This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
It’s easy to make puffy, chewy Garlic Butter Naan at home in your cast iron skillet! A hot cast iron helps you mimic the even heat of a tandoor, getting beautiful bubbles and delicious char as the naan bakes. Load your naan with fresh garlic and cilantro and finish with melted ghee for an irresistibly warm and fluffy bite that pairs with curries, stew, and more.
Some of my favorite flavors in the world come from India and Southeast Asia. I simply can’t resist a hearty Chana Masala or spicy Thai Red Curry and have tried some amazing dishes in my travels!
But if I’m being honest… one major reason I love these cuisines is they also come with buttery, garlicky naan. This freshly baked pillowy bread is simply unbeatable!
Traditionally, naan bakes in a blazing hot tandoor. This large, cylindrical oven has a fire burning in the bottom, heating the clay walls so they’re SUPER hot (like, almost 900 degrees F). The dough cooks quickly on the hot surface, bubbling with an irresistible char.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a tandoor at home. But I do have the next best thing… a cast iron skillet.
Cast iron is your easy solution for cooking bubbly, chewy naan. And the dough is simple to make too! It uses standard bread ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, yeast) plus whole milk and yogurt to make the naan soft and chewy. I also stud my cast iron naan with fresh garlic and chopped cilantro for even more flavor.
Learning how to make homemade naan is super convenient and I can’t wait to show you!
Why This Cast Iron Naan Recipe Works
Email this Recipe!
Email this recipe to yourself to save for later.
By submitting this form, you agree to receive emails from Girl with the Iron Cast.
Some of my favorite things about this recipe are that…
- The prep is mostly hands-off. Combine the wet and dry ingredients to form a sticky dough, then let it rest and rise for a few hours. Minimal kneading and one proof – just let the dough do its thing!
- It cooks SUPER quickly. Each piece of garlic cast iron naan cooks up in minutes, bubbling and charring to perfection in a hot skillet.
- Fresh naan is incredibly versatile. If you love Indian and East Asian dishes then you’ll truly never run out of ways to enjoy fresh garlic naan.
Key Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make cast iron garlic naan:
- Warm milk – I prefer bringing the dough together with milk instead of water because the dairy makes the naan dough soft and tender. It must be warm (no hotter than 110 degrees F) to help activate the yeast.
- Instant yeast – You’ll use 2 teaspoons, or about an entire packet. If you only have active dry yeast, be sure to bloom it in ¼ cup of warm milk and sugar about 5 minutes before starting the recipe.
- Flour – Regular old all-purpose flour works great!
- Yogurt – Plain, whole milk yogurt is key to giving the naan its signature stretchy, pillowy texture.
- Sugar and salt – To season and feed the yeast!
- Garlic butter topping – While plain naan is delicious, I love to stud my dough with fresh garlic and cilantro for extra flavor. Ghee is a clarified butter with an exceptionally savory, buttery richness that is perfect for brushing over warm cast iron naan.
How to Make Naan Dough
Making garlic naan is very similar to other leavened bread recipes. You’ll combine the wet and dry ingredients, then give the dough time to rise before cooking. It may look like a lot of steps but I promise, most of the active work happens pretty fast!
Here’s how it’s done:
Step 1: Prepare the milk
Heat ⅔ cup of milk in the microwave for about 30-60 seconds until it’s about 110 degrees F. Then combine ½ cup of the warmed milk with the yogurt and 2 tsp of olive oil. Save the rest of the milk for later, if you need it.
Step 2: Combine the dry ingredients
Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and instant yeast to combine.
Step 3: Add in the wet ingredients
Start by pouring half of the wet mixture into the bowl of the dry ingredients, stirring it all together with a spatula. Keep streaming in more liquid if you need to – the goal is to reach a dough with a fairly sticky consistency that pulls a bit as you touch it.
Step 4: Knead the dough
Pour the dough on a floured surface and use your hands to knead it for about 5 minutes, pushing and pulling away from you as you rotate the dough. I spread a little olive oil on my hands since the dough is sticky. Don’t worry too much about getting this perfect – just the act of massaging the dough helps activate the gluten.
Step 5: Let it rise
Place the dough ball in an oiled bowl, cover it with a kitchen towel, and let it rise for 2 hours. If your house is warm, just leave it on the counter. If your house is cold, you can always preheat your oven, turn it off, and place the dough inside to mimic a proofing drawer.
Step 6: Deflate the dough
After 2 hours the dough should be noticeably larger (about double in size!). Using your fist, lightly punch the dough in the center to release all that air and deflate it.
Step 7: Roll and season the garlic naan
Divide the dough into 8 round balls, then use a rolling pin to roll each out very thin. Don’t worry about making uniform shapes – a more rustic look is ok! Sprinkle chopped garlic cloves and cilantro over the top and roll again, incorporating the aromatics into the dough.Â
3 Tips for Making Perfectly Pillowy Naan
- Check your yeast! There’s nothing worse than proofing your dough for 2 hours only to realize it didn’t rise and your yeast is expired. Do yourself a favor and check beforehand! Yeast is essential for chewy, soft garlic naan.
- Temp your milk. Warm milk helps the yeast come alive and rise – but too warm and it will kill the yeast. Use an instant-read thermometer to make sure it’s about 110 degrees F.
