Fry Bread Breakfast Tacos

It might not come as a shock to you that my favorite thing to do as a kid was eat. Oh yeah, big surprise, this food blogger loved to eat when he was a little boy. How original. But it really was my all-time favorite hobby (still is), and I was a pro at it too (still am). If they handed out trophies for eating, my mom would have mine displayed around the mantel for sure. If she had a mantel. I’d have dozens, humble brag. Where was I?  Oh yeah, I could eat like no one’s business. As a matter of fact there are a ridiculous number of photos of me just stuffing my face. It’s weird, but not really because that’s pretty much all I did. I’d share some of the pictures with you now, if they weren’t so disastrous to look at. Don’t worry, I won’t subject you guys to such chaos. No one deserves that. Hey, thanks folks for taking pictures of your kids eating with food all over our faces. I’m sure they do that on purpose so they have something to embarrass us with later on in life.

I wasn’t a picky eater at all either. I would never ask, “What is this?” or “Why does it look like that?” To tell you the truth, I wouldn’t even have time to ask because as soon as I sat down at the table, I’d start scarfing it down. Whatever it was. I’d already be requesting seconds before my mom even had a chance to sit down. I exaggerate, but only slightly I assure you. I was strategic about eating as well. Not in the way that you might think. Nothing crazy like none of my food could touch each other or anything like that—that’s a real thing that my sister suffered from and I’d just stare at her, reassured she was an alien with her partitioned plate. Her alien status worked to my advantage though, because boy was she a picky eater. Not so much any more but every so often it will come out and show it’s ugly face. Anyhow so there I was, young me (awesome in my dinosaur shirt that I’d never take off), and there she was my alien sister, slightly older, eating as slowly and as neatly as possible and with a fork no less (what a girl). I’d purposefully sit next to her because I’d know she’d  inevitably not like something on her plate and I’d be lucky enough to get it. She’d discreetly toss it onto my plate. I’d play it cool too. “Ahh man, you want me to sit next to Nick? But she has cooties!!” I’d yell out, but secretly I’d be thinking, “Yessss! I get to eat seconds and her food on top of that! Score!”

Although I enjoyed every dinner meal, there were certain days I’d look forward to the most. Like Taco Tuesdays, that often times became Tostada Tuesdays with the occasional Burrito Tuesdays thrown into the mix. That one didn’t have the same ring to it but we loved Burrito Tuesdays all the same. My mom would get creative and switch it up as much as she possibly could. So here I am, older me (still awesome sans dinosaur shirt) with the same penchant for tacos. Still sitting next to my sister (cooties and all) at restaurants or parties, grabbing the foods she doesn’t care for right from her plate. Some things never change, and I’m happy that they don’t. Tacos however, those are always changing and I’m glad that they are. Like these fry bread breakfast tacos for instance, combining three of my favorite things; breakfast, tacos and fried things. How could you possibly go wrong?

I’m going to start this off by warning you that this recipe has a lot of steps to it. It’s going to feel endless. It’s going to feel like all you want to do is give up. Don’t you dare give up on me. Also, don’t get me wrong, the steps aren’t difficult, by any means. I guarantee you that this dish is super easy and it’s well worth the effort. Breakfast tacos are always worth the effort, am I right ladies and gentlemen? Anyhow, enough about that. I could talk about breakfast tacos for hours, but I’m sure all you want is to learn how to make these fry bread tacos. So let’s get started.

We begin with the dough for our fry bread. It’s the easiest dough you’ll probably ever make in your life. It’s literally four simple ingredients that I’m sure you have on hand right this very moment. You don’t need a fancy mixer or bread machine. You don’t even need to knead (that much). Okay, so there’s a little kneading involved, but it’s more so about gathering everything together, rather than working the dough to a pulp and ultimately giving your arms a workout. This isn’t that kind of bread dough recipe.

We start with all-purpose flour in a large mixing bowl. To that, we’ll add the baking powder and salt. Stir together and create a “well” in the center of the bowl. That’s where the water will go. A well, get it? Cause that’s where water goes and there’s water in this recipe. Eh eh eh? No? Yeah, no.

 

 

Add the warm water to the dry ingredients and gently stir it together with a wooden spoon. Keep mixing, putting that elbow grease to work, until the dough comes together and the flour is well incorporated into the dough.

**Note: It doesn’t have to be completely smooth or elastic, like in most other doughs. As long as the flour is mostly gone, then you are good to go.**

  

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for a few minutes until it is somewhat smooth and forms a ball of sorts. Again, doesn’t have to be perfect. You can’t really mess this up. Then place it in a bowl, cover with plastic and store in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.

