This easy Keto naan recipe makes pillowy-soft, fluffy flatbreads that taste just as good as the real thing! They're perfect for mopping up your favourite Indian curry. Low carb, gluten free and egg free!
Table of contents
I've been craving Indian food recently and have been eating plenty of curries. I normally make them with cauliflower rice instead of real rice to keep things low carb. But one thing was missing. NAAN BREAD!
Traditional naan bread has around 40 grams of carbs. Yikes!
In contrast, one of these low carb flatbreads come in at only 3.6g net carbs. That's all the great naan taste without the blood sugar spike!
A coconut flour naan
It's actually really simple to make low carb naan at home that puffs up as beautifully as naan made from wheat.
I decided to use coconut flour as opposed to almond flour because the gently sweet taste lends itself to Indian cuisine. To add elasticity, I used psyllium husk powder and xanthan gum, which hold the naan together beautifully.
This naan bread recipe is a bit of a personal breakthrough - it is my first EGG FREE low carb bread.
It's great sprinkled with nigella and sesame seeds. And before serving, spread it with some melted coconut oil and top with fresh chopped cilantro / coriander or parsley.
Turn this naan into a low carb pitta bread by brushing it with a simple garlic butter (melted butter, 1 chopped garlic clove, salt).
How to make Keto naan bread
1.) Stir together the dry ingredients in a bowl - coconut flour, psyllium husk powder, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt.
TIP: I like to use a hand whisk for this and check that there are no lumps. Coconut flour has a tendency to clump together!
Add the melted coconut oil and the yogurt. You can use either natural full fat or Greek.
2. Now add the hot water and stir. At first it seems like there's a lot of liquid. But both psyllium and coconut flour are SUUUPER absorbent and a dough will form quickly.
I find it easiest to use a fork for this step. If you continued with the whisk, the dough gets caught in the middle, which is a major mess.
3.) Time to get your hands involved. Form a dough ball and let it rest for a few minutes until the dough is not sticky any more.
4.) Cut the dough into six equal slices and form balls.
5.) Place the balls between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll out into long flatbreads. Pierce the middles a few times with the fork and sprinkle with nigella seeds and/or sesame seeds.
6.) Place the parchment with your naans onto an upturned baking tray. I find this helps the flatbreads (or cookies - anything flat) brown more evenly.
Bake for about 12-15 minutes and give them a little poke with the fork in case huge air bubbles form.
The baking time will depend on how thinly your naans are rolled out. Just keep an eye on them and remove them from the oven once they're nicely browned.
7.) Brush with melted coconut oil or butter or olive oil and top with more chopped coriander or parsley and more salt before serving! A pinch of cumin would also work well.
Love yeast breads? I have tested a version of this naan with yeast instead of baking powder. It produces a slightly more tangy bread. I found it looked identical to the yeast-free bread, but had a little more elasticity.
How to make naan with yeast
1.) Stir 2 teaspoon of dry active yeast and 2 teaspoon of inulin (or honey/maple syrup) into 1 cup of WARM water. Cover with a cloth and leave to proof in a warm place for around 10 minutes. (This could be on top of a radiator, for example).
2.) Once the yeast is frothing, stir in the coconut flour, psyllium, xanthan gum, salt, melted coconut oil and yoghurt. Make sure that the yoghurt is room temperature - we don't want to kill off the yeast.
3.) Form a ball, cover again and let the dough rise for 30-60 minutes until it has increased in size considerably.
4. ) Proceed as per recipe below.
Recipe tips
I'm using psyllium husk powder and not psyllium husks in this recipe. The powder is REALLY finely ground. Psyllium husks, on the other hand, look like tiny sticks. It's easy to mistake them for powder at first glance, so do double-check your pack.
To make the naan bread recipe dairy free, use an unflavoured coconut yogurt such as by the Coconut Collaborative.
The xanthan gum is non-negotiable. Coconut flour is naturally gluten free and therefore lacks the elasticity of wheat flour. In the absence of eggs, we need the help of xanthan gum to bind and create an elastic dough.
Can you make it in a skillet?
Traditional naan is baked in a Tandoor oven. In lieu of this, people tend to make it in a skillet.
I think it's absolutely possible to fry this Keto naan bread in a pan on the stove - if you have the time to spare. I decided to bake it in the oven, because this way I can make a batch of six in one go and no-one has to wait for dinner.
Serving Suggestion
First of all, serve this Keto naan bread warm - either straight from the oven or toasted. Once it cools, it loses its crispy crust.
NOTE: It's really essential to add a generous pinch of salt and black and white sesame seeds or, even better, nigella seeds to the bread, and baste it with melted butter, olive or coconut oil before eating. Without, the naan does not have much flavour (as it's mostly coconut flour).
