Garlic Naan | How to make Garlic Naan Bread

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This Garlic Naan bread is light, soft, fresh, and filled with flavor! It is so good that you will be making it again and again. I show you how to make Garlic Naan on a skillet on a stovetop. In my recipe the dough is infused with fresh garlic making it extra delicious. Serve the Restaurant Style Garlic Naan Bread as a side for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

closeup shot of three garlic naan with mint leaves garnish.

About Garlic Naan

Garlic Naan bread is Indian leavened flatbread made with all-purpose flour and spiced with garlic. At restaurants, plain naan bread is usually brushed with garlic butter and served.

However, in my recipe, garlic is infused into the bread dough instead and I also top the naan bread with garlic butter. The result is double dose of garlic deliciousness!

Garlic is a great addition to the naan dough. It gives so much flavor and taste to the otherwise plain yeasted dough.

For this recipe, I used half a proportion of all-purpose flour and another half of whole wheat flour but, you can also use one or the other.

I also add oil to this naan, however you can use butter or ghee (clarified butter) instead. This garlic naan is similar to the way I make whole wheat naans.

This garlic naan is truly delicious! It is exactly what naan should be – soft, tender and is not hard and chewy like in restaurants. If you char them more on the stovetop flame, they become crispy and best eaten hot. 

I usually make naans with instant yeast. If you do not prefer working with yeast, try my another simple and classic Naan Recipe made without yeast.

Serve this fresh Garlic Naan bread with your favorite curries or gravies. In fact they taste good on their own too.

Step-by-Step Guide

How to Make Garlic Naan

Make Garlic Dough

1. In a small bowl take ½ teaspoon instant yeast (rapid rise yeast) and 1 teaspoon sugar (raw sugar or white granulated).

sugar and instant yeast in a bowl

2. Add 3 tablespoons of water and mix well. Dissolve the instant yeast and sugar with water. Set aside.

I prefer to mix the instant yeast with water before adding it to the dough.

water mixed with instant yeast and sugar

3. Remove your flours, prep garlic and other ingredients. Take the dough ingredients in a mixer bowl or a stand-mixer bowl.

  • 1 cup whole wheat flour – 120 grams
  • 1 cup all purpose flour – 125 grams
  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic or minced garlic
  • 2 tablespoons oil, any neutral flavored oil
  • ½ to 1 teaspoon salt or as needed
flours, garlic, salt, oil, sugar in a bowl

4. By the time you prep the other ingredients, the yeast mixture would be bubbly and frothy.

bubbly frothy yeast mixture

5. Add the frothy yeast mixture to the flour mix in the bowl.

frothy yeast mixture in the bowl with the flour, garlic, oil etc

6. Knead the dough into a smooth, soft, supple dough with ½ cup water. Add water in portions when kneading the dough.

If the dough feels firm or tight, add 1 to 2 tablespoons water and knead again. Ensure that the dough is soft and pliable. 

You could either knead with your hands or use a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.

ball of garlic naan dough in bowl

6. Cover the bowl with a kitchen napkin. Leaven dough for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until doubled. The time taken to leaven will depend on the room temperature. 

bowl covered with grey napkin

7. The dough should look like the picture below after leavening. It will double up in volume, have lot of air-pockets and be stringy.

garlic naan dough leavened and doubled in bowl

7. Portion dough in equal sized balls. Roll the portioned dough between your palms and make a neat ball. Flatten it lightly.

Place the balls on a tray with some space next to them. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes.

neat round balls of dough placed on metal tray

Make Garlic Butter

8. Melt 4 tablespoon butter in a small pan or skillet on low heat. You could use either salted or unsalted butter.

butter being melted in another bowl

9. When all of the butter is melted, add 2 teaspoons finely chopped or minced garlic to the melted butter. Stir and switch off the heat.

The garlic will be cooked with the heat from the melted butter and you won’t get the raw pungent garlic flavor on your naans.

garlic being added with a 1 teaspoon measuring bowl to melted butter

10. When this melted butter mixture become warm, add 2 tablespoons of chopped mint or coriander leaves (cilantro). Mix and set aside.

mint leaves floating in melted butter

Assemble and Roll

11. Place one dough ball on a lightly dusted rolling board. Sprinkle some whole wheat flour on the dough from the top.

Avoid adding too much of the flour when rolling. Use sparingly and as needed. 

dough ball flattened with some flour sprinkled

12. Sprinkle some nigella seeds on the dough. If you do not have nigella seeds, add white or black sesame seeds. Or else completely omit adding any of these seeds.

nigella seeds sprinkled on flattened dough ball

13. With a rolling pin make a round or oval shape dough of about 7 to 8 inches. You can pull the top part to make a slight tapering dough.

