Garlic Naan Bread | @simplywhisked

Garlic Vegan Naan Bread

Skip the takeout and make this simple recipe for vegan garlic naan bread at home. It’s a lot easier than you might think. Makes 8 servings.

4.29 from 14 votes
dairy free naan bread stacked on a plate

Why you will love this garlic vegan naan bread

Nothing pairs better with Indian food than a yeasty, garlic naan bread. Unfortunately for the us, so many contain dairy. Yogurt to be exact. It’s what gives the naan its subtle, tangy flavor. It’s hard to replicate, but it’s doable. I substituted alt-milk and a bit of acid (lemon juice) to mimic the flavor. Then I followed the general directions for making naan bread.

The method for this dairy free garlic naan is fairly simple. You activate the yeast, add the rest of the ingredients and mix until a ball forms, and wait for it to rise, just like bread.

Then you separate the dough into individual pieces that get cooked on the stove. The garlic is added as you cook, but you could skip that part if you want plain, fresh naan bread. Fairly simple, right? As long as you have the time, anyone can do it.

It’s been a while since we made this recipe, but each time, it turns out great. I think last time we made it we were having kofta, but you can pretty much pair it with anything.

It’s especially good with curry dishes, and it’s great for sopping up any extra sauce you might leave behind on your plate. You have to try this Thai chicken meatball curry, and this slow cooker massaman curry and this chickpea curry salad.

Searching for more recipes to serve naan with? chicken tikka masala / lemon orzo soup / vegan tomato soup / beef paprikash

SHOP THIS RECIPE:

**This post contains affiliate links. I may earn commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. I will never recommend a product I don’t use or trust.**

garlic naan bread stacked on a plate and sprinkled with fresh herbs

Ingredients & substitutions

  • Active dry yeast Active dry yeast is a key ingredient in making any naan bread, it adds the necessary leavening to achieve the bread’s light and airy texture.
  • Warm water – Using active dry yeast requires warm water, to activate the dry yeast which results in bubbles that rise that give naan its characteristic fluffiness.
  • Dairy free milk – You can use your favorite, unsweetened dairy free milk – we used almond milk to make this, but you can use an milk alternative.

Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.

overhead image of garlic naan bread made stacked on a plate

The following is a detailed overview of the recipe steps with added tips and tricks for recipe success. For a simplified and printable version, including ingredient amounts and more formal instructions, see the recipe card below.

How to make vegan naan bread

Make the dough. Start by mixing water, sugar, and yeast in a small bowl, and let it sit until it gets foamy. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the activated yeast, flour, and the remaining ingredients. Mix at medium speed, using the dough hook until a ball of dough forms.

Allow the dough to rise. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let it sit in a warm place for about an hour. Once the dough has doubled in size, divide it into eight small balls.

Fry the dough. Heat olive oil in a large, cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. and mix garlic with oil. Roll each dough ball to about 1/4-inch thickness and place them one at a time in the hot pan, brushing with the garlic oil mixture. When the dough starts to bubble, flip it over, brush it with oil again, and season with salt and fresh herbs.

Repeat the process with the remaining dough.

close up of a stack of dairy free pita style bread.
Garlic Naan Bread | @simplywhisked

Garlic Vegan Naan Bread

4.29 from 14 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Skip the takeout and make this simple recipe for vegan garlic naan bread at home. It’s a lot easier than you might think. Makes 8 servings.

Ingredients

For the vegan naan:
  • 1/2 cup warm water (ideally between 105˚F – 110˚F)
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 0.25-ounce package active dry yeast
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup almond milk (or alternative milk of choice)
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
For topping:
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • Coarse salt (optional, for garnish)
  • Fresh parsley or cilantro (optional, for garnish)

Instructions

  • In a small bowl, gently stir together water, sugar and yeast. Allow it to activate until it is foamy on top.
  • In a large bowl with an electric mixer (dough hook), add activated yeast, flour, and remaining ingredients. Beat with dough hook at medium speed until a ball has formed. Remove bowl from mixer and cover with a damp towel. Let sit in a warm place for about 1 hour.
  • When dough has doubled in size, divide into eight small balls. Heat a skillet over medium high and stir together garlic and oil.
  • Roll each ball to 1/4-inch thickness and place in hot pan, one at a time, brushing with garlic/oil mixture. When dough has started to bubble, flip to other side and brush again with oil. Sprinkle with coarse salt and herbs. Repeat with remaining dough.

