This Oven-Baked Easy Vegan Naan recipe creates a puffy bread that’s just a little crispy on the outside, but soft and pillowy on the inside. Perfect for soups and salads and hummus. You name it! See tips for making this into gluten free naan as well.
I originally made this Oven-Baked Naan Bread to go with that One-Pot Chickpea Coconut Curry, but now I just can’t stop making quick vegan naan recipes. Do you blame me?
The thing about vegan naan is it’s crispy on the outside, and soft and dreamy on the inside. If you love vegan baked, savory bread, be sure to check out my Vegan Pecan and Cheese Artisan Bread recipe. Oh, and don’t forget my Vegan Cheesy Pull-Apart Bread!
Of course, the first question I asked is whether I could make naan vegan. With a little time in the kitchen I was pleased to find it’s not only possible, it’s easy!
It’s like a family thing – we all love this bread. Is it the fact that it comes in these individual portions? Is it the tasty flavor? Or maybe just the brown swirly parts on top!
I just don’t know!
All I know is that I love making this bread. And I really love seeing the people I love, love it so much.
Please help me…
What is Naan?
First, let’s begin with describing this dish: Naan is a leavened flatbread recipe that originated in Asian and India. The kind of naan we mostly eat today is inspired by the recipe that originated in India.
Is Naan Bread Vegan?
Most naan breads you buy in the store are not vegan. So, I wondered if was even possible to make a naan recipe vegan at all! I was so pleased when I got into the kitchen and made it!
What Vegan Ingredient Can be Substituted for Yogurt in Naan Bread?
Yogurt is a key ingredient in naan bread. That means naan without yogurt seems like a stretch. I mean, is it possible to do this: naan recipe no yogurt? I have good news, the answer is yes! You can use either vegan sour cream or a plain vegan yogurt in place of cow-based dairy in making homemade naan bread.
How to Make Vegan Naan Bread
Now that I’ve figured out how to make vegan naan bread, I want you to make it too. So, here’s how. Let’s begin with the naan ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need: active dry yeast, water, brown sugar, all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, vegan sour cream (or vegan yogurt), olive oil.
Of course, if you want to make a vegan garlic naan recipe, add some garlic powder to the list! Also, if you want whole wheat naan, use whole wheat pastry flour instead of all-purpose flour. Just know that they might not be as pillowy soft!
Step One: Combine Yeast + Water + Sugar
In a small bowl combine the yeast, warm water and brown sugar. Give it a gentle stir and allow it to sit until the mixture becomes frothy.
Step Two: Combine Dry Ingredients
In the meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir to combine.
Step Three: Add Sour Cream and Make the Batter
Next, add the vegan sour cream and oil to the yeast mixture. Stir to combine. Pour this sour cream mixture into the flour and stir.
The mixture will be sticky. Once the dough has come together, cover with a kitchen towel and place in a warm place in the kitchen. Set aside to rise for about 45 minutes.
Step Four: Make Dough Balls
Once the dough has doubled in size, get out a small bowl and place some extra flour in it. Also get out a pan sprayed with vegetable spray. Now punch down the dough and make 8 -10 balls that are approximately the size of a golf ball. Use the flour to help shape the balls because the dough will be sticky (which is what you want). Set these aside to rise another 30 minutes.
Step Five: Bake
When you’re ready to bake your Naan, turn your oven to 350. I used a pizza pan and gave it a light coating of vegetable spray. Use the flour to help flatten the dough balls into small, flat pieces, about 6″ in diameter.
Spray the top side with a light layer of vegetable cooking spray or olive oil. Place on the prepared pan. When you have them all arranged on the pan, carefully place them in the hot oven. Allow them to cook for 4-5 minutes on one side. Use tongs to pull up one of them to see if it is adequately brown on the bottom side. If so, remove from the oven and flip the Naan and cook on the other side for 4-5 minutes as well.
You will see some recipes call for preparing Naan in a skillet. And that’s fine. I’m sure you could do that with this recipe too. But I really like baking them. I think it helps them stay fresh longer too.
As if we needed to worry about keeping these babies around. In fact, you might want to make a double batch of this vegan Indian bread recipe!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
I remember the first time I tried Naan bread. My friend Suraj and his wife and family had me and Adee come to visit them for a week in Toronto. It was so much fun and I have so many stories I could share with you about that trip. OMG!
But the thing I loved most was how on Friday night all the extended family came over to enjoy a home-cooked meal, games, and wine. And once the food was done, they put on some Bollywood-style Indian pop music and everyone from children to grandparents danced; it was a a multi-generational dance in the living room!
Ever since that day I’ve said, the family that dances together…stays together!
There’s more to love about this easy naan recipe than dancing, though. Because it’s relatively easy to make and it adds something special to your favorite meals. You can even make the dough ahead of time so that you can make the naan right before serving time. Because, if you’re like me, having fresh-baked bread with dinner is just so good!
Wondering how to make vegan naan pizza? Once the naan is cooked, top it with pizza sauce followed by your favorite veggie pizza ingredients (like vegan pepperoni), and vegan mozzarella. Bake it in the oven until the cheese melts and voila! Vegan Naan Pizza!
