Keema Naan Pizza is my go-to 30-minute Indian-fusion dinner. Store-bought naan is topped with mozzarella, spiced keema (ground lamb or chicken), crisp peppers, and fresh cilantro, then baked until the edges are toasty and the cheese is bubbling. It's a great way to use leftover keema, and a good reason to make a double batch!
Want to save this recipe?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Jump to:
If you're a fan of bold Indian flavors and the evergreen pizza, this recipe will become your new favorite! Keema pizza is my attempt to take a traditional Indian curry and give it a modern, weeknight twist.
It's the perfect 'shortcut pizza night' solution when you want something more exciting than pepperoni pizza but don't have the energy to make one from scratch. We're talking crispy naan, gooey cheese, and that signature spiced ground meat- it's a staple in my home for TGIF dinners!
Why My Family Loves This Keema Pizza
- It's a weeknight-friendly dinner that feels like a treat.
- No dough and barely any prep (5 mins!).
- Everyone can customize their own naan pizza using mini-naans.
- It's a great way to use leftover keema.
- Great as dinner, or cut into party-style pizza bites (perfect for game day).
- It's versatile! Make it with whole-wheat, butter, or garlic naan, or with other bread bases like pita and baguette.
Ingredients - Notes & Substitutions
Here are the handful of ingredients needed to make this delicious Naan pizza with Keema:
For The Keema Topping
- Ground meat: I'm using ground chicken today, but ground turkey is a great option for a lighter keema; lamb or beef are richer and have a "kebab-like taste."
- Ginger-garlic paste: Minced ginger and garlic or homemade ginger-garlic paste.
- Spices (garam masala, coriander, cumin, turmeric, chili powder): Adjust heat by scaling chili powder up or down.
- Tomato paste: Great for concentrated flavor without making the topping watery.
- Peas (optional): Sweet peas balance the keema well. Can be skipped.
For the naan pizza base
- Naan: Whole-wheat, plain or garlic naan. Use store-bought for a quick meal, or homemade butter naan or garlic naan.
- Olive oil or melted butter: For a garlicky flavor infusion, peel and crush a garlic clove, then microwave it in the oil or butter for 20 seconds. Leave aside while you prep the veggies. Skip if using garlic naan as a base.
- Mozzarella: Low-moisture shredded mozzarella works best, but other shredded blends can also be used.
- Bell peppers: Any color. Swap with sliced red onion or jalapeños.
Scroll to the recipe card for a detailed list of ingredients and quantities.
How To Make Keema Pizza Using Naan
If you have leftover keema, it only takes 10-15 minutes to make this Indian fusion pizza. Even if you have to make keema, you can still have dinner on the table in 30 minutes. Here are the step-by-step instructions and photos for this quick and easy Indian pizza:
Step 1: Prepare Keema in the Instant Pot
Skip this step if you have leftover keema. You can find the stovetop recipe here: Stovetop Keema Matar Recipe.
- Finely chop the onion and ginger-garlic. Heat the Instant Pot on Sauté mode for 30 seconds. Add oil and chopped onions and saute for 2-3 minutes.
- Add ginger-garlic paste and sauté for a minute.
- Add the tomato, salt, and all the dry spices, and mix well. Stir and sauté for 30 seconds.
- Add ½ cup of water and mix. Use a potato masher or a tall spatula to break the meat into smaller chunks. Mix it well.
- Close the lid and pressure cook for 8 minutes. When the cooking is done, release pressure manually.
- Open the lid and turn on the Saute function. Add thawed peas and cilantro, and sauté for 3-4 minutes, or until the liquid has evaporated and the peas are cooked through. Turn off the IP.
Step 2: Prepare Naan Pizza
Crispy Pizza Tip: After dozens of Friday night pizza tests, I found that brushing the naan with olive oil or melted butter before adding the toppings creates a protective barrier and prevents the pizza from turning soggy. It ensures the edges get perfectly golden and the center stays crisp under the melted mozzarella.
Here's how I prepare this 10-minute Indian Fusion Keema Pizza in the air fryer or oven:
Add cheese on naan
Lightly brush the naan with olive oil or melted butter. Now evenly spread ⅓ to ½ cup of shredded mozzarella cheese.
Step 2
Top the cheese with an even layer of keema matar. Now add sliced bell peppers, a pinch of cayenne (optional), and chopped cilantro.
Cook in Air Fryer
Place the assembled pizza in the air fryer basket and cook at 350°F for 5-6 minutes, or until the cheese melts and the naan crisps.
Bake in Oven
Alternatively, bake the pizza in a preheated oven at 425°F for about 8-10 minutes.
Serving Suggestions
You can serve this Indian Keema pizza as a main dish or as an appetizer for cocktails or game-day parties. It doesn't need any other condiment. Here is how I serve in both ways:
Main meal: Cut the pizza into wedges or slices and serve 1 pizza per person.
Appetizer: If you're hosting and need a quick, crowd-pleasing appetizer, slice the naan into 2-inch pieces. These bite-sized pieces are sturdy, mess-free, and the perfect one-handed snack when your guests are holding a drink in the other hand!
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Ground meat: Use ground chicken or turkey for lean meat, or ground lamb or beef for a kebab-like flavor.
- Naan: use any kind you like- Plain, Garlic, Whole-wheat naan, or any gluten-free naan.
- Best cheese: While experimenting with this recipe, I found that shredded mozzarella melted best, followed by Mexican cheese and shredded pepper jack.
- Peppers: I use any colored bell peppers I have on hand. You can also add sliced jalapenos for a kick.
- How to prevent soggy pizzas: Brush the naan with oil or butter before adding the cheese. This creates a barrier and prevents the crust from turning soggy.
