This recipe for Vegan Stuffed Spinach Potato & Cheese Naan Bread turns out perfect every time, without any added yeast thanks to a mix of dairy-free yogurt and baking powder. Served brushed with garlic butter – so good! Nutfree Soyfree. Gluten-free option included.
My favorite part about going to an Indian restaurant is when that big stack of butter naan arrives. You can always find different kinds of Naan on the menu – some are stuffed and some are plain. While Plain Naan is obviously delicious Stuffed Naan is a treat that I have a difficult time saying no to. There are different types of Stuffed Naan with the most popular ones having fillings with Potato, Paneer, onion, Cauliflower, spinach, cheese etc. Unfortunately most Indian restaurants don’t offer vegan versions. Today, I have decided to bring to you my favorite stuffed naan – Vegan Potato Spinach & Cheese Stuffed Naan. It’s aloo paratha + greens and herbs + cheesy goodness + stuffed in bread! What’s not to love.
Crispy and perfectly charred on the outside and stuffed with an incredibly cheesy grated potato and spinach filling. It’s the best quick pan bread recipe to serve as a side dish to Indian curries or soups!
No yeast needed
Most vegan naan bread recipes call for yeast. While yeast can be used for making fluffy restaurant-style naan bread, there are other options to make this Indian Naan recipe without having to yeast or dairy.
The bread dough comes together in no time at all and bakes up perfectly fluffy and moist on the inside and crispy on the outside. And without any added yeast – just a bit of baking powder combined with dairy-free yogurt.
Apart from spinach and potatoes, I add a whole bunch of vegan mozzarella cheese which makes these such a treat. Now let’s talk herbs: Cilantro works well but so does parsley or even chopped mint. I put them into the filling and then some more on top right before serving
You will love this Stuffed Naan
- Its yeast free! No waiting for hours for the dough to rise
- The dough is easy to form and handle
- you can stuff with other fillings
- dont want to stuff, just use it like pizza dough, top with the spinach mixture or other toppings and bake at 425 deg F for 10-12 minutes.
- gluten free option
MORE NAAN AND FLATBREAD RECIPES TO TRY
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Spinach Potato Stuffed Naan Bread
Ingredients
For the dough
- ½ cup (125 ml) hot water
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons non-dairy yogurt See notes for substitutes
- 3 tablespoons oil or melted vegan butter , see notes for Oilfree
- 2 cups (250 g) All purpose flour, divided ,see notes for Glutenfree
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
For the stuffing
- 1 cup (240 g) grated potato , Yukon gold or yellow works best
- 1 cup (156 g) frozen spinach thawed and squeezed lightly to remove excess moisture
- 2 teaspoons oil
- ½ teaspoon pepper flakes
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ⅓ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup vegan mozzarella
- ¼ cup cilantro or basil or other fresh herbs of choice
For the topping
- 2 teaspoons vegan butter
- 1 clove of garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro or other fresh herbs
Instructions
- Make the dough: In a large bowl, add the hot water and yogurt and the oil or melted butter, and mix really well. Then add in 1 cup of the flour and mix well. Cover and Let this mixture sit for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the filling: Grate the potato if you haven't already and thaw the spinach if you haven't already. Then heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and pepper flakes and cook until the garlic is starting to turn golden.
- Then add in the grated potato, spinach and salt and mix well. Continue to cook until some of the moisture from the spinach evaporates and the potato is cooked. This will take 5 to 7 minutes. Stir once or twice in between.
- Let this filling sit to cool. Once cooled, mix in the mozzarella and herbs and set aside.
- Back to the dough, mix the salt, baking powder in ½ a cup of the flour and add that to the dough mixture. (You can also add ½ tsp garam masala or other spice blends here) . Mix well and knead for a minute or two to mix all the dough and see if you need more flour.
- You want the dough to be soft and somewhat smooth. If you overwork the dough, it will continue to get sticky. Add in the flour, 1 tablespoon at a time until you have a well-formed dough.
- Prep your rolling out station with some flour. Divide the dough into three equal portions. Shape one of the portions into somewhat of a flat disc, and then press it with your hands outwards until you have about an eight inch circle. You want to keep the edges thinner than the middle. Or roll it out using a rolling pin., or use both methods.
- Add a good helping of the filling in the middle of this rolled-out dough. Then fold it like you will fold a crunch wrap and seal really well in the middle. Sprinkle a little bit of flour and then use your hands to spread it out initially. If you start rolling it, the filling might split the edges. Spread using fingers, then roll using rolling pin very lightly.
