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Quick, delicious, and versatile, this easy Naan Bread recipe uses only two ingredients and will surely be your new favorite pita bread! Made with just self-rising flour and sour cream, its rich flavor and chewy texture make it a wonderful addition to just about any meal.
Serve nan bread with this Instant Pot Butter Chicken and a side of biryani rice – it’s a perfect Indian-inspired dinner.
If you’re a fan of Indian cuisine, just like I am, you know that enjoying Naan bread is an essential part of the experience. This chewy flatbread isn’t just incredibly tasty, but it’s also the perfect companion for a hearty dish of Massaman curry, kebabs, soups, etc. Indian restaurants often serve fresh, warm naan, and now you can enjoy that same deliciousness with homemade naan bread right in your own kitchen.
What makes my recipe a standout winner is its simplicity and the fact that you can easily whip it up at home! With just two ingredients, you’ll create a naan with a rich flavor and that beloved pita texture, making it a perfect addition to virtually any meal. No yeast mixture or rising time to deal with.
What Is Naan Bread
Naan is a simple flatbread, similar to pita bread or even tortillas. It’s part of traditional Indian cuisine and is usually made in a clay oven called a tandoor. The dough is kneaded, then shaped, and finally slapped onto the sides of the hot tandoor. They bake up crunchy on the bottom and bubbly on top. They are lightly browned, slightly charred, and utterly delicious!
Naan vs Pita Bread
Pita bread is usually a very basic recipe using just flour, water, yeast, oil, and salt. But Naan bread is enriched with yogurt and sometimes butter and eggs. The result is flavorful and chewy, perfect for eating plain or with an entree.
Ingredients You’ll Need
You’re just a few simple ingredients away from making your own homemade naan recipe. Self-rising flour makes it easy, while sour cream adds moisture and tang. A touch of olive oil and fresh parsley make it complete.
- Self-Rising Flour: I use self-rising flour to make this a two-ingredient recipe. It already has leaveners (like baking powder) mixed in using the correct ratio, so you can just measure it into your recipe and go. If you would like to use all-purpose flour instead, add 2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/3 teaspoon of salt to 1-1/3 cup all-purpose flour – whisk to combine it all together.
- Sour Cream: To complete the naan dough, you’ll need 1 cup of sour cream. You can also use yogurt instead.
- Olive Oil: For brushing.
- Chopped Fresh Parsley: For garnish.
How to Make Naan
I can’t wait for you to see how easy it is to make these two ingredient naan! It is a no-fuss recipe that transforms flour and sour cream into soft, fluffy bread, perfect for pairing with falafel or coconut chickpea curry or making everyday sandwiches and chicken Caesar wraps.
- Mix the flour and sour cream in your mixer’s bowl at medium-low speed. Once combined, increase the speed to medium and continue to mix for 2 minutes or until a smooth ball forms.
- Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and knead it a few times. Shape the dough into a ball, and then cut the dough ball into 8 pieces.
- Shape the naan by grabbing a piece of dough, lightly flouring it on all sides, and rolling it out into a circular or oval shape. If the dough is sticky, sprinkle it with flour to prevent it from sticking to the rolling pin.
- Brush the tops of the rolled-out dough with olive oil. Set a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat, and when the pan is hot, pick up a naan and place it in the hot pan, oil side down. Cook for 2 minutes or until the top is bubbly and the bottom is lightly browned. While cooking, brush the opposite side with olive oil.
- Flip it over, and continue to cook for 2 more minutes, or until the bottom is browned. Remove and set aside on a plate, and keep covered with a kitchen towel while the remaining pieces are cooking.
Recipe Tips
- Self-Rising Flour. This flour already contains baking powder and salt. To easily swap to all-purpose flour in this recipe, mix 2 teaspoons of baking powder and a 1/3 teaspoon of salt into 1-1/3 cups of all-purpose flour. Give it a good whisk, and you’re all set!
- Sour cream substitute. You can use plain yogurt instead of sour cream. It has a great flavor and sturdy thickness, perfect for making these delicious flatbreads.
- Mix-Ins. You can add almost anything to tasty naan, from roasted garlic to shredded cheese and fresh chives.
- Brush it with garlic butter. To make garlic naan, combine 4 tablespoons of melted butter with 2 cloves of minced garlic in a bowl. Brush each naan with the garlic butter, then top with the fresh herb of your choice.
- Skillet choices. While you can make this easy naan bread recipe in just about any pan, a cast-iron skillet does a particularly good job! The heavy bottom and great heat conduction do a lot to crisp up the naan. Make sure your skillet is well-seasoned, and get it good and hot.
Serving Suggestions
Although naan are good with just about anything, from soups to hummus to salads, I especially like to serve mine with stews and Indian food, like curries.
