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We have enjoyed Fry bread our entire lives thanks to our mom, grandma and great-grandma. They’ve made this main dish for as long as we can remember.
Fry Bread (also called Navajo Tacos, Indian Fry Bread or Pop Overs) originates from southwestern Native Americans and is especially popular in Arizona and New Mexico.
This recipe is one we’ve used since we were little, passed on from my Great Grandma Bean Burro (yes, that’s what we called her). We’ve tweaked it over the decades to be even more fool proof but still just as delicious. We love serving it with refried beans, all the toppings and salsa and guacamole.
Why We Think You’ll Love it:
- Sweet or Savory. It can be made sweet with honey or powdered sugar or savory with beans and all the toppings.
- Simple. Just follow this recipe – it’s NO-FAIL and you get amazing bubbles every time! Plus, it only uses 4 ingredients!
- Freezes. The dough and the bread both freeze well, which is a BONUS!
Fry Bread Ingredients and Substitutions
FRY BREAD:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 cup hot water
BEANS:
- 2 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed and drained – or 1- 16 ounce can pinto bins, rinsed and drained
- 2-3 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
- 1 pound ground beef, cooked and drained
TOPPINGS: Shredded lettuce, sour cream, chopped tomatoes, sliced avocado, shredded cheese (and some of our favs: Homemade Salsa, Guacamole, Pico de Gallo)
How to Make Fry Bread
- DOUGH. Sift the 2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 tablespoon baking powder together in a medium bowl. Add 1 cup hot water.
- Mix with your hands until dough forms (dough should be a little sticky). Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
- PREP. While the dough is resting, add oil to a large saucepan that is about 1-2 inches deep and heat on medium-high heat (it should be about 350°F when ready to fry).
- SHAPE. Break off the pieces of dough into golf-ball-sized balls (about 1½ – 2 inches wide). Using a pastry roller or rolling pin, roll the dough onto a lightly floured surface to about 6-7 inches in diameter (the dough should be thin).
- FRY. Fry each piece in hot oil until the dough is golden brown and poofs up (about 20 seconds). Continue to fry on the other side, keeping it in the oil. Set on a paper towel-lined plate to drain oil.
Warm. Keep the fried bread warm in the oven (set at 200°F).
Kristyn’s Recipe Tips
- PRO TIP: Watch the Oil Temp! Make sure your oil stays at a consistent temperature. If the temp is too low, the bread will be tough. If it’s too hot, the outside will burn before the inside cooks through.
- Sweet Fry Bread: Some in my family pour honey over them, or slather on butter and jam. A few also like to add powdered sugar and just eat it as is.
- Savory Fry Bread: Most of the family eats it savory. We usually serve them up with cooked hamburger and beans, and let everyone add their own toppings:
- Tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream, Salsa, Guacamole, Pico de Gallo. Dressings like Cilantro Ranch or Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette are great too!
- You could even top them with a delicious, scoop of Chili.
The Beans + Toppings
- Place 2 cups of rinsed, dried beans in a slow cooker and cover with water. Cook on low for 4–5 hours, or until beans start to become tender.
- Add bacon pieces and ground beef to the slow cooker and continue to cook on low for an additional 1–2 hours, or until beans are fully tender. (To make the bean topping using canned beans, combine canned beans, cooked ground beef, and cooked bacon and cook in a slow cooker on low for 2 hours. Set aside.)
Fry Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
Bean Topping
- 2 cups dried pinto beans, rinsed and drained or 1 (16-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained)
- water
- 2-3 slices bacon, chopped and cooked
- 1 pound ground beef, cooked and drained
Bread
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup hot water, (130 degrees F)
- vegetable oil, for frying
Other Toppings
- shredded lettuce, sour cream, chopped tomatoes, sliced avocados, shredded cheese
Instructions
- Place rinsed dried beans in a slow cooker and cover with water. Cook on low for 4–5 hours, or until beans start to become tender.
- Add bacon pieces and ground beef to the slow cooker and continue to cook on low for an additional 1-2 hours, or until beans are fully tender. (To make the bean topping using canned beans, combine canned beans, cooked ground beef, and cooked bacon and cook in a slow cooker on low for 2 hours. Set aside.)
- Make the bread: Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Add hot water and mix with your hands until a dough forms (dough should be a little sticky). Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
- While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Fill a large saucepan with 1-2 inches of oil and heat over medium-high heat to about 350 degrees F.
- Break off golf ball–sized pieces of dough and roll into balls about 1½ inches wide.
- Using a pastry roller and working on a lightly floured surface, roll each dough ball into a thin circle 6-7 inches in diameter.
- Working in batches, fry each dough piece in hot oil until the dough is golden and puffs up, about 20 seconds, then flip and fry on the other side for 10-20 seconds more. Set on a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Keep the fried bread warm in the oven while frying the remaining pieces.
- Spread beans over fry bread, top with any other desired toppings, and serve warm.
