Easy No Yeast Naan

5 from 19 votes

Soft and fluffy No Yeast Naan are so easy to make with basic pantry ingredients! Best enjoyed with curries and creamy dal!

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Make these easy soft and fluffy naan at home without yeast!

This easy naan recipe uses basic pantry ingredients and results in soft naan which can be enjoyed with creamy curries or just on its own.

stack of naan garnished with cilantro and placed on a black board

Yeast has been hard to score these days. Isn’t it? I couldn’t find it at grocery stores and the one I had in my fridge had expired.

I tried making bread the other day with my expired yeast and it turned out to be a big disaster. I kind of knew that would happen but I still went ahead with it and hoped that it would work but no luck!

Sarvesh made some dal makhani over the weekend and wanted to have naan with it. After all, it is the classic combination.

I usually make these garlic naan to go with the dal however since we had no yeast, I made naan without it and they turned out so well!

These easy naan are soft and fluffy and made with basic ingredients in your pantry. I am so excited to share this recipe with you guys.

These Easy No Yeast Naan

✔ are perfectly soft and fluffy.

✔ easy to make at home.

✔ made without yeast!

✔ pair well with creamy curries or dal.

✔ has a prep time of only 10 minutes- the dough needs to rest but the actual prep time is only 10 minutes!

I have made no yeast naan several times before. However I always made it with yogurt.

Somehow they never tasted as good to me as a good naan should and that’s why I never got around sharing the recipe.

I only share what I truly love here.  So, I changed the acid to white vinegar in the recipe and made these naan.

They turned out so good! There were soft, fluffy and much better than the naan made with yogurt. We loved them!

The process is pretty simple, make the buttermilk by mixing milk with vinegar and let it sit for 10 minutes until the milk curdles slightly.

Meanwhile whisk the dry ingredients together. Once the milk has curdled a bit, add it to the dry ingredients and knead the dough.

stack of naan with the top naan cut in half to reveal the texture of the bread

The dough will be soft and it needs to rest for couple of hours in a warm place. 1 hour is minimum.

If you have Instant Pot, you can place it in the pot and turn on the yogurt setting for 1 to 1.5 hours, that works very well too.

Else in the oven with lights on (with oven of course) or simply on counter top if you live in a warm place.

The dough will increase in size a little after fermentation. It won’t double up or have a huge rise like a yeast dough does but it will increase a bit.

Once that’s done, it only takes 15 minutes to make all the naan. I recommend using a cast iron skillet to cook naan. But of course you can use any pan.

I like to cook my naan directly on heat until they are charred and then brush them with butter.

Coming to the butter mixture- it’s just melted butter and cilantro and I use that to brush the naans while they are still warm.

You can add chopped garlic to it if you want. That’s up to you.

Can You Make This Vegan?

I haven’t tried it but I see no reason why it shouldn’t work.

Use almond milk in place of regular milk and vegan butter to brush the naans once done.

So, next time when the naan cravings kick in, I hope you guys give these easy no yeast naan a try!

 

Method

1- In a measuring jar or bowl, mix vinegar with milk and let it rest for 10 minutes. The milk will curdle slightly.

2- Meanwhile, in a large bowl whisk together flour with sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda. Add 1 teaspoon oil and mix.

3- After 10 minutes once the milk had curdled a bit, add it to the flour mix.

4- Grease your hand with remaining 1 teaspoon oil (as the dough will be sticky) and knead to a smooth soft dough.

step by step picture collage of making no yeast naan at home

5- Once you have a soft dough, cover with a damp cloth or damp paper towel and keep it in a warm place for 2 hours. If you can’t do 2 hours, at least do an hour.

6- You can also do what I did- place the dough in the Instant Pot, covered with a damp paper towel and pressed the yogurt button for around 1.5 hours. The IP was covered with a glass lid.

The dough as you can see increased in size. It won’t double like the yeast dough but will increase.

7- Then divide the dough into 6 equal parts (77 to 78 grams each). Let the dough rest for 5 minutes. Meanwhile make butter by melting 2 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan and adding chopped cilantro to it. Set that aside.

8- Heat a skillet on medium-high heat. Take one dough ball and using a rolling pin, roll it into an oval shape, around 8 inches long and 5 to 6 inches wide.

You can even make it round in shape.

step by step picture collage of making no yeast naan at home

9- Transfer rolled naan onto the hot skillet. Let it cook around 40 seconds until you see bubbles on top.

10- Then flip the naan and cook the other side for 30 seconds as well.

