12 Naan Varieties
Ranked From the Best To the Worst

Butter garlic naan is a traditional flatbread and one of the most popular versions of naan. It’s made with flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and dahi. Once the dough has been baked in a hot tandoor oven, the golden naan is taken out and brushed with butter or ghee, then topped with minced garlic. It’s recommended to serve butter garlic naan with a variety of Indian dishes such as curries, butter chicken, dal makhani, malai kofta, or shahi paneer. Expand

Aloo naan is a traditional flatbread and a version of naan. It’s made with a combination of flour, yeast, salt, sugar, and dahi. The naan is stuffed with a spicy combination of mashed potatoes, chili peppers, coriander, and garam masala, if desired. Once prepared, the golden tandoor-baked naan is brushed with butter or ghee, then served hot. It’s recommended to serve aloo naan with a variety of Indian dishes such as raita, chola, and dal makhani.Expand

Paneer naan is a traditional flatbread and a version of naan. The dough is made with a combination of flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and yogurt. Once rolled, it’s usually stuffed with freshly grated paneer cheese (preferably homemade), coriander, masala spices, and cumin. Although plain naan is baked in a tandoor, this stuffed version is typically baked in a tava pan until the dough puffs up and becomes golden brown. Once done, paneer naan is brushed with melted butter or ghee, and it’s then served while still hot. It’s recommended to pair it with various Indian dishes such as curries or dal makhani.Expand

Keema naan is a traditional flatbread and a version of naan. The soft and elastic dough is made with a combination of flour, yeast, salt, sugar, and yogurt. Once rolled, it’s stuffed with keema, a curry-like stew containing lamb, mutton, or chicken meat, potatoes, green peas, ginger, chili, onions, garlic, and garam masala spices. Once stuffed and shaped, keema naan is baked in a hot tandoor, on a griddle, or on a tava pan until fully cooked and golden. If desired, the flatbread can be sprinkled with black sesame seeds for a nice visual appearance. Keema naan is usually brushed with warm butter or ghee before serving. It’s recommended to serve keema naan with a smashed onion, cucumber raita, and fresh yogurt on the side. This type of naan is usually prepared to make use of leftover keema stew.Expand

Peshwari or Peshawari naan is a traditional flatbread originating from Peshawar, Pakistan. The flatbread is characterized by its filling, consisting of almonds, desiccated coconut, and sultanas or raisins. The dough for this type of naan is made with yeast, water, flour, sugar, oil, and salt, while the filling is ground into a paste, often with the addition of butter and a bit of water. Once cooked, puffed up, and fluffy, this naan is typically brushed with melted butter or ghee, and it's then enjoyed warm alongside curries, especially the spicy ones.Expand

Naan-e afghani is a traditional flatbread made primarily with wheat flour and water. The dough is stretched into an oval or rectangular loaf, brushed with egg wash, and then baked in a hot tandoor oven. The thin bread can be enriched with oil or melted butter and a handful of seeds scattered on top such as sesame seeds, nigella seeds, cumin, caraway, or poppy seeds. Considered the national bread of Afghanistan, naan-e afghani is prepared on a daily basis and is an indispensable part of every Afghan household. The bread is best when eaten right out of the oven, and it is typically used as an accompaniment to almost every Afghan meal.Expand

Kashmiri naan is a traditional flatbread and a variety of naan originating from Kashmir, a state that borders India and Pakistan. The dough is made with a combination of flour, yeast, salt, sugar, dahi, and ghee. Once rolled, the dough is filled with dried fruits, nuts, and spices such as raisins, almonds, cashews, cumin, and fenugreek. The naan is then baked in a hot tava pan until fully cooked, a bit puffy, and golden brown. This type of sweet naan is usually served for breakfast or as an afternoon snack, when it’s typically paired with tea (Kashmiri chai) or coffee. It’s often served with spicy curries, gravy, raita, or chutneys.Expand

Chur chur is a traditional flatbread and a variety of naan. The dough is usually made with flour, sugar, baking powder, ghee, salt, dahi, water, and oil. Once shaped, the dough is stuffed with a mixture of boiled and mashed potatoes, grated paneer, chopped onion, hot chili peppers, ginger, red chili powder, garam masala, amchur, cumin, coriander, salt, and pepper. The stuffed dough is baked in a tandoor or cooked on a tawa until it turns golden brown. Once done, chur chur naan is lightly crushed, then brushed with ghee or butter and served as it is. If desired, the flatbread can be garnished with grated paneer on top.Expand

Nawabi naan is a traditional flatbread and a version of naan. This flatbread is basically a traditional baked naan studded with nuts. The ingredients used to prepare it include plain flour, yeast, sugar, oil, salt, cardamom, rose water, and finely chopped nuts such as almonds, pistachios, and cashews. Once it’s been rolled, the dough is sprinkled with nuts, then rolled once again so they stick to the dough. The flatbread is cooked in a tava frying pan, and it’s then usually served with spicy curries. When served, nawabi naan is often decorated with edible silver foil.Expand

Bullet naan is a traditional variety of the naan flatbread originating from India. This spicy variety is made with a combination of wheat flour, yeast, butter, milk, yogurt, and salt. After the dough has been shaped, it's topped with chopped jalapeños and coriander leaves, then baked in a tandoor until it's golden and puffed up. If desired, black sesame seeds can also be used as a topping. Once baked, the flatbread is brushed with butter. Bullet naan is traditionally served with different curries.Expand