This easy gluten free naan bread contains no yeast and is ready in under 15 minutes! Using only 5 ingredients, its so good you won’t even know its gluten free!
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links - This means I receive a commission for purchases made though those links, at no cost to you. Please click here for further info*.
Gluten free naan bread? In 15 minutes? Easy! Because these naan breads contain no yeast, they are so quick and simple to make. You don’t need a fancy bread maker or even a electric mixer, it can all be done by hand!
You will never have to feel left out on curry night again. These flatbreads have a crisp, slight chewiness to the outside with a soft fluffy texture on the inside and taste SO much better than any of the pre-made gluten free breads that you can buy (and cheaper too!). In fact I will go so far as to say they are so good you will not even know they don’t contain gluten!
Using only 5 simple ingredients to make the actual breads, they are so versatile and can be topped with oils and fresh herbs to really lift the flavour.
After lots of recipe developing, I have also adapted this recipe to be vegan, dairy and egg free, but there are options below if you don’t follow a dairy free diet.
For your next curry night, why not pair this gluten free naan bread with my Chicken Jalfrezi?
Jump to:
🥘 Ingredients & Substitutions
- Gluten Free Self Raising Flour - As always I use my trusted brand Doves Farm Freee self raising flour. It is best to use a GF blend like Doves Farm for this recipe, I wouldn’t recommend using one type of GF flour (e.g almond) as the recipe may not work. If you are not following a gluten free diet, just use regular self raising flour. If you cannot find self raising flour, you can use plain flour, but you will need to definitely add baking powder.
- Dairy Free Yoghurt - I have used Koko coconut plain yoghurt, but any dairy free plain yoghurt like this Alpro soya plain yoghurt will work. If you can eat dairy you can use regular plain yoghurt instead.
- Xanthan Gum-If you are using GF self raising flour, this may already be in the flour, however I like to add a little more just in case! If you are using plain flour you will definitely need to use xanthan gum.
- Baking Powder - Again, if you are using self raising flour, baking powder will already be added, but I like to add a bit more for extra rise! If you are using plain flour you will definitely need to use baking powder to achieve any rise on the bread.
- Salt - Added to intensify the flavour. You can leave this out if cooking for small children.
Optional
- Dairy Free Butter - I have melted the DF butter and brushed this over the top of the bread once cooked. Use normal butter if dairy isn’t a problem. You can also substitute the DF butter for olive oil if you prefer.
- Parsley - This is finely chopped and sprinkled over the top of the bread once cooked.
Scroll to the recipe card at the end of the post for quantities.
✋ Be sure to double check all packaging for allergens. ✋
✏️ How To Make Easy Gluten Free Naan Bread
It really couldn’t be simpler. You just mix all the ingredients together, roll out and dry fry!
Start by mixing together all of the ingredients in a large bowl and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until it begins to come together, then get stuck in with your hands and mould together into a ball.
Dust some flour on the kitchen side and knead the dough with your hands over the flour for a minute or so until soft and fully combined. If the dough is a little bit sticky, the extra flour will help it all come together.
Cut the dough in half and in half again so you are left with four equal sized balls.
Roll out each ball into a naan bread shape with rolling pin. (See tips & tricks below) Smooth the edges out with your hands and gently transfer onto a plate with a spatula ready to dry fry.
Heat the breads one at a time in a hot frying pan. You do not need any oil as the breads will dry fry in the pan. Cook for a few minutes until starting to brown and puff up, then flip over with a spatula and cook the other side.
Brush on the melted butter with a pastry brush and sprinkle over the fresh parsley.
💡 Tips & Tricks
- Rub flour all over your rolling pin, this will help the dough not to stick to the rolling pin when rolling out the dough.
- To make a naan shape with the dough, roll it into a ball and flatten a little with your hand. Squeeze the sides of one end in with your hands, so the shape looks like a teardrop, then roll out!
- Don’t overcrowd the pan. You won’t get the brown, crispy finish as all of the steam will not be able to escape from under the breads and will cause them to go soggy. I would cook one or two at a time at most, depending on the size of your frying pan.
⚡ Variations
- Mix up the flavours! - Swap butter and parsley for some garlic infused oil and coriander.
- Pizza! - These make a great base for a naan bread pizza. Cook as normal in the frying pan, then load up with your favourite toppings and bake in the oven at 180˚C Fan / 200˚C / 400˚F for 10 minutes. We like dairy free cheese and pepperoni!
🔪 Equipment Used
🥡 How To Store
These gluten free naan breads taste best when eaten fresh and warm, straight from the pan and drenched in that lovely melted dairy free butter!
You can however, store them in the fridge in an airtight container for 2-3 days and when ready to eat, re-heat in the oven for 5 minutes at 200˚C until they are warm and start to crisp up. You can also re-heat them in the microwave for 30 seconds but you will lose the crispiness on the outside and the whole bread will become soft.
They can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Either wrap in clingfilm or store in separate containers. You can cook them in the oven from frozen at 200˚C for 10-15 minutes. You can also store the dough uncooked, see FAQ’s below for more info.
🍴 Serving Suggestions
Keep some ready made breads in the freezer, so you can pop it in the oven and enjoy with your Indian takeaway. They are great to mop up the curry juices!
If you feel like making your own curry, you can serve the breads with this and some fluffy rice.
They also make great flatbreads to dip into creamy tomato soup.
💬 Recipe FAQ's
Yes! Make up the dough and roll into 4 equal balls. Wrap each ball in clingfilm or place in a small airtight container and store in the freezer.
Defrost overnight in the fridge or on the side for a few hours. When defrosted, roll out into a naan shape and cook as per the recipe card.
If you follow the recipe as I have made it, using Koko coconut yoghurt and dairy free butter than the naan breads will be vegan.
You can use plain flour, BUT don’t forget to add the baking powder & xanthan gum as this is what gives you that lovely puff up on the bread. Self raising flour will normally have xanthan gum and baking powder already added.
As long as you are able to pick up the dough with your hands, once you knead it a little on the floured surface, this should be enough to lose the stickiness in the dough and it should come together nicely. Add a little more flour if it is still sticky but add very slowly as you don’t want to dry the dough out.
I wouldn’t recommend using just one type of gluten free flour e.g almond or coconut. You need a pre-mixed blend for this recipe like the Doves Farm Freee flour. You can buy premixed gluten free flours in most supermarkets.
💫 Love this recipe? It would be great if you could leave a 5 ⭐ rating and comment below! Thanks x 💫
Easy Gluten Free Naan Bread (No Yeast!)
Ingredients
- 250 g Koko dairy free yoghurt or any other dairy free yoghurt.
- 240 g gluten free self raising flour
- ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt Can be omitted if cooking for small children.
Optional
- 40 g dairy free butter melted
- 1 handful fresh parsley finely chopped
Instructions
- Mix together all of the ingredients in a large bowl and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until it begins to come together, then use your hands to mould the dough together into a ball.
- Knead the dough for a minute or so on a lightly floured surface.
- Cut the dough in half and in half again so you are left with four equal sized balls.
- Roll out each ball into a naan bread shape with rolling pin. (See notes below) Smooth the edges out with your hands and gently transfer onto a plate with a spatula ready to dry fry.
- Heat the breads one at a time in a hot frying pan. You do not need any oil as the breads will dry fry in the pan.
- Fry for 3-4 minutes until starting to brown and puff up, then flip over with a spatula and cook the other side.for around 3 minutes.
- Brush on the melted butter with a pastry brush and sprinkle over the fresh parsley.
Let me know what you think of this recipe!