Gluten-Free Naan Bread

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If you’ve been missing flatbread, my Gluten-Free Naan Bread needs just 10 ingredients and cooks up quickly on the stove. Characterized by its chewy textured and slightly blistered appearance, this is the gluten-free naan recipe you’ve been looking for!

A plate of gluten-free naan.

Easy Gluten Free Naan Recipe

Chances are you’re familiar with naan bread, which is a traditional flatbread with roots in India (you’ll find it on menus at Indian restaurants, and it’s so good for sopping up palak paneer or alongside tandoori chicken). It has a delightfully chewy texture and is typically cooked in a tandoor oven.

You may be wondering, is naan bread gluten-free? Naan bread is not gluten-free when prepared traditionally because it’s made with white or wheat flour. It’s a simple yet highly adaptable bread that goes well with many meals, so I definitely wanted to make a gluten-free version. You can top it with anything you like, including garlic, butter, olive oil, herbs, and more.

In this recipe, I swap the wheat flour for a gluten-free flour blend and add xanthan gum, psyllium husk, and an egg to bind the dough together. Then I cook the naan on a hot cast iron skillet until slightly charred and puffed, perfect for brushing with melted butter. You’ll only need a few minutes to cook the dough after it rises, which means you’ll have hot, buttery, chewy naan on the table fast!

A hand lifts a piece of gluten-free naan with more naan in the background.

Why You’ll Love Homemade Naan Bread

Naan is a relatively easy homemade bread to put together and works well when converted to being gluten-free. You’ll also cook it on the stove which means you won’t have to bother with the oven. Here are a few other reasons why I love this naan recipe:

  • You can make it gluten-free. Yes – this is my top reason why I love this recipe and make it again and again. It can be hard to find gluten-free versions of our favorite kinds of bread at the store, so I just make my own!
  • Easily customizable. Feel like garlic naan? No problem, add garlic to your naan dough! Want to add an herb mix of your favorite fresh and dried herbs? Go right ahead. Because you’re making this naan recipe at home, you can customize it any way you like.
  • Goes with so many dishes. I love naan for its versatility. You can use it to scoop up homemade chicken curry or substitute it for a wrap in a sort of Indian-inspired chicken gyro situation. I also like to spread a little hummus or mayonnaise across a fresh naan and pile it high with raw vegetables like shredded carrots, sliced bell peppers, and baby spinach.
Gluten-free naan bread is wrapped in a blue and white striped towel.

Recipe Ingredients

Here’s a quick overview of what you’ll need to make this recipe. Don’t forget to check the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full ingredient amounts.

  • Gluten-Free Flour Blend: I used King Arthur’s Measure for Measure flour.
  • Instant Yeast: Instant yeast can be stirred right into the gluten-free flour mix – there’s no need to proof it first. If you need to use Rapid Rise yeast, you’ll need to proof it first and then add it to the dough with the egg.
  • Sugar: A little bit of sugar helps to activate the yeast and make the naan rise properly.
  • Salt: I use fine table or sea salt rather than Kosher salt.
  • Xanthan Gum: Xanthan gum is used as a binder in many gluten-free foods, and helps give gluten-free breads a nice stretchy texture.
  • Psyllium Husk: Use whole psyllium husks rather than powder.
  • Egg: An egg also helps to bind and stabilize the dough.
  • Plain Yogurt: You can use whole fat plain or low-fat plain yogurt – just make sure it is plain!
  • Butter: Salted or unsalted butter is fine in this recipe.
  • Milk or Water
  • Melted Butter, Cilantro, and Chopped Garlic: These are optional toppings for the naan.
Ingredients needed to make gluten-free naan bread including gluten-free flour, an egg, butter, salt, and milk.

