Learn how to make soft, fluffy garlic naan bread at home with this easy recipe! Perfect with curries or as a snack, this delicious naan is packed with flavour and only takes minutes to make. No fancy ingredients needed—just simple steps for delicious bread!
I love naans. I don’t think I could order an Indian takeout without also ordering Garlic naan breads to mop up the sauce.
Generally, I like a few different sides for variety, but naan bread is definitely the one I couldn’t do without!
Same with homemade curry. But, while naan bread from a takeaway restaurant is better than mine, the ones that you buy from the supermarket absolutely are not.
If you have time, making naan at home is a fantastic way to create a special dinner.
Even better, if you don’t have time, they are easy enough to make ahead and save for later, and you can even freeze them for another time if you want to!
Why I Love Homemade Garlic Naan Bread
I honestly adore this Garlic naan recipe and have been making it for a long time. It was actually one of the first posts I published on my blog way back in 2016, and this post has been updated with new information and photos more than any other because it’s worth it!
I love making naan, and this recipe especially because:
- It’s an easy Garlic naan recipe.
- Ghee is absolutely worth the investment, but it works with melted butter, too.
- The naan bread pieces are soooo fluffy!
- You don’t have to waste time getting them perfectly shaped. It really doesn’t matter.
- They are just wonderfully delicious. That’s it, really. Yes, it takes longer than banging store-bought bread into the oven for a few minutes, but they are fluffy, light, super tasty, and just so much fresher than anything you can buy in a sealed bag from Asda.
Skip To
Ingredients For Garlic Naan Bread
When I make this fluffy garlic naan bread recipe, I use:
Salt – I use sea salt.
Strong White Bread Flour – You could try all-purpose flour in a pinch.
Instant Yeast
Sugar – Granulated or caster is fine. White though.
Garlic – I use fresh cloves of garlic for naan bread but puree for most other things.
Warm Water
Olive Oil – Other cooking oils, like vegetable or sunflower oil, are fine, too.
Full-Fat Greek Yoghurt – You can swap to natural yoghurt, but I don’t recommend low-fat.
Ghee – Use butter instead if you don’t have ghee.
You’ll Also Need
I use a large mixing bowl, a wooden spoon, a rolling pin, a glass jug, a pastry brush and a small non-stick frying pan.
You could also use a Cast iron skillet and a Stand mixer or electric hand whisk with dough hooks.
How to Make Garlic Naan Bread – Step-by-Step Instructions
Full, easy-to-follow instructions and quantities are available in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step One
Mix the oil and water in a jug.
Step Two
Mix the salt, flour, sugar, yeast and garlic in a large mixing bowl.
Ideally, your salt shouldn’t touch the yeast, so I put the salt in the bowl first.
Step Three
Make a well in the centre.
Step Four
Pour in the water and oil and add the yoghurt.
Step Five
Mix with a wooden spoon until it forms a rough ball. This doesn’t need to be neat or smooth.
Step Six
Tip onto a well-floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until it’s a smooth, workable ball. If you need to add more water or flour, go ahead.
Step Seven
Place into an oiled bowl and cover with a clean towel. Move to a warmer area if you need to.
Step Eight
Leave to prove for 1 hour. When it’s ready, it will have grown, but not doubled. The dough will look smooth.
Step Nine
Tip onto a well-floured surface and punch out the air.
Step Ten
Knead back to a ball.
Step Eleven
Roll into a sausage and carefully cut into eight even pieces. You can weigh them if you want to, but I’m not careful!
Step Twelve
Roll into rounds that are between 3 and 5mm thick. Take your time to get them neat if you want to. I do not!
I don’t recommend rolling them all out at once. The ones you cook last will be waiting for a while and may harden. I roll two at a time, leaving them to rest while I cook the one before in a nice production line.
Step Thirteen
Leave to rest for 2-3 minutes.
Step Fourteen
Carefully melt the ghee. I do this in a small pan, but you can do it in short bursts in the microwave.
Step Fifteen
Heat a non-stick, flameproof pan over medium heat on the hob. If you’ve got more pans, do a few at a time.
Step Sixteen
Use a pastry brush to brush the bread liberally with melted ghee before placing it, buttered side down, in the heated pan.
Step Seventeen
Carefully spread the top with ghee so that both sides are coated.
Step Eighteen
Fry for 2-3 minutes until the bread is puffing up.
Step Nineteen
Carefully flip over and fry for 2-3 minutes.
Step Twenty
Remove to a wire rack to cool.
Step Twenty-One
Repeat with the remaining bread.
How to Make Garlic Naan at Home – Top Tips
If you are going to make your naan bread for the first time, here are my top tips to help:
- Follow a recipe for garlic naan bread, but learn from what you are doing. How warm your kitchen is might affect the rise.
- Don’t worry too much about getting the perfect shape when making family naan bread. It will change as they rise and cook anyway, and no one cares about a neat naan.
- To make mini naans, follow my Garlic naan bread recipe, split into 12 balls, and roll into 12 smaller circles.
- If your garlic naan isn’t rising after an hour, place it somewhere hot or even in a low-temperature oven (as low as it goes) for 15 minutes.