- Repeat for the rest of the dough and the filling. Heat a cast Iron or heavy bottom skillet over medium-high heat and let it get hot. Once the skillet is hot, place one of the rolled out flatbreads onto the skillet.
- Let it start to get golden brown spots and bubble a bit. Keep checking because depending on the stove and your skillet, the bread might get brown within a minute, or it might take another 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
- Once the bottom of the flatbread is getting brown , flip and continue to cook the other side until it has some brown spots. Repeat for the rest of the flatbread. Then put them on a serving dish.
- Make the topping: In a bowl, melt your vegan butter until it's very hot. Add in the minced garlic and cilantro and mix well. Then use a brush and brush the freshly made breads all over.
Video
Notes
- To substitute the yogurt, you can use thick cashew cream or coconut cream. But if you're using these, you want to add some yeast in as well. Add in ½ teaspoon of yeast to the water cream mixture.
- To make the gluten free, you can use my Almond flour Naan or chickpea flour naan(Nutfree) batter. Spread out the batter and then bake for 2 minutes and then sprinkle the filling all over the batter and drizzle the rest with some batter on top to cover the filling and then bake again until the batter sets.
- To make with yeast. Add 1 teaspoon yeast to water yogurt mixture and let it sit for 5 mins, then proceed. Reduce baking powder to ½ teaspoon.
- To make Oilfree: omit the oil and vegan butter. Add 2 tbsp more yogurt to the wet ingredients. Once the Naan is cooked, cover with kitchen towel to reduce moisture loss. that will dry it out. you can also brush aquafaba on the naan to keep it moist
- Make it into pizza style flatbread: don’t want to stuff, just top the rolled out dough and bake at 425 deg F for 10-12 mins
- Variations:Change up the spices and herbs in the filling, add more or less, change up the veggies for variation.
- Whole wheat: use whole wheat flour. You’ll need a few tablespoons less flour
Nutrition
Ingredients:
- The base for the naan dough is a simple mix of flour and baking powder mixed with some water and salt
- yogurt adds moisture and acts with the baking powder so that we do not need to add any yeast
- melted vegan butter is a must when making naan – both in the dough and on top
- the filling is a mix of spinach and grated potatoes sauteed with garlic and chili flakes
- vegan mozzarella is added to the filling for extra cheesiness
- I like adding some fresh herbs as well: cilantro or basil or other fresh herbs of choice.
- the freshly baked naan begs for a good brushing of vegan garlic butter
- chopped cilantro or other fresh herbs complete the restaurant-style look
Tips:
- For fluffy bubbly Naan, spread the stuffed dough out using your fingers (even after rolling) . Let the Naans rest 10 minutes before cooking. It usually will be 10-15 mins while you roll all of them out.
- You can make smaller Naans as they are easier to handle and quicker. the stuffed naans won’t even need a rolling pin. Just use your hands for a couple of presses and done.
- Variations: Change up the stuffing! Use cauliflower plus chard, or just entirely spinach and cheese. Add in some spiced lentils.
- To substitute the yogurt, you can use thick cashew cream or coconut cream. But if you’re using these, you want to add some yeast in as well. Add in ½ teaspoon of yeast to the water cream mixture.
- To make the stuffed naan gluten-free, you can use my chickpea flour naan batter. Spread out the batter and then bake for 2 minutes and then sprinkle the filling all over the batter and drizzle the rest with some batter on top to cover the filling and then bake again until the batter sets.
- Or you can make simple stuffed flatbreads , stuff my Glutenfree cauliflower flatbread or Pita bread recipe.Once you have rolled it out, add the filling, then fold it in. Seal and then roll it out again. Do not make it too thin. Just roll it out so that it is somewhat rolled out and even, and then cook it according to the instructions on that post.
How to make Stuffed Vegan Spinach Naan
In a large bowl, add the hot water and yogurt and the oil or melted butter, and mix really well.
Then add in 1 cup of the flour and mix well. Cover and Let this mixture sit for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, you can make the filling: Grate the potato if you haven’t already and thaw the spinach if you haven’t already. Then heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and pepper flakes and cook until the garlic is starting to turn golden.
Then add in the grated potato, spinach and salt and mix well. Continue to cook until some of the moisture from the spinach evaporates and the potato is cooked. This will take 5 to 7 minutes. Stir once or twice in between.
Let this filling sit to cool. Once cooled, mix in the mozzarella and herbs and set aside.