You can make round shaped or tear-shaped or oval garlic naans.

dough rolled to an oblong shape on a white round marble board

14. Turn over gently and let the side with the nigella seeds touch the rolling board. Brush the top side with water evenly all over.

rolled dough turned over and brushed with water

Make Garlic Naan Bread

15. Heat a tawa or flat skillet on medium-high to high heat. When the skillet becomes hot, place the watered side touching the hot skillet.

watered side rolled dough touching a hot skillet

16. You will see the evaporating water forming large air bubbles on the garlic naan. On high to medium-high heat, cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until the bottom has blisters and is cooked completely,

air pockets formed on the garlic naan dough

17. Separate the garlic naan from the pan with a spatula.

garlic naan being removed with a steel spatula

18. In the photo below, you can see the side where the water was brushed has blisters and is well cooked. It looks like the naan one gets in restaurants or has been cooked in a tandoor.

slightly charred and cooked side of naan held with tongs on the skillet

19. Lift the garlic naan with tongs from the pan and place the uncooked side with the nigella seeds on the stove-top flame. 

If you have an electric stovetop, continue to roast the garlic naan on the pan or skillet, as you would for roti or any other flat bread.

garlic naan held with tongs and placed on stove-top flame

20. Move the naan all over the flame so that the sides are cooked well.

garlic naan being roasted on stove-top flame

21. If you see that the side which was earlier roasted on the skillet looks undercooked, then place this side touching the flames.

garlic naan being roasted on stove-top flame

22. Like me if you prefer a bit more charred and crispy naans, cook them for some more seconds on the flame, so that they get slightly charred.

You can also add oil or ghee to the skillet when cooking the naans as we do for Paratha. Any ways you cook, the naans will taste delicious. I have tried all of these methods and they work.

garlic naan being roasted on stove-top flame

23. Place the garlic naan on a plate or in a roti basket. Brush the prepared garlic butter spreading some garlic and mint/cilantro (from the butter) all over on the naan. 

Cook each garlic naan like this one by one. I make naans this way and place them in a roti basket.

You can also use a clean cotton kitchen towel to stack the naans. When placing them place the buttered side facing each other for two naans, so that the butter does not touch your kitchen towel. 

garlic naan in a container box being brushed with garlic and herb butter

Serving Suggestions

You can serve the garlic naan bread straight away or cover the naan with a napkin to keep them warm if you want to serve them later.

Garnish with some cilantro or mint if you like and serve garlic naan hot or warm. These garlic naans are soft, so they do not become chewy once they get cold.

Serve them with your favorite curries or lentils based dishes. We prefer to enjoy them with Indian lentil preparations like Dal Makhani and Chana Masala.

Even rich and creamy curries like Paneer Butter Masala, Palak Paneer and Matar Paneer pair nicely with naans.

One of our favorite ways is to pair Chinese style dishes with Garlic Naan Bread like – Veg Manchurian and Chilli Paneer. Try this way and I am sure you will like it.

Do keep a few sides of Kachumber or Indian Onion Salad, lemon wedges and mango or lemon pickles with your naan meals.

three garlic naan on a white plate.

Expert Tips

  • Flour: For this recipe, I used half a proportion of all-purpose flour and another half of whole wheat flour. However, you can make the naan with all-purpose flour only or whole wheat flour.
  • Dough Texture: Ensure that you knead the dough nicely. Add water as needed and form to a soft and pliable dough. You can knead the dough with your hands or use a stand mixer.
  • Oil: I added oil to this naan dough, however you can use butter or ghee (clarified butter) instead.
  • Cooking naan: I cooked one side of the garlic naan on a pan and I cooked the other side on the stovetop flame. You can also cook the garlic naan on the tava/flat skillet, as you would for roti or chapati or you can add oil or ghee to the skillet when cooking the naans like you would for paratha.
  • Garlic Butter: Use either salted or unsalted butter. If you like more saltiness in your naan, add a few pinches of salt in the garlic butter. Together with garlic, you can also add finely chopped chives.
  • Storage: You can store fresh garlic naan in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a few hours. The dough can be kept in the refrigerator for a day and for about a week in the freezer.
  • Scaling: As is, this recipe makes for 8 garlic naan bread. But can be easily scaled to make for more naans.

More Naan Breads To Try!

Moderate2 hours 30 minutes

Butter Naan

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three garlic naan on a white plate.