How to Make Gluten-Free Naan

Follow along with my instructions and photos below to make great gluten-free naan bread:

  • Mix together the dry ingredients. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, place the gluten-free flour, yeast, sugar, salt, xanthan gum and psyllium husk. Mix until combined.
  • Whisk the egg separately. In a small bowl, whisk the egg.
  • Then whisk in the yogurt and butter. Add the yogurt and melted butter to the egg and whisk until smooth.
  • Mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and stir on low speed until incorporated.
  • Add the milk or water. With the mixer still on low, slowly pour in the warm milk or water. Mix until the liquid is mostly incorporated, scraping down the bowl several times.
  • Mix the dough for 5 minutes. Turn the mixer on medium and let the dough mix for 5 minutes. The dough should be sticky but not wet.
  • Let the dough rise. Transfer the dough to a clean bowl that’s been coated with oil. Cover and let it rise for 1 hour in a warm place.
  • After the dough has risen, place it on a work surface. When the dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto your work surface. It should still be a little sticky but able to be handled. If it seems too wet, add 1-2 tablespoons of flour to the surface and the top of the dough.
  • Prepare the naan pieces. Divide the dough into 8 pieces and roll each one into a ball. Handle the dough gently so as not to deflate the rise. Place the dough balls on a plate or tray and cover them until ready to cook.
  • Heat a cast iron skillet to cook the bread. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Allow the skillet to get hot for 3-5 minutes before cooking. Add a little oil to the skillet to prevent sticking.
  • Roll the dough balls into a circle. Working with one dough ball at a time, roll the dough ball out into a large oval or circle as thin as you can get it (around ⅛” thick). Use a little flour if necessary to prevent sticking.
A piece of naan dough is rolled out on parchment paper with a rolling pin.
  • Cook the naan on the hot skillet. Carefully place the flattened dough in the hot skillet. It should start to cook immediately. The first side needs to cook for 2-3 minutes, but pay attention and if you smell burning then it is done cooking. You should see some air bubbles appearing in the dough.
  • Flip the naan and cook it on the other side. Now flip the naan over and cook the second side for 1-2 minutes. Press down on the naan with a spatula to get the characteristic blackened bubbles on the second side.
A piece of naan cooks in cast iron skillet.
  • Keep the cooked naan warm in a towel and cook the remaining dough. Remove the cooked naan and wrap it in a clean dish towel to keep it warm and soft while you cook the remaining dough. Note: You may need to adjust the temperature or stop to clean the pan if you notice sticking or burning.
  • Add toppings. Top the naan with melted butter, chopped cilantro and chopped garlic (or other flavors of your choice).

Tips for Success

Making gluten-free bread can sometimes feel intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be! Here are a few tips to help you make perfect naan bread:

  • Make sure the dough rises fully. If you can fully proof your dough, you’ll end up with a more chewy and bread-like gluten-free bread. Find a warm spot in your house – it doesn’t have to be the kitchen – to set the dough. Check it after about 15 minutes to see if it’s starting to puff up. If it’s not, move it to a warmer spot to proof.
  • Use fresh yeast. This one goes hand-in-hand with making sure the dough rises enough. Old yeast is often a culprit in lackluster bread. The easiest way to ensure better gluten-free bread is to check the expiration date on the yeast package. If it’s past the sell-by date, ditch it and start with a fresh packet.
  • Don’t skip the xanthan gum or psyllium husk. Both of these ingredients work together with the gluten-free flour blend to create a stretchy, pliable dough that cooks up into nicely puffed, chewy naan bread.
  • Add garlic to the dough to make garlic naan. Plain naan is wonderful and goes with so many dishes. But adding garlic really boosts its flavor! You can add minced garlic to the dough along with the wet ingredients. To make an even more garlicky naan, roast a few cloves of garlic and mix the soft garlic paste into the dough before cooking it.
  • Use a cast iron skillet. This is the best type of pan to be able to get it to the high temperature for properly cooking the naan.

FAQs

What is naan?

Naan is a type of yeast-risen flatbread typically found in India and other South and Central Asian countries. It can be cooked in the oven, a brick oven, on the stovetop, or in a hot clay tandoor oven.

Is naan bread healthy?

Naan is not considered a “healthy” bread because it’s often made with white flour. If it’s made with whole wheat flour you’ll get more nutrients from the whole grains, although it is still a carbohydrate-rich food.

A red pastry brush brushes melted butter on gluten-free naan.

How to Store Naan

Naan bread tastes the best right after you pull it off the cast iron pan. But if you have leftovers, here’s how to store them:

  • Counter – Store naan bread on the counter in an air-tight container or sealed plastic bag with a piece of parchment or wax paper in between each piece for up to 2 days. Reheat naan in a toaster or on a skillet over low heat.
  • Fridge – You can store naan in an air-tight container or plastic bag in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, toast for a few minutes in the toaster oven or gently warm it on the stove in a cast iron pan set over low heat.
  • Freezer – Place cooked and cooled naan bread pieces in a freezer-safe bag. Separate each piece with parchment or wax paper. Then place the bag in the freezer and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost the bread in the fridge before using.
A plate of gluten-free naan.

