Vegan Naan

Soft, fluffy, and quick vegan naan bread recipe is a perfect accompaniment to a delicious curry or dal.

Naan is to India what tortilla is to Mexico. While it’s traditionally baked in a tandoor or clay oven, this recipe can be made in or on a conventional oven or stovetop and is just as beautiful and delicious. Enjoy with your favorite dal (soup) or vegetables!

Homemade vegan naan is easier than you think. This simple and easy requires 5 basic ingredients you likely have in your pantry and the dough comes together rather quickly and it freezes well. This vegan naan recipe is plant-based but not gluten-free. I tested many whole-grain and gluten-free versions but couldn’t get them fluffy enough. So, I stick to a vegan naan recipe made with bread flour.

Naan is a leavened bread popular in South Asia. In India, roti (unleavened whole-wheat bread) is a staple in households and is eaten with every meal, and naan is a bread you eat when you eat at a restaurant. Like most other leavened bread, naan is made with basic ingredients like flour, yeast, water/milk, salt, and sugar.

I have tested this recipe with AP flour and bread flour. AP flour gives decent results, but bread flour results in a very soft and fluffy naan.

This dairy free naan recipe has been tested with soy, oat, rice, and almond milks, but I have found that soy milk gives the best result. It blends into the dough really well whereas other milks add a bit of graininess to the dough and that leads to naan that is less fluffy and soft.

Believe it or not, no one in my family makes naan at home. At home, we eat unleavened bread such as roti or a paratha, which are our staples and they are almost always made with whole wheat flour. For everyday, they are easy to make as they don’t require fermentation and they are healthy because they are made with whole wheat flour. Naan is a treat that we normally enjoy when we go out for a meal.

I really did not start making naan at home until I moved to a plant-based diet, but I missed eating naan, which is traditionally made with milk and yogurt. I took many attempts to get this right and no one can tell that this naan is homemade and plant-based.

What I love about these vegan naans

✓ soft and fluffy, just like the one at a restaurant or take-out

✓ easy to make at home with basic pantry ingredients and delicious

✓ tastes great with dal makhani or tofu tikka masala

✓ costs way less than buying naan from stores

✓ dough freezes well, make a big batch!

✓ Fancy up this plain naan by adding crushed garlic or cilantro

This would make the perfect snack or side to dishes like my vegan dal makhani

Why This Recipe Uses Bread Flour

While many people might be searching for whole grain or gluten-free versions of naan, unfortunately, during the testing process, I found that both the whole grain and gluten-free naan that I tried weren’t fluffy enough. Bread flour yields much fluffier results than whole grain flours which tend to be more dense and gluten-free flours that lack the gluten that is signature to producing fluffy breads and cakes. It has a stronger protein content, allowing for stronger gluten formation which helps trap carbon dioxide in the dough, resulting in air pockets and a light and fluffy texture.

Freezing the Naan
Yes, you can!  Make a big batch in advance and freeze them.

To freeze – make the dough and let it rise. Then divide the dough into equal parts and form them into a ball and then roll out only to 2 inches. Place a piece of parchment paper and then place a rolled naan on top of it. Place another piece of parchment paper on top of the rolled naan and then place another naan on top. You have to stack them one by one, with a layer of parchment paper in between each naan. Once you have stacked them all, place them in a freezer bag, squeeze out as much air as possible, and freeze.

When ready to use, take out the required dough and let it defrost in the refrigerator overnight or on the kitchen counter for 3-4 hours.  Roll out the dough into an oval shape, around 10 to 11 inches long and 6 inches wide, and cook as directed.

Tips for Best Texture

The most common challenge when making homemade vegan naan is having it result in dense, flat bread. To ensure you get the fluffiest results ever, here are some tips for making this easy vegan naan bread:

• Yeast activation — Warm the soy milk (110-115 degrees F) to activate the yeast; if it is too hot, it will kill the yeast, meanwhile if it is too cold, it will not activate the yeast.
• Dough consistency — The dough should be soft and slightly tacky but not sticky. If you find that your dough is too sticky, you can adjust the flour by adding a tablespoon at a time until the correct consistency is reached.
• Resting the dough — Resting the dough is really important and one should not rush through this process. Resting the dough helps with fermentation, flavor development, and gluten relaxation, which helps make the naan soft and fluffy, and helps you stretch the dough to give it its shape.
• Rise time — The dough needs to double in volume; this takes about 1 hour in a warm spot.
• Pan temperature — For the pan method, the pan must be very hot before adding the naan; this is what creates the char and helps the dough puff.
• Baking temperature — For the oven method, heating the oven to a high temperature is really important. At that heat, the dough puffs up almost instantly, chars in spots, and cooks through in under a minute, giving the bread its signature blistered and smoky-tasting exterior with a soft and chewy interior.

Serving Suggestions

This dairy free naan recipe is a match made in heaven with many Indian dishes. It is particularly great when served with saucy dishes like my Easy Vegan Dal Makhani so that you can use the bread to mop up the sauce. Tofu Tikka Masala and Delhi Style Paneer Biryani are both delicious dishes to serve with this vegan naan bread recipe.

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