Delicious Homemade Fry Bread—aka “Navajo Tacos” or “Indian Bread”—pillows of dough, fried until crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Make it a meal by adding sweet or savory toppings!
Fry Bread is one of those novelties that I don’t make very frequently, but when I do, it’s a real treat! I don’t love fried foods (they make such a mess of the kitchen) but it’s worth it for certain things, like homemade donuts, funnel cake, or this fry bread.
What is Indian Fry Bread/Navajo fry bread?
Have you ever had Indian Fry Bread before? It’s also known as a “Navajo Taco,” but we typically just call it “Fry Bread.” We’ve also called them “Pop Overs” too – lots of names for lots of goodness!
If you haven’t had these before, I highly recommend giving them a try. They are amazing!! The recipe I’m sharing today is one we’ve used since I can remember. My mom has been making them ever since I was little, and I’m pretty sure it was a recipe that Grandma Luna had taught her decades earlier.
Everyone in my family eats them a bit different. We usually serve them up with hamburger and beans and let everyone add their own toppings like tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream, cheese and olives.
Others in my family pour honey over them and a few also like to add powdered sugar and just eat it as is.
Are elephant ears the same as fry bread? Though similar, there is a difference. Fry breads are thick, about 6-8 inches in diameter and topped with anything from powdered sugar to beef tacos. Whereas elephant ears are thin, bubbly, about 10-16 inches in diameter and traditionally only topped with cinnamon and sugar.
How to Make Fried Bread
This recipe for Indian fry bread only requires FOUR ingredients! And chances are you probably already have all of these on hand.
- Flour
- Salt
- Baking Powder
- Water (warm)
MAKING DOUGH BALLS. All you have to do is combine the dry ingredients and add the warm water.
Mix with your hands until it forms a dough – it should NOT be too sticky. Let the dough sit for 5 minutes. Break off the dough into golf ball sized balls (or even a little bit bigger if you like bigger fry bread).
ROLL OUT& FRY. Roll the dough balls into ½-inch thick circles that are about 6 inches in diameter, and fry each piece in a sauce pan. Make sure the oil is 1-2 inches high in the pan.
Fry until dough is golden and poofs up, and then fry on the other side keeping it in the oil. Set on a paper towel to drain oil.
ToppinGs + Tips
TOPPINGS. If you want to eat it like a Navajo Taco and pile meat, beans, and other toppings on, check out the recipe card below for instructions on making the toppings! Some of our favorite toppings include:
And if you want to keep things simple, you can enjoy it like many of those in my family and, just add powdered sugar to it. 😉
- To help your bread to remain flat, instead of curling up on the edges to form a bowl shape, tear a small slit in the center of each piece right before frying.
- 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.
- Keep the fried bread warm in the oven set at 200°F
STORING & FREEZING
Here are our top tips for storing fry bread:
- Counter top at room temperature: Wrap the bread loosely in plastic wrap or an unsealed ziplock bag. Store for 1-2 days.
- Freezer: Once the bread has cooled pat each piece with a paper towel to remove any excess oil or water. Wrap each piece with plastic and store in an airtight freezer safe container. Freeze for 3-4 months.
- To reheat fry bread: heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Wrap each piece of fry bread in aluminum foil and bake until heated through, about 15 minutes. If you’re in a hurry you can throw it in the microwave.
As always, anything fried is best served fresh, so keep than in mind. 😉
MAKING ahead of time
Fry bread is one of those foods that are best freshly made, so we don’t recommend making them ahead of time. However, you can mix up the dough and store in the fridge or freezer until it’s time to fry.
- Dough in the fridge: Cover bowl with plastic wrap or transfer dough to a ziplock 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. To flash freeze line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. Place dough balls ½ inch apart. Freeze for 3-5 hours. Once they’ve begun to freeze, place each ball into a separate plastic baggie, then place all the balls into an airtight freezer safe container. Label and store for up to 1 month.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.
Personally, I like adding all the hearty ingredients like hamburger and beans and pile that baby up high with all the fixings. Top it off with some salsa, and it’s like heaven on a plate! Add some tomatoes and avocados too and you’ll definitely be in heaven!
For more recipes, check out:
- Homemade Flour Tortillas
- Taco Quiche
- Cream Cheese and Chicken Taquitos
- Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas
- Mexican Lasagna
Fry Bread Recipe
Ingredients
Bread
- 2 c flour
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 c warm water
Topping
- 2 c pinto beans soaked overnight
- 1 lb hamburger
- lettuce
- sour cream
- tomatoes
Instructions
Bread
- Combine dry ingredients and add warm water. Mix with your hands until dough forms. Let sit for 5 minutes.
- Break off the dough into golf-ball sized balls (or even a tid bigger).
- Roll dough into ½-inch thick circles that are about 6 inches in diameter.
