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Fry bread (or “Navajo Tacos”) are crispy pillows of dough served with sweet or savory toppings that are incredibly delicious.
We love Fry Bread!
We have enjoyed Fry bread our entire lives thanks to our mom, grandma and great-grandma. This tasty main dish is also called Navajo Tacos (also called Indian Fry Bread or Pop Overs).
It originates from southwestern Native Americans as a result of being relocated from Arizona to New Mexico, and using cooking staples given to them by the government.
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 love serving it with refried beans, all the toppings and salsa and guacamole.
Why We 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!
Ingredients
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 MED-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 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).
PRO TIP: Watch That 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.
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.)
Sweet or Savory
SWEET. 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. 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.
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
Fry Bread Recipe
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 + TIPS
Elephant Ears Versus Fry Bread?
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.
How to Keep Fry Bread Flat?
- 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.
How to Store Fry Bread Dough?
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.
How to Store Cooked Fry Bread?
- 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.
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!
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!
Can someone help me figure out why mine come out crunchy rather than soft?
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!
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.
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.
The ads/videos on this site are ridiculous….you are unable to even read the recipe…its absolutely ridiculous. Why have a website when your not even able to read as your getting bombarded from every corner of the screen. MOVIN ON!!
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Your ratios are definitely off, but after adding sufficient flour, they turned out great.
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?
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!
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!
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 🙂