Nutrition

Calories: 186kcal Carbohydrates: 31g Protein: 4g Fat: 5g Sodium: 12mg Fiber: 1g Sugar: 1g Vitamin C: 1mg

Recipe adapted from Half Baked Harvest.

Similar Posts

Before leaving a comment or rating, ask yourself:

  • Did you make the recipe as directed? If you didn’t make the recipe as directed, or changed the ingredients in any way, please refrain from leaving a rating. Recipe results are not guaranteed when changes have been made.
  • Is this comment helpful to other readers? Rude or hateful comments will not be approved. Remember that this website is run by a real person.
  • Are you here to complain about ads? Please keep in mind that I develop these recipes and provide them to your for free. Advertising allows me to continue to do so, and is basically unavoidable on the internet. If you want ad-free recipes, please purchase a cookbook.

34 Comments

    1. Thanks for pointing that out. It should actually read almond milk, but I forgot to proofread it. I’m so sorry if it caused you any confusion!

    2. 5 stars
      This recipe gives you the option of using any dairy free milk like almond. ….. or any other you prefer.
      I plan to make this next week!

      1. I had to add more water after the exact measurement given. I am at sea level. 1/8 cup more warm water. Now I am proofing. The moment of truth awaits.

  1. I am trying to do oil free as well as dairy free. Is There any oil substitute that would work with this recipe? It looks so delicious!

    1. Try adding one extra 1/2 tablespoon of almond milk or coconut cream! Let me know how it turns out!

  2. 3 stars
    I’ve used this recipe a couple times, but had to make adjustments after the first try. It really needs salt in the mix, otherwise it has no flavor (the course salt garnish barely saves it). I always have to add a bit more liquid to get the dough to come together properly.

    The way the yeast amount is written is misleading – it’s one package of yeast, which is usually 1/4 ounce (about 2.25 teaspoons). After the adjustments, it’s pretty close to regular naan! Thanks for the recipe.

    1. I see what you’re saying about the amount of yeast being misleading. I will make sure to fix it right away! A little salt never hurts either 🙂

  3. I really appreciate your creating this recipe. I’m new to dairy intolerance and love a good curry with naan. I’m going to try this this weekend! Thank you!

  4. 5 stars
    There is not enough flour to use my stand mixer, so I used the dough blade in the food processor. I did as one reader suggested and added 1/2 teaspoon salt to the flour mix. Rolled the dough thinner than 1/4 inch and they cooked well. The last ones rose a bit while waiting so they were a little thick when done. Next time I will flatten them before cooking. Taste and texture excellent. The 8 naan were about 5 inches in diameter. If you want them larger, divide the dough accordingly.

  5. 2 stars
    REALLY DRY! And quite bland. Im going to try again with less flour and adding salt, but as is, this recipe is not very good.

  6. 5 stars
    I don’t usually take the time to homemake any kind of bread, but this recipe comes together soooo quickly and easily and leaves very little mess. We love it in our home. We have been making naan using this recipe (with the additional salt recommended by other comments) just about once a week since we found it and have been super happy with the results. It makes for really good pizza dough or thick tortillas too. Love it, love it, love it.

  7. 5 stars
    I love this recipe. I like to use a flavored olive oil (like garlic or rosemary) and a little bit of salt. It’s delicious. I like to throw it on the grill for a little extra flavor 🤤 it’s a family favorite.

  8. 4 stars
    I had to add some water for it to come together, and add some salt like the other comments suggested. Other than that this recipe is great! You can make it a dessert by adding some dandelion honey as well 🙂 Thank you so much for this recipe 🥰

  9. Love this recipe, they turn out so soft and the perfect texture. Little tweaks I make is adding a bit of salt and parsley flakes as I’m making the dough. I also roll in some garlic and green onions as I’m rolling out the dough so it really sticks in there!