Back to the dough, mix the salt, baking powder in ½ a cup of the flour, and add that to the dough mixture. Mix well and knead for a minute or two to mix all the dough and see if you need more flour.
You want the dough to be soft and somewhat smooth. If you overwork the dough, it will continue to get sticky so you just want the dough to kind of form. Add in more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time until you have a well-formed dough.
Prep your rolling out station with some flour. Divide the dough into three equal portions. Shape one of the portions into somewhat of a flat disc and then press it with your hands outwards until you have about an eight-inch circle.
You want to keep the edges thinner than the middle. Or roll it out using a rolling pin. I usually roll it a bit then use my hands to thin out the edges
Add a good helping of the filling in the middle of this rolled-out dough. Then fold it like you will fold a crunch wrap and seal really well in the middle.
Sprinkle a little bit of flour and then use your hands to spread it out initially, because if you start rolling it, the filling might split the edges.
So use your hands to spread it out a little bit first an inch or so, and then use a rolling pin very lightly to roll out the rest of the flatbread. Hand spread Naan bubble up more than rolled out Naan.
Repeat for the rest of the dough and the filling Heat a cast Iron or heavy bottom skillet over medium-high heat and let it get hot.
Once the skillet is hot, place one of the rolled out flatbreads onto the skillet.
Let it start to get golden brown spots and bubble a bit. Keep checking because depending on the stove and your skillet, the bread might get brown within a minute, or it might take another 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
Once the bottom of the spinach naan flatbread is getting brown and it’s somewhere bubbly on top, flip and continue to cook the other side until it has some brown spots. Repeat for the rest of the flatbread. Then put them on a serving dish.
In a bowl, melt your vegan butter until it’s very hot. Add in the minced garlic and cilantro and mix well. Then use a brush and brush the freshly made breads all over.
Serve as is or with a side of curry or dal or marinara sauce.
Storage
Store covered on the counter for a few hours, refrigerate for upto 3 days. Reheat in a skillet or microwave and serve
Cat
Crispy dough with the cheesy mildly spiced filling… delicious! My only issue was the dough & I’m surprised to see only one other complaint in the comments about it. I needed about 3.5-4 cups of flour. The first step with just the 1 cup of flour was so liquidy, no form of a dough at all.
Richa
You add the other cup after the liquidy mixture has sat for a bit. See step 5. It also mentions to not overwork the dough else it releases more moisture and gets sticky. The time the liquidy mix sits allows for the flour to absorb quite a bit of the liquid. Hope you try it again based on the recipe .
AmyM
Total homerun! Made this as a side and the family only ate the naan!
Vegan Richa Support
Hehe, yay!
Meghan
This is so delicious!!
Vegan Richa Support
thank you! 🙂
Leo
I made these tonight and they were a hit! I needed to add more flour than the recipe called for, but once the dough was the right consistency, it was smooth sailing. I’ve also made the other naan recipe (from the IP cookbook) and these were actually quicker and easier.
Vegan Richa Support
yay!
Katrina
OMG this is staying in my recipe repertoire!!! soooo delicious! I actually replaced the flour with bob’s red mill 1-to-1 gluten free flour since I’m gluten free (and I did read the notes about changing it into a gluten free recipe but decided to just experiment instead with just swapping the flour 1-to-1 with the GF flour), and I was surprised that it came out soooo well! really delicious, and subbing the flour for all purpose GF flour totally worked just as well in my experiment, in case any one else was wondering! definitely recommend you try this ASAP!
Richa
Awesome! Thank you for trying with that flour and I am so glad it worked well! It’s hard to find gf blends that work in recipes like flatbreads.
Bev
I have made this over and over again! It’s one of our most favorite recipes. Pair it with Tofu Butter “Chickn” and basmati rice! YUMMMMM!
Vegan Richa Support
So happy to hear, Bev!
Purvie
RIcha, do you think using Bob’s GF all purpose flour mix would work for this? We often make pudha/pudhla with besan, so I am looking to use a GF flour mix that is not besan based. Thanks!
Richa
Gf flour substitution doesn’t work. They dry out. Use my almond flour batter or chickpea flour batter https://www.veganricha.com/gluten-free-almond-flour-naan/
Stefanos S.
I’ll have ALL the stuffed naans for dinner.
I don’t know what the guests will have.
Richa
🙂
Bev
Absolutely fantastic! I had to add quite a bit more flour. Maybe my yogurt is too watery. (I used Soy Delicious Coconut yogurt.) A meal in itself, but I did serve it as a side with a Greek Soup (I veganized Avogolemeno.) Dill in the soup, cilantro in the naan. Wow! Thanks for another brilliant recipe, Richa!
