Navajo Tacos, fry bread tacos, Indian tacos; whatever you want to call them they are 100% delicious and the fry bread is much easier to make than you might think! You've gotta try these!
Navajo Tacos
I never knew what Navajo Tacos were until I moved to Utah after I graduated High School. But BAM! As soon I stepped foot into that state it was like Navajo Tacos were up in my grill 24-7.
Alright, so maybe I only ateย like 4 or 5 of them in my 5-year stint of living in that state but who's counting?ย My point is Navajo Tacos are delicious and if you've never had one, you should. That totally makes sense, right? Let's make some!
How to Make Navajo Tacos
Navajo Tacos = Fry Bread topped with taco fixings, and ifย you're imaginingย a Taco Bell Chalupa made with real ingredients, you've pretty much gotย it figured out. Making good fry bread is super easy as long as you have a little know-how.
My fry bread recipe only uses two ingredients-- self-rising flour and water. You'll mix the two until it forms a shaggy, still slightly sticky dough. You want the dough to be soft enough to form into pretty thin disks with your fingertips but firm enough to be still manageable with floured hands.
Once you find that happy place, cover the bowl with some plastic wrap and let it sit for about 30 minutes. Doing this will let the baking powder in the flour activate and will make a lighter bread when fried.
Let's talk about deep frying. Please don't ask me if there's a way to bake these because that would be crazy. ย I know deep fat frying isn't paleo or whole30 or part of the magic soup diet, but these tacos are worth an extra night at the gym.
Also, I'm going to ask you to use shortening instead of regular vegetable oil (gasp!).ย I don't usually use shortening for frying, but it makes all the difference with fry bread and helps it stay light and crisp instead of slightly soggy.
AND, If you have a candy thermometer, it's time to break it out! You want your fat toย stay between 350 and 400 degrees for the whole time you're cooking. The temp will drop as you add bread so keep it on the high end as you're adding in the dough and don't let it go under 350. If the fat isn't hot, enough the dough likes to absorb the oil, and you're thenย left with a soggy mess.
You'll tear off the dough into about golf ball sized pieces and flatten them out into rounds with floured hands. They puff up quite a bit so try to make it as thin as you can.
Gently lower one disk at a time into the fat. If you get a lot of bubbly action as it hits the fat, you've done your job at keeping it hot enough. Good job!
Flip the bread over once the first side is golden brown and repeat for the remaining side. Once it's fully cooked remove it from the fat and place it on some paper towels to drain and absorb some of the fat.
Now that we've got the fry bread going,ย I usually just make up this amazing Mexican Style Ground Beef and top it with whatever I have in the fridge that night.
I typically layer each piece of fry bread with meat, beans, lettuce, tomato, cheese, avocado, and then drizzle on some of this cilantro lime dressing (Cafe Rio copycat) ย and it's perfect! Alternately you could ditch the whole taco idea and just slather the fry bread in butter and honey.
Your call. I like to eat a little bit of both.
Watch Me Make Navajo Tacos
Navajo Tacos
Ingredients
- 2 cups Self Rising Flour
- 1 cup Water
- Shortening for frying
Instructions
- Combine the self rising flour and water in a bowl and mix until a shaggy dough forms. You may need to add a bit more water if the dough seems dry. The dough needs to be soft enough to form into disks easily but not too sticky to where it's unmanageable with floured hands. Cover dough and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Heat shortening in a heavy bottomed pan, using enough to have 2-3 inches of fat in pan. Bring fat to about 380-400 degrees.
- Break the dough into about golf-ball sized portions and flatten into disks.
- Carefully lower one disk at a time into the hot fat and cook until golden brown on both sides, flipping halfway through. Remove bread and place on paper towels.
- Top with taco fixings and enjoy!
Lorri says
These were so easy and so good! I always put off making fry bread - now I know how easy it is I will make it more often - not too often, lol, cause I bet they are fattening - and I think the crisco is the key - my sister said her's were greasy, she fried in liquid crisco, but ours were perfect and we fried in shortening - anyhow, thanks so much for the easy recipe!
