Easy Homemade Fry Bread
This easy homemade fry bread calls for minimal ingredients and can be made by hand without a mixer. It is delicious made into fry bread tacos or served with honey butter!
Get ready for the best fry bread ever! Soft, fluffy, and so fun to make! I always have to double the batch, because it’s nearly impossible not to eat them the minute they are made – hot, golden, and slathered with butter and honey.
4 Reasons to Love This Recipe
If you are looking for the perfect fry bread recipe, this is it! I get asked for the recipe every time I serve this fry bread. Multiple friends have said they threw out their old, go-to recipe for fry bread/scones* because these ones are so good.
- The dough is super easy to mix by hand. No need for a mixer (but you can definitely use one fitted with a dough hook if you’d like). Just make sure not to over work the dough. It doesn’t require any kneading.
- While fry bread can often be heavy and dense, this recipe produces fluffy and airy fry bread. Make sure to follow the recipe instructions not to over mix to achieve that perfect texture.
- This is such a fun recipe to make with kids (take care with the hot oil, of course!) – they can help mix the dough and press it into circles (or whatever shape they want!).
- Serve the fry bread as Navajo-style tacos topped with taco meat (my fave recipe down below) and toppings. Or slather the hot, golden fry bread with honey and butter and call it a day. So good. I dare you to eat just one.
*Sidenote: There’s a good chance many of you might call fry bread like this “scones.” If so, you are welcome here. 😜 I grew up calling them that, too. It wasn’t until I started a food blog that I realized doing so really offended those in staunch defense of the high-brow English baked scones. Personally, I think there is room in the world for both types of scones – the humble, fried, dripping-with-butter-and-honey variety and the upscale, elegant, baked variety.
How to Make Homemade Fry Bread
- Mix the simple dough until it forms a soft, shaggy-looking ball and let it rest.
- Divide it into pieces and let it rest again. The resting times help the gluten relax so that the dough holds its shape without springing back.
- Press each piece of dough into a thick circle or oval.
- Fry in hot oil until golden and cooked through.
- Serve warm with butter and honey or made into fry bread tacos.
I place the fry bread on a paper towel-lined baking sheet right after it comes out of the oil. I try to keep it in a single layer or overlapping slightly (but don’t stack it directly on top of each other – it can get oily and soggy). If I’m making a lot at one time, I place the pan of cooked fry bread in a warm oven. I find they stay fresh-tasting for up to an hour kept warm that way.
Taco Meat Recipe for Fry Bread Tacos
This beef and bean taco meat is a variation (and slightly easier version) of the popular taco meat recipe on my website, and it is what I use when serving these as fry bread tacos.
Fry Bread Taco Meat
- 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
- 8-ounce can tomato sauce
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
Cook the ground beef with a pinch of salt and pepper, crumbling it into pieces as it cooks, until no longer pink. Drain excess grease.
Stir in the tomato sauce, water, and all the seasonings. Bring to a simmer. Add the pinto beans and stir well. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, adding additional water to thin out, if needed. Serve warm.
A Few Last Tips
- Flour: You really don’t want to over flour this dough. Measure the flour using a kitchen scale or, if you don’t have a scale, fluff up the flour, scoop in a measuring cup, and level off.
- Size of Fry Breads: You can easily form the fry breads into smaller or bigger shapes and sizes depending on how big you want them and how you are serving them. I usually make eight 5- to 6-inch fry breads with the recipe.
- Doubling: This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled by doubling or tripling all the ingredients straight across.
I’ve been making this fry bread forever and didn’t think I’d ever share it here on my blog, but the last three times I’ve made it, everyone vehemently told me it deserved a chance in the spotlight, so here it is!
It isn’t fancy or trendy, and I’m sure some people will get angry about it because fried food has that effect sometimes, but for the rest of us, it’s a keeper. 😉
It’s perfect to make for a fun family dinner, and I also love making it for groups of teenagers (they go crazy for it, which inevitably makes me feel like a rock star and I innocently avoid telling them how easy it is!). Enjoy!