11- Then using a tong, life the naan from the skillet and put it directly on gas. Cook until charred from both sides, 15 seconds or so while flipping the naan to cook both sides.

12- Brush the cooked naan with melted butter-cilantro mix immediately. Repeat with remaining dough balls.

step by step picture collage of making no yeast naan at home

Enjoy these warm naan with creamy curries like paneer butter masala or dal!

stack of naan garnished with cilantro and placed on a black board

If you’ve tried this Easy No Yeast Naan Recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe! You can also follow me on FacebookInstagram to see what’s latest in my kitchen!

Easy No Yeast Naan

5 from 19 votes
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Resting Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total: 1 hour 55 minutes
Servings: 6 naan
Soft and fluffy No Yeast Naan are so easy to make with basic pantry ingredients! Best enjoyed with curries and creamy dal!

Ingredients 

  • 2 cups all purpose flour 260 grams
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons oil divided, 10 ml
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar 15 ml
  • 3/4 cup milk 6 oz/180 ml
  • 2 tablespoons butter melted, I use salted
  • 1.5 tablespoons chopped cilantro
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Instructions 

  • In a measuring jar or bowl, mix vinegar with milk and let it rest for 10 minutes. The milk will curdle slightly.
  • Meanwhile, in a large bowl whisk together flour with sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda. Add 1 teaspoon oil and mix.
  • After 10 minutes once the milk had curdled a bit, add it to the flour mix.
    Grease your hand with remaining 1 teaspoon oil (as the dough will be sticky) and knead to a smooth soft dough.
  • Once you have a soft dough, cover with a damp cloth or damp paper towel and keep it in a warm place for 2 hours. If you can't do 2 hours, at least do an hour.
  • You can also do what I did- place the dough in the Instant Pot, covered with a damp paper towel and pressed the yogurt button for around 1.5 hours. The IP was covered with a glass lid.
    The dough as you can see in picture above increased in size. It won't double like the yeast dough but will increase.
  • Then divide the dough into 6 equal parts (77 to 78 grams each). Let the dough rest for 5 minutes. Meanwhile make butter by melting 2 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan and adding chopped cilantro to it. Set that aside.
  • Heat a skillet on medium-high heat. Take one dough ball and using a rolling pin, roll it into an oval shape, around 8 inches long and 5 to 6 inches wide.
    You can even make it round in shape.
  • Transfer rolled naan onto the hot skillet. Let it cook around 40 seconds until you see bubbles on top.
    Then flip the naan and cook the other side for 30 seconds as well.
  • Then using a tong, life the naan from the skillet and put it directly on gas. Cook until charred from both sides, 15 seconds or so while flipping the naan to cook both sides.
  • Brush the cooked naan with melted butter-cilantro mix immediately. Repeat with remaining dough balls. 
  • Enjoy these warm naan with creamy curries like paneer butter masala or dal makhani!

Notes

  1. You can add kalonji (nieglla seeds) to the naan while rolling them. They make a good addition. 
  2. You can even add chopped garlic to the melted butter to infuse some garlic flavor to the naan.

Nutrition

Calories: 215kcal, Carbohydrates: 34g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 12mg, Sodium: 334mg, Potassium: 153mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 147IU, Calcium: 71mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Breads
Cuisine: Indian
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Hi, I’m Manali!

Bringing you easy, delicious vegetarian & vegan recipes! Eating veggies can be fun, you just need to get creative in the kitchen with the right set of ingredients!


5 from 19 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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59 Comments

  1. I’m making this right now. I have it in the oven with the lights on, but I’m wondering how long can I leave it in there after the initial 2 hours? I want to it later near dinner time. Thank you!

    1. you can leave for up to 4-5 hours no problem (if it’s not very hot where you live) or after 2 hours put in fridge and take out and leave at room temperature for 1 hour before making it.

  2. Hey! This recipe looks great. Just wanted to check if we can make this naan without directly cooking it on the flame as I have an electric stove. So can I just make it on the pan. Thank you.

  3. 5 stars
    Great recipe! The naans turned out soft and fluffy. I added a bit of garlic powder and sesame seeds too, and they were perfect for dipping into a veggie kurma. Making them again today!

  4. 5 stars
    Amazing recipe. Instead of using normal oil I used garlic oil and it came out fantastically. Will definitely be making it again and hope to be making more Indian foods in the future.

  5. 5 stars
    Hi, thank you for the recipe, it turned out great and I’m the worst cook, lol.

