Navajo Tacos

Navajo Tacos are an easy and delicious spin on steak tacos featuring tender strips of meat and our crisp-yet-airy Navajo Fry Bread. While most Navajo taco recipes typically call for venison, beef is equally yummy and a bit more economical. Loaded with all of the fixings, these fry bread tacos make a quick, flavorful, and family-friendly dinner!

What are Navajo Tacos made of?

Have you tried our Navajo Fry Bread? It’s a Native American flatbread that is often found at county fairs, usually topped with a sweet berry compote or powdered sugar. Depending on where you live, they may be called elephant ears or beaver tails.

Navajo fry bread is a light and airy flatbread with a crisp outside and gets fried like a donut. It works well with both sweet and savory toppings. These Navajo fry bread tacos have all of the ingredients we love about traditional tacos, but swap the tortilla for that pillowy soft and tender fry bread.

Traditionally, Navajo fry bread tacos are made with venison. If you have a lean venison steak you’re in luck! And if you don’t, you can easily substitute beef steak and still get results you’ll love.

Why this Recipe Works

Tacos make us happy, whether they’re fresh Blackened Shrimp Tacos or a spin-off of some sort, like our Taco Baked Potatoes.

These Navajo tacos- sometimes called Indian tacos or fry bread tacos (or a combination of the two)- are no different.

Regardless of what you call them, one thing is for sure– you’ll be amazed at the incredible textures and flavors in every bite.

These are:

• simple to prepare and perfect for weeknights
• tender, meaty and flavorful
• easy to customize with your favorite taco toppings

We’re also sharing a special trick to getting ultra-tender meat for these tacos, whether you’re using beef or venison. It will allow you to use an economical cut of beef and still get great results! And if you have extra meat, you will love our venison goulash and venison stir fry with broccoli.

Ingredients for Navajo Tacos

To make Indian fry bread tacos, you will need the following ingredients:

• beef or venison steak

• baking soda

• taco seasoning (use either our homemade taco seasoning or a store-bought blend)

• vegetable oil

• Navajo fry breads

• iceberg lettuce, shredded

• shredded cheddar cheese

• large tomatoes, diced

• avocados or guacamole

• onion, diced

• sour cream

• pico de gallo or salsa. For a twist on flavors, try our corn salsa, or our mango salsa.

How to Make Navajo Fry Bread Tacos

To prep these Navajo tacos quickly and with minimal effort, we recommend making the fry bread ahead of time. That way, all that’s left is cooking the meat and assembling the fry bread tacos.

(For the full, printable recipe card and all of the details, scroll to the bottom of the page).

The process goes like this:

1. Tenderize the steak: Slice the steak against the grain into thin strips. Combine the baking soda and water. Add the steak to the mixture and let it marinade for 10-20 minutes. The baking soda helps tenderize the steak. When done marinading, rinse the steak strips in cold water and pat the pieces dry.
   
2. Cook the fry bread taco meat: Toss the steak strips with the taco seasoning until they are well coated, then sear the steak in a hot skillet set over medium-high heat. Cook until browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer the meat to a bowl.
   
3. Assemble the Navajo tacos: Top each of the fry breads with taco meat, lettuce, cheese, and other taco fixings of choice. Enjoy!

Tips for our Navajo Taco Recipe

• The baking soda is our “secret” trick to getting the meat extra tender, quickly. It works for both steak and venison so don’t skip that step! If you’re using a budget-friendly cut of steak, we know you’ll be amazed at how well this tenderizes the meat.
  
• For best results, slice the steak against the grain.

What to Serve with Fry Bread Tacos

Looking for some side dish inspiration? Here are a few delicious dishes that will go well with Navajo tacos:

• Corn Succotash Without Beans
• Zucchini Salsa
• Mole Sauce
• Chipotle Coleslaw
• Pomegranate salsa
• Mexican street corn salad

With tender, seasoned steak or venison and a crispy-puffy fry bread base to load up all of those flavorful toppings, these Navajo tacos have all the goodies we love. And they’re a fresh and fun spin on Taco night!

If you like these flatbreads, try our sweet potato flatbreads or kamut flour tortillas.

Enjoy!

Helpful Tools

Some of the following are affiliate links. If you click on these links and purchase something, we may receive a small commission. You don’t pay any extra but it will help us keep the lights on. 

• skillet
• sharp meat knife

Some Other Recipes We Are Sure You Will Love:

The bold flavors of tacos, all meld together in this cozy, hearty Instant Pot taco soup. It’s a comforting meal packed with flavor and made easy by using the Instant Pot.

Try our Stuffed Poblano Peppers for a change from ordinary dinners. Roasted poblano peppers make the perfect vessel for a cheesy, hearty filling in this stuffed pepper recipe. Chicken, veggies and loads of herbs and spices are stuffed into the poblanos and it’s all served alongside our homemade mole sauce.

Our Einkorn Naan with Garlic and Onion is a dream and this recipe has all the savory extras. Garlic and onion bring so much flavor while Einkorn flour adds a wholesome richness to the flatbread.