Quick & Easy Gluten Free Naan Bread (No Yeast)

This is THE BEST gluten free naan you’ll ever taste. It’s incredibly soft and pillowy, with just the right amount of chewiness – and it puffs up beautifully! It’s also really easy to make: the dough is a joy to work with (you can knead it and roll it out without any problems whatsoever) and because this recipe uses baking powder instead of yeast, it’s ready in about 45 minutes.

This has been one of the most requested recipes on the blog so far – I’ve been getting pretty much daily comments/messages/emails asking me to share a gluten free naan recipe. And I think it’s been worth the wait because this is the softest and the easiest gluten free naan recipe you’ll ever make!!

In fact, I’ve been making it on repeat these last few weeks because I simply can’t get enough of it. And, what’s even better: because I decided to go with a quick yeast-free recipe, it’s ready in about 45 minutes!!

What makes this gluten free naan recipe so amazing

• Perfectly soft & chewy. The texture of this gluten free naan is seriously INCREDIBLE. It’s super soft and pillowy, with just the right amount of chewiness.
• Puffs up beautifully. Like any proper naan, this gluten free version puffs up and forms bubbles in the dough as it’s cooking. Then, once you flip it, all those bubbles result in the characteristic charred spots typical of a good naan recipe. The puffing and bubbling also contribute to its soft, pillowy texture.
• Super quick & easy to make. The ingredients list is short and simple, with just your usual gluten free pantry staples, and the dough comes together in no time (either by hand or using a stand mixer). And because this recipe doesn’t contain yeast, there’s no proofing time either – so the naan is ready in about 45 minutes total!
• No yeast. This recipe uses baking powder instead of yeast to achieve the soft, pillowy, puffy texture. It works brilliantly, and in addition to making the recipe much quicker to prepare, it also makes it perfect for anyone with a yeast allergy or intolerance.
• The dough is a dream to work with – not too sticky. Like with all my gluten free bread recipes, the addition of psyllium husk ensures that the dough is beautifully supple and a real joy to handle, so it’s not too soft or too sticky.
• You can roll them out into circles/ovals without cutting. I know that many gluten free naan recipes ask you to roll out the dough and then cut out the individual naan breads – but not this one! After you’ve divided the dough into the individual portions, it’s super easy to roll them out into either round or oval naan breads with a rolling pin.
• A hit even with non-gluten-free folks!! Yes, even my non-GF taste testers LOVED this naan – in fact, it all disappeared ridiculously quickly. Yes, it’s *that* good.

Before we get to the bits and bobs of making this AMAZING gluten free naan – if you like what you’re seeing, subscribe to my newsletter to keep up to date on the latest recipes and tips!

Note: the whole recipe, including the ingredient quantities, can be found at the bottom of this page – just scroll down to the bottom, or click the ‘Jump to Recipe’ button at the top of this post.

What is naan?

Naan is an Indian leavened flatbread (that is, it’s made with yeast), traditionally baked in a very hot tandoor oven (a cylindrical oven made of clay), though you can also make it at home on the stovetop in a pan or cast iron skillet – in which case, you need to cook it over medium-high or high heat. 

It’s very soft and chewy, and the high heat makes it puff up and form bubbles in the dough. These bubbles then get charred as you cook it on the other side, giving it its characteristic appearance.

Once baked, it’s often brushed with ghee (clarified butter) and sprinkled with chopped cilantro or parsley.

Naan bread is often served with curries, so you can tear off sections of it and use them to scoop up the curry. In addition to the “basic” naan, there are many other variations, including cheese naan, spinach naan, garlic naan and others.

While the most traditional version is made with yeast, many modern recipes use baking powder as a convenient shortcut that skips the proofing step but still gives a deliciously soft, pillowy, chewy final result. This is perfect for when you’re in a hurry or just an impatient cook/baker like myself. 😉

How to make THE BEST gluten free naan bread

This gluten free naan seriously couldn’t be easier to make. You can make the dough either by hand or using a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment – I’ve tested it both ways and it turned out perfect every time.

As mentioned above, this recipe uses baking powder rather than yeast, which makes it much quicker. And, just like most naan recipes, it also uses yoghurt which helps to achieve its characteristic texture and flavour.