- Roll your naan thin. Thinly rolled dough will cook fast and bubbly up quickly while still staying nice and fluffy. A thicker naan is much closer to the texture of a pita.
How to Cook Naan in a Cast Iron Skillet
Cooking garlic naan in a cast iron skillet is a super fast process – each piece only takes a few minutes!
Cast iron naan should be pan-fried in a dry skillet. A properly maintained cast iron will have a natural, light grease to help prevent sticking. You can learn more about cleaning and caring for your cast iron in my Cast Iron 101 E-Book.
How to Make Cast Iron Skillet Naan:
- Preheat your skillet over medium-high heat for 2 minutes to ensure it’s super hot. Hot skillet = instant cooking for the dough (just like a tandoor!).
- Place the naan in the skillet and watch as it starts to bubble. Cook for 1 minute, then flip. Each side should be bubbly and golden brown.
- Brush with melted ghee. While the naan is still hot, add some melted ghee to fill the bubbly cracks of the naan with more savoriness.
- Cool and repeat, cooking the rest of your naan. It’s best to work one piece at a time to avoid crowding your pan, especially since it cooks so fast!
This recipe makes 8 hearty pieces of garlic butter naan which are best enjoyed warm off the stovetop. If that’s more than you need, you can freeze any leftovers for up to 6 months and reheat them in your oven later!
Serving Suggestions
Fresh cast iron garlic naan is my favorite thing to serve alongside Indian and Southeast Asian-inspired dishes. Use it to scoop up hearty curries like my Cauliflower Chickpea Curry or Thai Red Curry Chicken. One of my favorite ways to serve fresh garlic naan is alongside spicy Gobi Manchurian.
You can also use fresh naan to make wraps or top with homemade falafel or Curry Chicken Salad. Perfect for lunch!Â
If you love this Cast Iron Garlic Naan recipe, be sure to also check out my entire collection of other Cast Iron Recipes – from paella to focaccia to roasted chicken. There’s SO much you can do with a humble cast iron pan.
Did you make this? If you snap a photo, please be sure tag me on Instagram at @girlwiththeironcast or hashtag #girlwiththeironcast so I can see your creations!
Cast Iron Garlic Naan
Ingredients
Naan
- 2/3 cup whole milk (warmed(110F) (you will initially use ½, but you will have extra if needed))
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp instant yeast
- 2 cups all purpose flour (+ ¼ cup for dusting/kneading)
- 1/2 cup whole milk yogurt
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp ghee (melted)
Garlic Butter Topping
- 3 tbsp ghee (melted)
- 5 cloves garlic (roughly chopped)
- 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
Email this Recipe!
Email this recipe to yourself to save for later.
By submitting this form, you agree to receive emails from Girl with the Iron Cast.
Equipment
- 1 Rolling Pin
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- In a microwave safe container or on the stovetop, warm the ⅔ cup milk until it’s about 110F (about 45 seconds, use a thermometer to check). In a medium bowl or large measuring cup: add ½ cup of warmed milk, yogurt and 2 tsp oil. Whisk to combine.
- In a large bowl add: 2 cups flour, 1 tsp sugar, instant yeast, ½ tsp kosher salt and mix to combine all the ingredients.
- Pour half of the milk mixture into the dry bowl ingredients and using a silicone spatula, stirring to combine with the flour. Continue stirring while slowly adding the rest of the milk mixture. Dough should be sticky, if it is too dry add a little bit more of the warmed milk you had leftover.
- Lightly dust the countertop with flour and oil your hands with a little bit of olive oil. Begin kneading the dough for it to come together. Continue to knead for 5 minutes, dough should be sticky. If it is overly sticky, add a little more flour, but you want it to remain tacky to the finger. Cover and allow to rise for 2 hours in a warm place.
- After 2 hours remove cover and punch down on the dough to deflate.Rub a little olive oil on your hands and divide the dough into 8 pieces and roll each one into a ball.
- Sprinkle a little flour on your countertop and on your rolling pin. Place a ball of dough down and roll it into a thin oval. Sprinkle some of the garlic and chopped cilantro over the top and roll the pin once more over the top to press it into the dough. Repeat with remaining dough balls.
- Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat for 2 minutes. Once it’s very hot, place the naan on the skillet and allow it to cook for 1 minute, it should bubble. Flip it over and cook another 1 minute.
- Remove from skillet and immediately brush with melted ghee, then place on a cooling rack. Repeat with remaining naan.
Notes
- Naan is best served warm freshly prepared
- You can freeze the naan for up to 6 months. Warm in an oven at 350F until warmed through to enjoy at a later date.
- If using active dry yeast, bloom the yeast in ¼ cup of the warm milk + the sugar from the recipe for 5 minutes prior to incorporating into the recipe.
- If you do not have ghee (although it is highly recommended to use when making this recipe), you can substitute clarified butter, olive oil, or coconut oil. In a pinch you can use unsalted butter. This recipe has only been tested using ghee, not the other substitutions.
- I have tested this recipe using ¾ tsp baking powder and ¼ tsp baking soda instead of the yeast. It also yields delicious naan, but texturally I preferred using the yeast.