**Tip: It’s important for the dough to rest and chill because it will allow the gluten in the flour to relax and expand and do it’s doughy magic. That’s what makes it soft later on. We want soft fry bread tacos for sure.**

So that was the first step of this multi-step delicious recipe. That wasn’t too bad right? You could easily do that with your eyes closed. I don’t recommend it though, as you’d probably make a mess. Or if you’re like me, you’d probably make MORE of a mess than if you had done it with your eyes open. Sometimes you can’t help it. And sometimes I don’t make sense. That’s okay. It’s the way of life.

Let’s go on to the next step. It’s a fun step because it makes all the difference. We’re going to make a salsa/sauce for our tacos. We can’t have breakfast tacos, or any tacos for that matter, without some kind of salsa or sauce to drench them with. It just wouldn’t be right. It wouldn’t be natural.

**Note: This step is completely optional. If you don’t feel like making your own salsa or if you simply don’t have the time, then you can totally buy some at the grocery store. Or just a simple hot sauce would be great also, if you have that on hand. There’s no need to stress about this recipe. Let’s make it fun. I mean who are we, Martha Stewart? It doesn’t need to be perfect.**

Also, as a side note, for the purpose of these images I’m adding the ingredients onto a baking sheet. I realize this isn’t the correct way, but I wanted you to be able to see the ingredients. SO don’t do as I do, rather, place all the ingredients into a food processor or blender.

We’re going to need a can of whole tomatoes with their juices. Also, a can of diced tomatoes with chilies (like Rotel).

 

Let’s add a bit of diced onion and sliced jalapeños.

**Note: The jalapeños are optional. Add as little or as many as you’d like, even omitting it completely if you don’t like heat, depending on your taste level.**

 

Okay, we’re going to do a few garlic cloves and a handful of cilantro. Fresh herbs just make everything a little bit better. Okay, a lot better. It cements any dish, I believe.

 

And now for the seasonings. Salt. Freshly cracked black pepper. Cumin. Sugar (a tiny bit to offset the spice and cut the acidity of the tomatoes). And fresh lime juice.

 

Purée it all in a food processor or blender until completely smooth.

**Note: I like my salsa really smooth, but if you prefer it chunky, then you can just pulse it slowly for a few times until you get the perfect texture and consistency that you like.**

Taste the salsa and adjust the seasonings accordingly. It might need more salt or pepper or lime juice depending on your taste.

Cover it tightly with plastic wrap and store it in the fridge until ready to use. Will keep for up to 5 days. Use it on everything. Also great with chips, but then again, what isn’t great with chips?

Okay, let’s get some of the toppings ready. Here are the more tedious of steps, but you might decide that you don’t want all these toppings. I’m just showing you guys some options. Letting you know that you can do whatever you feel like doing.

Let’s fry up some bacon. What kind of breakfast doesn’t include bacon? A lousy breakfast, if you ask me, and one I don’t want to be a part of. Make sure you invite bacon to this party. It’s the life of any gathering.

 

**Tip: I cooked my bacon in a skillet, mostly because I didn’t want to miss out on the seasoning opportunity my cast iron got, but you can totally do this in the oven if you prefer. Place a wire rack over a baking sheet and then lay out the bacon on the rack and  bake for about 15 to 20 minutes until the bacon is crispy. It’s super easy.**

Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels to catch the excess fat. Drain off the fat from the skillet and then cook the sausage. I used regular breakfast sausage links removed from the casings and then just crumbled it with a wooden spoon, cooking it until it got crispy and brown.

Transfer the cooked sausage from the skillet, using a slotted spoon, to a small plate or bowl. Drain off the excess fat and add a bit of olive oil to the skillet. Add the cooked potatoes (see potato note below).

**Note: I like potatoes in my breakfast tacos and burritos so I wanted to make sure to have potatoes in these here tacos. You need to cook the potatoes before hand, either by boiling them, baking them or the easy way, microwaving them. That’s what I did. Just nuked them until soft. You can also use frozen potatoes. That could work, if you want to make these fast. Dice the potatoes and then crisp them on the stove top.**

Cook the potatoes until crispy and golden brown. Season simply with salt and pepper and paprika. If you want to be super fancy, you can add garlic and onion powder, but that’s if you want to be fancy and impress everyone.

Okay, let’s start frying the bread. Our taco vessels. Our delicious fry breads.

Lightly flour a work surface and grab a small ball of the dough, about the size of a golf ball. Maybe even smaller. It all depends on how big you want these tacos to be. It’s up to you.