It is designed to be eaten WITH a curry, for example this Keto chicken curry or my Keto Chicken Tikka Masala!
Storage
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Keto recipes with coconut flour generally freeze well. Freeze for up to 3 months. You can toast it from frozen.
More keto bread recipes
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Keto Naan Bread
from Sugar Free LondonerNote: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary. ***As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- ¾ cup / 75g coconut flour
- 2 tablespoon psyllium husk powder
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- GENEROUS pinch salt
- 1 tablespoon nigella and/or sesame seeds
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup / 240ml hot water
- ¼ cup / 60g full fat natural yoghurt
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil / olive oil melted
Topping
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil / butter / olive oil melted
- handful chopped parsley or coriander / cilantro
- generous pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius / 356 Fahrenheit.
- Mix all dry ingredients in another bowl - coconut flour, psyllium husk powder, xanthan gum and salt. Make sure there are no lumps.
- Add the wet ingredients - hot water, yoghurt, melted coconut oil or olive oil - and stir together until a dough forms.
- Form a dough ball and let it sit for a few minutes until the coconut flour and the psyllium have absorbed all the moisture and the dough is not sticky.
- Cut the dough into 6 pieces and roll them out between two sheets of parchment paper into long flatbreads, about ½ cm thick. Place on an upturned baking sheet and remove the top parchment. Optional: sprinkle with sesame seeds and/or nigella seeds.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes or until browned (baking time will depend on how thick your flatbreads are). If large air bubbles form, pierce with a fork during baking. If necessary, rotate the baking sheet so the flatbreads brown equally and/or turn on the grill/broiler at the end to ensure they crisp and brown on top.
- Top with melted butter, olive oil or coconut oil, sprinkle with more salt and chopped parsley or coriander/cilantro leaves before serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Stuart
For the Yeast version, do you skip on the baking powder? It was not listed in the yeast instructions.
Katrin Nürnberger
No, I still used the baking powder. Thank you for flagging it.
Mirth
This is such an easy low carb naan recipe. Love that it is cooked in the oven. Easier (and less mess) than the pan. Seriously one of the best low carb naan recipes I’ve tried so far.
Katrin Nürnberger
So glad you like it!
Susan Mackrell
I have tried lots of keto breads using psyllium husk and I really hate the texture. It turns my stomach. Are there any other alternatives to psyllium which can be used to make a keto nan? I am not gluten intolerant, just a type 2 diabetic trying to eat a low carb diet. I really miss bread!
Katrin Nürnberger
The other way to make a Keto Naan would be to use an egg instead of the psyllium. However, this would also change the wet/dry ratio so you'd have to experiment with the ingredient amounts.
Mussarath
Hi there can an egg be added instead of xanthan gum?
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, you can definitely add an egg. You'd probably need more coconut flour as well because you're adding more wet ingredients. Or reduce the amount of water.
sakina
Can I do them in a hot frying pan instead of the oven?
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, some readers have done this and told me that it works well. I have not tried it myself yet.
Jennifer
Can you give an example of what type of yogurt to use. I don’t ever buy yogurt so I’m not familiar and when I went looking for one that said “full fat, natural” I came up short. 🙁
Katrin Nürnberger
I often use the Onken natural yoghurt. It's a firm (not creamy) yoghurt with about 3.5% fat.
Jennifer
Thank you!! I’ll look for it!
Alison
These are good - I’m going to try a fat head dough naan recipe too, to compare - and I think that might be a more of a cheewy naan but will also be quite rich. This coconut flour one definitely gives the ‘bread and curry’ experience except the chewiness but still very good and easy to make. I added 1tsp of cumin, 1.5 tsp of cumin seeds & 1 tsp of garlic (from a jar) into my dough too and that gave a good flavour
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, fathead naan will definitely taste good. All fathead recipes do, especially when they're fresh out of the oven. But like you say, it's so much more filling.
Sam
I was wondering if you could use Gram (chickpea) flour for this instead. If so what would the ratio be?
Katrin Nürnberger
I don't know what the ratio would be. You'll definitely have to use 2-3x as much flour though because coconut flour is very unique - it expands a lot more than other flours.
Francoise
Follow your recipe but after 15 mn at 180 degrés Celsius the keto bread they were sticky and not cooked I left them 15 more minutes and it was not yet completely cooked I have a very good oven NEFF every thing I cook is always working
I made 6 flat focaccia bread
Katrin Nürnberger
How was the batter when you formed them? A mistake people often make is not to use the right amount of psyllium husk. It sounds to me that you used too little and that's why the wet/dry ratio was off. Check your brand to see whether it's whole psyllium husk or psyllium husk powder and use the recommended amount. hope this helps! 🙂
velda
Are your recipes suitable for diabetics?
