Pull out the leftover delicious naan flatbread—whether you made it yourself or it’s from the store—and get the best tips on how to reheat naan right here.
Popular throughout Western, Central, and South Asia, naan is a staple in many types of cuisines.
Naan is a type of flatbread that typically features a browned exterior, an incredibly soft interior, and a buttery taste throughout.
You may be familiar with naan as a side dish at your favorite Indian restaurants, but it is available almost universally among the packaged baked goods in grocery stores around the U.S.
Just like how there are tons of ways to prepare fresh naan bread and use it as a pizza base, side dish, or vessel for mopping up curries, hummus, and delicious sauces of all kinds, there are also a few different methods of reheating it to get it close to the freshest experience possible.
Stonefire brand naan is especially versatile and easy to find and can be reheated in many different ways, even on an open flame on your gas burner:
Turn the flame to medium and grab a pair of tongs to hold the naan. Carefully place the naan on the burner and turn constantly, it only takes about 90 seconds to warm the naan. Don’t leave it unattended or it will burn. Remove it from the heat and brush with some butter or olive oil, then sprinkle with grated parmesan – serve immediately!
Here are the other traditional ways we will be discussing to reheat naan:
- Microwave
- Oven
- Stovetop
- Air fryer
Since you are not cooking your naan from its raw dough state but just warming it up, it is much easier and quicker to reheat compared to cooking it for the first time.
To keep it tasting its best, you will want to retain moisture and avoid letting it get too hard but rest assured, we will go over how to accomplish that in each of the different methods!
A little water used for each method helps refresh leftover naan in each of these methods.
If you have the time for it, the best way to reheat leftover naan bread is in the oven or on your stovetop will get you closest to the original taste and texture, but the other methods will do the trick if you want a little bit more convenience.
There is no definitive, single correct way to reheat naan; each of our tips below will help you with reheating to help you avoid flavorless naan bread.
It depends on if you are looking for convenience, saving time, or getting it to a certain texture after reheating.
Keep all the different factors you want in your reheated naan in mind as you decide on which method is best for your occasion.
Reheat naan with a microwave:
The microwave method may be the most convenient and quickest way to reheat your naan but it may take some trial and error to find the perfect length of time to get your naan to the right warmth without overheating it.
It is a very simple method to get your naan warm and soft again while retaining moisture and keeping your bread from sticking together.
This is especially useful if your naan has gotten a bit stale and needs some freshening up.
Using a microwave to reheat naan is an easy way to do it, but you have to keep a close eye on it (and for all baked goods):
For the best results, make sure to follow the CookingChew 4Ts method of microwaving: turn, time, test, and taste!
TURN food over, watch the TIME, TEST for doneness, then TASTE the food.
Tools:
- Leftover naan to be reheated
- Microwave safe plate
- Parchment paper
- Microwave
Instructions:
- Use a microwave-safe plate for your naan.
- If you are putting multiple pieces of naan in your microwave oven, spritz or dribble some water over each piece and place a sheet of parchment paper in between each piece of naan.
- Warm your bread for 15 seconds at a time, in order to get it warm and pliable without allowing too much moisture to come out which can lead to a rubbery texture.
- For cold naan, increase the time to 20 seconds, and for frozen naan bread, increase the starting time to 30 seconds, then turn and add a short burst of heat at a time until thoroughly heated.
Reheat naan with an oven:
Since your naan was probably originally cooked in a tandoor oven, warming it in your home’s oven will bring it close to the most consistent and even fluffiness it had the first time around.
It is very easy to lose moisture of the naan bread when baking in the oven, so following Step 3 is very important if you want to retain all that dense and moist goodness without drying it out.
Tools:
- Leftover naan to be reheated
- Baking sheet
- Oven
Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 350F (keep in mind all ovens are different so you may find that turning the temperature up works better for you).
- Grab a baking sheet and place your naan in a single layer.
- Sprinkle a little bit of water onto your naan (or use a pastry brush to spread oil or melted butter).