Easy Homemade Fry Bread
Ingredients
- 3 ¾ cups (532 g) all-purpose flour (see note)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 1 ½ cups (363 g) milk
- 2 tablespoons (24 g) olive oil
- Vegetable oil, for frying
Instructions
- In a large bowl to mix by hand or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, add the flour, baking powder, yeast, and salt and mix to combine.
- Heat the milk until it is warm to the touch but not hot (about 105 degrees F.).
- Add the milk and olive oil to the dry ingredients and mix JUST until the dough comes together and forms a slightly shaggy ball of dough that clears the sides of the bowl. The dough should be sturdy but soft. If the dough seems overly dry, drizzle in warm water a tablespoon at a time. Don't over mix the dough or the fry bread will be tough instead of soft and fluffy.
- Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 20 to 30 minutes. It won't necessarily rise much, but this resting period helps relax the gluten so it's easier to form into rounds.
- Divide the dough into 8 pieces (about 116 grams/4 ounces each). Let rest for 10 minutes.
- Press or roll each piece of dough into a 5- or 6-inch circle or oval. Optional: use a sharp paring knife to cut a tiny slit in the center of each oval if you want them to have a more even thickness while frying rather than forming larger puffy bubbles.
- Line a baking sheet with a layer of paper towels and set aside.
- Heat vegetable oil in an electric deep fryer or in a deep saucepan on the stove to 365 to 370 degrees F.
- Fry the breads for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per side until cooked through and no longer doughy in the center.
- Remove the fry bread from the oil with tongs, letting excess oil drip back into the fryer/pot.
- Place the hot fry bread on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer (or overlapping just slightly – but don't stack them). If desired, place the baking sheet in a warm oven for the bread to stay warm. I find they keep well for up to an hour in a warm oven before serving.
- Serve the fry bread warm with honey and butter or make into fry bread tacos with taco meat on top followed by taco toppings of choice.
How do you warm the milk? Stove or microwave and for how long?
You need to heat it to the right temperature (not hot enough to kill the yeast) not for a set amount of time. It should be warm, not hot.
I have not made these in forever! Thank you for posting this so we could have them again! These are excellent! I made your taco meat, and it was also delicious. We all loved these! We also had some with butter and honey. So perfect!
Yay, Jen! So happy you loved this fry bread!
As a teenager I went on yearly summer mission trips to the Navajo reservation and basically ate my weight in fry bread and Navajo tacos. Brings back some really good memories!
We used the recipe for Elephant ears like they make at the Portland zoo. We dipped them in cinnamon sugar. All the grandkids got to help. Everybody loved them!!
Oh, what fun!
I can’t wait to try this Mel! I’m thinking using it for small bite size balls rolled in cinnamon/sugar would be to die for too. Thanks, we love your recipes.
Sounds like such a yummy idea!
I am out of all-purpose flour, Can I use bread flour?
I think that should work just fine!
My son came home from a YM activity and learned how to make these for Navajo-style tacos. He loved it and wanted to make them for us. So glad you shared the recipe!
Fun activity! And that’s awesome that he wanted to come home and make them for you guys. What a great kid!
This looks delicious! Growing up in Utah, scones were usually flattened fried bread dough. Here is a historical note on Navaho fry bread.
“Fry bread was born out of survival. In 1864, during the forced relocation of the Navajo (Diné) known as the “Long Walk,” the U.S. government forced the people to resettle at Bosque Redondo in New Mexico. Because the barren, arid land could not support traditional crops like beans, squash, and corn, the people faced starvation. To prevent mass death, the government provided food rations that included white flour, sugar, salt, and lard. From these meager government commodities, Navajo women ingeniously combined the ingredients and fried the dough in hot lard to sustain their families.”
Usually the the bread was only leavened with baking powder. Oil replaced lard for fryinging as time passed.. Yeast and milk were added to the recipe as time went on, but are not original to the recipe..
