Navajo Tacos

A version of a traditional Navajo Taco – fry bread topped with meat, beans, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. Save any leftover fry bread to eat with honey for dessert!

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There is nothing like freshly fried bread dough (I’m thinking of my favorite German Scones!), but you can fry bread for dinner, too! These Navajo Tacos are a childhood favorite!

I grew up in a smallish town in New Mexico, just miles outside of a Navajo reservation. One thing that always makes me think of home is to remember those roadside stands with Navajo women frying up fry bread to sell Navajo Tacos. It doesn’t get more authentic than that!

So it goes without saying that I’ve had a Navajo taco or two in my life. But now that I no longer live there, and I am miles and miles away from those roadside stands, I have to settle for making my own at home!

What is a Navajo Taco?

This is one of those recipes that is going to vary widely depending on who is making it. It’s a traditional Navajo meal that has been made since the 1800s. The main component – and most important, in my opinion – is the fry bread. There are 2 different versions of fry bread you will find – with yeast, or without yeast. My mom usually made the non-yeasted version growing up, which I think is the most traditional version.

Once you have the fry bread, you layer it up with a seasoned ground beef, beans, and toppings of your choice. We always do cheese, lettuce and tomatoes, and sometimes throw on some sour cream.

Many times, the Navajo tacos will be served with mutton, but I prefer to stick with ground beef. Not only is it easier for me to find, but I prefer the taste as well.

What You’ll Need

Here is what you’ll need to make these Navajo Tacos:

For the Fry Bread:

• all purpose flour
• baking powder
• salt
• warm milk
• oil, shortening or lard (for frying)

For the Toppings:

• ground beef
• onion
• green chiles
• pinto beans
• cheese
• lettuce
• tomatoes

How to Make Fry Bread

There are not a lot of ingredients in fry bread, but I think it is one of those things that get better over time, the more times you make it. Scroll down to the bottom for complete instructions and a printable recipe card.

1 – Place your flour in a large bowl
2 – Add the baking powder and salt.
3 – Whisk them together well.
4 – Add in 1 1/2 cups of the milk.
5 – Stir the ingredients together with a wooden spoon. Add more milk as needed, for it all to come together.
6 – Pour the dough out onto a floured surface and bring it all together.

7 – Knead the dough 6-8 times.
8 – Bring it all into a ball.
9 – Divide the dough into 12 equal sized pieces. Working with one piece at at time, start to flatten it into a disc.
10 – Flatten the dough into a circle about 6 inches in diameter using your hands or a rolling pin.
11 – Place one or two (depending on the size of your pan) of the pieces of dough into your hot oil. Fry until browned on one side.
12 – Flip and cook the second side until browned.

I like to place the finished fry bread on a plate that has been lined with paper towels. Continue with the rest of the dough until it has all been fried.

How To Make the Topping

1 – Place the ground beef in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat until it starts to brown.
2 – Add the onion and continue to cook until the beef is fully browned and the onions are soft.
3 – Add the green chiles.
4 – Season to taste with salt and pepper and cook until it is all warmed through.

Tips and Tricks

• I know that many people will just use frozen rolls to make the fry bread, which is totally ok, but I think it’s worth the effort it takes to make it from scratch.
• The topping can be made ahead of time and reheated when it’s time to serve. But I think the fry bread is best when it is fresh and warm.
• I eat these with a fork and knife. You won’t want to fold it and eat it like a traditional taco, it’s much too big for that.

Serving Size

This recipe makes 12 pieces of fry bread, but lists it with 6 servings. This gives you enough for each person to have one Navajo taco, plus an extra piece of fry bread to have for dessert! This might be my favorite part of making Navajo tacos – the fry bread is delicious topped with honey or powdered sugar!

More Dinner Recipes You’ll Love

Coconut Shrimp Taco Recipe with Mango Salsa
Taco Pie
Beef Tips and Gravy
Baja Fish Tacos
Cincinnati Chili
Taco Skillet

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Navajo Tacos

5 from 1 vote

Author: Deborah Harroun

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Servings: 6 servings

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Indian

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A version of a traditional Navajo Taco – fry bread topped with meat, beans, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. Save any leftover fry bread to eat with honey for dessert!

1x2x3x

Ingredients

• ▢ 4 cups all purpose flour
• ▢ 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ▢ 2 teaspoons salt
• ▢ 1 1/2 – 2 cups warm milk
• ▢ Vegetable oil, shortening or lard, for frying
• ▢ 1 lb ground beef
• ▢ 1 small onion chopped
• ▢ 4 oz. chopped green chiles
• ▢ Salt and pepper
• ▢ 16 oz pinto beans, warmed
• ▢ Shredded cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, etc. for topping

Instructions

• Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Whisk to combine.
• Add in 1 1/2 cups of the milk and stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Add more milk, as needed, just until it mostly comes together.
• Pour the dough out onto a floured surface and bring it all together into a ball. Knead 6-8 times until it comes together and is somewhat smooth. Cover and let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
• While the dough is resting, start to heat the oil (or shortening or lard) in a large, heavy duty skillet. (I like to use a cast iron pan.) Heat to 350ºF.
• Divide the dough into 12 equal sized pieces. Working on a floured surface, roll each into a ball, and flatten out to a disc about 5-6 inches in diameter. I find that it is easiest to flatten the ball with my hand and then pick it up and stretch it to the right size. You can also use a rolling pin to roll the dough.
• Working with just a couple pieces at a time, drop the dough into the hot oil and fry until it is golden brown on one side, then flip and fry the second side. It should take about 2-3 minutes on each side.
• Remove from the oil and drain on a paper towel lined plate.
• To make the topping, add the ground beef to a large skillet set over medium-high heat. When it starts to brown, add the onion, and continue to cook until the ground beef is cooked through and the onion is soft. Stir in the green chiles and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• To serve, top a piece of the fry bread with some of the ground beef mixture, the warmed beans, and toppings of your choice.

Recipe Notes:

This recipe makes enough for 2 pieces of fry bread for each serving. We like to have one topped with the ground beef mixture, and one topped with honey or powdered sugar for dessert.

Nutrition information provided as an estimate only. Various brands and products can change the counts. Any nutritional information should be used as a general guide. Nutrition information does not include toppings.

The nutritional value for frying oil is based on a retention of 1/4 cup of vegetable oil. Cooking time and temperature can cause this number to change.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1/6 of recipe, Calories: 625kcal (31%), Carbohydrates: 77g (26%), Protein: 30g (60%), Fat: 21g (32%), Saturated Fat: 5g (31%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 53mg (18%), Sodium: 1502mg (65%), Fiber: 7g (29%), Sugar: 5g (6%)

Keywords: fry bread, Indian tacos, Navajo taco, navajo taco recipe