My 3-ingredient fry bread recipe is easy and delicious! Made without yeast, all you need is self-rising flour, milk (or water), and oil to create this traditional Native American favorite. If you only have regular flour on hand, you can still make it—just add a little baking powder! Fried to a perfect golden brown, this plate-sized, pow-wow-style fry bread is delicious on its own, dusted with powdered sugar, drizzled with honey, or used as the base for classic Navajo tacos. If you want to learn how to make 3-ingredient fry bread, follow my step-by-step directions and watch the video below!
3-Ingredient Fry Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups self-rising flour (300g)
- 1 cup warm milk or water (240g)
- 1 tablespoon oil (to coat the dough)
- Extra flour (for coating your hands when handling the sticky dough)
- *If using all-purpose flour instead of self-rising flour:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (300g)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Place the self-rising flour in a bowl and form a well in the center.
- Warm cold milk or water by pouring it into a measuring cup and then microwaving it on HIGH, uncovered, for 45 seconds—this will make it warm to the touch, but not hot.
- Pour the milk or water into the well, then mix thoroughly. At first it may look like you added too much liquid, but don’t worry—the dough will come together as you mix.
- Use your hands to form the dough into a ball. The dough will be sticky, so coat your fingers with a little extra flour to make it easier to handle.
- Coat the ball of dough with 1 tablespoon of oil and place it back in the bowl.
- Cover the bowl with a towel and let the dough rest for 30 minutes. The towel should be draped over the bowl but not touching the dough.
- While the dough rests, prepare your frying setup: a skillet, oil for frying, a timer, paper towels for draining the bread, and a plate or container for the finished fry bread.
- Heat ½ inch of oil in a skillet over medium to medium-high heat until it reaches 350–375°F.
- Divide the dough into 4 pieces by tearing it in half, then tearing each half in half again.
- Flatten each piece by gently pulling the edges outward. You can also hold the dough and let gravity help stretch it.
- Continue shaping by placing the dough in your palm and pressing it flat with your fingers until it is about ¼ inch thick.
- Poke two small holes in the center to prevent the bread from puffing up too much while frying.
- Carefully place the dough into the hot oil and fry for 30–45 seconds per side, or until golden brown. Keep a close eye on it, as fry bread cooks very quickly.
- Remove the fry bread and drain on paper towels. Shape the next piece while the oil returns to temperature.
- Serve warm plain, with honey, powdered sugar, or use as the base for Navajo tacos.
Recipe Review
My 3-ingredient frybread recipe turned out great. It was crispy on the outside but chewy on the inside, just like what you’d get at a Native American pow-wow. The flavor was very nice as well, the bit of salt in the self-rising flour helping to elevate the taste. The thickness was perfect, and the size was just right, too—everything about this was exactly how I wanted it to be.
And best of all, it was super easy to make—all you have to do is mix together 3 ingredients, let the dough rest, heat up some oil, shape the dough, and then fry! Although some tongs, a timer, and a thermometer would be helpful, they aren’t necessary—almost everyone should be able to make fry bread without any special tools or ingredients.
Although this fry bread is great plain, you can serve it a number of ways: sprinkled with salt, drizzled with honey, or dusted with powdered sugar. It would also serve it as a side with Navajo chili beans or thick beef stew, as well as the base for Indian tacos. I know it sounds weird, but I even think it’s good with some vanilla ice cream!
Overall, this 3-ingredient fry bread without yeast recipe turned out fantastic. It was delicious, easy to make, and super versatile. It doesn’t require a lot of time or special tools, either, so as long as you follow my instructions, it’s also good for beginner cooks. If you make this, I know you’ll love it!
3-Ingredient Fry Bread FAQs
This 3-ingredient fry bread is made with self-rising flour, water or milk, and oil. Using milk will make it moister, slightly richer and a bit more tender while using water will make it just a bit crispier on the outside and denser on the inside.
No. You can make this fry bread recipe without yeast because the self-rising flour has baking powder, making it puff up as it fries. This recipe doesn’t require any kneading, so it’s quick and easy.
Yes! You can make fry bread with all-purpose flour by adding 1 Tablespoon of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the flour and mixing thoroughly.
This recipe makes 4 pieces of large, almost dinner plate-sized fry bread, about the size that you get at a pow-wow. This makes it perfect as a filling snack or side dish for stews or chili.
Yes! This fry bread is perfect for Navajo tacos. It’s large enough to fill most of a plate and thick enough to hold hearty toppings and soak up sauce—without being so thick that it feels overly “bready.”
Flatten each piece of dough so that it’s 1/4″ thick before frying. This is the perfect thickness if you want the texture of classic Indian frybread—crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside.
Although there’s no exact temperature, it should be warm but not hot. I recommend taking your milk or water straight from the refrigerator, pouring it into a measuring cup, and then microwaving it on HIGH, uncovered, for 45 seconds—that should warm your milk or water to the right temperature.
The oil should be between 350-375F for frying the bread. If you don’t have a kitchen thermometer, drop a bit of dough into the oil—if it bubbles vigorously immediately, the oil is at the right temperature.
Use enough oil to get it 1/2″ deep in your pan or skillet. For my 10″ skillet, that was about 24 oz of oil.
I used a 10″ skillet, so I think a pan about that size would be perfect—you want to give the fry bread a bit of room to float around a bit.
Other Bread Recipes to Try:
If you liked this dish, here are some other recipes you might like:
Jiffy Cornbread with Creamed Corn – Cream-style corn and sour cream make this super soft and moist.
Southern Skillet Cornbread – This old-fashioned southern classic is made in a cast iron skillet, giving it an incredibly crispy crust.
