Navajo Tacos

Navajo Tacos start with the absolute best homemade Fry Bread! The bread is topped with a deliciously seasoned beef and bean mixture and then topped with all your favorite taco toppings like cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream.

What Is A Navajo Taco?

Navajo Tacos start with a fry bread that has been topped with a chili-style meat and bean mixture. The meal is finished off by adding your favorite taco toppings like cheddar cheese, chopped lettuce, tomatoes, olives, sour cream, guacamole, etc.

The fry bread is deep fried, and that gives it a lightly crisp exterior. The interior is soft, chewy, and so flavorful. Fry bread is fairly easy to make and doesn’t require much time to prepare — in fact, there is no rising time required!

What Are Navajo Tacos Made Of?

There are essentially three parts to this recipe:

1. Fry Bread
2. Meat & Bean Mixture
3. Toppings

We’ll break down each component below.

1. Let’s Chat Fry Bread

This fry bread is my all-time favorite — I think it’s the best part of Navajo Tacos! It’s so ridiculously flavorful with the best possible texture, and it’s also simple to make with typical pantry ingredients. Here are a few notes:

• This fry bread has yeast, but it doesn’t need to rise. We let it rest briefly while we prepare the filling. This helps the dough relax so it’s easier to shape. You don’t need to knead it either. The less you handle it, the better.
• The dough looks rough and a bit sticky, which is okay. If it’s too sticky, add a bit more flour, but not too much. If it’s too dry, add a bit more milk. The weather and how you measure can affect it, so adjust as needed.
• For frying, use a big cast iron pot to keep the oil at an even temperature. Add a thermometer to monitor it. If it gets too hot or cool, the bread won’t fry right. Here’s the thermometer I use and suggest for your kitchen.

2. Next, The Meat and Bean Mixture

Next up we’ve got the chili-style meat and bean mixture. If you’ve recently made this tasty Crockpot Chili, you can add the leftovers to fry bread and have dinner on the table that much quicker. (Few things beat Navajo tacos with chili!)

But if not, don’t worry! This meat and bean mixture whips up quickly. I tried to keep it as simple as possible with minimal ingredients, while not sacrificing flavor! Specifically, there are two ingredients that help us cut down on overall ingredients while adding loads of flavor:

• Taco seasoning packet: Taco seasoning packets can vary in the spice level and even in overall flavor. We love McCormick® or Old El Paso® mild taco seasoning packet. Otherwise, we’ll usually use a homemade taco seasoning blend (see “quick tip” box below).
• Chili beans: You can find chili beans near other canned beans in the grocery store. They are generally pinto beans in a mild chili-spiked sauce. If you can’t find chili beans (sometimes called ranch-style beans), I’d recommend using a can of pinto beans instead.

3. Navajo Taco Toppings

Below are some different options for topping these Navajo Tacos.

• Shredded iceberg lettuce
• Halved cherry tomatoes, a chopped Roma tomato, or a quick pico de gallo
• Sliced black olives
• Store-bought or homemade guacamole
• Sour cream (regular or fat-free — both are great!)
• Extra picante sauce or salsa
• Fresh lime
• Freshly chopped cilantro
• Shredded sharp Cheddar cheese or a Mexican cheese blend 

Navajo Taco Variations

• Navajo Tacos with shredded beef: Use a package of Del Real Foods® Del Real Slow Cooked Beef Barbacoa. This beef is readily available in most grocery stores in the refrigerated section near other prepared (cooked) meats. Warm it to package directions and spoon it right on top of the Fry Bread — yum!
• Easy Navajo Tacos: Instead of making your own Fry Bread and then frying it, fry pre-made biscuit dough instead!
• Lower fat: Replace the lean ground beef with ground turkey and add in 2 teaspoons beef bouillon powder to get a beefier flavor.

Repurpose Leftovers Into A Tasty Salad!

If you’ve got leftover meat and bean filling, repurpose it into a salad. Spoon leftovers over a bed of finely chopped romaine lettuce. Add some fresh avocado, corn, tomatoes, olives, cilantro, and a few squeezes of lime juice. Dress it all with this Cafe Rio Dressing — so good!

More Ground Beef Recipes

• Ground Beef Stroganoff with egg noodles
• Ground Beef Ramen with broccoli and red peppers
• Creamy Beef and Shells with Cheddar
• Beef & Potato Tacos with Yukon gold potatoes
• Ground Beef Naan Tacos with a cucumber-yogurt sauce

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5 from 7 votes

Navajo Tacos

By Chelsea Lords

Navajo Tacos start with crispy, homemade fry bread piled high with seasoned beef, beans, and your favorite taco toppings—cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream. So good!

