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A hand pulls apart a piece of garlic herb naan, showing melted cheese stretching between the two halves.
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5 from 1 vote

Cheese Naan

🧀🫓🎉 Homemade naan is stuffed with gooey mozzarella cheese and is brushed with garlic butter for so much FLAVOR! The dough only takes an hour to rise and no baking necessary - just cook the naan in a skillet and serve it with your favorite Indian or Thai food, curries of any kind, or anything saucy you want to soak up!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time2 minutes
Rise Time1 hour
Course: Yeast Bread
Cuisine: Indian, Sides
Keyword: cheese naan, garlic butter naan, homemade naan, naan stuffed with cheese
Servings: 8
Calories: 293cal

Equipment

Ingredients

Dough

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for kneading by hand and flouring the surface for rolling out dough
  • 1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons; I have not tested with instant dry yeast)
  • 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ⅔ cup warm water (about 105F degrees; hot to the touch but not scalding)
  • ¼ cup plain unflavored yogurt (if using Greek yogurt, I recommend 2 tbsp Greek yogurt thinned with 2 tbsp water but I haven't tested it)
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil plus more for coating the bowl (vegetable oil may be substituted)

Stuffing with Cheese, optional but recommended

  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese divided (about 1/4 cup cheese per naan)

Brushing, optional but recommended

  • ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
  • 3-4 cloves garlic finely minced; or to taste

Garnishing, optional

  • Fresh cilantro or fresh parsley; optional and to taste

Instructions

  • Dough: To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, add the flour, yeast (just add it dry, we are not mixing it into water or another liquid), sugar, salt, and give it a stir with a spatula.
    A metal mixing bowl containing flour with a pool of liquid in the center.
  • Add the warm water, yogurt, oil, and allow the machine to knead it with the dough hook, or until a smooth dough forms. See next step for hand-mixing.
    Water Tip - Make sure to take the water temperature because too hot and it will kill the yeast, but too cool and it won't activate. If you don't have a thermometer, very hot water coming out of the tap but that you can still put your finger in it, it's about 105F.
    Dough in a metal mixing bowl with garlic cloves nearby.
  • Making by Hand/No Stand Mixer - If all you have is a handheld electric mixer, do not use it; it's not strong enough and the motor will blow out.
    If you're making this without a stand mixer, add the dry ingredients to a large bowl, then the wet, and stir as long as you can with a wooden spoon.
    When it's starting to get really challenging to stir, turn the dough out onto a clean, floured countertop and knead it by hand for 7-10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and has some resistance.
  • Dough Tips for Either Stand Mixer or By Hand - The dough is not a particularly wet dough, it's not overly shaggy, and it should come together with the indicated amount of flour (2 cups). However, if it's very loose, wet, simply won't come together, add additional flour one tablespoon at a time, until you can get it to come together.
    Don't automatically add more flour though until you're sure you need it because extra flour just makes dough heavy, unnecessarily dense, and less is more if you can get away with it.
  • Knead and Shape: Make sure to allow the stand mixer to knead the dough for about 5-7 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
    If kneading by hand, I'd say 7-10 minutes.
    In either method, you're looking for a slightly sticky dough that's increased a bit in size as you've kneaded it.
    Add a bit of oil to coat the inside of the mixing bowl, shape the dough you've been kneading into a ball, place it in the bowl.
    A ball of raw dough in a stainless steel mixing bowl, with garlic cloves and a dish of butter nearby.
  • Rise: Cover with a clean dishtowel, and allow it to rise for about 1 hour, or until nearly doubled in size.
    After about an hour, punch it down and take it out of the bowl.
    Rising Tips - Dough rises faster in a warm kitchen so if your kitchen is very cold or it's winter, this may take closer to 90 minutes, not 1 hour. No big deal, wait until the dough has risen sufficiently.
    A ball of dough rising in a metal mixing bowl, next to a small bowl of yellow liquid.
  • Divide: Create 8 equal sized pieces of dough. If you have kitchen scale, use it.
    Five rounds of dough dusted with flour on parchment paper.
  • Flatten: Flatten each piece of dough with a rolling pin, so that it's about 1 inch thick. You can use a rolling pin or your palms.
    Eight portions of raw dough resting on a floured surface.
  • Stuff with Cheese, optional: To the center of each piece of dough, add about 1/4 cup shredded cheese
    Seven rounds of raw dough topped with shredded cheese, arranged on a floured surface.
  • Seal: Ball up the dough to seal the cheese inside. Make sure the cheese is fully enclosed otherwise it will leak out while cooking the naan.
    Five rounds of dough dusted with flour on parchment paper.
  • Roll: Using your rolling pin, roll each of the 8 stuffed dough balls out, to approximately 5-6 inches in diameter.
    Several balls of flour-dusted dough and one flattened piece of dough on parchment paper.
  • Preheat: Heat a large skillet or large cast iron skillet over high heat on the stove.
  • Garlic Butter, optional: While the skillet heats up, melt the butter in the microwave. Once melted, stir in the garlic; set aside.
  • Cooking: Once the pan is hot, add a small amount of oil if desired to prevent sticking, and add the first disc of dough into the pan and cook on high heat until it has brown spots on both sides, about 2 minutes on the first side and 60-90 seconds on the second side. You can cook more than 1 piece at a time, just don't crowd your skillet. Repeat the cooking process until all the dough has been cooked.
    Cooking Tips - All pans, ranges, air temperature, moisture content in the dough will vary so it may take a bit longer or shorter for the naan to blister and be done; regardless it won't take long so keep an eye on them so they don't burn. Turn the heat down to medium-high or medium if you prefer.
    A round flatbread cooking in a frying pan.
  • Garlic Butter: Optionally, brush with garlic butter, as desired.
    A pastry brush spreading melted butter onto a round, toasted flatbread on parchment paper.
  • Garnish: Optionally, evenly sprinkle with fresh herbs, to taste.
    Round piece of flatbread topped with melted butter and fresh parsley on parchment paper.
  • Serve: Serve warm with your favorite dishes such as curries, soups, or stews.
    A dark plate stacked with several pieces of golden-brown garlic naan garnished with fresh parsley.

Notes

Storage: Naan is best warm and fresh. However, it will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in an air fryer at 390℉ for about 2-3 minutes OR heat in the microwave in 10-15 second intervals until thoroughly warm. I've never tried to freeze it.
If you make it without cheese, you can store it airtight at room temp, no refrigeration needed.
A stack of toasted flatbreads garnished with herbs on a grey plate.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 293cal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 327mg | Potassium: 81mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 374IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 160mg | Iron: 2mg
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