- Air Fryer or Oven: In my testing, both methods yielded crispy pizzas. I use the air fryer for 1-2 pizzas and the oven for more than 2.
- How to serve this as an appetizer: If you're hosting and need a quick, crowd-pleasing appetizer, slice the naan into 2-inch pieces. These bite-sized pieces are sturdy, mess-free, and the perfect one-handed snack when your guests are holding a drink in the other hand!
- Keema quantity: This recipe yields about 4 cups of cooked keema, enough for 8 naan pizzas. You can refrigerate or freeze the leftover 2 cups since this recipe only uses 2 cups of cooked keema.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! While ground chicken or lamb are traditional and pack incredible flavor, lean ground beef or turkey work just as well. I always try to use high-quality, grass-fed, or organic meat whenever possible to keep things wholesome and healthy for the family.
This is the million-dollar pizza question! There are two tricks for that: first, brush the naan with oil, which creates a waterproof barrier between the bread and the meat. Second, make sure your leftover keema is dry and has very little sauce.
I don't recommend freezing fully assembled naan pizzas, as the bread can get mushy when thawed. However, you can absolutely freeze the cooked keema! I do this all the time. Just thaw the spiced meat overnight in the fridge, and you're ready to assemble and bake fresh pizzas in 15 minutes flat.
If your local store is out of naan, pita bread is your next best bet. Whole-wheat pita crisps up beautifully in the oven or air fryer, though you might need to shave a minute or two off the baking time since it's generally thinner than naan.
📖 Recipe
Keema Naan Pizza (Indian Pizza with Spiced Ground Meat)
Want to save this recipe?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Video
Equipment
- Baking Sheet
Ingredients
Keema (Makes about 4 cups filling, enough for 8 pizzas)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste ½ inch ginger + 3 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 2 teaspoons Garam Masala
- 3 teaspoons Coriander Powder
- 1 teaspoons Ground Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri Red Chili Powder
- 3 tablespoons Tomato Paste
- 1 lb ground meat chicken, turkey, lamb, beef
- 1 cup peas frozen or fresh
- ¾ cup water to be added in 2 parts
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro for garnish
Naan Pizza
- 4 Naan Plain, whole-wheat or garlic naan
- 1½-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 cups keema filling (from the top) Freeze or refrigerate remaining 2 cups keema
- 1 large bell pepper, sliced any color (green, red, orange, yellow)
- ½ teaspoon cayenne for sprinkling on top (optional)
- 2 tablespoon fresh cilantro for topping
Instructions
Prepare Keema in Instant Pot (Skip if using leftover keema)
- Finely chop the onion and ginger-garlic. Heat the Instant Pot on Sauté mode for 30 seconds. Add oil and chopped onions and saute for 2-3 minutes.
- Add ginger-garlic paste and sauté for a minute. Add the tomato, salt, and all the dry spices, and mix well. Stir and sauté for 30 seconds.
- Add ½ cup of water and mix. Use a potato masher or a tall spatula to break the meat into smaller chunks. Mix it well.
- Close the lid and pressure cook for 8 minutes. When the cooking is done, release pressure manually.
- Open the lid and turn on the Saute function. Add thawed peas and cilantro, and sauté for 3-4 minutes, or until the liquid has evaporated and the peas are cooked through. Turn off the IP.
Assemble and Cook Naan Pizza
- Lightly brush the naans with olive oil or melted butter. Now evenly spread ⅓ to ½ cup of shredded mozzarella cheese on each.
- Evenly spread about ½ cup of cooked keema over the cheese on each pizza. Now divide the sliced bell peppers among the pizzas. Sprinkle cayenne (optional), and chopped cilantro on all.
- Air Fryer Method: Place the assembled pizza in the air fryer basket and cook at 350°F for 5-6 minutes, or until the cheese melts and the naan crisps. You'll have to cook the pizza one at a time to get crisp results.
- Oven Method: Alternatively, place the assembled naan pizzas on a lined baking tray. Bake them in a preheated oven at 425°F for about 8-10 minutes or until the cheese melts and naan crisps.
Notes
- Ground meat: Use ground chicken or turkey for lean meat, or ground lamb or beef for a kebab-like flavor.
- Naan: use any kind you like- Plain, Garlic, Whole-wheat naan or any gluten-free naan.
- Best cheese: While experimenting with this recipe, I found that shredded mozzarella gave the best melting results compared to Mexican cheese or shredded pepper jack.
- Peppers: I use any colored bell peppers I have on hand. You can also add sliced jalapenos for a kick to the pizzas.
- How to prevent soggy pizzas: Brush the naan with oil or butter before adding the cheese. This creates a barrier and prevents the crust from turning soggy.
- Air Fryer or Oven: In my testing, both methods yielded crispy pizzas. I use the air fryer for 1-2 pizzas and the oven for more than 2.
- How to serve this as an appetizer: If you're hosting and need a quick, crowd-pleasing appetizer, slice the naan into 2-inch pieces. These bite-sized pieces are sturdy, mess-free, and the perfect one-handed snack when your guests are holding a drink in the other hand!
- Keema quantity: This recipe yields about 4 cups of cooked keema, enough for 8 naan pizzas. You can refrigerate or freeze the leftover 2 cups since this recipe only uses 2 cups of cooked keema.
Hasnain says
I love it
Aneesha Gupta says
Thanks Hasnain, I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Robin Ferguson says
We made a version of this tonight and loved it! Thanks for the inspiration.
Aneesha says
So glad you enjoyed it!
anamit says
If using paneer as a topping, do you marinate it? Paneer by itself is extremely bland...
Aneesha says
HI Anamit, I have a recipe for paneer naan pizza that you can follow: https://spicecravings.com/paneer-naan-pizza