    My question is about the left over dough. I only made one from the 6 I separated. Should I make 5 other naans and freeze them or can I just freeze the dough for a later date and then defrost and cook?

    1. you can do either way, if you are freezing the dough, I would suggest roll out naan, stack them with parchment paper between each naan then place in a ziplock bag and then freeze

  6. I used Anita’s Mill organic Spelt Flour instead of white flour. Was very good. I used
    A bit of extra flour on my hands and the rolling area. They were really delicious. I don’t put
    The extra butter on as I had butter in the pan. Thank you Manali for this recipe…yum

  7. 5 stars
    I tried the vegan version with almond milk, and it was so good!! Thank you, this recipe is easy and amazing ☺️

  8. I want to make this recipe for a family gathering but I don’t want to spend too much time in the kitchen while they’re here. Can I make these ahead of time, and perhaps warm them right before dinner? How would I store them and reheat them?

  9. 5 stars
    Great base dough i like to add green onion in my dough and this dough was perfect for that. It even worked with whole wheat flour.

  10. 5 stars
    Just made these along with a coconut curry lentil soup. So much yum! These came together so simply and were easy to cook while finishing the soup. Thank you!

  11. Hey there! So I LOVE garlic naan and I know I could just make a garlic butter and brush it on top, but do you think it would be okay to add garlic to the actual dough? Like before letting it rest? Or maybe on top as I roll it out before heating it up? I like it super garlicky. Thanks again! Can’t wait to try!

  12. 5 stars
    Awesome recipe, made this for dinner with curry and the hubby loved it!! This is the best naan I’ve made so far! Easy ingredients I had on hand already too. Thank you Manali!

  13. This dough is really difficult for me to knead because it’s initially so soft and sticky. How do I knead it without losing too much dough?

    1. grease your hands with oil please and then knead. Also, the dough isn’t that soft, make sure the measurements are correct, if in doubt weigh in ingredients- the weight is mentioned.

  14. 5 stars
    No yeast? No problem! Made this today for the first time and it was super simple as I already had all the ingredients at hand! The dough was soft, and the naan turned out perfect! I added sesame seeds in addition to the garlic butter and paired with Tikka Masala and salad, Yum!
    Thank you Manali

  15. 5 stars
    I made these on 18 Jun 2020, very simple recipe. I tried other non yeast recipes that used only baking powder, but with the baking soda they came out nice and soft. Better than the store brought Naan I get here in Germany where I live. My lady said this is a definitely go to simple recipe. I love to cook so I had a nice Chicken Tikka Masala I made that the naan brushed with the butter coriander and garlic went perfect with. I give this Naan 5 stars definitely. Thanks for sharing!!!

  16. 5 stars
    Oh my goodness, I just made these as all the good places are still closed around me. I might not eat out again. So easy and so amazing. Thank you.

  17. I would love to try these as I can’t get yeast. I only have white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar or malt vinegar… No plain! Which of these would be best if any?

      1. The apple cider vinegar was fine and naan turned out well and tasty. I think my dough was too wet though but that would be user error of a beginner baker!

  18. 5 stars
    Amazing recipe! I’ve been making a naan recipe that calls for the thick yogurt and yeast both of which add up expense wise, and yeast is particularly hard to find these days! This recipe is perfect – it calls for ingredients I always have at home, it’s way faster and the results were so much better both in rising and in taste compared to my yeast recipe. They bubbled up perfectly on cast iron and were really light and fluffy! Loved them. This will be my go to recipe for sure now ! Thanks !!!

  19. Hi Manali, since adding vinegar to milk is the shortcut for making buttermilk when you don’t have buttermilk on hand, I assume I can use buttermilk instead of the vinegar/milk combo in this recipe, yes?
    Let me know,
    Thanks!

  20. Hi Manali,

    It’s a superb recipe, I want to try it right away but I don’t have baking powder but baking soda I have, is it possible to skip the baking powder? Please suggest…

    Thanks in advance

    1. hmmm you can try with only the baking soda. I haven’t tested it without the baking powder so let me know how it goes.

  21. 5 stars
    WONDERFUL! Because of worried shoppers during this time, it’s impossible to find yeast in Chicago, and over the past weeks I’ve tried many recipes for flatbreads, and this is the BEST! I didn’t have any cilantro, so I mixed vegan butter and sesame seeds to brush on the bread. IT WAS DELICIOUS! I’ll be making this naan often. Thank you so much! <3

    1. if you have a wire mesh, use that. Put wire mesh on top of stove and then naan on the wire mesh, that will work.