The ingredients

• Millet flour. (For substitution options, check out the substitutions section or the recipe below.)
• Tapioca starch. (For substitution options, check out the substitutions section or the recipe below.)
• Sugar. You can use either caster/superfine or granulated sugar for this recipe. This helps with browning but it doesn’t actually make the naan sweet.
• Salt. It’s important to add salt to any bread recipe, as it brings out all the flavours.
• Baking powder. This is used instead of yeast (that’s used in the traditional version) and it makes sure that your naan will turn out perfectly soft and pillowy.
• Psyllium husk. This acts as a gluten substitute and it’s what gives the naan its pliable, slightly chewy texture. Without psyllium husk, you won’t get a dough that you can actually handle and shape, and the naan also won’t puff up as nicely. You can’t substitute the psyllium husk with another ingredient. This recipe uses WHOLE psyllium husk, but you can also use psyllium husk powder – if you use the powder form, use only 85% of the amount listed in the recipe below. I also recommend using “blond” psyllium husk, as it won’t add any colour or flavour to your naan or other bakes. You can read more about the role of psyllium husk in gluten free baking here!
• Warm water. You’ll use the water to make a psyllium gel: just mix the psyllium husk and water together until evenly combined. The mixture will form a gel within 15-30 seconds.
• Yoghurt. You can use either unsweetened plain or Greek style yoghurt, both work well.
• Olive oil. I like to use olive oil for the flavour, but other oils such as sunflower or vegetable oil will work too.

In addition to the above ingredients needed to make the dough, you’ll also need melted butter (I prefer salted) or ghee and chopped cilantro or parsley for brushing over the cooked naan. (The addition of cilantro or parsley is optional but it adds a wonderful flavour.)

Side note: the starch content is VERY important here (or why you can’t use a shop-bought gluten free flour blend)

I initially tested this recipe with a shop-bought gluten free flour blend (a 1-1 gluten free flour) and the results were a complete disaster. The naan had a strangely gummy, doughy, undercooked texture no matter how long I cooked it for, and it was just really sad and floppy.

Then, I tested it with a mix of tapioca starch and millet flour, in an approximately 2:1 ratio – and, again, the texture was rather awful: gummy, undercooked and just plain weird.

The reason for this is that both the shop-bought gluten free flour blend and the 2:1 ratio of tapioca starch and millet flour have a too high starch content, which doesn’t provide the naan bread with enough structure. However, if you flip the ratio of tapioca starch and millet flour (so that you use more millet flour than tapioca starch), the naan turns out PERFECT: soft, pillowy and pleasantly chewy, without any gumminess or doughiness.

So, here are the two main takeaways from this:

• You can’t use a shop-bought 1-1 gluten free flour blend for this gluten free naan recipe.
• Follow the recipe below to the letter, and don’t be tempted to change the ratio of millet flour to tapioca starch – it’s been optimised to give the best possible naan texture.

Making the dough

You can make the gluten free naan dough by hand or using a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook – both options work great.

Here’s how to make it:

1. Whisk together all the dry ingredients: millet flour, tapioca starch, sugar, salt and baking powder.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together the psyllium gel (made by combining the psyllium husk and water, and letting it sit for a minute or two), yoghurt and olive oil.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry.
4. Use a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula to mix everything together into a very shaggy dough.
5. Once most of the flour has been hydrated, give it a thorough knead by hand. I like to squeeze the dough through my fingers and work my way around the bowl. Make sure that there are not patches or clumps of dry flour.
6. The final dough should come away from the sides of the bowl and be very springy to the touch. It shouldn’t be too sticky. Don’t worry if doesn’t have a perfectly smooth surface – so long as it’s homogeneous with all the ingredients well combined and no clumps of flour or psyllium gel, you’re ready for the next step: portioning out and pre-shaping the dough. 

Dividing & pre-shaping the dough

Once your naan dough is ready:

1. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball.
2. Divide it into 8 equal portions. You can use a scale to make sure that they’re all of equal weight (each portion should weigh about 110g) or you can just eyeball it.
3. Shape the pieces of dough into balls.
4. Don’t worry if the surfaces of the dough balls aren’t perfectly smooth – that’s due to the lack of gluten and it won’t matter in the end, as you’ll be rolling them out anyway. As you move onto the next step (rolling out the naan breads) keep the pieces of dough covered with a dish towel to prevent them from drying out.

Rolling it out

To prepare the gluten free naan:

1. Place a dough ball onto a lightly floured surface and dust its top with more flour. Use a rolling pin to roll it out into a round or oval naan.
2. The final rolled-out naan should measure about 7-8 inches (18-20cm) in diameter, with a thickness of about ⅛-¼ inch (4-6mm). Make sure to rotate it frequently to prevent it from sticking to the surface. As necessary, dust the surface and the top of the naan with more flour.

I recommend rolling out all the naan breads first and then cooking them. To prevent them from sticking to each other and drying out, stack them with pieces of parchment/baking paper in between and cover them with a clean dish towel.

Cooking the gluten free naan

It’s best to cook the naan on medium-high to high heat in a dry pan or cast iron skillet (no need to grease it with oil). Make sure that your pan or skillet is thoroughly pre-heated: if you sprinkle on a few drops of water, they should sizzle and jump on its surface.

To cook the naan:

1. Place a naan into the hot pan or skillet and cook it for about 1-2 minutes, until bubbles form on the top surface and the underside is deep golden or slightly charred.
2. Flip and cook on the other side for about 1 minute or until the bubbles form deep golden-brown or charred spots.