Roll out the dough very thinly, as thin as a tortilla. Then poke a hole in the center with your finger. This will prevent them from puffing up into a ball. Fry the dough for about 1 to 2 minutes per side until golden brown.

 

Drain off the excess oil on some paper towels and then transfer the fried dough onto a wire rack placed over a baking sheet. This will make it easier to rewarm later on. Continue the steps above until all the dough is fried.

Once all the dough is fried, place the baking sheet in a 250°F oven to keep them warm. You can also place the bacon and sausage in there too (on a plate or something) to rewarm.

Rewarm the potatoes in their skillet on the stove top while we make the eggs. This way all the other components are hot and ready to go as soon as the eggs are ready.

For the eggs, it’s up to you to decide if you want to make scrambled eggs or whole eggs. I did both because I feel like the sausage is better with scrambled and the bacon is better with the whole eggs. Also I wanted to show you the options. But you can just make them one way if you want. Or you can make them both ways, depending on what your family likes.

Fry up some eggs.

If you’re making scrambled eggs, whisk together eggs with a splash of milk, salt and pepper. Then cook them until soft and cooked through.

  

Okay, so now everything is done. It’s time to assemble the tacos! It’s the best part, let’s all rejoice. Well, actually the best part is eating these bad boys, but we’re almost there. I promise.

I’ll show you how to assemble three different kinds of fry bread breakfast tacos. Why? Because I care for you guys and I want you all to have some options to choose from. Variety is the spice of life, or so they say. That’s the word on the street. I’m not as hip as I used to be.

First up is the bacon whole egg breakfast fry bread taco.

So we start with a warm fry bread (look how amazing it looks just by itself)! Then lay on a few pieces of crisp bacon. Everything is better with bacon. Sorry, I hate myself for saying such a cliche line, but I couldn’t not have a post with bacon in it and not say that classic line. Forgive me.

 

Top it with a bit of those crispy, golden brown potatoes and then sprinkle some diced tomatoes and queso fresco (Mexican cheese, but you can just use whatever cheese you like).

 

And now for the best part, lay that perfectly cooked egg on top and sprinkle with sliced scallions.

 

That’s it! You can dig into that delicious looking taco right this second. Just cut into that yolk and allow it to ooze out (my favorite part, hands down). You can make all the tacos this way and make it easier on yourself, or you can be adventurous like me and proceed to make some sausage tacos with scrambled eggs. I’ll show you that one next.

We start with a fry bread, of course. Place the scrambled eggs on top.

 

Add a generous heaping handful or the crisp sausage and top with the potatoes.

Eggs, potatoes, and sausage, this is like the epitome of breakfast. Nothing you say at right now could ruin the moment. Let’s just stare.

 

Sprinkle with diced tomatoes, some of that queso fresco (or any cheese you like) and sliced scallions. And last but certainly not least, spoon over some of that crazy amazing salsa we made earlier. Let’s not forget about that. That’s muy important.

 

And just like that, the sausage and scrambled egg fry bread breakfast taco is complete. You can dig into it now. Make them all like this if you prefer. I mean, what are you a short order cook? I think not. Tell your family that if they want options, they should cook it themselves. No one has time to make three different types of fry bread breakfast tacos. They should be lucky they even got one kind. But who are you kidding? You enjoy cooking. You want to give them a variety. You want them to be able to choose, right? Well now you have two options to give them and I’ll show you the last one, so you can have three.

Just in case those vegetarians out there are thinking, “Boy, sausage and bacon? Why isn’t there a vegetarian option?” Well, fear not my meatless eating friends, I’ve got you covered. Here’s the vegetarian option, although each one of these could easily be a vegetarian option simply by omitting the bacon and sausage. But I don’t like anyone to feel left out on account of me so I’m just including a vegetarian option, and guess what, it includes avocado! Insert your “oohs and aahs” here ______________.

Let’s start with a fry bread and lay on some avocado slices. As much as you want really. I won’t judge.

 

Now for some of those crispy potatoes and diced tomatoes and cheese and scallions.

 

Spoon over a heaping amount of that homemade salsa from earlier. Why not? We took the time to make it, might as well douse our tacos in it. Then place the sunny side up egg on top. Sprinkle some freshly cracked black pepper on top to finish it off.

