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Indian Fry Bread Recipe (Low Carb)
Deep fried low carb dough fried to a golden brown, then topped with all your favorite taco toppings for an Indian fry bread taco! This recipe is low carb, keto, gluten free, and a Trim Healthy Mama S Fuel.
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My husband and I work at a school for Native Americans in Western Montana. (You can see more about Northwest Indian Bible School here.) We are the boys dorm parents (as I have mentioned in other posts), so I feed hungry teenage boys OFTEN! (If you have spent much time with teenage boys, you know they are always hungry!)
All of my boys love fry bread, and it is a traditional part of their culture. They simply laughed at my attempt to “health-ify” their traditional food, and I had to admit, it was a tall order.
A picture of my boys and I last summer.
At the school where we work, we have Indian Taco Sales once a month or so. People from the community come onto our campus and buy these Indian Tacos. They have gained quite a reputation in the community, and people love them! I usually treat myself to a taco (but not always).
I have always said in the past that Indian Fry Bread is one of those things that cannot be “THM-ified.” (Or made low-carb) I just couldn’t see how you could replicate the dough. But last week, one of my dorm boys wanted to make Navajo fry bread (which is a different recipe than we use for the taco sales).
The Navajo way of making fry bread (at least by his Grandma), is to use only flour, baking powder, salt, and water. He didn’t measure anything, but went by the “feel” of the dough. He and his brother made the dough into flat circle shapes and we fried them in hot oil.
That got me to thinking . . . if all I needed was flour . . .
I tried to make it with just Baking Blend to start with, but that was a fail (not because of the Baking Blend, but because it needed more to bind it together).
Then my mind turned to the popular “fathead” dough, so I tried that next. That worked MUCH better, but I cooked it too long, and it tasted like burnt cheese (which tastes good, but . . . ).
I ended up adding more almond flour to the dough and fried it for only about 20 seconds on each side. That worked wonderfully! Now, it does not taste “exactly” like Indian fry bread, but it was close enough for me! Especially when I piled taco toppings on the top!
The key to making these work is to NOT overcook them. They really only need about 20 seconds of frying on each side. They are a bit flimsy to work with, so I recommend using a pair of long tongs. That way you can have a grip on the entire fry bread to flip it over in the pan. And yes, they are a bit greasy, but that’s the way fry bread is supposed to be!
So, what do you need for Low Carb Indian Fry Bread?
1 ½ Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
2 Tablespoons Cream Cheese
1 Egg
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Cup Almond Flour (or you can use Trim Healthy Mama Baking Blend)
1 ½ Cups Refined Coconut Oil (for frying)
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Indian Fry Bread (Low Carb)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- 2 Tablespoons Cream Cheese
- 1 Egg
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 Cup Almond Flour or you can use Trim Healthy Mama Baking Blend
- 1 ½ Cups Refined Coconut Oil for frying
Instructions
- Heat coconut oil in a frying pan over medium-low heat.
Make the Dough:
- In a large microwaveable bowl, melt mozzarella cheese and cream cheese.
- Stir will, then add egg and baking powder and stir again.
- Add almond flour, 1/4 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. (You should have an even, homogenous dough. You may have to knead it with your hands a bit.)
- Turn dough onto parchment paper and divide into four balls.
- Flatten each ball between parchment paper and roll into a 6-8 inch circle with a rolling pin.
Fry the Dough:
- When the oil has heated, fry dough (one at a time) for about 20 seconds, then flip and fry 20 seconds on the other side. The bread should be a light golden brown color.
- Remove from oil and drain on paper towels.
- Serve with all your favorite taco toppings for an Indian Fry Bread Taco!
Notes
Nutrition
This is quite the achievement!! The only problem I have is I eat the taco filling, and then eat the fry bread with honey. Not very THMey. 🙂
I know!! And cinnamon and sugar! It is definitely not the exact texture as fry bread, but for a sub I think it works pretty good!
Use the sugar substitute of your choice and enjoy it!
This is what I was wanting and to call it an Elephant Ear👍😜
This looks really good! I have a couple of questions. Should the Mozzarella cheese be regular or can you use part skim? I use part skim in a lot of other recipes, so I’m just wondering. Also, I showed this to my husband who said, “Shew! That is a lot of coconut oil!” What do you recommend to buy and do you save it to re-use, or do you throw it away? Also, what kind of pan do you use to fry with this much oil? Thanks! 🙂
I believe my mozzarella is part skim, but I think you could use either. I fry them in my cast iron skillet. You can try using less oil, but you want the dough to “float” and not get stuck on the bottom of the pan. I recommend using refined coconut oil so there is no coconut flavor. You can strain the oil, then refrigerate for the next time you want to fry.
I LOVE THESE!!
Thank you!!
I make a double batch on the weekend, and I roll them out in wax paper, and freeze them! It makes for really easy Keto friendly tacos any time!
Thank you so much! I’m going to try these they sound wonderful.
Wow! Thank you for this! When I first married my husband, we were missionaries on the Navajo Indian Reservation in NE Arizona. We were married in a Hogan and the women made us Navajo Fry Bread and mutton stew! I LOVE fry bread! I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Could you try to THM ify Indian bannock? I’ve tried and failed miserably!! It’s one thing I cannot say no to if I make it for my family. I’d be ever so grateful. I can share my recipe!