- My Recipe for garlic naan bread gives you a fairly sticky dough, so make sure your surface is well-floured.
- The water that you use in your Garlic naan recipe should be warm to the touch but not too hot.
Serving Suggestions
Curry, of course! Nothing beats a spicy curry with a rich or creamy sauce and a big fluffy piece of garlic naan bread to mop it all up!
But you can also serve naan bread with things like soup or use it as a wrap for your favourite meats.
Basically, if you use bread for it, you can use naan bread!
Variations
Garlic naan is a fantastic start, but there’s plenty that you can add to it!
Cheesy Garlic Naan Bread
I love Garlic cheese naan bread! Add grated cheese to your mix and fry as normal. YUM!
Garlic and Coriander Naan Bread
Roughly chop some fresh coriander and add with the garlic, then sprinkle a little on top when you spread the butter.
If you don’t have fresh, experiment with dried coriander and other dried herbs for new flavours.
Use Garlic Butter
Garlic butter naan is yummy, too! Mix garlic or garlic puree with your melted ghee before spreading on to the bread and frying. You can do this instead of, or as well as mixing the garlic into the dough.
What Flavours Can You Add to Naan Bread?
This easy garlic naan recipe is great if you want to experiment with different flavours. I love a Garlic and Coriander naan recipe, but some of the other things that you can add to a basic naan dough include:
- Paneer
- Chilli
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Butter or Ghee
- Cumin
Leftovers
Recipes with naan bread, like naan bread pizza, are great for using up your leftovers.
If you don’t want to make anything, you can use them as wraps or to dip in other meals like soups or casseroles.
Check out these easy lunches with naan bread for more ideas: https://www.thekitchn.com/10-lunches-you-can-make-with-naan-247243.
Storage
Keep your leftover naan bread with garlic in a sealed tub or sandwich bag, either in the fridge or in a cool, dry cupboard and use within two days.
Freezing Homemade Garlic Naan Bread
This recipe makes eight Homemade Garlic Naan Breads, but one each is plenty. They do freeze really well if you wrap them or place them in sealable freezer bags. I tend to make eight at a time and freeze four for the next time we make a curry.
To freeze, simply cool them fully on a wire rack before wrapping them individually and freezing them. You could wrap them together, but they will stick. And, if you wrap them individually, you can take them out one at a time when you want one.
To thaw, remove from the freezer and leave it out on the side to thaw slowly. Reheat by gently sprinkling with water and warming on a baking tray in a preheated (180 degrees fan assisted) for 3-5 minutes.
FAQ
No. There’s no bad food.
Bread flour, yeast, yoghurt and garlic are the main ingredients.
It’s not unhealthy.
Yeast is better for naan.
Yoghurt adds protein and fat. It helps to keep your naan bread soft and fluffy and stops it from drying out or hardening as it cooks.
Other Recipes
If you like this garlic naan bread recipe, you might also want to try:
Recipe Card
Garlic Naan Breads
Ingredients
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 500 g Strong White Bread Flour
- 7 g Instant Yeast
- 1 Teaspoon Sugar
- 5 Cloves Garlic (crushed)
- 150 ml Warm Water
- 30 ml Olive Oil
- 200 g Full-Fat Greek Yoghurt
- 2 Tablespoons Ghee (or butter)
Instructions
- Mix the oil and water in a jug.
- Mix the salt, flour, sugar, yeast and garlic in a large mixing bowl.
- Make a well in the centre.
- Pour in the water and oil and add the yoghurt.
- Mix with a wooden spoon until it forms a rough ball.
- Tip onto a well-floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until it’s a smooth, workable ball.
- Place into an oiled bowl and cover with a clean towel.
- Leave to prove for 1 hour.
- Tip onto a well-floured surface and punch out the air.
- Knead back to a ball.
- Roll into a sausage and carefully cut into eight even pieces.
- Roll into rounds that are between 3 and 5mm thick.
- Leave to rest for 2-3 minutes.
- Carefully melt the ghee.
- Heat a non-stick, flameproof pan over medium heat on the hob.
- Use a pastry brush to brush the bread liberally with melted ghee before placing it, buttered side down, in the heated pan.
- Carefully spread the top with ghee so that both sides are coated.
- Fry for 2-3 minutes until the bread is puffing up.
- Carefully flip over and fry for 2-3 minutes.
- Remove to a wire rack to cool.
- Repeat with the remaining bread.
Video
Notes
Any nutritional information is given as a general guide only and may not be accurate. The information is provided using an online calculator and is specific to my ingredients. Please make your own calculations if you want precise information.
SaveSave
It really is!
I have made naan bread in the past and was amazed by how easy they are to make. I love the addition of garlic in these x #FoodieFriday
I’m going to try this instead of shop bought next time!
They’re so much better! And so easy. They freeze really well too, just defrost and warm up like you do store brought ones
Mmmmmmmmmmmmm I love naan bread but have never even thought about making my own, I will definitely be giving this a go it’s doesn’t look anywhere near as hard as I thought it would!
Thanks for linking up to #FoodieFriday
It’s a lot easier than I expected, and tastes so much better!