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.
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.
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.
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.
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.