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Velda, all my recipes are low in carbs, which helps to keep blood sugar levels stable. This is beneficial for managing diabetes.
Georgie
It was great, I used coconut flavoured coconut oil as I like peshwari naan. It was delicious.
Sandra Gifford
Hello! if I ground psyllium husk in coffee grinder to a powder, does the amount used in recipe stay the same??? Please
Katrin Nürnberger
The recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of psyllium husk powder. You can grind your whole psyllium husks to a powder and then measure out 2 tablespoons. That should work fine!
Mel
Hi
Thank you so much for this recipe, so good! Just wondering would it be OK to freeze the breads once cooked? Before I add the melted butter?
Thank you x
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, this bread is freezable. You may need to stick it in the toaster after defrosting (or the oven) to get rid of any residue moisture.
Jill
You are really sweet answering all the questions people post in your recipe comment sections... very kind of you! Kindness is one feature of God's holy spirit. Seems quite in short supply these days. See jw.org.
Katrin Nürnberger
Thank you for your support!
Diane Webster
This recipe looks delicious except I don't like the flavour of coconut flour in anything. Can I substitute with almond flour and if so, how much?
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, you could try 3x the amount of almond flour.
Diana
I made these yesterday for the first time, they were delicious. I didn’t have any nigella or sesame seeds so I added a tsp cumin…….lovely. I love my curries, so these are now definitely a part of repertoire. Thank you so much for this. I am also liking your coconut flour recipes as almond flour is so expensive in New Zealand.
Katrin Nürnberger
Thank you for your comment! Cumin is one of my favourite spices, I must make a batch of this naan with it.
Helen Reid
Mine turned out terrible — we couldn't eat them. They were gummy and wet inside after 15 minutes and still the same after 30 minutes! I gave up after 40 minutes.
I don't think I made them too thick — in fact, I think they were thinner than ½ cm.
I did use Greek yoghurt instead of full-fat natural yoghurt.
Any idea where I went wrong?
Katrin Nürnberger
A mistake that people often make is to confuse psyllium husk with psyllium husk powder, and then they end up with a dough that's too wet. "whole" Psyllium husk looks like powder at first glance, but is in fact little sticks - coarser than the powder. Could this have been the issue?
Monika Kitty
Hi Katrin, I had encounter the same challenge, where mine turned out wet after 25minutes backing at 180degC. They were simply not growing. I had to go up to 210degC and hold it for additional 15 minutes. After that they did grow, but did not get brown yet really... I have then been too hungry to wait longer and after these additional 15 minutes I took them out and they were slightly fluffier, but still far far from what I see on your video. I did use PSYLLIUM (not PSYLLIUM husk), that is a very very fine powder. I do not think this is due to the psyllium. Any other thoughts why do they turn out not as appetising after total 40 minutes? It is not the oven either, as i baked other goodies from your book and recipes online and they come out excellent.
Katrin Nürnberger
I really couldn't say, it must have something to do with either the ingredients you used or the amounts not being like mine.
Fehmida Kola
I'm Indian and can't wait to try this recipe. Thank you for your wonderful recipes.
Katrin Nürnberger
Let me know how it went! Can't wait to hear.
Carrie
Well this tasted fine, but I must be doing something wrong. Mine wouldn’t cook through without 10 extra minutes! They look absolutely nothing like yours. I even used a kitchen scale to make sure I was not using too much/little of things.
Katrin Nürnberger
Providing that you used the correct amount of psyllium /psyllium husk powder and room temperature ingredients, it's probably that you rolled them out too thick. That way, the breads can stay gummy on the inside.
MYMB
Could these be made ahead and frozen? Thanks!
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, of course.
Karen
Can I use almond flour instead as husband is allergic to coconut
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, but you will probably need to use about 3x as much almond flour. It's less absorbent than coconut flour.
Mabd the Dragon
I pan fried these and they turned out great. It reminds me of working with masa and making corn tortillas.
Thanks!
Dani
Thanks for the recipe. We frequently cook Indian dishes and not having naan to eat with them was so disappointing. Do you know if essential gluten (for those w/out gluten issues) can replace the psyllium powder and xantham gum?
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Dani, I have never used essential gluten, so I don't know. Sorry I can't help! I would say though that you can definitely leave out the xanthan gum if you use gluten. The psyllium, however, works as an egg alternative and it absorbs a lot of moisture -which makes it quite a unique ingredient.
Maria
Can I use coconut cream from a can? I have a dairy free diet
Katrin Nürnberger
I would try to keep to a similar consistency to yoghurt. Coconut yoghurt would probably be the best option.