Tofu Naan Bread Recipe
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This soft and fluffy garlic naan bread recipe is made with protein packed tofu in the dough in lieu of yogurt and served with a garlic oil for the ultimate homemade carb fix. Simple to make, no eggs, no butter, a simply amazing vegan recipe for the books.
Naan Bread Recipe
You’ll never want to eat store-bought naan bread after you try this simple fluffy homemade recipe. You can serve it on its own generously brushed with garlic oil or just a sprinkle of sea salt flakes alongside my fan favorite spiced chickpea stew.
This leavened flatbread is characterized by a fluffy and chewy texture with lightly charred spots from oven baking or pan frying it in a hot iron skillet. It can be enjoyed on its own, used as a pizza base or served as a side dish for dipping in your favorite spread, soups and stews.
Ingredients Notes
- Flour – this is comfort food so an all purpose or bread flour is best for the lightest results.
- Tofu – using silken tofu in the dough adds moisture, fluffiness and a good amount of protein. Most definitely don’t skip this magical ingredient. If you can’t find the silken variety use the next softest one you can find and adjust the amount of water as needed to achieve a smooth dough.
- Instant yeast – although this is technically a flatbread it is still leavened and requires proofing. I prefer the instant yeast variety as it never fails me, however feel free to use your trusted source you keep in the fridge/ pantry.
- Baking powder – for faster lift and to boost the final texture of your bread.
- Water – I suggest warm water here to speed up the rising process especially if your indoor temperature stays pretty cool.
- Sea salt – for flavor but don’t overdo it.
Mixing the Dough
Although you can certainly mix all the ingredients by hand, it’s best to take some help from your food processor with this one. You will get a very well blended and smooth dough absolutely worth the extra clean up.
Garlic Option
Instead of mixing garlic powder, raw or even roasted garlic into the dough (which you can totally do), I prefer to make a quick garlic oil with freshly grated garlic and parsley and brush that over your flatbread before serving. At this point you can sprinkle it with extra sea salt or red chili flakes for a little spicy kick.
Make Ahead
This recipe can definitely be made ahead, refrigerate overnight and cooked the next day when planning to serve it. You can form the dough balls and refrigerate them right away, there will be a slow rise happening in the fridge but remember to bring them out to room temperature 1-2 hours before planning to cook them for the best results.
Serving Idea
- Sweet Potato Lentil Stew
- Vegan Lentil Soup (my favorite)
- Green Lentil Potato Soup
- Ultimate Split Pea Soup
- Root Vegetable Soup
- Best Cauliflower Soup
- Vegan Potato Leek Soup
- Tofu Kebab
- Tofu Scramble
- Vegan Dippy Eggs.
How to Make Naan Bread at Home
Tofu Naan Bread
Ingredients
- 8 oz silken tofu
- 5 cups all purpose flour + more as needed
- 2.5 tsp instant yeast
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1.5 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 cup warm water
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to the bowl of a large food processor. Mix everything for 3 to 5 minutes until a smooth dough is formed. If it seems sticky just sprinkle in a little more flour until the dough is smooth nd easy to handle.8 oz silken tofu, 5 cups all purpose flour, 2.5 tsp instant yeast, 1 tsp baking powder, 1.5 tsp fine sea salt, 1 cup warm water
- Slice the dough into 8 equal pieces and form each one into around ball by folding it onto itself and pinching at the bottom.
- Place all the formed dough balls on a parchment lined baking sheet lightly sprinkled with flour. Cover with a damp tea towel (or parchment paper) and allow to rise for 1 to 1.5 hours until doubled in size.
- Preheat a heavy bottom cast iron skillet over medium heat and lightly coat the bottom with oil.
- Sprinkle some flour on your counter or pastry board and place one of the dough balls on top. Using the palm of your hand press down on it to flatten it. Use a rolling pin and roll out an 8-9 inch oval.
- Cook the dough in the preheated skillet until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes or so.
- Repeat with the rest of the dough, wiping the skillet and adding extra oil as needed. (Alternately you can bake the naan on a hot pizza stone inside the oven @400F”)
- GARLIV VERSION - To serve mix a quick garlic sauce from 1/4 cup olive oil + 1 large grated garlic clove + 2 Tbsp minced parsley. Brush the bread with the garlic oil and sprinkle with some salt flakes and red chili flakes.
Absolutely love this! The tofu addition is brilliant and feeling good about having protein in my naan 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
This sounds amazing. I have neither a cast iron pan or a pizza stone. Will a regular pan be ok? Guess I can give it a try.
Hi Susan, yes you can cook it in an any heavy bottom pan just make sure to oil well so nothing sticks. Enjoy and report back ~ Florentina Xo’s
Can gluten free flour work?
Hi Sherry, you can use an all purpose gluten free flour mix of your choice. Let me know how it turns out ~ Florentina Xo’s
How do you store these? Can they be frozen?
Hi Claudia, they can be frozen if desired, wrap in parchment paper then inside a freezer proof bag. Enjoy! ~ Florentina Xo’s