Whole wheat flatbread may sound like it’ll be dry and crumbly, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Try this easy whole wheat naan to see for yourself! Just 7 simple ingredients to whole wheat naan that is so good, you won’t even think about what flour you used because you’ll be too busy ripping it apart and gobbling it up. That statement comes from personal experience.
Allow me to tell you a little bit about my naan recipe testing journey. I started the only natural way: by consulting the internet. The most popular recipes and they all tasted pretty good, though some were easier to work with than others. I tried many rounds of instant, yeast-free naan and LOVED it. It’s probably my favorite naan recipe because of convenience, but that’s something to dive into another time.
And then I sat down to the ultimate challenge: naan made with whole wheat flours. I tried a buckwheat naan, but that is also a story for another time. If you’re familiar with spelt flour, that also works great for naan, but I realize that not everyone keeps spelt flour on hand, so I wanted to make a more accessible version. The issue with making something 100% whole wheat is it often turns out dry and crumbly, which is not what you want from naan. You want your naan to be soft, fluffy, and no-fuss!
Well, obviously my 100% whole wheat version worked out or else I wouldn’t be sitting here writing this post. It’s not quite as fluffy as regular naan made with all-purpose flour, but it is still pretty darn good. And I have to attribute that to the moisture. Whole wheat naan loses moisture even more so than regular naan when you cook it, so the key is to add extra moisture to your dough.
This recipe isn’t made with traditional ingredients (read up on naan here if you want), as naan is usually made with dairy yogurt and all-purpose flour. Making a vegan version of naan is pretty easy though; you just use your favorite vegan yogurt. Another non-traditional addition I made to the dough for the sake of moisture was a little olive oil. I seriously believe the olive oil made the dough less prone to crumbling as well as more moist!
Now let’s talk about how to make this easy whole wheat naan that’s so good, you’ll be surprised that it’s whole wheat.
The Rundown
1. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl: whole wheat flour, active dry yeast, sugar, and salt. You could activate the yeast by adding the yeast and sugar to warm water and waiting ~ 5-10 minutes for it to start bubbling. But if you’re like me and would rather just trust that the yeast is fine, go ahead and add it straight to the mixing bowl.
2. Knead the dough together by adding a little lukewarm water and vegan yogurt at a time. Finish the dough off with a bit of olive oil. And let that dough rise for 1.5-2 hours, or until it has doubled in size!
3. Naan is traditionally made in a tandoor oven, but I don’t know anyone who has one of those, so believe me when I say a nice hot cast-iron or skillet is just fine. Just make sure it’s hot!
4. Make a buttery cilantro topping for the naan. I made my topping with equal amounts of vegan butter and olive oil! You’re going to spread this on the naan after it is done cooking.
5. To make the naan, just place it on the cast-iron or skillet (no oil necessary) and flip it once bubbles rise on the surface. Cook for 2-3 minutes per side!
6. Enjoy it with a curry of your choice. I made Rainbow Plant Life’s red lentil curry and it was delicious!
Whole Wheat Naan – Vegan Indian Flatbread
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1.5 tsp active dry yeast *instant yeast should be fine
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup lukewarm water
- 4 tbsp vegan yogurt *any yogurt should work fine
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Add flour, yeast, lukewarm water, sugar, and salt to a mixing bowl.
- Add a little lukewarm water and yogurt at a time to knead the dough together. If needed, add a little more lukewarm water.
- Finish the dough off with the olive oil. The dough should feel moist and a little sticky (this is what gives it a nice, not dry texture), but you should still be able to handle it easily. Knead for 3-4 minutes. Cover with a towel and let it rise in a warm place for 1.5-2 hours or until it has doubled in size.
- Separate dough into six round pieces. Let them rest until ready to roll out on a floured surface. Roll out to ~ 1/4 inch thick.
- Heat a cast iron or skillet on medium heat. When you’re absolutely certain it’s hot, place rolled out naan on it. Flip the naan when bubbles arise and the other side has browned and has black spots on it. Cook for about 2-3 minutes per side.
- For the cilantro topping, mix equal proportions of melted vegan butter and olive oil (~ 1 tbsp of each) and add some chopped cilantro to that. Spread this mixture on naan that comes fresh off the pan!
What you should pair this naan with:
Coconut Butternut Squash Red Lentil Curry
Yayyy I’m glad to hear that!
Absolutely delicious!!!
Thanks Claire! It’s a staple for me too so I’m happy it now belongs to your kitchen as well 🙂
Hi there Anisha! Your whole wheat naan recipe is outstanding! I didn’t make any modifications and it turned out perfect. This will now be my stable naan recipe, thank you!
I’m so glad to hear it worked out!
This recipe was so good!