If you are ever driving I-89 from Paige AZ to Flagstaff, you will pass by The Cameron Trading Post (by a road that is an entrance to the Grand Canyon). It is owned and staffed by the Navajo Nation. They have the best Navajo tacos, stew, etc all served with fry bread, along with a great dessert of cinnamon surgar fry bread with ice cream and chocolate sauce. There is also a large shop selling Navajo art, jewelry, and blankets.
Thank you for sharing that, Kathy!
Can you make this using an air fryer?
I haven’t tried – let me know if you give it a go!
Question for the IBS people sitting here in the back row:
Do you have a sourdough bread recipe on here that you could use the dough in place of this but follow the same cooking method? 😁
I make this kind of thing all the time and just add in some sourdough and lessen the yeast. I never measure it and have never had a problem with the result.
Hi Sandi, I have a few sourdough recipes, but I don’t think any of them would fare too well fried like this. However, I agree with Lindsey…I think you could add sourdough discard very easily to this recipe and dcrease the flour and water by 1/2 cup for every 1 cup of sourdough starter (and you could lessen or maybe even eliminate the yeast).
I saw this recipe while reading my morning emails. Jumper up to make it right away! Thank you for sharing! Takes me back to Arizona. ☺️
Oh yay, Tauria! Glad you liked the recipe!
Such a fun recipe and so glad you posted it. Who wouldn’t love this? When I was young growing up, we used to call this fried dough and all of the carnivals and the little places at the shore used to sell them. You could get them either with cinnamon sugar sprinkled on or with red marinara sauce with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on. So good.
Ooooh yum, Teresa! That “pizza-style” version sounds so yummy. Thanks for sharing that!
Have you ever stuffed these with the taco meat (or anything else) before you fry them?
Hi Beth, I haven’t stuffed them prior to frying. Sounds like a yummy idea though!
Hi Mel, my dad used to make this with leftover pizza dough. He would just pat it out and fry it in a bit of oil then sprinkle granulated sugar on it and we would eat it while it was still warm. I’ve been doing the same thing years later with my daughter. I never knew it had a name and it was a real thing. I thought it was something his Italian mother made when he was a kid. Thanks for the actual name and recipe.
What a fun memory with your dad (and love that you’ve carried it on with your daughter)!
We grew up eating these fry breads as Navajo tacos! However, they are also delicious sprinkled with cinnamon/sugar while warm when they come out of the hot oil.
They sure are!
I’m in the “scone” camp! We called these Navajo Tacos growing up, from when my grandparents served on a Navajo reservation. Whatever they’re called, always loved them and can’t wait to try your version – you never disappoint! Note, on oops-I-don’t-have-taco-meat days, these taste great with a can of chili.
Yay for shortcuts, Susan!!
I’ve always called these scones! Do you typically deep fry these? Or would it be okay to use just enough oil to reach halfway up the scone and shallow fry them instead?
Hi Camille, that’s a good question. I’ve always deep fried them, but I think it should work fine to fill a saucepan 2 to 3 inches deep and fry them in shallow oil.
We always called them elephant ears! Thank you for reminding me about a recipe I haven’t made in years. I’m so thankful I can rely on you to give me the all good recipes!
Thank you so much, Nancy! Lots of others on Instagram also calling these elephant ears!
Hi Mel!
These sound perfect for tacos 🙂 Could you say how much oil should used for frying? Also, how do you dispose of the used cooking oil?
Thanks!
Patricia
Yes, I meant to include that, sorry! A lot depends on what vessel you are using for frying the bread, but I’ll add clarification to the recipe.
In the Northeast we call these doughboys. And we serve them with sprinkled with powdered sugar. Your recipe looks really good! Thanks for sharing. I always look forward to Mondays knowing that you will likely post a new recipe!
Thanks, Cyndi! I think the name “doughboys” is really cute. 🙂