Homemade Navajo Tacos with Crispy Golden Fry Bread
By Isabella Quinn
Prep
10 min
Cook
20 min
Total
30 min
Servings
12
Level
Easy
Thirty minutes and four pantry ingredients are required to prepare Navajo taco fry bread at home tonight. The dough is fried to form flat, puffy rounds with a crisp exterior that can be used for bean and beef tacos with lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, and olives.
All-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and water are ingredients for the dough. Knead the dough by hand until it is slightly sticky. Allow it to rest for 10 minutes while you heat the oil. Shape dough balls the size of golf balls into 6- to 7-inch rounds on a floured surface. These sizes provide sufficient surface area for taco fillings.
Check for browning and puffing of the crust in oil to determine doneness. Cooking times are very short, about 20 seconds on the first side and 10 to 20 seconds after flipping. Fry in small batches at about 350°F to prevent the crust from overcooking before the bread puffs.
Serve hot fried fry bread with chili beans and taco meat. Add lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, and olives to taste. Substitute chili for taco meat if you want to vary your meal. Fried fry bread is crispiest right after it is fried and may lose its crispness over time. You might need to make another batch of fried fry bread.
Why we keep this one around
- Fins in 30 minutes because you only need to let the dough sit for 10 minutes and only a few seconds to fry each side of a batch of dough rounds.
- Requires four basic dough ingredients, so flour, baking powder, salt, and hot water may be potential tortilla substitutes.
- Saves prep time and effort by dividing the very sticky dough into golf ball-sized portions to roll into balls. You don't need a mixer.
- Lets adapt dinner to available ingredients. Serving options for finished bread include canned chili beans and taco meat or other fresh ingredients mentioned.
- Cuts ready to cook as other batches cook quickly in 350°F oil, time to prepare additional batches of fried food.
- Prevents bread waste by offering fresh fry bread with optimal texture and saving leftover dough in the freezer for later use.
Ingredients
- •2 cups all-purpose flour
- •1 Tbsp. baking powder
- •1 tsp. salt
- •1 cup hot water (130°F)
- •vegetable oil (for frying; use 1-2 inches in the skillet or saucepan)
- •chili beans (optional topping)
- •taco meat (optional topping)
- •lettuce (optional topping)
- •tomato (optional topping)
- •avocado (optional topping)
- •olives (optional topping)
Instructions
- 1
Add flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.
- 2
Add hot water and mix with your hands until a dough forms; the dough should be a little sticky.
- 3
Cover the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- 4
While the dough rests, fill a medium skillet with 1-2 inches of oil and heat over medium-high heat until it reaches 350°F.
- 5
Break off golf ball-sized pieces of dough and roll each piece into a ball.
- 6
Using a floured surface, roll each ball into a circle 6-7 inches in diameter.
- 7
Working in batches, fry each dough piece in hot oil until golden and puffed, about 20 seconds.
- 8
Flip and fry on the other side for 10-20 seconds more.
- 9
Set the fried bread on a paper towel-lined plate to drain and keep it warm in the oven while frying the remaining pieces.
- 10
Spread beans and taco meat over the fry bread, top with any desired toppings, and serve warm.
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