of these naan variations:

1. Plain Naan: Follow the recipe below as written, without preparing and adding any topping after baking.
2. Butter Naan: Use only melted butter. After baking in step 7, top the naan with melted butter.  Use more as needed.
3. Chopped fresh herbs Naan: Use 1 tablespoon of fresh cilantro, mint, dill, celery leaves, or parsley . After baking in step 7, top the naan with your favorite fresh herbs. Use more as needed.  
4. Garlic Naan: Add 1 minced clove of garlic to the butter mixture in step 5. After baking in step 7, top the naan with your topping mixture. Use more as needed.  
5. Nigella or sesame Seeds: Brush the rolled naan dough with water, then sprinkle your favorite seeds before baking.
6. Cheese Naan: After dividing the dough into equal pieces. Gently flatten each ball, put some of your favorite cheese in the center, then wrap the cheese with the edges of the dough to form a ball. Roll each ball into your preferred shape (oval, round, or rectangular) , and bake immediately.
7. Peshwari Naan: Mix 1/2 cup ground almonds, 2 tbsp desiccated coconut, 2.5 tbsp sugar (white or brown sugar), and 2 tbsp softened unsalted butter together in a small bowl until combined in Step 5. After dividing the dough into equal pieces. Gently flatten each ball, put an equal amount of the filling into the center of each of the 6 pieces of dough, then wrap the filling with the edges of the dough to form a ball. Roll each ball into your preferred shape (oval, round, or rectangular), and bake immediately.

More Gluten-Free Bread Recipes

• Homemade Gluten-Free Bread
• Gluten-Free Hamburger Buns
• Gluten-Free Communion Bread

Gluten Free Naan Recipe

Hafedh Garfa

Make the best gluten-free naan right at home with this tested recipe—pillowy soft with a light, fluffy crumb. See the blog post above for the best toppings and filling options, and the recipe card notes below for overnight Instructions and the best gluten free blend to use.

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 13 minutes mins

Bake Time 2 minutes mins

Rise Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course flatbread, Gluten free bread

Cuisine asian, Indian, Persian

Servings 6 naan

Ingredients

  

• ½ cup (110ml) Warmed Water, warmed to about 110°F (43°C)
• 1 and ½ teaspoon (6 grams) White Sugar
• 1 teaspoon (6 grams) Sea Salt
• 1 teaspoon (3grams) Instant Yeast
• ¼ cup (50 grams) Plain or Greek Yogurt, at room temperature
• 1 and ½ cups (180 grams) Gluten-free Bread Flour, plus as needed
• 1 Tbsp (14 grams) Olive Oil, extra virgin
• Toppings: 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley + ¼ cup melted salted butter or ghee

Instructions

 

• Prepare the dough: Whisk together the warm water, sugar, salt, yeast, and yogurt in a large mixing bowl until uniform. Add the gluten-free flour and combine for 3 minutes with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon, until fully incorporated. The dough looks crumbly and shaggy. *If you own a stand mixer, attach the dough hook to your stand mixer and combine the ingredients on low speed for 3 minutes. It will save your arm muscles.
• Knead the dough: Transfer the dough onto a lightly gluten-free floured work surface, then add the olive oil. Knead the dough for a full 5 minutes. If using a stand mixer, knead the dough on medium speed for 5 minutes. The dough should be very soft and cohesive, but it shouldn't stick to your finger. If the dough seems too dry to knead by hand, sprinkle in 1 teaspoon of water at a time until it is moist enough to hold its shape well. Do not add more water than you need because you do not want overly wet or sticky dough.
• Rise: Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray. Shape the dough into a ball and place in the bowl. Turn the dough to coat all sides in the dough. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil to prevent the dough from drying out. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 1–1.5 hours or until about double in size.
• Shape & Bake: When the dough is ready, sprinkle your work surface with a little Gf flour and place the dough on top. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces (Just eyeball it—they don't need to be perfect!), or for more accuracy, use a scale to ensure each piece weighs approximately 63 grams. Shape each piece into a smooth ball. A bench scraper makes cutting and shaping gluten-free dough much easier. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap for 5-10 minutes to rest. This rest period makes the dough easier to roll out.
• Stir the chopped parsley into the melted butter in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Pre-heat a square or round nonstick pan or cast iron skillet over high heat. The pan is ready when a drop of water sizzles vigorously and evaporates immediately on its surface.
• Lightly flour your work surface, hands, and rolling pin with gluten-free flour. Roll each ball out into an oval shape, about 5×6 inches (12×15 cm) and under 1/4 inch ( 5mm) thick. Immediately place the rolled gluten-free naan dough onto the hot pan or skillet. Bake for about 1 minute, or until it starts bubbling on the surface and you see dark brown spots underneath. Use a slotted turner, flip the naan over and bake for another 1 minute, or until your gluten free naan is golden brown and puffs up. Once baked, immediately brush the naan with the prepared parsley butter mixture using a pastry brush. Transfer the naan to a plate or platter lined with a clean kitchen towel to keep them soft and pliable.
• Repeat the process with the remaining gluten-free naan dough. For best results, clean your pan or skillet with a paper towel between each piece to remove any burnt butter or residue. Keep an eye on how they’re baking and adjust the heat as needed. If your naan are browning too quickly, reduce the heat slightly. If they are taking too long to brown and not puffing up, increase the heat slightly.

Notes

The temperature when I made this recipe: 75.2 Fahrenheit (24 Celsius).

Make Ahead Instructions – Overnight: Prepare the dough through step 2. Cover the rolls tightly and refrigerate for up to 16 hours. The next day, remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to reach room temperature before continuing with step 4.

Special Tools (affiliate links): Kitchen Scale & Liquid Measuring Cup / Measuring Cups & Spoons | Steel or Glass Mixing Bowl with a Silicon Spatula or wooden spoon / Stand Mixer | Bench Scraper | Rolling Pin | Square Nonstick Pan / Round Nonstick Pan / Cast Iron Skillet | Pastry Brush.

Flour: For the best result, I recommend King Arthur gluten-free bread flour in this recipe. The same amount of Caputo gluten-free flour and gluten-free 1-to-1 baking flour of Bob’s Red Mill works too, and the naan will still be wonderfully soft and fluffy. Note that standard all-purpose gluten-free flour blends will not work for this recipe.

Yeast: You can use active dry or instant dry yeast without any change to the preparation method. Keep in mind, Active dry yeast takes slightly longer to rise.

Naan varieties: check out the blog article above to discover the different toppings and fillings possible. Note that the addition of toppings differs depending on the variety, but fillings are added in step 7.

Double Batch: To prepare a double batch, you simply need to double every ingredient listed in the recipe card. All the instructions for mixing, kneading, rising, rolling, and baking the naan will remain exactly the same. The only difference you’ll notice is that the preparation time and baking time will be longer as you’ll be handling twice the amount of dough.