- Once your oven is good and hot, bake your naan for about five minutes.
Reheat naan with a stovetop
A good quality cast iron skillet or even a tawa (to put it simply, an Indian pan) are great tools to have on hand for reheating naan on a stovetop or burner.
Even without a cast iron skillet or a tawa, you can follow the same process and get positive results with a frying pan method.
Tools:
- Leftover naan
- Cast iron skillet or tawa (recommended) otherwise, any skillet pan
- Butter, ghee, or olive oil
- Stovetop or burner
Instructions:
- Start by heating your skillet to medium or medium-high heat.
- Ghee is ideal for your skillet or tawa, but if it’s not available, you can use butter or even olive oil.
- Heat each side for about 30 seconds at a time, flipping between intervals until you get to the desired heat and texture.
- A little bit of ghee or butter can be added right after warming for extra flavor, but this is optional.
Reheat naan with an air fryer
Since your naan was probably originally cooked in a tandoor oven, warming it in your home’s oven will bring it close to the most consistent and even fluffiness it had the first time around.
It is very easy to lose moisture of the naan bread when baking in the oven, so following Step 3 is very important if you want to retain all that dense and moist goodness without drying it out.
Tools:
- Leftover naan to be reheated
- Baking sheet
- Oven
Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 350F (keep in mind all ovens are different so you may find that turning the temperature up works better for you).
- Grab a baking sheet and place your naan in a single layer.
- Sprinkle a little bit of water onto your naan (or use a pastry brush to spread oil or melted butter).
- Once your oven is good and hot, bake your naan for about five minutes.
How to Store Naan
In order to have the best experience with rewarming your naan, start off by thinking about how you store it.
There are two methods that are ideal for storing naan:
- Storing in the pantry or at room temperature
- Freezing naan if you anticipate you will need it in the far future
Store Naan at Room Temperature
You will want to leave your naan at room temperature for about three or four days.
The only tool that is needed is a high-quality airtight container.
With this storage method, you can expect a shelf life of about three to four days, but if you decide to store your naan longer, you will want to freeze it.
Store Naan in the Freezer
Naan will last about two to three months in the freezer.
The good news is that freezing your naan for three months or less usually doesn’t cause any noticeable change in taste and can help it last a much longer time than just leaving it out at room temperature.
I’ve cut my large pieces of naan into fourths and then bagged them a few at a time to put in the freezer so I can pull out one baggie without thawing it all.
Note: If you thawed your frozen package of naan in the microwave on defrost, I have found that reheating a piece after that turns it rubbery and chewy, even if I am taking great care while warming it up again.
If you want to help avoid freezer burn, wrap your naan in plastic wrap or aluminum foil before bagging it to help keep air out.
All foods can become freezer burnt when kept in the freezer for long periods. From Whirlpool:
Cold, dry air is more likely to permeate foods that aren’t tightly wrapped, left open or stored in frequently fluctuating temperatures. This leads to dried out sections that can affect the look, taste and texture of meats, produce and other frozen products.
Store Naan in the Fridge
Putting your naan in the fridge is unnecessary and should only be done so when there is no space in the pantry or you live in a hot, humid climate.
A plastic bag will do the trick for a little while, but keep it tightly clipped.
Consider using a high-quality air-tight storage container or bread bag.
How to Know if Your Naan Has Gone Bad
Here are some easy ways to identify if your naan is no longer as fresh as it was the first time you made it or brought it home from grocery stores.
Here’s what to look for to see if your naan has gone bad.
Look out for:
- Change in texture: dry, hard, mushy (when it should be firm)
- Change in smell: no fresh aroma, moldy, stale, smells like refrigerator contents
- Change in appearance: black, white, pink or green molds; apparent condensation or moisture in container
- Change in taste: too chewy, stale, lack of original flavor, sour (when it should be mild), overly yeasty or tangy
It is better not to risk any sickness that could come from eating old naan that hasn’t been properly stored.
