Air fryer Indian fry bread recipe is going to be your new favorite indulgent dinner. You don’t even have to go out to have a wonderfully tasty dinner. So save your money and give our air fryer fry bread recipe a shot.
Fried bread dough in the air fryer is such a fun way to use your air fryer. I am guilty of using my air fryer to whip up some crispy chicken nuggets, but making this navajo fry bread air fryer recipe has given new life to our air fryer.
If you have never had the joy of experiencing Indian fry bread, then this is a great recipe to start with. It is like a taco salad on top of a piece of crispy yet tender bread. YUM!
What are Navajo Tacos or Indian Fry bread?
You might not have heard of Indian fry bread before, so what exactly is it? It’s a type of fry bread (or flat dough bread) that is fried or deep-fried in oil, shortening, or lard. To make Indian fry bread tacos, you can top each flat bread with beans, ground beef, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and your other favorite toppings.
What is the Difference Between Indian Fry Bread and Sopapillas?
I feel like sopapillas are a little more well known, but what is the difference between the two? Sopapillas are more of a decadent, dessert, type of bread that is light and fluffy. They also tend to be made smaller and have a square shape. Fry bread is a thicker, dencer, crispier bread that is used in entrees. It is also made in a bigger portion and in a circle. You can find a little more information about the difference between fry bread and sopapillas by Craving Home Cooked!
Recipe Ingredient Notes
To make our air fryer Navajo tacos, you need the following ingredients:
- All purpose flour
- Salt
- Baking powder
- Milk
- Ground beef
- Onion, diced
- Pinto beans
- Low sodium taco seasoning
- Salsa
- Shredded lettuce
- Sour cream
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Pico de gallo
- Guacaomole
- Black olives
- Vegetable oil
Equipment Needed
For this recipe, you only need a few simple kitchen tools. We recommend using the following equipment:
How To Make Our Air Fryer Navajo Tacos
- To begin, grab a medium mixing bowl and add in the all purpose flour, salt, baking powder, milk, and mix it together witha fork until it is all the way combined.
- Once the dough is formed, cut it into 6 equal pieces and then roll them into a smooth ball and cover them with a towel and set them aside.
- Grab one ball at a time and press the ball into a flat disc that is about 5 inches in diameter and try to to keep the edges a little thicker than then center until all the balls have been formed.
- In a shallow bowl or plate, pour the vegetable oil and then place the discs in the vegetable oil filling it to cover each side.
- Once the discs have been prepared, place them in the basket of the air fryer (do not over crowd the basket, fry them in shifts if necessary) and set the temperature to 375℉ and fry the dough for 10 minutes.
- While the bread is frying, prepare your taco ingredients!
- In a large skillet brown the ground beef and onion until the meat is no longer pink.
- Then drain the meat of all the grease and then add in the beans, taco seasoning, and salsa, cooking it all together for about 5 minutes to let the flavors blend together.
- As the fry bread is getting done, remove it from the air fryer, placing it on a plate and cover it wiht a towel. If you have more dough to cook, add it to the fryer and bake it for 10 minutes at 375.
- When everything is ready, place the fry bread on the plate and then top it with the meat mixture and all of your favorite taco toppings.
Enjoy More Delicious Beef Main Dishes
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Air Fryer Navajo Tacos Recipe
Ingredients
Fry Bread Dough
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- ¾ cup milk
Taco Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 15 ounces pinto beans, 1 can, rinsed and drained
- 1 ounce low sodium taco seasoning, 1 packet
- 1 cup salsa
- 1 cup shredded lettuce, (optional topping)
- 6 Tablespoon sour cream, (optional topping)
- 6 Tablespoon shredded cheddar cheese, (optional topping)
- pico de gallo, (optional topping)
- guacamole, (optional topping)
- black olives, (optional topping)
Other Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoon vegetable oil
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine fry bread dough ingredients with a fork until completely mixed together.
- Divide dough into 6 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a smooth ball, cover with a towel and set aside.
- Use fingers to press each of the 6 balls into flat discs about 5 inches in diameter. Have the edges be slightly thicker than the centers.
- Pour vegetable oil onto a shallow plate and coat both sides of each piece of the flattened dough in oil, then lay them in the air fryer basket (depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to do this in a couple of shifts).
- Set the temperature on the air fryer to 375℉ and set the time to 10 minutes, then press start.
- While the dough is in the air fryer, prepare the taco ingredients.
- While the dough is in the air fryer, prepare the taco ingredients.
- In a large skillet, brown ground beef and onion until beef is no longer pink. Drain, then add in beans, taco seasoning, and salsa. Let simmer for about 5 minutes to let the flavors meld together.
- When time is complete on the air fryer, remove the completed fry bread to a plate and cover with a towel. Repeat with remaining dough.
- When all fry bread is cooked, serve topped with ground beef mixture and your favorite taco toppings.
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
It was a really good biscuit recipe, but tasted nothing like fry bread.
More of a baking powder biscuit than a scone dough. Salt needs to be cut in half. Cooked in an Instant pot air fryer, took 4 min, flip over half way.
Far too thick, you could cut this into 12ths. Taste is fine, texture has something to be desired if following recipe as directed
The bread was perfect with the toppings, which carried a bulk of the flavor.