Instant Garlic Naan (no yeast!)

This instant garlic naan my go-to for those thicker gravies! It’s yeast-free, vegan, and ready with 4 ingredients and less than 30 minutes, which you can’t usually say about naan. Make it a garlic butter naan with this simple herby topping.

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This instant garlic naan is yeast-free, vegan, and ready with 4 ingredients and less than 30 minutes. Add a garlic butter herb topping!

Most probably think of naan before roti when it comes to Indian flatbreads, but my family never made it at home until I started making it a year ago. I usually pick roti over naan, but I prefer naan for gravies that are thicker and richer. It holds up better than roti and the fluff factor is necessary sometimes.

Most naan recipes usually require yeast, but I don’t have the patience for that most days. You can’t just plan naan cravings. They come when they wanna come and I’d prefer not to wait two hours. So this instant naan uses 4 simple ingredients and is ready in 30 minutes! It also has an optional but highly recommended garlic butter cilantro topping.

This instant garlic naan is yeast-free, vegan, and ready with 4 ingredients and less than 30 minutes. Add a garlic butter herb topping!

What You’ll Need For Instant Garlic Naan

Flour. All-purpose flour is the easiest choice here, but I have tested this with bread flour as well as half all-purpose/half spelt and half all-purpose/half whole wheat. It’s a pretty forgiving recipe.

Yogurt. Yogurt is what makes naan, naan! I used plant-based yogurt to make this vegan, but I’d imagine you can easily substitute any yogurt.

Water. You can actually get away with just using yogurt (just use 1 cup instead of half a cup), but I find it easier to add a little lukewarm water.

Salt.

Olive oil. The olive oil is optional and I would use it if it will make the naan dough easier to bring together. I usually use it because it makes rolling the naan much easier!

Cilantro, butter, garlic! Optional but highly recommended.

Tips for Making Instant Garlic Naan

Use a cast-iron. Like most people, I do not have a tandoor oven, which is a clay or metal oven that naan is traditionally made in. I’ve had lovely results from making my naan (and flatbreads in general) on a well-heated cast-iron skillet or a tava/tawa, which is usually made of cast iron anyways.

Cook the garlic first…or don’t. For the garlic butter herb topping, you could get away with not cooking your garlic beforehand, but it will taste better if you cook it in a little butter or olive oil for a few minutes on the stove.

The naan is still good if you don’t cook the garlic first though. Just make sure to spread the topping on the naan immediately after it comes off the skillet so that the garlic feels the heat of the naan. Not sure if that actually makes a difference, but in my head it does.

Let it rest just a little. I usually let my naan rest for about 15-30 minutes. I feel like it’s standard practice even with instant naan and it helps with the fluff factor. And if you’re cooking something else, the resting time is a good time to finish up whatever you’re making.

This instant garlic naan is yeast-free, vegan, and ready with 4 ingredients and less than 30 minutes. Add a garlic butter herb topping!
This instant garlic naan is yeast-free, vegan, and ready with 4 ingredients and less than 30 minutes. Add a garlic butter herb topping!

What to Pair it With

Pair it with something THICK! Here are some lovely recipes to pair this naan with. It’s pictured here with Nisha Vora’s dal makhani, which is absolutely delightful.

Vegan Shahi Paneer (Shahi Tofu)

Chana Masala – Indian Chickpea Curry

Spicy Red Lentil Curry

Indian Jackfruit Kofta

Instant Garlic Naan (no yeast!)

This is my go-to naan to pair with those thicker gravies! It's yeast-free, vegan, and ready with 4 ingredients and less than 30 minutes, which you can't usually say about naan. Make it a garlic butter naan with this simple herby topping.
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Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 25 mins
Resting time 15 mins
Servings 5 naans

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour *see note about alternatives
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp sea salt
  • ½ cup non-dairy yogurt *sub any yogurt
  • ⅓ cup lukewarm water
  • 1 tsp olive oil *optional to make naan especially easy to work with

Garlic Butter Herb Topping

  • 2 tbsp vegan butter, melted
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced *see note
  • ¼ cup chopped cilantro

Instructions
 

  • Mix flour, baking powder, and sea salt. Make a well and add yogurt and water, a bit at a time. Knead with hands until it comes together. If you over knead, add more flour. Optionally, add olive oil to bring it together really easily.
  • Let the dough rest for about 15 minutes while you make the cilantro garlic butter topping. Simply mix the cilantro, minced garlic, and butter in a small bowl.
  • Separate the dough into 5-6 pieces.
  • Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. When has clearly heated all over, roll out the dough to ¼-inch thick and place on the skillet.
  • Flip when the surface of the naan has risen with bubbles, which usually takes 2-3 minutes on a well-heated cast-iron. Cook on the other side for around the same amount of time. Be careful not to let the naan burn!
  • As soon as the naan is off the skillet, spread the cilantro garlic butter topping.
  • Repeat with the rest of the dough.

Notes

Flour. All-purpose flour is the easiest choice here, but I have tested this with bread flour as well as half all-purpose/half spelt and half all-purpose/half whole wheat. It’s a pretty forgiving recipe.
Cook the garlic first…or don’t. For the garlic butter herb topping, you could get away with not cooking your garlic beforehand, but it will taste better if you cook it in a little butter or olive oil for a few minutes on the stove.
The naan is still good if you don’t cook the garlic first though. Just make sure to spread the topping on the naan immediately after it comes off the skillet so that the garlic feels the heat of the naan. Not sure if that actually makes a difference, but in my head it does.

4 comments

  • I’ve never tried it, but I think that should work! This article online seems to be helpful. I think making all the naans at one time and then freezing the naans may be easier!

  • Hi! Can I freeze balls of this dough? I usually only need one naan at a time.

  • Ah yes it really helps, especially since it is an instant naan recipe! Hope it works out for you.

  • Thanks for the tip on letting the naan rest for 10-15 minutes for the fluff factor. I’ve not done that in the past and I think this will really help!

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