Prep Time: 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 servings (1 taco per serving)

Equipment

• Large pan
• Large cast-iron pot

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

Meat and Toppings

• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 1 pound lean ground beef 93/7
• ▢ 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• ▢ 1 (1-ounce) packet taco seasoning mix see note 1
• ▢ 1/2 cup mild picante sauce or salsa
• ▢ 1 (16-ounce) can undrained chili beans see note 2
• ▢ Toppings as desired see note 3

Fry Bread

• ▢ 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
• ▢ 2-1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking powder not baking soda!
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 cup milk I use whole milk
• ▢ 1 tablespoon vegetable oil plus more for frying

Instructions 

Fry Bread

• Start with the dough so it can rest while preparing the meat. Melt butter in the microwave. Let butter cool back to room temperature. (It’s important it’s not hot!) Microwave the milk until just warmed (see note 4) but not hot. Mix together melted butter and milk and set aside. In a large bowl, add flour, sugar, baking powder, yeast, and salt. Whisk to combine. Add milk mixture to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together.
• The dough should be rough, shaggy, and fairly sticky, but not so sticky you can’t work with it. Lightly flour your hands and knead the dough a few times into a ball, being careful to not overwork the dough. Drizzle a tablespoon of vegetable oil in the bowl, turn the dough in the bowl to coat in the oil, and cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel. Let rest until the meat filling is finished. You don’t need the dough to rise, just the gluten to relax!

Meat and Toppings

• While dough is resting, add the olive oil to a large pan over high heat. Once oil is shimmering, add the ground beef. Let beef sear (brown) before crumbling with a wooden spoon and browning all the way through. Reduce heat to medium and add the seasoning mix and garlic. Stir until very fragrant, about 1 minute. Add in picante sauce, scraping the bottom of the pan to release any browned bits. Mix until incorporated, then add in chili beans (undrained). Stir and cook until beans are warmed through. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until fry bread is ready.
• Add 1 inch of oil to a large, cast-iron pot and heat to 350°F. Divide the rested dough into 8 equal portions (cut the ball of dough in half then half again to get 4 large triangle pieces. Cut each triangle into 2 pieces to get 8 equal triangles). Lightly flour your hands and work with 1 piece of dough at a time (keep the rest of the dough portions covered). Holding the pieces of dough with your hands, gently work the dough into a circle, pressing it out with your fingers (don’t roll out the dough with a rolling pin or flatten on the table). The dough should make a thin, 5-to-6-inch circle and doesn’t need to look pretty—it’s supposed to be rustic!). The thinner the pieces, the better; keep working the dough outward, being careful to not rip it.
• Gently drop only 1 piece of dough at a time into the fully heated oil. Cook until golden brown, about 30 seconds up to 1 minute per side (if not using cast-iron pot, it will take longer) flipping the dough with 2 forks halfway through. Use a large slotted spoon to remove the dough onto a paper-towel-lined plate. Repeat this process to fry the remaining dough.
• Set out fried dough and top with equal amounts of meat filling. Add your favorite toppings such as shredded iceberg lettuce, halved cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced olives, guacamole, sour cream, cilantro, and/or lime. Enjoy immediately.

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Taco seasoning packets can vary in the spice level and in flavor. I love McCormick® or Old El Paso® mild taco seasoning packet. Otherwise, I usually use a homemade taco seasoning blend.

Note 2: You can find chili beans near other canned beans in the grocery store. They are generally pinto beans in a mild chili-spiked sauce. If you can’t find chili beans (sometimes called ranch-style beans), I recommend using a can of drained pinto beans instead.

Note 3: Optional toppings: shredded iceberg lettuce, halved cherry tomatoes, sliced olives, fresh guacamole, sour cream, fresh cilantro, and/or fresh lime.

Note 4: Test milk temperature: Drizzle a few drops of the warmed milk onto the inside of your wrist. If it is warm and comfy, it will be perfect for the yeast. If it feels hot, it will be too hot for the yeast. Too cold and the yeast will simply remain dormant.

Storage: Store the meat and bean filling for 5–7 days in an airtight container in the fridge. The fry bread doesn’t store as nicely—it’s best right after being fried.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 349kcal | Carbohydrates: 36.2g | Protein: 22.1g | Fat: 12.5g | Cholesterol: 54.1mg | Sodium: 400.2mg | Fiber: 1.7g | Sugar: 2.9g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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