Indian Fry Bread and Sopapillas
Pillowy, deep-fried dough served savory (Navajo tacos) or sweet (sopapillas with honey) — a staple of southern Colorado and the San Luis Valley.
Region
San Luis Valley, Four Corners, southern Colorado, and New Mexican-style restaurants statewide
Spice Level
🌶️🌶️ (2/5)
Diet
Non-vegetarian
Where to Try
Casa Bonita (Lakewood — sopapillas), Tres Hombres (Boulder), the San Luis Valley's family-run Mexican restaurants, and roadside stands in the Four Corners region.
Fry bread holds a complicated, painful history — it was developed by the Navajo and other tribes from the rationed flour, lard, and salt issued by the U.S. government during the forced relocations of the 19th century. Today it remains a defining food of the Four Corners region. In southern Colorado and the San Luis Valley, fry bread appears in two forms: Navajo tacos (a flat round of fry bread topped with seasoned beef, beans, lettuce, cheese, and salsa) and sopapillas (smaller, puffed pillows served as a sweet finish, drizzled with honey and powdered sugar). Both appear on menus from Durango through Cortez and across the SLV. Sopapillas are also standard at New Mexican-style restaurants statewide, served warm at the end of a green chile meal.