This easy keto naan is fluffy and flexible, just like traditional naan bread. My coconut flour naan is soft, light and perfect for scooping up your favorite curry! It is gluten-free, egg-free and made without mozzarella cheese.
I have been eating plenty of Indian curries recently. But one thing was missing. NAAN BREAD!
Well, this easy keto naan bread recipe is here to save our curry night - at just 3.6g net carbs per serving.
It's actually really simple to make low carb naan at home that puffs up as beautifully as naan made from wheat.
This naan bread recipe is a bit of a personal breakthrough - it is my first EGG FREE low carb bread. Plus, it contains an extra portion of fiber.
Serve it warm with curry, use it as a keto flatbread or brush it with garlic butter for a restaurant-style side dish.
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Why My Keto Naan Is So Fluffy
Many keto naan recipes use mozzarella cheese and almond flour. This can make the flatbread cheesy and very dense, especially once it has cooled.
This recipe is different.
The combination of coconut flour, psyllium husk and yogurt creates a pillowy and light bread. The texture is fluffy and authentic without the heaviness of classic fathead dough.
My naan stays soft and flexible, with no cheesy flavor.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you'll need:
- Coconut flour - the gently sweet taste lends itself to Indian cuisine. Also, coconut flour is less fatty and therefore lighter than almond flour.
- Psyllium husk powder - adds elasticity and a fluffy texture
- Xanthan gum - for a stronger structure
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Hot water
- Full fat yogurt - or Greek yogurt
- Coconut oil - or olive oil
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.
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.
Instructions
This section contains step-by-step instructions and photos that show how to make this recipe. See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities
STEP 1
Stir together the dryingredients in a bowl - coconut flour, psyllium husk powder, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt.
TIP: I like to use a balloon 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.
STEP 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 very absorbent and a dough will form quickly.
I find it easiest to use a fork for this step. If you continue with the whisk, the dough gets caught in the middle, which is a major mess.
STEP 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.
STEP 4
Cut the dough into six equal slices and form balls.
STEP 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.
STEP 6
Place the parchment with your naans onto an upturned baking tray. I find this helps the flatbreads brown more evenly.
Bake for about 12-15 minutes and give them a 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.
STEP 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.
Variations
How To Make Keto Naan In A Skillet
I like baking my naans in the oven so they are ready to eat all in one go. But you can also cook them on the stovetop for the same characteristic brown marks as on traditional tandoor naan.
Fry the coconut naan bread in a skillet over medium heat for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown and puffed up.
Dairy-free naan: To make the naan bread recipe dairy free, use an unflavoured coconut yogurt such as by the Coconut Collaborative.
Garlic naan bread: Brush it with a simple garlic butter (melted butter, 1 chopped garlic clove, salt).
Change the size: Just like with regular naan, it's easy to change up the size! Make 3 large naans (increase the baking time by 3 minutes) or 12 small dippers (oven time reduces by 2 minutes).
How To Make Low Carb Naan With Yeast
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.
Step 1.) Stir 2 teaspoons of dry active yeast and 2 teaspoons 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).
Step 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.
Step 3.) Form a ball, cover again and let the dough rise for 30-60 minutes until it has increased in size considerably.
Step 4. ) Proceed as per recipe below.
Toppings
Without the toppings, the naan is fairly neutral in flavor. After all, it is mostly coconut flour. Therefore, I recommend brushing over melted butter, coconut or olive oil and adding one or more toppings:
- Sea salt
- Black or white sesame seeds
- Nigella seeds
- chopped cilantro or parsley
- garlic powder
- onion powder
Recipe FAQs
Traditional naan bread has around 40 grams of carbs. Yikes! In contrast, one keto naan comes in at only 3.6g net carbs. That's all the great naan taste without the blood sugar spike!
I have not tried it yet, but it should work. I would use 2 ¼ cups or 225 grams of super-fine almond flour. The texture will likely become a little heavier, because almond flour contains more fat than coconut flour.
Use the recipe for my keto garlic bread. You only need to change one ingredient: swap out the cream cheese for yoghurt. And instead of brushing the bread with garlic butter, brush it with coconut or olive oil after baking. Then, sprinkle over sea salt, black or white sesame seeds, nigella seeds or chopped cilantro.
It's the psyllium brand you used. Some brands turn bread grey or purple after baking. This is not dangerous and you can't taste it. Choose a "blond" brand with a high purity factor. I have used Green Origin, Just Natural and BonPom. The NOW brand is also fine.