2pots2cook says
Oh boy ! Please say you deliver ! ๐
Sally says
This looks so fun and yummy! I especially enjoyed the very end of the video! Splop! Great finale!
Betty Blalock says
My fry bread came out hard and crisp. I did follow the recipe and kept the temp between 360-400'. Where did I go wrong?
Heather Cheney says
Hmmm, I'm not sure. Could it be that you rolled them out too thin and cooked too long?
Jim Ross says
Love the simplicity of this recipe.. although growing up on the Navajo Indian Reservation .. the method we use takes longer. The night before take 1lb ( or smaller if you wish) of Pinto beans. Soak them overnight in a bowl of water. Rinse and discard the undesirable looking beans. Move the beans to a slow cooker. And set to low heat (6-8 hs) after the beans are soft add chili bean mix (to taste) 1 can of drained cubed stewed tomatoes and 1 lb of fried and drained hamburger meat. Let all ingredients simmer for an additional hour. Beans can make or break the dish. . As for the frybread. The preferred method is to use 2 cups of Bluebird flower. 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp baking powder. Some chapters use a little powerdered milk, some don't. Add warm water until the dough is slightly sticky . And let sit in a covered bowl for at least a half hour. Fry as directed above. After the bread is ready scoop some beans onto it . Sprinkle some cheddar cheese. Top with fresh chopped lettuce, tomatoes and onion. Use pace picante as desired for extra heat
Michelle says
Your beans and meat recipe was awesome and really made the tacos yummy.
Lyssa says
Soooo, what you have given is the more โAUTHENTICโ recipe, yet you add PACE PICANTE SAUCE if extra heat is desired? Hmmmmโฆ I guess I have never considered Pace Picante Sauce to be authentic to ANY REAL RECIPE or particular ethnicity. I just never imagined that the people on the Navajo Indian Reservation would take all that time and care to create such an incredible filling/topping for their Fry Bread only to slap some Pace Picante sauce on there to add a little extra heat. Somehow it just doesnโt ring true to me.
As for offering your recipe/instructions for what is typically made and added in order to really enjoy a true โFried Breadโ experience, I definitely appreciate your consideration and your offer of information. It sounds great and very much like something Iโve made often without a recipe or anyone directing me. Although Iโve never used Bluebird Flour (I think thatโs probably what you were referring to, not Bluebird Flower), as itโs not available in my area.
I believe the point of the recipe offered on this site was simply to provide people with an easy to understand, super easy method to create Fry Bread so that more people would give it a try. Most people assume itโs going to be difficult, therefore they donโt even consider making it on their own. This recipe puts that concern to rest and gives more people the opportunity to enjoy delicious fry bread in their own homes. As for what they choose to top it with, thatโs really a personal choice and should be something that doesnโt have to be dictated by an age old recipe.
Thank you for the additional info that you offered, itโs nice to have another option with regards to how these are served when making these incredible delicacies for a meal!
Jenn says
Wow. Just literally made these. So simple and everyone loved them. I'm have 5 kids so a fast recipe and a yummy one is always something on my list.
Stevi Ann Ashby says
How much shortening would you say you used?
Heather Cheney says
I probably use about a couple cups.
Wendy Klik says
These are definitely going on my to make list. Thanks for sharing at Celebrate with8.
Roby says
Hey there! Just thought you would like to know that you are on the right track with your recipe containing self rising flour. Authentic Navajo tacos have baking soda in the dough not yeast. I love the simplicity of yours. Thanks!
Tabitha says
Hey! I've made fry bread using a yeast/rising recipe as well as a pack of grands and neither compare to the awesomeness and simplicity of your recipe.
We've had navajo tacos 3 nights in a row because of you!
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU. <3
Heather Cheney says
Oh, so glad you like them! It's definitely my favorite way.
kstone says
Fry bread is awesome! ! Another way to make it is to use frozen bread dough. Just let it thaw and rise per the instructions on the bag, then break off small amounts of dough and roll them out or just stretch them with your hands and then fry them one at a time.
pam says
Going to try this recipe tonight. It is by far the best description on how to make
Navajo Tacos . Thanks for taking the time to take it 1 step at a time.