**Tip: You can also do this with scrambled eggs if you prefer. I’d put the eggs first though so that the taco is more stable.**

 

So I’ve given you the option of three different breakfast tacos. A new take on a crowd favorite. Who would’ve thought fry bread tacos could get any more delicious. I had no idea. That was until I went ahead and put some eggs on it. Slapped on a few potatoes and of course bacon. Whether you decided to make them all bacon or all sausage or just be slightly healthier by making these vegetarian friendly, you won’t regret making them. I wouldn’t blame you if this became your new favorite breakfast dish. Or even your new favorite dinner. Breakfast for dinner? It’s my all-time favorite thing in the world.

 

If you’re not really into the idea of breakfast fry bread tacos, you can totally make these more traditional by using things like browned ground meat or shredded chicken. Top it with all the classic taco fixings like tomatoes, avocado, shredded lettuce, cheese, sour cream and salsa. I’ll let you in on a little secret, you can even ditch the entire taco idea and make these into a dessert. How Jonathan? How?!?! Well, you can add a little sugar and cinnamon to the dry ingredients, right before mixing. Then fry up the dough like doughnuts and dust them with powdered sugar. Crazy? I think not. It’s just about the best idea I’ve ever had. You can ditch the powdered sugar at the end and spread it with chocolate hazelnut spread or peanut butter. Yeah, I just took it there and I don’t regret it.

I did write the recipe as a breakfast taco so I hope you at least give that a try. Or at the very least, perhaps I’ve inspired you to make these but with your own personal twist. That’s fine too. If you’ve never had fry bread before your world is about to change. Sure, it’s not the healthiest thing on the planet, I’m not saying it is. And I’m not saying you should eat this everyday (although I wish we could). But once in a while, I think that’s okay. All things in moderation. These tacos once a month, definitely something to look forward to.

 

This recipe is one of those recipes perfect for a brunch. You can set it up like a taco bar and lay out all sorts of different toppings and fillings and have your guests assemble their own tacos. It could be a lot of fun for everyone. Also they’d be eating some delicious out of this world breakfast tacos. Nothing wrong with that. Enjoy!

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Fry Bread Breakfast Tacos

Tired of the same breakfast dishes day after day? Weekend after weekend? In search of something delicious to serve your family and friends for a show-stopping brunch? Well, look no further. These fry bread tacos are transformed into breakfast tacos. Top them with the basic potato and eggs, and then make them your own with whatever other toppings you wish. Lay out a variety of different toppings and make it into a fry bread breakfast taco bar. 

yield: about 8 to 10 tacos 

Ingredients:

For the fry bread dough:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1½ cups warm water
• vegetable oil, for frying

Toppings (all toppings are optional and as much or as little can be used, depending on what you want):

• 6 to 8 eggs (scrambled or fried)
• bacon, cooked
• sausage, crisped and crumbled
• 3 medium potatoes, cooked and browned
• avocado, sliced
• tomatoes, diced
• cheese (queso fresco), crumbled
• scallions, sliced
• sour cream
• beans
• hot sauce
• salsa (recipe follows)

Preparation:

1. In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk until completely combined. Make a well in the center of the bowl and add the warm water. Stir with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together. Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for a few minutes until the dough is somewhat smooth. Place back in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.

2. Heat the oil in a pot or a skillet with high sides, until very hot. Portion out the dough into golf ball sized balls—you should get about 8 to 10 balls—and then roll out on a lightly floured work surface, until very thin. Poke a hole in the center of the dough to allow steam to escape while frying. Fry the dough rounds, one at a time, for about 1 to 2 minutes per side or until golden brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels and transfer to a wire rack placed over a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough until they are all fried. Keep the fry breads warm in the oven set at 250°F.

3. To assemble the tacos, top with eggs cooked the way you like it. Over easy, sunny side up, over hard or scrambled. Add browned potatoes, cooked bacon or crumbled sausage. Garnish with your choice of diced tomatoes, cheese, avocado, scallions, sour cream, beans, hot sauce or homemade salsa (recipe follows). Serve warm. The extra fry breads can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container or food storage bag and rewarmed in the oven when ready to use. You can also freeze the fried fry breads and rewarm later on. Make the toppings and assemble the tacos when you are ready to eat. Enjoy!

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Restaurant Style Salsa

This super easy to make salsa can be used for all your breakfast taco needs. Also great by itself, served with tortilla chips.

yield: about 3 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 (15 ounce) can whole tomatoes (with their juices)
• 1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chilies (Rotel) (with their juices)
• ½ yellow onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 jalapeño, sliced (optional)
• ¼ cup cilantro
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• ¼ teaspoon cumin

Preparation:

1. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and purée until smooth. You can leave it slightly chunky, if you prefer. Taste and adjust seasonings accordingly. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Store in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to develop. Will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. Enjoy!

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