- Fry each piece in a medium sauce pan with hot oil (that is about 1-2 inches deep). Fry until dough is golden and poofs up, and then fry on the other side keeping it in the oil. Set on a paper towel to drain oil.
Topping
- Put soaked beans in crock pot, cover with water. Cook on low until tender (for 4-6 hours). 2 hours before beans are done, toss in 2-3 slices of chopped bacon. *You know beans are done when they start breaking up. You can also use beans from the can for an easier version.
- In the meantime. Cook up 1 lb of hamburger. Once beans are done, toss in hamburger.
- Spread beans over your fry bread and add desired toppings.
I only made the fry bread (i make different chili topping).
i am from New Mexico and this fry bread tastes just like the fry bread we ate on the pueblos.
thank you!!
alot of other recipes add sugar for the taco and it never tasted authentic.
thank you!!
You are so welcome! Thank you for saying that!! It is a family favorite 🙂
I haven’t made these forever! Now I remember why I love them so much! Every one of my kids LOVED them! Will be making them again soon!
Wow…this fry bread is soft, airy, & so good!! My kids love it with honey or powdered sugar! It’s an easy recipe that can be used for so many meals!
There is something wrong with the ratio of the INGREDIENTS. As written the dough was too wet to handle. I had to work more flour into it before i could roll it out.
The ratio is definitely off. You could add a little at a time until the dough forms. I am navajo. Experience is a good teacher. It’s not supposed to be a sticky dough. It should pull away from the bowl. Mixing and kneading help to develop the gluten, which gives the dough a more workable texture. The more experienced bread makers dont use rolling pins, we shape it by hand. The oil should be hot enough to cook it in seconds to a golden brown, but not so hot that it burns. It will just soak up oil if sat longer than 10-15 seconds per side. Also, a lot of do season our beans. This is close, but not how I would it. Kudos for effort.
I Fixed Ththis recipe for the InDian tacos. They tasted good but they Were a little sticky. I rolled them out TO 1/2 inch thick but they WERE a little dense. Is there something I can do differently so that they won’t be so dense?
They shouldn’t be too sticky & they are a little on the dense side. Not sure what to do to make them less dense. If you add less flour, they will be more sticky & hard to roll out. Maybe they can be thinner?
Your ratios are definitely off, but after adding sufficient flour, they turned out great.
The flavor was wonderul, however, our Fry bread turned out heavy. Please help!
They are thicker, not a thin bread, but you could try adding a little more water & see if that helps.
I think as others said not enough flour. To sticky. I will make them next time with 21/2 to 3 cups flower. Then add flour as needed to finish after sitting for 30 minutes. I did make these and had to add flour to make the product workable. I have also read that not to knead this dough A LOT (like bread dough with yeast)as it can make it more chewy. I used all purpose flour next time I will use bread flour also see if there is much difference.
Did make navajo tacos tonight and everyone liked them. made some extra fry6 breads for tomorrow and added some SUGAR to the dough. These will be for snacking tomorrow. I know these are best eating fresh so see how they hold up overnight.
JusT made THIS. I was looking for a recipe my mom called hoecake when i was growing up.
she said she just mixed flour & water & fried it in bacon grease. I followed your recipe but added baking soda since i’m Out of baking powder. TURNED OUT PERFECT-very much like my mom’s hoecake. i will be trying this as navajo tacos & a sweet treat as well-also with molasses. yum!
sorry for allcaps-won’t let me change whether i have caplocks on or off!
Glad you found this recipe 🙂 Thank you for letting me know!
Try it as bread for cold roast beef sandwiches. Traditionally it would be eaten with left over mutton while herding sheep. Its called a sheep herders sandwich. My mom served them at our restaurant in 4 corners area of Utah. So so good with warm bread, you’ll never want just a plain ol’ cold beef sandwich again.
I will have to try that! Thanks for sharing that!
I made this for the first time and my family loved it ! It was easy ! And I will make this again @
Yay!! Happy you liked it! Thank you!
I love Indian bread. On this recipe it doesn’t say if it is self rising flour or all purpose, could you please let me know what one to use? Thank you.
I use all-purpose flour 🙂 Hope you like it!
Some don’t realize or know to flour their hands prior to making the balls. May want to add that! Awesome simple recipe! My whole family loved it! I’m making more this morning with powdered sugar! Thanks for the recipe!
Glad to share 🙂 Happy your family loved it! Thank you!
We loved it
Such a fun new idea for Taco night!! My daughter requests these all the time! Make sure to save one to dip in cinnamon and sugar!
Love this recipe! We have it on repeat at our house
We make these (Navajo tacos to us) almost weekly! This recipe is so much easier and faster than trying to whip up bread dough go fry! So yummy!
So yummy and so easy to make!
Glad you think so 🙂 Thank you!