Richa
Awesome! Yes adjust the flour as needed. Moisture varies!
Loraine
Would love to see the recipe for that veganized Avogolemeno
Keren
amazing!! So delicious!
Vegan Richa Support
thanks for popping in
Elizabeth
Delicious! The directions were easy to follow. I used 156g of fresh spinach, it worked just fine. Thank you!
Richa
Awesome
scrappy
Absolutely incredible! Soft, puffy, buttery pockets of deliciousness!
Finally can enjoy a vegan stuffed naan at home. My husband liked them so much, he asked if he could help make them again two days later. Now we’ve brainstormed all kinds of stuffing ideas we wanna try.
Thanks for yet again, another yummy recipe!
Richa
Yay! Awesome!!
Steph
Hi,
Sounds amazing! Would this be good with dahl? Making for friends and curious 🙂 also any vegan cheese substitute idea or ok to omit? Thanks so much
Richa
I used violife mozzarella. You can omit it. Yea these will work great with dal. Infact better without the cheese when serving with dal
Steph
Oh great, thank you so much 💛
Vegan Richa Support
thank you Steph =)
Mitzi
This was incredible! I’ll have to triple the doses next time, lest I cause a family mutiny!! LOL
I love that with you, I can make the recipes without changing a single detail. Your instructions and doses are absolutely impeccable.
(I preordered your Instant Pot book! It’ll be the third of yours I have… I can’t wait for you to publish more!)
Richa
Yay!! So glad it turned out so well! Def triple it. Make a large batch of your favorite dip or dal and you’ll have a nice meal!
Steph
Hi, curious which cheese you used? Thanks for your review ☺️
Vegan Richa Support
it’s in the description – ” Apart from spinach and potatoes, I add a whole bunch of vegan mozzarella cheese which makes these such a treat. N
Tamar
Wow, what an amazing recipe! Made it with cashew cream and they came out perfect! Thanks!
Vegan Richa Support
thanks for popping in
Ellen
Delicious! Nice soft texture and lots of flavor. Will make again!
Richa
Awesome !
Luci
This was my first attempt to make Naan and it was successful with your easy instructions.
I used frozen drained hash browns vs the grated potato. I omitted the oil and used more yogurt. I stuffed with fresh mint and topped with mango chutney.
Richa
Yay!!
Lisa
Thoughts on subbing pureed silken tofu plus yeast for the yogurt? Cashew allergy, don’t like coconut (except in curry), and it’s out of the way to buy yogurt.
Richa
Yea use blended silken tofu and yeast
NICOLE
MERCI, J’AIME LES RECETTES INDIENNES PAS COMPLIQUÉES ET RAPIDES, JE VAIS ESSAYER CELLE-CI AVEC LA VERDURE CONGELÉE ENTREPOSÉE DEPUIS LE JARDIN D’ÉTÉ, COMME LE KALE QUE J’AI EN GRANDE QUANTITÉ. UNE QUESTION:LES NANN AU RESTO SEMBLENT GOÛTER LA LEVURE BOULANGÈRE?
Vegan Richa Support
merci !
meena anada
Hello Richa! I enjoy your vegan recipes a lot! Half of my family is vegan and the other half is diabetic…so they eat low carb foods. Naans have been a taboo for our family for those reasons. Seeing this vegan naan recipe gives me some hope. If you can post a low carb vegan naan recipe, I would be extremely appreciative. By low carb, I mean naan made with almond flour or so. Besan is not low carb option for us. Thank you in advance.
Richa
Sure , I will try a low card Naan
Bobbie
Just wondering how it would work if you mixed the cooked potato and spinach mixture into the dough and then fried them as a sort of pancake. Would not be stuffed naan but, sounds tasty and maybe cuts a step. Anyone try this?
Richa
Yes you can do that!
Di Hai
Once again a great recipe! Don’t know how you do it! Normally I make your recipe exactly how you suggest the first time and then tweak it for my family’s taste. This time it wasn’t going to work out that way as I was lazy, I didn’t feel like grating potatoes so I used spinach, cashew cheese and leftover chickpeas/black rice as my mixture. I also added a little homemade curry powder that was given to me by my friends for the holidays. Anyway everything turned out great! I know this will become my new what to cook meal when I have day old lentils or chickpeas … So foolproof dough! And the use of cast iron skillet is a must!
Vegan Richa Support
good to know! thank you, love the cast iron too