Video
Notes
Soak the beans. To lessen the amount of gas in the beans, soak dried beans in a large bowl of water for 8-12 hours (or overnight). Drain and rinse beans before use.
Serving suggestions. We feel this fry bread is best served with beans, but for a sweeter version, you can also skip the savory toppings and serve it with powdered sugar and/or honey. Make ahead. Mix up the dough and store in a resealable plastic bag for 1-2 days in the refrigerator or portion the dough into 3-inch balls and flash freeze. When ready to fry, remove from the refrigerator or freezer and let the dough come to room temperature. Fry according to recipe instructions.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
Though similar, there is a difference:
>> Fry Bread is thick, about 6-8 inches in diameter and topped with anything from powdered sugar to beef taco ingredients.
>> Elephant Ears are thin, bubbly, about 10-16 inches in diameter and traditionally only topped with cinnamon and sugar.
To help your bread remain flat (instead of curling up on the edges and forming a bowl shape), cut a small slit in the center of each piece right before frying.
Fry bread is best when fresh, so we don’t recommend making it ahead of time. However, you can mix up the dough and store it in the fridge or freezer until it’s time to fry.
>> Dough in the fridge. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or transfer the dough to a Ziploc bag. Store for 1-2 days. Some bakers even recommend chilling the dough for a few hours before frying.
>> Dough in the freezer. Fry bread dough freezes well. Once your dough has been mixed, portion it into 3-inch balls and flash freeze.
Fry. When you’re ready to fry, remove the desired number of balls. Leave each ball in the baggie and thaw in the fridge overnight.
About 30 minutes before fry time, remove the dough from the baggie and let the dough come to room temperature. Fry according to recipe directions.
Store cooked bread. Wrap the bread loosely in plastic wrap or an unsealed Ziploc bag. Store at room temperature for 1-2 days.
Freeze cooked bread. Once the bread has cooled, pat each piece with a paper towel to remove any excess oil or water. Wrap each piece with plastic wrap and store it in an airtight freezer container. Freeze for 3-4 months.
To reheat fry bread. Heat the oven to 350°F. Wrap each piece of fry bread in aluminum foil and bake until heated through about 15 minutes. If you’re in a hurry, throw it in the microwave.
Complete the Meal:
- MAIN DISHES: Quesadillas, Chicken Tacos, Empanadas, Cheese Crisp
- SIDES: Cilantro Lime Rice, Canned Refried Beans, Crock Pot Pinto Beans, Homemade Tortilla Chips
- DESSERTS: Arroz on Leche, Tres Leches, Easy Tres Leches, Chocolate Tres Leches
More COLLECTIONS: Mexican Dinner Ideas, Sunday Dinner Ideas, Easy Dinner Ideas
My fave recipes. Thanks for great recipes.
I am so glad to hear that!! Thank you for sharing that!
Hi there. When you say hot water for making the fry bread how hot should it be?
I let it come to a boil, then use it 🙂 Hope that helps!
Great
A good basic recipe. A couple of suggestions: for many people, it may easier to divide the dough evenly using a knife or a pastry cutter, instead of pinching off pieces. And I pat them out mostly to size and shape by hand, then give a final thinning with a rolling pin.
I tried to make this, mine wasn’t dough. It was wet and could not be rolled out or put in a ball? We added more flour but ended up running out.
The first recipe that was easy to read, understand and follow. Thank you for helping me find this one, very difficult to find.
I tried this recipe because I thought it was a recipe to a food I had a long while ago with an unknown name.
I doubled the recipe to make a huge batch. (Instead of 2 cups of flour I did 4, instead of 2 tsp of salt, I did 2 etc etc). The texture and color were spot on, but the taste…. it was salty. The bread I had in the past was an ever so slight sweet taste.
I will definitely make this again but would add 1 tsp instead of 2 and maybe a small bit of sugar. The saltiness wasn’t so bad that it was inedible but I couldn’t eat it plain it had to had something else on top or with it to balance out the saltiness.
Thanks for sharing what you did!!
I have been trying to make fry bread for years but it never turned out quite right. I used about 100 different recipes over the years, to no avail. I started using your recipe a few months ago and followed your recipe and developed my own techniques. It has turned out absolutely incredible the last 3 or 4 times so I have it down to an easy process. It is so amazing – feather light, soft, with big bubbles on top. Not to mention a great taste. If fry them in beef tallow and that makes a big difference, I think. So thank you SO much for this recipe…except that now I’m addicted and have to make them all the time!
I’m native and this how I make frybread. Self rising flour and water. Mix them until slightly sticky. If its too wet add more flour, too dry add more water. Then fry. No need to poke a hole or cut into perfect pieces pieces. Also these look like waffles. Never in my life have I had frybread curl up into a bowl while frying.
Thanks for sharing how you make fry bread!
Thank you very much for this recipe. My family loves Fry Bread.