Then, just repeat this process with all the other naan breads. Keep an eye on how they’re cooking and adjust the heat as needed.

Brush with melted (salted) butter or ghee

Immediately after cooking, brush the naan with melted butter (I recommend salted butter) or ghee, mixed with some chopped cilantro or parsley.

Alternatively, you can also wrap the hot naan breads (straight from the pan or skillet) in a clean dish towel – this traps the steam and keeps them warm and soft while you finish cooking all of them. Then, just before serving, brush them with the ghee or melted butter.

Why isn’t my gluten free naan puffing up?

Here are the most common reasons for why your gluten free naan isn’t puffing up and forming bubbles:

• It’s too thin. If you roll out your naan too thinly, it can fully cook through or dry out before bubbles start appearing. Make sure that you don’t roll it any thinner than about ⅛ inch (4mm).
• It’s too thick. If your naan is too thick, it won’t puff up and it can also end up undercooked in the centre.
• The dough is too dry. This can happen if you changed anything about the recipe, or if you used volume/cup measurements and accidentally over-measured the flours. For best results, I recommend weighing your ingredients with a digital food scale.
• The heat is too low. You need a high enough heat for the baking powder to start reacting and producing gases, and also for the water content in the dough to transform into steam – both of which contribute to the puffing action and bubble formation. If your heat is too low, the naan bread will dry out before bubbles start forming.
• The heat is too high. If your heat is too high, the underside can start burning, so you’ll need to flip it before it can start puffing up and before bubbles can start forming.

How to store & reheat homemade gluten free naan

These gluten free naan breads are at their very best freshly cooked and still warm, but they’ll still be lovely and soft even a few hours later, after they’ve cooled completely. They also keep really well in a closed air-tight container for 2-3 days.

To return them to their original soft, pillowy texture on days 2 and 3, it’s best to reheat them using one of the three options below:

1. Reheat in the microwave for 30-45 seconds.
2. Reheat on the stovetop. Heat a large non-stick frying pan or cast iron skillet over medium heat and lightly spray the naan with some water. Then, cook it in the hot pan with the lid on, for about 45 seconds to a minute on each side.
3. Reheat in the oven – this is a good option if you need to reheat several naan breads at once. I recommend sprinkling (or spraying) a bit of water over them before you place them into the oven, so they don’t dry out.

Possible substitutions

Although all the ingredients in the recipe should be easily accessible either in your local grocery store or online, I still wanted to include a list of substitutions you can make. (NOTE: all substitutions should be made by weight and not by volume.)

• Psyllium husk: YOU CAN’T SUBSTITUTE IT WITH A DIFFERENT INGREDIENT. But if you use psyllium husk powder as opposed to the whole psyllium husk, use only 85% of the weight listed in the recipe. I recommend using “blond” psyllium husk, as it won’t add any colour or flavour to your naan or other bakes.
• Tapioca starch: You can use an equal weight of cornstarch (US)/cornflour (UK), potato starch or arrowroot starch instead.
• Millet flour: You can use an equal weight of finely ground/milled brown rice flour instead, but your naan might be slightly less fluffy and puffy. You can also replace it with an equal weight of sorghum flour, corn flour (US)/maize flour (UK), light buckwheat flour or white teff flour – but as these absorb more moisture, you’ll need to increase the amount of water by about 45-60g (3-4 tablespoons). Add the extra water slowly, until you get a soft, supple but not too sticky dough (see the photos above for reference).
• Yoghurt: I haven’t tested this recipe with a dairy-free yoghurt alternative, but an unsweetened plain or Greek-style vegan yoghurt should work well.
• Olive oil: I like to use olive oil for the flavour, but other oils such as sunflower or vegetable oil will work too.

A note on measurements (tl;dr: if possible, use a scale)

While I’ve included the volume measurements (cups and spoons) in the recipe card below, if at all possible (and I really cannot overemphasise this): USE METRIC GRAM MEASUREMENTS IF YOU CAN.

They’re much more precise and produce more reliably delicious results. This is true for pretty much all of baking – a kitchen scale will invariably give better results than cups and tablespoons.

And there you have it: everything you need to know in order to make the PERECT gluten free naan – it’s sooo soft and pillowy, and it will be a hit with absolutely everyone, even non-gluten-free folks.

I really hope you’ll love it as much as I do.

Enjoy!!

More gluten free bread recipes

If you’re looking for more amazing gluten free bread recipes (that are nearly indistinguishable from their “regular” equivalents made from wheat flour), you’re definitely in the right place!

• Easy 5-Ingredient Gluten Free Flour Tortillas
• The Softest Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls
• The Ultimate Gluten Free Bread (Artisan Style Loaf)
• The Softest Gluten Free Dinner Rolls
• Gluten Free Crescent Rolls
• Gluten Free Seeded Loaf (Mixed Seed Bread)
• The Ultimate Gluten Free Doughnuts (Yeasted, Fried Jelly Donuts)

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