Garlic Naan | How to make Garlic Naan Bread

My Garlic Naan recipe make for soft and tender textured breads which are doubly flavored with garlic. Not only the naan bread is brushed with garlic butter but the naan dough is also infused with fresh garlic.
4.95 from 40 votes
Prep Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Cuisine Indian, World
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Main Course
Diet Vegetarian
Difficulty Level Moderate
Servings 8 Garlic Naan
Units

Ingredients

For yeast mixture

  • ½ teaspoon instant yeast (rapid rise yeast)
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 1 teaspoon sugar raw sugar or granulated, white sugar

Other ingredients for dough

  • 1 cup whole wheat flour – 120 grams
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour – 125 grams
  • 1 teaspoon garlic – finely chopped or minced garlic
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • ½ cup water
  • ½ to 1 teaspoon salt

For garlic butter

  • 4 tablespoon butter – salted or unsalted
  • 2 teaspoons garlic – finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons mint leaves – chopped or cilantro (coriander leaves)

Instructions
 

Making dough

  • First mix the instant yeast with sugar and water. Set aside.
  • In a bowl or stand-mixer bowl, take both the flours, garlic, salt and oil.
  • Add the yeast mixture. Add ½ cup water in parts and knead to a supple, soft and smooth dough.
  • Cover with a clean kitchen towel cloth and keep the dough to leaven for 45 minutes to 1 hour until doubled. Note that the time taken to leaven will depend on the room temperature.
  • Once the dough is leavened, portion it in equal sized balls. Roll the portioned dough between your palms and make a neat ball. Flatten it lightly.
  • Place the balls on a tray with some space next to them. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes.

Making garlic butter

  • Meanwhile melt butter completely in a small pan or skillet.
  • Add garlic and turn off the heat. The garlic will be cooked with the heat from the melted butter and you won’t get the raw pungent garlic flavor in the naan bread.
  • When this melted butter mixture become warm, add the chopped mint or coriander leaves. Set aside. 

Assembling and Rolling

  • Sprinkle flour on the dough and place it on a lightly dusted rolling board. Avoid adding too much of the flour when rolling. Use sparingly and as needed.
  • Sprinkle nigella seeds or sesame seeds on the dough. With a rolling pin make a round or oval shape dough.
    You could pull the top part of the rolled dough with your fingers to make a tapering dough. 
  • Turn over gently the rolled dough and let the side with the nigella seeds touch the rolling board's surface. Spread water all over on the top side.

Making Garlic Naan

  • Next heat a tawa or a flat skillet. Keep the heat to medium-high or high.
  • Place the watered side touching the hot skillet or tawa.
  • Cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until you see the base getting nicely browned and charred.
  • Using a spatula separate the naan from the skillet. 
  • Lift the naan with tongs and place it on direct flame with the side that is not cooked touching the flame.
  • Move the naan all over the flame to ensure the sides and the surfaces are well cooked with some chars.
    If you see that the side which was cooked earlier on the skillet, looks raw, then cook this side too on the flame. 
  • Place on a tray or plate and brush the garlic butter spreading some garlic and mint/cilantro (from the garlic butter) all over on the naan. 
  • You can either use a roti basket to store the naans or use a clean cotton kitchen towel to stack the naans.
    When placing them, place the buttered side facing each other for two naans, so that the butter does not touch your kitchen towel. 
  • Make the naans one by one this way.
  • Serve Garlic Naan Bread hot or warm. Garnish with some cilantro or mint if you like.

Notes

  • The dough can be kept in the refrigerator for a day or frozen for about a week.
  • Scale the recipe easily to double the servings. 

Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)

Nutrition Facts
Garlic Naan | How to make Garlic Naan Bread
Amount Per Serving
Calories 195 Calories from Fat 90
% Daily Value*
Fat 10g15%
Saturated Fat 4g25%
Trans Fat 0.2g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 4g
Cholesterol 15mg5%
Sodium 148mg6%
Potassium 85mg2%
Carbohydrates 24g8%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 4g8%
Vitamin A 177IU4%
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) 0.3mg20%
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) 0.1mg6%
Vitamin B3 (Niacin) 2mg10%
Vitamin B6 0.1mg5%
Vitamin B12 0.01µg0%
Vitamin C 0.4mg0%
Vitamin D 0.1µg1%
Vitamin E 2mg13%
Vitamin K 1µg1%
Calcium 12mg1%
Vitamin B9 (Folate) 53µg13%
Iron 1mg6%
Magnesium 25mg6%
Phosphorus 79mg8%
Zinc 1mg7%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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This Garlic Naan recipe from the blog archives, first published in November 2012 has been republished and updated on December 2022.

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Welcome to Dassana's Veg Recipes. I share vegetarian recipes from India & around the World. Having been cooking for decades and with a professional background in cooking & baking, I help you to make your cooking journey easier with my tried and tested recipes showcased with step by step photos & plenty of tips & suggestions.

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140 Comments

  1. Since long time I wanted to try making indian bread at home and Garlic Naan has always been definitely my favorite! Thank you for this precise and easy to follow recipe, my family loved the result5 stars

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