Navajo Fry Bread Recipe

5 stars (21 reviews)

And let’s talk about the toppings for Navajo tacos—this is where it gets really fun! You can serve it with ground beef, beans, shredded lettuce, fresh pico de gallo, olives, jalapenos, sour cream. The options are endless! It’s one of those meals that’s easy to customize and always a hit with my family.

Prep Time20

Cook Time10

Total Time30

Course: Appetizer, Dessert

Cuisine: Native American

Servings: pieces

Calories: 385kcal

Author: Sommer Collier

Ingredients

For the Navajo Fry Bread Recipe:

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup hot milk
1/2 cup hot water
Oil for frying

For the Navajo Tacos:

1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
15 ounces red kidney beans, drained
14 ounces diced tomatoes
4 ounces chopped green chiles

Optional Taco Toppings:

shredded lettuce
pico de gallo
shredded cheese
sliced black olives
chopped cilantro
avocado slices
sour cream
lime wedges

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the Navajo Fry Bread: Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Heat the milk and water together. once hot, slowly add in the hot liquid a little at a time, mixing with fingers until it forms a ball that pulls away from sides of the bowl.
Add more flour or water as needed to form a dough that is not too sticky. Cover and let the dough rest for 10 minutes. Pour 1 inch of oil in a large skillet. Set a thermometer on the edge of the skillet and heat to 375 degrees F.
Meanwhile, cut the dough into 10 equal pieces. Flatten the balls and gentle stretch out the edges while turning to form a 6-7 inch disks. The thinner the better. (You could also roll them out on a lightly floured board, but pulling the dough is more fun.) Roll them out all at once, so they have a little time to rest before they go in the fry. Restretch them right before placing in the oil if needed.
Make a tiny hole in the middle of each disk, so the dough doesn't balloon up as it fries. Lay them out in a single layer so they don't stick together.
Gently lay one dough disk in the hot oil pressing down with tongs so the oil goes over the top of the dough. Fry until golden brown around edges, then turn over and cook until the color matches, usually 20-30 seconds per side. Place on paper towels to drain. Repeat until all the dough disks are cooked. *For lighter more flexible fry bread fry quickly, but if you want them crunchy, fry a little longer per side to golden-brown.
For the Navajo Tacos: Set a large skillet or saute pan over medium heat. Add the ground beef to the skillet. Break the meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Once it starts releasing its fat, add in the chopped onions, garlic, and all pieces. Continue cooking the meat until it is well browned. Then mix in the kidney beans, toamtoes, and green chiles. Simmer another 2-3 minutes. Then turn off the heat.
Once the Indian Fry Bread and Taco Meat are ready, start building tacos. Scoop the taco meat onto the fry bread. Then top with shredded lettuce, pico de gallo, and any other topping you like. Serve warm.

Video

Notes

Cinnamon Navajo Fry Bread

Enjoy the fry bread as-is sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. Mix 2 tablespoons of sugar with 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Then sprinkle it over the hot fry bread!

Navajo bread can be stored for a day or two at room temperature in an airtight container. After they are fried, they start losing their structural quality pretty quickly, so you may need to reheat them in the oven.

You can freeze the dough for this recipe, but it takes a little extra work to do so. Lay the separated dough balls on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or wax paper, about 2 inches apart. Place the sheet pan in the freezer for as long as it takes for the exterior of the dough to freeze solid. Then take them out and wrap them separately with plastic wrap and store them in a heavy-duty freezer bag.

When you are ready to use the dough, switch the dough balls to the fridge the night before and unwrap them while they are still cold. Before frying, allow them to reach room temperature, then roll them out or pull them into the disk shape. Then, continue with the recipe as written.

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