Instant Pot Naan Bread (2024)

Instant Pot Naan Bread is a breeze to make at home! Soft, pillowy in texture with beautiful brown blisters on the surface. Use the Instant Pot to proof the naan dough, and use a cast iron pan to cook the naan perfectly every single time!

(For detailed tips, step-by-step instructions, and substitutions, please read through this entire post)

Naan is an incredibly easy and simple bread to make at home. Flatbreads such as naan and pita bread don’t need to proof for too long, unlike regular breads. In under two hours, naan can be made at home– including the time for proofing the dough.

This simple recipe results in pillowy and soft naan that pairs perfectly well with curries, sauces, and stews. Indian recipes such as paneer tikka masala, vegan korma curry, saag paneer and Chana Masala pair very well with naan.

Once you start making naan at home, you’ll never go back to buying store-bought naan, which is often a poor substitute for the real thing, right?

What is Naan made of?

Naan is usually made with very simple ingredients – flour, salt, water, yogurt, and yeast, and is traditionally cooked in the tandoor (clay oven). After playing around with a few recipes for naan, I highly recommend adding some milk to enrich the dough, as it yields a soft textured naan. There is no egg used in naan.

Tips for making Instant Pot Naan

Use Bread Flour: Naan can be made with either bread flour or all-purpose flour, but I find that bread flour can make naan more elastic and pillowy in texture - which is what we are aiming for!

Use Yogurt: Yogurt is key to obtaining the tender, soft texture that is characteristic of the naan. Do not replace yogurt with milk, as we need some of that tang that comes with yogurt.

Yeast: Yeast is what makes naan puff up, and gives it those characteristic air pockets or bubbles. Do not substitute yeast with leaving agents such as baking powder or baking soda.

Speed up the proofing process with an Instant Pot: The Instant Pot’s ‘Yogurt’ mode creates the perfect environment for proofing the dough, and all you need is 1 hour to get that dough to double in size. Without the IP, the time required for proofing is nearly double – you will need around 90-120 minutes for the dough to double in size. You can also proof dough in the Instant Pot for making Homemade Bread Rolls and Pav bread.

How can I make Naan without a tandoor oven?

Traditionally, naan is baked in a tandoor (clay oven) which is hot enough to give it that characteristic crispy outer layer, pillowy soft inside and those beautiful char marks on the outside. To make it at home, though, I’ve realised that using a cast iron pan to cook the naan comes very close to the real deal.

When using a cast iron pan, just make sure that the pan is hot enough before cooking the naan. To test and see if the pan is hot enough, flick a few drops of water into the pan. The water should evaporate immediately. The pan is now hot enough to be used to cook the naan . Take a look at the video instructions in this recipe for cooking naan on a cast iron pan on the stovetop.

Step by step recipe

Start by warming the water and milk mixture to activate the yeast (if using activ dry yeast) - I use half a cup of milk mixed with water, and warm it just enough that it activates the yeast but not kills it. If you are using instant yeast, skip this step and add the yeast directly to the flour.

Add the warm milk to the bowl of a stand mixer and add sugar, letting the yeast activate. Once activated, add yogurt and oil, followed by the bread flour (or all-purpose-flour).

Add salt and knead the dough with the dough hook attachment. Alternatively, use your hands to combine all the ingredients into a slightly sticky dough. If the dough feels dry, add a little more water to the mixture. It is important that the dough is hydrated enough.

Once the dough is prepared, turn to your Instant Pot. Brush some vegetable oil into the inner pot of the Instant Pot. Place the dough in the inner pot and set the IP on Yogurt mode, for 1 hour. You can use either the lid of the Instant Pot or a glass lid to cover the dough while it proofs. The dough should double in size within 1 hour.

After the dough has risen, take it out, dust it with a little flour and flatten it on the countertop. Cut the dough into equal portions and let the portions sit for 10 minutes, covered with a kitchen towel. Dust each portion with a little flour and roll out each portion using a rolling pin.

Heat a cast iron pan on the stovetop untill hot. Then place the rolled out dough on the cast iron pan and heat untill bubbles start to form. Sprinkle a few nigella seeds on the surface of the naan and flip it over to cook the other side. Once cooked, brush the top of the naan with some ghee or melted butter and serve.

You could also garnish it with some chopped coriander and Nigella seeds for that authentic restaurant experience.

Naan FAQs

Serving Suggestions

Instant Pot Naan bread pairs very well with these Indian curries:

Saag Paneer

Chicken Korma

Paneer Tikka Masala

Butter Chicken