Ah, it’s been a long time since I’ve had bannock. I’m not sure if I would know what the texture should be. Feel free to send me your recipe! 🙂
Thanks for this recipe. I grew up eating them, my mom made them & I have made them for years. I went keto a few months ago, and this is one of my big, as man! I can’t have anymore Navajo tacos. I grew up in a small town in AZ, and was right on the edge of the Navajo Indian Reservation. So I know good Navajo tacos. I amso excited to try tthis recipe. Still sad I vant pur beans on it to but at least I have an option for the bread part. Thanks again..
Oh my goodness!!! I can’t wait to make this. My family and I had Indian Fry Bread at the Taos Pueblo in New Mexico, years ago, and loved it. I’ve made it several times since then with regular flour. Since we went lowcarb and then THM 41/2 years ago, fry bread was totally off the menu. I am so excited, thank you!
Baked bannock
2.5 c flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
.5 tsp salt
1 c milk
.25 c oil
Mix together. Bake in 8in iron skillet at 375 for 20-25 min. Or form into patties about the size of a hamburger bun and fry in oil. Flip. Both sides should be brown.
Thank you, Norma! I’m not sure I could do much different for this than I did to re-make the frybread. The only difference is the bannock has milk. I wonder if you could shape them differently and fry them accordingly (using the low carb fry bread recipe)?
I just made these tonight and they turned out perfect. Thanks for the great recipe!!
Made this tonight and all I can say is WOW!!! So yummy! Gonna try one with butter and jam too! oh, and I have a feeling this is going to lead to donuts for me! I haven’t ever fried this dough before but I will certainly be experimenting some more!
Honestly haven’t tried it yet — but my late Shawnee husband, Brien Two Bears, was always wanting to introduce me to fry bread. This recipe is lke a hug from Brien. May the Great Spirit pour out His blessings upon you and the kiddos. Leslie Jackson Holland
I’m just wondering if the nutritional info is for the whole batch of dough or for each individual shell?
The nutritional info is for each shell.
Hey I found this for each egg use 2tbsp of water 1tsp oil and 2tsp baking soda mix well
Not baking soda I meant paking powder
Ah! Those look amazing! Why do I have to be allergic to eggs!?!? Makes this stuff pretty hard when it comes to finding “bread” recipes. 😖
Yeah, I’m looking for an egg-free recipe also . Anybody have some suggestions for replacing the egg? Thanks
You could use 1 Tbsp ground chia OR flax seeds and 3 Tbsp water and let it sit for 15 minutes. This would be the equivalent to 1 egg. It becomes like the texture of an egg, plus has great health benefits! I haven’t tried it with this recipe but it may work.
I usually make fathead dough without the egg and it works just as well.
1/4c unsweetened apple sauce can you use that to each egg
The fat amount seems very high in the nutritional info. Are you counting all of the 1.5 cups of coconut oil? Does the bread soak up all the oil? I would suspect you’d have oil left over, so not all of it would be counted. Thoughts?
You are correct, the nutritional information is calculated to include the oil that is absorbed during the frying process. I did not include all of the oil, but I measured how much I had left after frying and calculated accordingly.
This was wonderful! I also made this using 1/4 cup of coconut flour and 2 eggs. I find coconut flour is much cheaper.
Thank you for sharing your recipes! This was awesome!
So glad you enjoyed it!
I can’t thank you enough. I kept having taco shells with that twinge of off-plan guilt because I just don’t like tacos with soft tortillas (even Josephs, which I do like with other things). This has exceeded my expectations and I am very grateful for your kindness in sharing it. I’m also comforted at the thought of you helping these fine gentleman to get to know the Lord and have a chance at success. May God bless you abundantly. 🙂 Oh, and I love that ice cream video! Amazing work and it’s looks fabulous.
I used coconut flour instead of almond flour. This was a nice treat. I cannot wait to make again.
It tastes great! My concern is the amount of fat in each shell. Seems too much! What can we do about it. Anyways thanks for sharing a wonderful recipe.
Most of the fat comes from the coconut oil, since it is deep fried.
Sarah! This! Was! So! Good!
Thank you so much for sharing and for all the wonderful tips and pointers.
I pinned the recipe a couple of months ago but now I regret not making this sooner.
You have helped my husband and I fill the need for crunch! Haha.
We had some leftover steak from a night out so we used that and all the taco toppings.
We laughed because it is not a 1st date food because it is a bit messy but the fact that we have been married 34 yrs it was a great adventure food! 😁
Keep the recipes coming and I pray that the work you and husband do will be blessed!
I’m in love!!!! I ate them plain! I was wondering if you could freeze the dough?
I haven’t really tried that yet. It would be worth a try!
Can you put this in an air fryer?
I do not have an air fryer, so I’m not really sure.
I fried two and left 2 balls in frij overnight. Just used airfryer to make the other two. Came out great, Did 5 minutes each side on parchment @ 400 degrees with Everything bagel. Going to freeze and see if that works. If it does I’m making a stockpile.
I can’t wait to try this. I love Navajo fry bread! My mom loves Navajo tacos. I’ll have to try this for our next family dinner.
I love in northern ND/MN the only food truck here is Uf-da tacos, I love them but am Gluten Free and Eat THM style! It hasn’t been worth it the past few summers when everyone else is eating all the yummys! I am excited to join in this year!