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.
Zainab
Best keto naan/flatbread recipe out there, hands down!
I have been trialling so many recipes out there. None as good! I am so happy. I love my desi food and keto was a struggle as I couldn’t have my curries. Now I can!
Thank you!!!
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Zainab, that's so good to hear! A hurrah to curries 😉
Sharon Ripps
I weighed and measured everything, precisely including the 6 portions. I did use sour cream and a fresh baking powder. The dough felt nice. While they weren’t cardboard...They did not puff at all! Looked nothing like naan! I wonder if they needed to be thicker?
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Sharon, by using sour cream you added additional fat to the dough. Maybe that's the reason why the dough did not puff as much? As for the thickness, you should check the images to compare how thick mine were with yours 🙂
Catherine
I really enjoyed these with my butter chicken curry. I didn’t add the xanthan gum but they held together well enough. The physillian husk did turn purple and they are a lot darker than in the picture, but they tasted good enough.
Catherine
I forgot to say - I used sour cream in place of yogurt.
Katrin Nürnberger
Thanks for letting everyone know!!
Katrin Nürnberger
Good to know it also works without xanthan. And what a shame about the psyllium turning purple! Which brand did you use? Or did your baking powder contain aluminium?
Leslie
Hi I just made them they never Browned . I bake them for 30. Mins have a brand new oven and I followed your receipt exactly. Kinda doughy in the inside used bagel everything on top but the taste was really good. So what should I try do you think. Thank you
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Leslie, it could have many reasons. Was the dough easy to roll out and a good texture? It could have been that you used too much water and that's why the dough ended up too moist. If your breads were thicker than mine, they would also take longer to bake. So, if you make them again I'd make sure to measure out the ingredients exactly, roll out the naans thinly and bake them on a high shelf in your oven (I bake on the middle shelf, never the bottom). If you want them brown more, just turn on the broiler/grill at the end (watching closely, they burn quickly!). I hope this helps 🙂
Kritika
Indian here. So happy with this recipe! Loved it. Also brushed the naans with butter and pricked them with a fork before putting in the oven. I cooked them for 15 minutes. 10 fan forced at 180 and 5 on broiler. Came out brown, fluffy and yummy. So satisfying!
Katrin
Now I really feel like it's a good recipe, if it has been endorsed by you as an Indian!! Thank you so much for your comment 🙂
Maria
I just made these today and they turned out delicious! My kids have gluten, egg, and nut allergies so it was so nice to find something we can all enjoy! Thank you for this delicious recipe!
Katrin
Result! I"m so glad you all liked the naans 😉
Heather Jones
What did I do wrong. Not fluffy at all. Just flat.
Katrin
hi Heather, if you let me know exactly what you did we can try and work it out together 🙂
Heather Jones
I followed the instructions maybe I rolled them to thin? I don’t have psyllium husk powder but it looks ground. Being in New Zealand it’s hard to find a lot of things Keto.
Katrin
It's possible that they may not fluff up if the dough is rolled too thinly. If you want to try again, use the step-by step images as a guide and see if you can get the result you're after. If your dough was rollable, it sounds like the amount of psyllium was correct. Otherwise the dough would have been too soft and sticky to work with.
Rakhi
I liked the recipe, thank you. I will try it with half cup coconut flour and half cup almond flour the next time, as I find coconut flour tad bit sweeter than what naan should be, so maybe the almond flour will help reduce the sweetness. Recommendation for yogurt for others who are worried of adding carbs to the recipe - Aussie whole plain Greek yogurt, has the least carbs I have seen in store bought yogurts. It Has about 5 grams of carbs for 3/4 cup, which is pretty good.
Katrin
Glad you like the recipe and thanks for the tip about the yoghurt!
Bharat
I love that yogurt is used in this. I used curd and the I loved the naans. I had it with a fish curry.I had earlier made a coconut flour flatbreads with all the above ingredients except xantum gum, yogurt. The taste of both was similar but I think I liked yours better but I couldn't explain why. In what does yogurt help in this recipe?
Also could I get emails whenever you reply on my comment? It would be very useful to get notified.
Katrin
Hi there, when I researched the recipe I saw that yoghurt is used in many traditional naan bread recipes, that’s why I wanted to keep it in. I have also made really nice low carb bread and cake using yoghurt so I’m a fan of yoghurt in baking anyway. By the sound of it, we are on the same page!
Susan
My oven is on the fritz. Would it work to cook them on the stovetop in a dry frying pan?
Katrin
I think that should work! Make them nice and small so you can lift them easily with a spatula and use oil in the pan so they do not stick. And a low heat as coconut flour burns easily.
Ashlee
Anything I can use in place of psyllium husk powder? I have all the other ingredients already in hand (minus the seeds but I have other ides for that)
Katrin
You could try ground flaxseed, but you may need to use a little more because psyllium is incredibly absorbent
Rakhi
Hello,
Have you tried almond flour instead of coconut?
Katrin
Hi Rakhi, not yet, but I'd go with double the amount of almond flour and if it's quite coarse, I'd use even more than that. Almond flour is less absorbent than coconut flour.