Pair them with this Mulligatawny Stew or with my Sheet Pan Tandoori Chicken. My Chicken Rogan Josh is amazing, as is this Easy Chicken Tikka Masala.
These delicious Yogurt Marinated Chicken Thighs are fantastic, and this Chicken Korma, too!
How to Store
Store naan in airtight containers or food storage bags at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. I don’t recommend refrigerating quick breads like this one since the refrigerator tends to have a drying effect on homemade bread.
To freeze, let it cool completely, then store the bread in a zip-top bag, pressing out as much air as possible before freezing for up to 2 months.
More Bread Recipes to Try
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Easy Naan Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1⅓ cups self-rising flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, for brushing
- chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Place the flour and sour cream in your mixer’s bowl. Attach dough hook to your mixer. Set mixer to medium-low speed and mix until combined. You might have to scrape down the flour a couple times. Once combined, increase speed to medium and continue to mix for 2 to 3 minutes, or until a smooth ball forms.
- Transfer the dough to a floured-surface; knead the dough a few times with your hands, and then shape it into a ball.
- Using a sharp knife, cut the dough ball into 8 pieces. Grab a piece of dough; lightly flour it on all sides and, using a rolling pin, roll it out into a circular shape. If it’s sticky, add a sprinkle of flour on the dough and the rolling pin.
- Once rolled out, brush the top of the rolled out dough with olive oil. Set a 10-inch skillet over medium heat and heat it up. When the pan is hot, pick up the rolled out dough and place it in the hot pan, oil side down. Cook for 2 minutes, or until the top is bubbly and the bottom is lightly browned. While cooking, brush the opposite side with olive oil.
- Flip over the flatbread and continue to cook for 2 more minutes, or until bottom is browned. Remove from pan and set on a plate; keep covered with a kitchen towel. Repeat the process with the rest of the dough. Serve right away or store for later.
Notes
- All-purpose flour can easily replace self-rising flour by mixing 2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/3 teaspoon of salt into 1-1/3 cups of all-purpose flour.
- Use plain yogurt if you’re out of sour cream; its rich flavor and thickness make it an excellent substitute for creating scrumptious flatbreads.
- Enhance your naan by incorporating various ingredients, from roasted garlic to cheese and fresh herbs.
- To cook naan, use a cast-iron skillet if possible. Its heavy base and excellent heat distribution contribute to achieving that perfect chewy crunch.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!! I may have to make this every day for my family!! I do not have a mixer so I used my hands and kneaded the dough!! Not as hard as I thought it would be!!
That’s great to hear! I’m very happy you loved it! Thank you for chiming in! 🙂
I’m just curious as to what’s the best sour cream to use for this recipe.. you recommended using ones with no gums or stabilizers. Would it be ok to use plain Greek yogurt?
Hi!
Yep, that will also work. I personally use Daisy Sour Cream. 😊
Hi Katerina!
I don’t have a mixer, would a food processor work the same?
Hi!
Can you knead it by hand? If you can, I’d try that, first. I’ve never tried making this dough in a food processor so I really can’t say for sure about how well it might (or might not) work.
Following the instructions, our dough was really sticky and paste-like until we added more flour. It might have also been better at lower than medium heat, since it was brown (and blackening) well before 2 minutes. At the end of the day, the naan seemed kind of like a flat biscuit rather than what I’d expect, which was fine, I guess, but disappointing if you were expecting naan.
For those like me who do not want to go to the store for I’ve item, I checked and 1 cup self rising flour is made by combining 1 Cup flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt.
Thank you for this! I don’t have self rising flour
Coriander is usually used rather than parsley. And you forgot to mention the classic flavouring of onion (nigella) seeds.
To Ginny and Patricia, you can look up a separate recipe for making your own self rising flour. Then come back to this recipe.
Who doesn’t have self-rising flour in the pantry? And if not, well I can’t imagine one trip to the grocery store is gonna blow your week. It’s called Two-ingredient Nan for a reason.
If you don’t have a stand mixer use a regular bowl mixer. Or mix by hand.
I also need to have the amount of salt and baking powder or baking soda to add to the recipe because I don’t have self-rising flour and I’m not going to go out and purchase any just to make one thing.
Please. Not everyone has a stand mixer. Also I’d have to go out to specially buy self rising flour, so instead please provide the amount of baking powder. thanks.
So do it by hand then – other comments stated this and turned out fine. Also google the amount of baking powder though another comment provided that info earlier. That’s what makes cooking fun and interesting, there’s usually adequate substitutions and with the internet at our fingertips, you can usually search many options for what you don’t have.
I plan to try this and use the diy recipe for self rising flour and Greek yogurt since that’s what I have on hand. I usually skim through comments to see what other people say. That usually helps so much.