A Gluten Free Naan Recipe
As is, this is the perfect dairy free naan recipe. However, you can transform this into vegan gluten free naan bread recipe by using a gluten free baking flour in place of the all purpose flour.
Gluten free naan bread is a delicious side bread for soups, salads, and more!
Don’t you just healthy naan recipes! Me too!
I hope you love this recipe as we do! Have you tried it? Be sure and leave a comment and a rating of this recipe below and then take a quick photo and share it with me using #namelymarly on Instagram. I love seeing your creations!
Homemade Vegan Naan Bread
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- ¾ cup warm water
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 3 tablespoons vegan sour cream
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine the yeast, warm water and brown sugar. Give it a gentle stir and allow it to sit until the mixture becomes frothy.
- In the meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir to combine.
- Next, add the vegan sour cream and oil to the yeast mixture. Stir to combine. Pour this sour cream mixture into the flour and stir. The mixture will be sticky. Once the dough has come together, cover with a kitchen towel and place in a warm place in the kitchen. Set aside to rise for about 45 minutes.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, get out a small bowl and place some extra flour in it. Also get out a pan sprayed with vegetable spray. Now punch down the dough and make 8 -10 balls that are approximately the size of a golf ball. Use the flour to help shape the balls because the dough will be sticky (which is what you want). Set these aside to rise another 30 minutes.
- When you’re ready to bake your Naan, turn your oven to 350I used a pizza pan and gave it a light coating of vegetable spray. Use the flour to help you flatten the dough balls into small, flat pieces, about 6″ in diameter. Spray the top side with a light layer of vegetable cooking spray or olive oil. Place on the prepared pan. When you have them all arranged on the pan, carefully place them in the hot oven. Allow them to cook for 4-5 minutes on one side. Use a tong to pull up one of them to see if it’s adequately brown on the bottom side. If so, remove from the oven and flip the Naan and cook on the other side for 4-5 minutes as well.
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Enjoy!
Love this recipe! It looks fantastic.
Marly, I can’t wait to give this recipe a try! My children are absolutely enamored with naan and I’d love to make my own.
Man, I love, love homemade bread! I am all over these babies!
The recipe looks great. Have you ever tried making the dough in a bread maker?
These are amazing! I made them tonight and sprayed with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt. Thanks for a great recipe 🙂
Loooooove naan and stoked to give making it at home a try now.
I just made this and the entire family loved them! The whole batch got eaten. I switched the olive oil out for coconut oil.
Yay! So glad you liked it!!
I have the dough rising right now! Can’t wait 🙂
Oooh, can’t wait to hear how it works for you. I find it’s so easy to throw this together and let the dough rise while I’m doing other things. Love it!
what can i replace for this ”3 tablespoons vegan sour cream” ? or can i not put the vegan sour cream. thank you
Well, you could add a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to 3 tablespoons of the creamy part of coconut milk. Let that sit for a few minutes and you can use that in place of your sour cream. Let me know if that works.
Hello all, this recipe looks awesome and yummy.
but I do have a question if you use yeast why do you need baking soda and baking powder?
blessed day hugs to all 🙂
Hi Susan. Great question! I add the baking soda and powder to give it a little more lift…and it helps it brown a little too. Hugs to you too!
Yummy!!! I made a large batch of the naan for my family and when the hot bread came out of the oven we had a topping party. Some had olive oil and sea salt, others olive oil sea salt and red pepper. A few had cinnamon sugar and even the nutella made it onto one. Thank-you for such an easy and yummy recipe!!! Will definitely share this page 🙂
OMG. This sounds awesome! Naan bread and dipping stations — YES!
I am trying these for tonight’s dinner along with roasted veggies! Nice to find a recipe without frying them in oil! Thank You!
I agree Becky – Boo to fried bread!
These sound so good… Question : I don’t think I’ve ever seen vegan sour cream. Is it soy based? Cause my son has problems with dairy and soy. Do you have another suggestion? Thank you
Hi Yanic! Most of the vegan sour cream I’ve seen in stores is soy based, but you can easily make your own!! Simply add about 1 teaspoon of probiotic powder to a can of coconut milk. It helps if you put the can of coconut milk in the fridge so you can easily skim off the full fat part at the top. Reserve that watery coconut milk for some other recipe. And then put the creamy part of the coconut milk in a saucepan and cook over low heat. I found a link with some instructions to make your own non-soy sour cream. Or you can simply add some apple cider vinegar to that creamy part of the coconut milk. That should sour it adequately as well. Hope this helps!
you should really have this recipe printer ready omg I just printed out 5 pages and still no recipe lol 🙂 which means I am making it today …. once I can print it out.
Thanks for your feedback, Jody. In fact, based on your email we’ve added a button to print out recipes now.
xoxox
Marly
Naan dipped in baba ganoush. ..I can’t wait to make this Naan!
Hope you loved it Donna!
Going to try!
Easy to make and delicious! Perfect complement to the vegan chicken noodle soup recipe I also made to feed my flu.
Sorry you’ve got the flu, Sophia! Glad this naan bread and the soup were part of your recovery process!