A couple years ago we had Navajo Tacos in Northern Arizona while on a National Park road trip. I never heard of them before and was pleased to discover not only were they delicious, but filling for some very hungry travelers!
Navajo Tacos are similar to regular tacos but instead of a tortilla they use a delicious fry bread. I tried saving some calories by cooking the fry bread on just a hot cast iron pan like you’d cook a tortilla. It worked ok but in my opinion was better fried in oil (isn’t everything? ugh!).
This recipe is simple to make vegan (that’s what I do) by substituting vegan friendly ingredients that are readily available. My meat eating son didn’t even realize he was eating the vegan version!
Navajo Tacos
Ingredients
Fry Bread
- 2 C. flour
- 1/3 C. instant nonfat dry milk*
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 Tbls. shortening (or lard)
- 3/4 C. warm water
- Vegetable oil for frying
Meat Filling
- 1/2 lb. ground beef*
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. cumin
- pinch cayenne pepper
- 1/2 C. salsa
- 1 can black beans, drained, rinsed
- 1 can kidney beans, drained, rinsed
Toppings
- Shredded lettuce
- Shredded cheese*
- Diced tomatoes
- Sour Cream*
- Sliced avocado
- anything else you like on your tacos!
Instructions
Prepare Fry Bread
- In mixing bowl, combine flour, dry milk, baking powder and salt
- Cut in shortening until mixture resembles fine crumbs
- Gradually add water while stirring with a fork until mixture forms dough.
- Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead until dough is smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Shape into ball and cover, let rest 30 minutes.
- Divide dough into 8 equal portions (4 if you want larger pieces of bread), roll dough into thin discs.
- Poke a hole in center of each round or cut two slashes about an inch apart in middle of dough
- Heat vegetable oil, fry each round about 2 minutes until puffy and golden, turning once. Drain on paper towels.
Meat Filling
- In skillet over medium heat, cook ground beef (or beef alternative), diced onion and garlic until meat browns and onion softens (drain fat if using ground beef).
- Add remaining ingredients and heat through.
Assemble the Tacos
- Top a piece of fry bread with meat mixture.
- Top with your desired taco toppings and enjoy!
Notes
*For a vegan version of these tacos, simply replace the non-vegan ingredients with a vegan friendly substitution. I like to use Impossible brand meat alternative.