    Thank you so much 🙂

    1. 5 stars
      This was my first time making naan bread and it worked out very well!
      I added salt & pepper to the dough, 1 garlic clove and some bread spices I had at home. I used cashew milk instead of almond milk and 1 cup spelt flour combined with 1½ cup wheat flour. Unfortunately, my dry yeast was too old, so it didn’t work (the yeast mixture wasn’t foamy on top and the dough didn’t rise at all). So I decided to just place it in the skillet and try it anway. Luckily it worked and I got 8 breads out of the dough, although the yeast didn’t do its job. :))

      I spread a mixture of olive oil, garlic, garlic powder, onion powder, salt & pepper on the baking bread and it tasted great in the end! I had to use more oil than descriped in the recipe to have enough for each bread though. 😉

      Summed up I am very pleased with the outcome and I’m gonna use this recipe again, since I like that it doesn’t require soy yoghurt or anything, because I never have that at home.

      My parents also liked the naan breads. 🙂 We served them with couscous salad & dips like selfmade vegan garlic butter or hummus.

  10. It seems like a great recipe…my dough is proving right now. for those who found the mixture too dry or too wet.. flour is a funny ingredient and you need to adjust the liquids.. every time you make it because the flour will react differently depending on the humidity in the air.. the warmth of the day etc. Well off to roll it out and cook!! Woo hoo..
    Bev

  11. 5 stars
    DELICIOUS! Added salt to dough like others mentioned. Halfway through cooking I started folding garlic into dough ball before rolling out because garlic was burning in cast iron skillet. Hubby said it is the best naan he has ever had!. I have dietary restrictions while nursing our kids so this is perfect!

  12. 4 stars
    I made two versions of this. The first one I relalized after mixing that I used vanilla almond milk. But the end result was fine as it was unsweetened. The second was made with 2 cups of flour and almond yogurt (nondairy) instead of almond milk. I also warmed the olive oil slightly and added my garlic and fresh parsley and let it sit while cooking the naans. I used an inverted pressure cooker on my gas burner, a trick that mimics a tandoor I learned from an Auntie.

  13. 5 stars
    Loved this, easy to make, added garlic, Nigella seeds and coriander, kneaded it in and then rolled out, agree needs a little salt but that can be added at the same time!

  14. Thanks Melissa. Last week I was at a pita-making demonstration (with pre-mixed dough), cooking it on a flat pan on a pit fire. That failed because a pocket didnt open in the pita. That means…it made naan! So how to make the dough–>I found your recipe useful as I had to go dairy-free to go with the (sorry) hot dogs I was going to serve it with (no diary with meat in Jewish tradition).
    I sort of agree with the ppl who say less flour; my recommendation to make 8 pieces is actually use more almond milk & oil. I probably added ~1/4C more milk & a few T’s of oil. I did manage to do with hand-mixing only as I dont have an electric. Was able to press it to thinner than 1/4in by hand without a roller. Then I cooked it not on pan per se but as I saw it in the pita demo, except no open flames allowed–>2 electric stove burners on med hi, flipped over a broiler pan, put it over the burners, dough on the pan bottom, flip in ~2minutes. Fresh basil worked well in the topping. Y-y-y-yumm! Thanks again.

  15. So I’m using gluten flour (supposed cup for cup as wheat) and had to add 2 1/2 T of extra water. After a hr it did not rise😭. The yeast did become foamy. What do you think I should do next?

    1. I really don’t know anything about gluten free baking. I would suggest finding a recipe that is developed for gluten free flour.

  16. 4 stars
    I’m with everyone else in the comments. I had to at least double the liquid to get the dough to stop crumbling from the hooks. I applied the olive oil, garlic, dried parsley, and salt very liberally and added garlic salt to my olive oil mixture. By adding the garlic salt and being very liberal with my basting, I thought it was delicious! Recipe definitely needs a wee bit of tweaking, though.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating