Navajo Tacos are a hearty Southwestern-style meal built on warm, freshly fried bread instead of a traditional taco shell. The homemade fry bread is crisp and golden on the outside, soft and tender inside, and makes the perfect base for seasoned ground beef, pinto beans, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, and your favorite taco toppings.
The fry bread comes together quickly with just flour, salt, baking powder, and hot water, making this a fun homemade bread that’s also substantial enough to serve as the foundation for a meal.
These tacos are filling, comforting, and easy to customize. Make the pinto beans from scratch when you have the time, or use canned beans when you want to get dinner on the table faster. Set out the toppings and let everyone build their own Navajo Taco just the way they like it.
Navajo Tacos
Ingredients
Bread
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup hot water
Topping
- 2 cups beans pinto soaked overnight
- 1 lb ground beef
- lettuce
- sour cream
- tomatoes
Instructions
Fry Bread
- Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder together into a medium bowl.
- Add the hot water and mix with your hands until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms.
- Cover the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- While the dough is resting, add enough oil to a large, deep skillet or saucepan to reach about 1–2 inches deep. Heat the oil over medium-high heat to approximately 350°F.
- Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into a thin round about 6–7 inches in diameter.
- Carefully place one piece of dough into the hot oil. Fry until the bread is golden brown and puffs up, about 20 seconds.
- Turn the fry bread over and cook the other side until golden brown.
- Remove the fry bread from the oil and place it on a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Topping
- If using dried pinto beans, place the soaked beans in a slow cooker and cover with water. Cook on low for 4–6 hours, or until the beans are tender and begin to break apart.
Shortcut: For a quicker meal, use canned pinto beans instead of cooking dried beans from scratch.
- About 2 hours before the beans are finished, add 2–3 slices of chopped bacon.
- While the beans are cooking, brown the ground beef in a skillet. Drain any excess grease.
- When the beans are tender, stir in the cooked ground beef.
- Place a piece of warm fry bread on each plate. Spoon the bean and beef mixture over the top.
- Add lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, and any additional toppings you enjoy.
Nutrition Disclaimer
Art of Cooking Recipes (Paulson Pursuits} is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.