Easy and delicious Navajo tacos made with crispy fry bread and loaded with your favorite taco toppings. A tasty dinner that the whole family will love!
Table of Contents
Homemade Navajo Tacos
These tacos are such a fun fusion of cuisines. The Indian fry bread paired with the Mexican taco toppings is a match made in heaven. Some of my other favorite fusions are Mexican stuffed shells, slow cooker taco lasagna, and Mexican pizza.
I made this Navajo taco recipe a few weeks ago and they were so good! They brought back such fun memories from my childhood days. My mom always made Navajo tacos for us growing up and I’ve been wanting to recreate them ever since. These were super easy to make and even my whole family loved them.
Sometimes I make my own fry bread, but using biscuit dough is often a bit easier and more convenient. You could even use tostada shells or tortillas if you don’t want to make the fry bread. And if you’re being healthy, just make it into a taco salad.
Ingredients for Easy Navajo Tacos
These ingredients are simple to have on hand and are a basic combination that has all the flavor! Navajo tacos use the fry bread as the base then layer it with this beef mixture and vegetables. It is a quick and simple meal that you can make any night of the week!
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Hamburger: Cook the ground beef for the base of the beef tacos.
- Onion: Chop the onion into small pieces to be sauteed in oil.
- Red bell pepper: Wash and clean the bell pepper then chop and cut it into smaller pieces.
- Ground chili powder: This adds a little bit of heat but is a great seasoning.
- Cumin: An earthy and savory flavor that gives it that authentic flavoring.
- Rotel tomatoes: Pick up a can of diced tomatoes and simply add them to the skillet.
- Pinto beans: Use either pinto or black beans for this recipe. Drain and rinse before adding them to the beef mixture.
How to Make Navajo Tacos
These Navajo tacos come together quickly and easily with just a few steps! First cook and combine the topping ingredients, warming them up, then making the fry bread. Lastly, layer it all together for a delicious dinner everyone will love!
- Cook the taco meat. Brown the hamburger in a frying pan over medium heat. Add in onion and bell peppers and saute for 3-5 minutes. Then stir in taco seasoning, cumin, chili powder, and water. Turn heat to low, then add in Rotel and beans. Simmer for 5-10 minutes. S&P to taste.
- Make the fry bread. Add oil to a small pan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Pull apart the biscuit dough and flatten it to about 1/4 inch thick. Place dough in oil and cook each side until brown, about 30 seconds.
- Cool. Remove with tongs and place on a plate layered with paper towels.
- Top and serve! Top with taco meat, then add desired fix-ins like shredded cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and sliced olives. Dig in!
Favorite Toppings
The topping options are endless! Grab all your favorite toppings for tacos and start loading up your fry bread. Here are several options to choose from to make the best Navajo tacos!
- Tomatoes
- Beans (black or kidney)
- Shredded lettuce
- Shredded cheese
- Salsa
- Sour cream
- Sliced olives
- Guacamole
- Pico de gallo
Cooking Tips
Here are some helpful cooking tips that will be useful when making this fry bread. The fry bread is what makes this taco go above the rest. It is a soft, buttery shell that can be cooked to perfection using these simple tips.
- Authentic fry bread: I like to make authentic fry bread from scratch when I have the time, but the premade biscuit dough still works great and tastes super delicious! If you have any leftover fry bread, simply store it in a zip-top bag and keep it at room temp for 1-2 days. It tastes delicious warmed back up with a little cinnamon butter and honey.
- Test if the skillet is hot: Before placing the fry bread dough into the oil, sprinkle a few drops of water on top of the oil. If it pops, it’s hot enough to begin frying. If it doesn’t pop, give it a few more minutes to heat up, and then test it with water again.
- Using leftovers: This recipe is perfect for using up any leftover taco meat that you’ve made for a previous meal. You can even add leftover chili or taco soup on top – just drain the excess liquid so that your bread doesn’t get soggy.
5 star review
“This was such a fun way to change up our usual taco night! Thank you for such an easy dinner recipe to add to our rotation.”
-Jen
Recipe FAQs
Indian tacos and Navajo tacos are the same types of tacos. They both use fry bread instead of corn or flour tortillas.
A Navajo taco (or “Indian taco” or “fry bread taco”) is basically a taco on top of Indian fry bread, which has been deep fried until golden brown. The fry bread is crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside and makes the perfect vessel to add all your favorite taco toppings.
Fry bread looks like a flatbread that is fried in oil, shortening, or lard for an authentic flavor. It is made with flour, water, salt, and baking powder as the leavening agent.
More Tasty Taco Recipes
HUNGRY FOR MORE? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all the newest recipes!
Navajo Taco Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound hamburger
- ½ cup chopped onion
- ½ cup chopped red bell pepper
- 1-2 teaspoons ground chili powder , more to taste
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ cup water
- 10 ounce can rotel tomatoes , or can use diced tomatoes and green chiles
- 15 ounce can pinto or black beans
S&P , to taste
Fry Bread
- 2 ½ cups vegetable oil
- 1 can pillsbury biscuits
Optional toppings: tomatoes, cheese, shredded lettuce, olives, salsa, sour cream
Instructions
- In a frying pan, brown hamburger over medium-heat. Add onion, red bell peppers and saute for 3-5 minutes. Stir in taco seasoning, cumin, chili powder and water. Turn heat to low and add the rotel and beans. Simmer for 5-10 minutes. Salt and pepper, to taste.
- In a small pan, add oil and bring to a boil over medium-heat. Sprinkle a few drops of water onto the oil to see if it’s hot. If it pops, it’s ready.
- Pull apart dough and flatten (about 1/4 inch thick). Place dough in oil and cook each side for about 30 seconds, or until brown. Remove with tongs and place on a plate layered with paper towels.
- Top fry bread with taco meat and desired fix-in’s.
Notes
- Feel free to make authentic fry bread if preferred.
- To store any leftover fry bread, add to a zip top bag and keep at room temp for 1-2 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Love love LOVE this recipe!!! My family looks forward to it on a weekly basis! Taco Tuesdays and all lol. I like to make them in a bowl with rice for my husband and I. So tasty!
So glad your family enjoyed the navajo tacos recipe!
These tacos were absolutely delicious, some of the best I have ever had!
We usually use canned chili because I’m in a hurry, but this homemade meat mixture was so much tastier, and didn’t take too long. So yummy!
I hadn’t had fry bread in FOREVER! This brings back so many happy memories. Thanks for sharing!
This was such a fun way to change up our usual taco night! Thank you for such an easy dinner recipe to add to our rotation.
Hi. Just an fyi, I’m Navajo. We use pinto beans in our tacos. Fry bread from scratch is a must to get best taste! Enjoy!!
Mary
Such a delicious recipe! We loved it! Perfect weeknight meal!
I love Navajo tacos and usually only get them when I’m in New Mexico. I love being able to make them at home!
We all loved this dish so much! So easy — new Taco Tuesday fav!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! :)
YUM! Great recipe to make for Taco Tuesday :)