Just like other types of bread, naan is safe to eat when stale but there are other signs to look out for before warming up your leftover naan with one of these reheating process.
Read on to learn more about these changes and what to look out for when you want the best quality.
Change in Texture
When the moisture content has changed a lot, whether it’s gotten condensation in the bag and the naan bread has become too moist or soggy, or air has gotten to it and it is very dried out and rigid, a change in texture is one of the easiest ways to tell if your naan has gone bad.
When you tap the naan on the counter, does it make a hollow bonk or does it still have “give” and the edges fold slightly?
Naan is soft when fresh, so the stiffer it becomes, the more stale it may be, and may not be an enjoyable eating experience.
Aside from a personal preference for having naan with a soft texture, this may signal that it is no longer safe to eat.
Change in Smell
If you no longer smell the mild, oven-baked freshness of naan but rather a moldy, “off” or sour smell, you can go ahead and toss it out.
Sometimes, the mold is visible and that alone can tell you that it has gone bad so you can save your nose from having to sniff it.
If your naan wasn’t wrapped tightly enough in the fridge and it absorbed a lot of the “refrigerator” smells, it may ruin the eating experience.
Change in Appearance
Just as you can smell mold, you can often see it on the surface of bread like naan: fuzzy or hairy spots or swatches of green, blue, white, or dark mold that ruins bread.
If it’s not kept tightly closed in a consistent ambient temperature, the temp changes can cause moisture to form, which creates the perfect environment for mold to grow.
And the fewer preservatives your naan has (homemade, for example), the faster it will go bad.
The US Department of Agriculture shares that when you can see mold on the outside, that means that the mold’s “root threads” have already penetrated deep into the food, so it is not worth trying to salvage the rest of the naan with good results.
When these spores are visible, throw them ALL away, rather than just cutting off the moldy pieces.
Change in Taste
If leftover naan is too chewy or rubbery accompanied by a stale flavor, or you can taste mold or sour flavor, the change in taste means it’s no longer good to eat.
If your naan passes the above tests yet doesn’t taste just right, you should still discard the entire loaf, especially if it is from a trusted brand or source and the taste doesn’t match up to what you remember.
Chances are, the entire loaf is bad so it is best to avoid eating it further.
Sometimes after naan has been reheated and it changes the flavor after it cools, you may not enjoy the flavor.
This is why we don’t recommend reheating naan more than once.
The bottom line
Naan is a staple to many types of Indian food but if you aren’t able to finish it all in one meal, you can rest assured knowing that you can easily store and reheat it in many different ways.
It is very easy to reheat your naan with whatever tools you may already have at home, and still maintain softness and moisture.
Our rule is never heat a piece of naan (or any other baked good) more than once.
Note: If you thaw your frozen package of naan in the microwave on defrost, I have found that reheating a piece after that turns it rubbery and chewy, even if I am taking great care to warm it up again.
Here are more articles foodies might find interesting (and go great with naan!):
- Best Indian Food Recipes
- Easy Curry Recipes
- NEW: Epic List of Asian Recipes
- What to Serve with Saffron Rice
- What to Serve with Butter Chicken
How To Reheat Naan In The Microwave
Use our simple steps to help you reheat naan in the microwave for best results.
Ingredients
- Leftover naan
- Microwave-safe plate
- Oil, melted butter, or water
Instructions
- Bring leftover naan to room temperature if it isn’t already.
- Add naan to plate.
- For up to three pieces of naan, drizzle with oil, melted butter, or oil on each.
- Cover entire plate with paper towel.
- On high, set cook time to 15 to 20 seconds.
- Uncover and turn each piece of naan over.
- Reheat for another 10 seconds.
- This will soften the naan and make it just barely warm to the touch.
Notes
Microwaving requires heating foods, especially bakery items, in small increments of time so they don’t overheat and become rubbery or tough. Follow the CookingChew method of: Time, Turn, Test, Taste. Serve and eat immediately after reheating.