Gluten Free Naan Bread
This homemade gluten free naan bread is light, fluffy and even made without yeast! It’s incredibly easy to make with just a few simple, everyday ingredients. Perfect for curries, dal or paired with your favorite dips!
This gluten free naan recipe has been a long time coming! I share so many curries and dals and other Indian inspired dishes that I figured it was time for this bread!
I have never had luck finding gluten free naan bread in grocery stores, especially since I prefer it dairy free, so I finally decided to make my own! It took some trial and error, but this recipe is fluffy, yeast-free, dairy free and made with just a few simple ingredients.
Serve it with your favorite curry, or enjoy it with your favorite dips. It doubles as a flatbread so it’s a very versatile recipe. Try my gluten free pizza crust or gluten free focaccia next!
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Easy to make
- Dairy free friendly
- Soft & fluffy
How to make gluten free naan
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the yogurt, water, egg and melted butter until combined.
Fold in the flour, baking powder and salt until a dough forms. be sure to spoon and level the flour to measure, don’t scoop from the bag or you will end up with more than you need and the dough will be too dry.
It will likely seem sticky at this point, but don’t add more flour! If the dough seems dry at all, fold in 1 more tablespoon of water.
Cover and set in the fridge for 1 hour. This will make it less sticky and easier to work with without needing extra flour that could dry out the dough.
After 1 hour, take about 1/3 cup of dough and add to a piece of parchment paper that is lightly floured. Flour your rolling pin and roll the dough out into about 1/2 inch thick piece.
Heat a cast iron skillet (I lightly greased mine before the first piece, but did not continue to grease between pieces) and add the dough.
Cook on each side until the top begins to bubble up, about 2-3 minutes on each side. Repeat until all dough has been used.
Brush the tops with melted butter and sprinkle with chopped cilantro and chives. Enjoy and try my gluten free sandwich bread next!
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Key Ingredients
Gluten Free Flour. I used the Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 All Purpose Baking Flour, which I recommend for this recipe. You can try another blend with varying results, just make sure it has xanthan gum in the mix. I do not recommend almond, oat or another type of GF flour.
Greek Yogurt. Greek yogurt is key for adding moisture and texture to the naan. I used regular greek yogurt, but whatever you have is fine, just make sure it is unsweetened and unflavored. Yogurt is traditionally used in naan to leaven it. For dairy free, I like Kite Hill Greek Style Yogurt.
Egg. Since this gluten free naan recipe is yeast free, an egg is really helpful for providing a fluffy texture.
Water. You can also use a plain non-dairy milk, but this is to help bind everything together.
Butter. Just a bit of melted butter (I used dairy free) helps add a richer flavor and moisture to the recipe.
Baking Powder. Since we aren’t using yeast, a generous teaspoon of baking powder will provide lots of fluff to the naan!
Variations
DAIRY FREE: You can make this gluten free naan dairy free by using dairy free butter and the Kite Hill Greek Style yogurt which is almond based.
EGG FREE: I have not tested this recipe with an egg substitute as it is a key ingredient for the fluffy texture of the bread and to prevent it from feeling gummy. If you want to make this vegan, you can try subbing the egg for a flax egg or using 1/4 cup more yogurt (so 3/4 cup total) in place of the egg.
MAKE IT HERBY: Yes! I like to add fresh cilantro and chives to the naan when serving, but you can also add dried or fresh herbs right into the dough to add more flavor.
Does it keep?
Once prepared, this bread will keep in the fridge for about 3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month. I like to reheat it in the oven or toaster for the best texture.
Enjoy with these recipes!
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Gluten Free Naan Bread
by: claire cary
Ingredients
- 2 cups gluten free all purpose baking flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup plain greek yogurt dairy free or regular
- 7 tablespoons water
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the yogurt, water, egg and melted butter until combined.
- Fold in the flour, baking powder and salt until a dough forms. be sure to spoon and level the flour to measure, don’t scoop from the bag or you will end up with more than you need and the dough will be too dry.
- It will likely seem sticky at this point, but don’t add more flour! If the dough seems dry at all, fold in 1 more tablespoon of water.
- Cover and set in the fridge for 1 hour.
- After 1 hour, take about 1/3 cup of dough and add to a piece of parchment paper that is lightly floured. Flour your rolling pin and roll the dough out into about 1/2 inch thick piece.
- Heat a cast iron skillet (I lightly greased mine before the first piece, but did not continue to grease between pieces) and add the dough.
- Cook on each side until the top begins to bubble up, about 2-3 minutes on each side.