How To Serve
I recommend to serve keto naan bread warm - either straight from the oven or toasted. Once it cools, it loses its crispy crust.
It is designed to be eaten WITH a curry. Try one of these:
Or even better, put all 3 on your to-make list. I love all of them!
Storage
Refrigerator: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Freezer: Keto recipes with coconut flour generally freeze well. Freeze for up to 3 months, layering parchment paper between the breads so they don't stick together.
Reheating: Defrost overnight. Pop in the toaster to reheat. You can toast it from frozen.
More Keto Bread Recipes
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Recipe
Keto Naan
Video
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- ⅔ cup coconut flour 75g
- 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 hot water 240ml
- ¼ cup full fat natural yoghurt 60g
- 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.
Ayla
I made these last night, followed the recipe and backed them, but they didn't really fluff up, and they came out sort of grey-ish (almost purple?) and took a very long time before starting to show some colour, and middle stayed wet for a long time. Did I do anything wrong? Yours look really nice and fluffy and ours weren't at all!
Katrin
Some psyllium husk powder brands turn purple when baked. I have used the bonpom, green origins and the Just Natural Organics brand here in the UK with good results. I have heard that the Now brand in the US also does not change colour. However, even if they change colour, this does not affect the taste.
As for the air bubbles, I think you may not have rolled them out thin enough. Try to roll them about 1/2 cm thick in the middle. This should do the trick.
Michelle
Made these last night to accompany a rich Indian curry that really needs something to sop up the gravy. It's the first recipe with coconut flour I've seen that isn't egg-laden. I have a repertoire of about 8 fabulous low-carb Indian meals so these will be a much needed accompaniment if I can nail the cooking time. Thanks.
Katrin
Hi Michelle, the size sounds about the same as mine. If your dough was easy to roll out and looked like in my images, it could have been either that yours were a whole lot thicker (=would need more time to bake through) or that you baked it at a lower temperature than mine. So, you could either try to bake them on a higher shelf or turn up the temperature slightly or bake them for longer - maybe add another 5 minutes. Were yours browned? If the top gets too brown, just lay an aluminium foil on top to keep it from burning. I hope this helps!
I think that different brands of psyllium husk, for example, can also have an impact - how finely they're ground, for example.
Michelle
Thanks for response. I cooked the remaining 3 last night with the same result. Yes, perhaps the ingredients are slightly different. Mine didn't roll as cleanly as yours - the "coastline" was split and irregular, I think I may need to decrease the wet ingredients a little. 😀
Jen
How thin did you roll them? I was hoping for some air bubbles, but I didn't get any. I think it might have been too thick.
Katrin
Try to roll them about 1/2 cm thick in the middle. This should do the trick.
Anjigirl
Has anyone tried making a Kachipurri(sp?) with this recipe? From the looks of the fluffiness it looks like it might suffice!
Mary
Have you tried it with just coconut milk with a dash of vinegar or do you think the yogurt is the way to go? This looks love, I can't wait to try it!
Katrin
Hi Mary, it would be worth a try! If you used a dash of apple cider vinegar you'd definitely get that tangy taste, and also a bit more of a rise!
Esther
Hey, any idea if they freeze well? Can't wait to try these. Thanks!
Katrin
Yes, I have frozen them and then toasted straight from the freezer.
Ghazala
Is there a substitute for the xanthan gum please?
Katrin
I have not tried the recipe with anything else. I have heard that people use guar gum instead of xanthan, but I have not used that myself.
Laura
Is there a non-dairy substitute for the yogurt that would work here?
Katrin
I'd recommend a coconut yoghurt, so you get the tangy/fresh taste. You can get them in health food shops. (I don't mean a dairy yoghurt with coconut taste, but yogurt made from actual coconut).
Janet Huyton
Wow these look great I am going to try them as soon as I have a bit of time, I usually have some full fat crème fraiche in the fridge do you think this could replace the yoghurt please? Thanks - Janet - an avid reader!
Katrin
Hi Janet, yes, I think sour cream would be fine. Let me know how you get on with them! 🙂
Teresa
Hi! I just made it.... and loved it! I try to stay away from almond flour as much as I can. Not because I don't love almond, but because we tend to end up eating too many nuts. For sweet things, it's normally hard to avoid them, then I try to use coconut flour for salty ones. I will have to adjust the salt and also the baking time, but definitely will be making them many times again! Thanks for the recipe! Liebe Grüße aus Deutschland!
Katrin
Yay! So glad they hit the spot. You're right - it's easy to over-eat on nuts. Und viele Grüße zurück!!