Make it a Meal

Most people ting about serving naan with Indian meals like Butter Chicken. But you can serve this naan recipe with a variety of dishes, either by using it as a wrap or as a bread accompaniment. Here are some of my suggestions for how to eat naan bread:

A plate of gluten-free naan.
5 from 1 vote

Gluten-Free Naan Bread

If you've been missing flatbread, my Gluten-Free Naan Bread needs just 10 ingredients and cooks up quickly on the stove. Characterized by its chewy textured and slightly blistered appearance, this is the gluten-free naan recipe you've been looking for! Use it for wraps, in place of tortillas, and more.
Prep: 10 minutes
Proof Time 1 hour
Total: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 8 breads

Ingredients

  • 2 ¼ cups/280 grams Gluten Free Flour Blend (King Arthur's Measure for Measure)
  • 2 ¼ teaspoons Instant Yeast
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
  • ¼ teaspoon psyllium husk
  • 1 large egg
  • cup/80 grams plain yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons/28 grams butter, melted
  • ¾ cup/180 ml lukewarm milk or water
  • Additional melted butter, cilantro and chopped garlic for topping, optional

Instructions

  • Combine the gluten-free flour, yeast, sugar, salt, xanthan gum and psyllium husk in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Mix until combined.
  • In a small bowl, whisk the egg.
  • Add the yogurt and melted butter to the egg and whisk until smooth.
  • Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and stir on low speed until incorporated.
  • With the mixer still on low, slowly stream in the warm milk (or water). Mix until the liquid is mostly incorporated. Scrape down the bowl.
  • Turn the mixer to medium speed and allow it to mix for 5 minutes. The dough should be sticky but not wet.
  • Transfer the dough to a clean bowl that has been coated with oil. Cover and let rise for 1 hour in a warm place.
  • Once the dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto your work surface. It should still be a little sticky but able to be handled. If it seems too wet, add 1-2 tablespoons of flour to the surface and the top of the dough.
  • Divide the dough into 8 pieces and roll them into a ball. Handle the dough gently so as not to deflate the rise. Place the dough balls on a plate or tray and cover them until ready to cook.
  • Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Allow the skillet to get hot for 3-5 minutesbefore cooking. Add a little oil to the skillet to prevent sticking.
  • Working with one dough ball at a time, roll the dough ball out into a large oval or circle as thin as you can get it (around ⅛” thick). Use a little flour if necessary to prevent sticking.
  • Transfer the flattened dough to the hot skillet. It should start to cook immediately. The first side needs to cook for 2-3 minutes, but let your nose be the guide. If you smell burning then it is done cooking. You should see some air bubbles appearing in the dough.
  • Flip the naan over and cook the second side for 1-2 minutes. Press down on the naan with a spatula to get the characteristic blackened bubbles on the second side.
  • Remove cooked naan and wrap it in a clean dish towel to keep it warm and soft while you cook the remaining dough. Note: You may need to adjust the temperature or stop to clean the pan if you notice sticking or burning.
  • Top the naan with melted butter, chopped cilantro and chopped garlic (or other flavors of your choice).

Notes

Gluten-free naan bread is best consumed fresh, but any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Reheat in a toaster or on a skillet for best results.
Nutrition Facts
Gluten-Free Naan Bread
Amount Per Serving (1 naan)
Calories 23 Calories from Fat 9
% Daily Value*
Fat 1g2%
Saturated Fat 0.2g1%
Trans Fat 0.003g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.4g
Cholesterol 23mg8%
Sodium 161mg7%
Potassium 42mg1%
Carbohydrates 2g1%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 2g4%
Vitamin A 34IU1%
Vitamin C 0.01mg0%
Calcium 5mg1%
Iron 0.2mg1%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Disclaimers: Please discuss your individual dietary needs (i.e. gluten free) with a physician. Even when not specified, be sure to verify all ingredients are gluten free, if needed, by reading labels on all packaging and/or confirming with the manufacturer this varies by brand and can change at any time. Nutrition information shown is an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate.

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2 Comments
  1. Rochelle

    Can this be made without any dairy? I’m sensitive to gluten and casein so I can use ghee to replace butter, but what’s a good replacement for yogurt?

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