- Repeat until all dough has been used.
- Brush the tops with melted butter and sprinkle with chopped cilantro and chives. Enjoy!
Notes
Comments
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I can’t have yogurts because of the live cultures since I have neutropenia. Can I substitute yogurt with sour cream
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Yes, sour cream is fine!
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Sour cream has live cultures as well… they are thermophilic vs mesophilic organisms you find in yogurt. You can heat up both to kill the cultures though.
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This was fabulous, thank you!! Very easy to make. It will become a staple at our house!
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I’m an expat in India and I tried this recipe today. My children loved it, and so did our Indian native Maid! She ate with a smile and “So soft, so delicious”. So…this recipe is Indian approved!
I will say that this recipe is closer to roti than it is to naan, but it’s still amazing. Also, instead of rolling it out on parchment, I lightly floured my hands and just flattened it between my palms. It was much easier to work with that way.
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Thank you Danielle! Honored it was loved by all 🙂
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I was amazed by how easy this was- I’m more of a cook than a baker, but this was a total hit with a creamy Tuscan chickpea dish I made. Thanks!
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Sounds perfect! So glad you enjoyed it.
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I made this gluten free with King Arthur’s 1:1 measure AP “flour” and they turn out great! In fact, they are the only gluten free bread that tastes like the real gluten thing, too. They don’t freeze/reheat well, so I make a variant of the 1 serving portion (up to quarter of an egg by weight to make it easier) which makes about 2 large, 10in gf naan. Thank you so much for this recipe!
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Love it! Thanks, Margaret!
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I’ve recently seen a recipe with flour and cottage cheese. Could whole milk cottage cheese be substituted for the yogurt here?
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Hmm you could try! I don’t have a lot of experience baking with cottage cheese, but worth a try!
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I’m anxious to try this recipe but note that yours omits yeast. I provide cooking lessons 5-10 times per month and one of the most requested meals is Murgh Makhani (butter chicken) which I make with garlic basmati rice and homemade naan. I have a class coming up but the guests have requested that it be GF and Lactose Free. So…I’ll be using your recipe (with plant based greek yoghurt), but I’ll start by using yeast w/ sugar in a little water. Any experience with this?
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I do not have experience using yeast here, it isn’t necessary for the texture, but if you do add it, I would use instant yeast and add to the dry ingredients, but also add a teaspoon of sugar to activate it.
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Hi Claire. I’m really excited to try this recipe this week. I was thinking of making the dough, storing in the fridge and making the following evening? Do you think that would be ok?
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Yes, that should be fine!
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Hiya,
Do you think I could roll it out/shape and put on parchment paper, with pieces in between each one and stack them and place in fridge for a day or two before cooking?
Thank you,
Carissa-
Yes, that should be fine!
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Hi! You just need to make sure that the dough balls are at room temp or they will not roll out. I usually tell people to pull the dough from the fridge 2-hours before you are planning to make the naan.
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Super easy to make, great results! Even non gluten free guests loved it!
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Amazing, thank you Marie!
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Wow…I honestly was not expecting much from a GF bread recipe. I made this recipe using the 1:1 bob mills gluten free flour as suggested. It turned out absolutely delicious! Whole family loved it…even non GF fans. The only thing I changed was rolling the dough thinner (around 1/4in thick) before cooking. The thicker ones tended to burn.
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Sounds perfect! Thanks, Dava!
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I had tried another nann recipe that I wasn’t pleased with. This turned out terrific, thank you!
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Happy you found one you liked! Thanks, Robin!
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I didn’t see it explained or anyone ask. But why does it need to refrigerate for an hour?
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Because the dough is sticky and it will make it much easier to work with!
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What a treat to find a gluten free recipe for naan that taste delicious, these will go perfectly with my coconut curry chicken tonight which I have made for a dear friend who eats gluten free. Thank you for sharing this.
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Sounds like the perfect dinner!
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Can I make this in a regular frying pan like in a non-stick pan or a regular one that is not cast iron or is it essential to use cast iron? If I use something other than cast iron would it still cook the same way overall? Any help would be appreciated, I love your recipes and would love to make this and get it to work out without needing the cast iron pan if possible. Thank you 🙂
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A regular pan should be just fine! However, it won’t get the same browned spots as you see in the photos if you use something other than cast iron.
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Can you use almond flour instead?
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No, that won’t work here.
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Egg allergy here- can I substitute the egg with a flax egg?
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I explain different egg substitutes within the post!
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