These really are the best ever homemade flour tortillas, no one can believe how easy and delicious they are! Over 300 5-star reviews!
This recipe has been a long time in coming, years actually. I’ve been trying out recipes for homemade flour tortillas for what seems like forever – but I’ve never been thrilled with any of them. Definitely not thrilled enough to blog them – too dry, too sticky, too crisp, too bland, too soggy, too complicated. This time, with these flour tortillas, it’s different. They totally live up to their name – Best Ever Homemade Flour Tortillas!
How to make flour tortillas from scratch – easier than you think!
They’re also EASY, super easy! If you have a mixer with a dough hook, you can have the dough made in less than five minutes. You can also easily mix it together without a mixer (using a wooden spoon, sturdy spatula or Danish whisk), which is the way I usually make it. But whether you use a mixer or not, it’s super important to give the dough a little rest after mixing. This helps relax the glutens, in order to make rolling the tortillas much easier.
Then just portion the dough, roll each piece nice and thin and give them a stint (one-two minutes!) in a medium-hot, dry pan. Voila! Once you take the first taste, you’ll NEVER want pre-packaged tortillas again
Ways to use these Homemade Flour Tortillas…
- These flour tortillas will make any South-of-the-Border meal extraordinary. Burritos, enchiladas, tacos, quesadillas … it all tastes better!
- But this is the REALLY cool thing; they also make fabulous, super thin crust pizzas. Just brush them lightly with olive oil and top with your favorite pizza ingredients. I love pesto, a bit of fresh mozzarella, smokey bacon bits and a sprinkle of pine nuts and/or fresh herbs. Pop them in a piping hot (450˚F) oven for 4-5 minutes or until crispy golden brown.
Imagine coming home after a busy day and having a stash of these tortillas (aka pizza crusts) in the freezer. Throw together a fresh salad and an individual pizza for each family member and they’ll be “WOWING” you all evening long!
- I’ve used these homemade flour tortillas for wonderful sandwich wraps.
- It’s fun to spread them with a bit of butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar for a quick sweet treat.
- They make fabulous, shatteringly crisp chips too. Just brush one with a teaspoon of olive oil on both sides, then sprinkle lightly with kosher salt. Bake for 5 minutes at 450˚F. and you won’t even believe how delicious they are on their own or broken into irregular pieces and used to dip hummus, salsa etc.
Can you tell I’m excited about these guys? You will be too and I have a feeling, once you try them, you won’t want to be without a cache of these tortillas in your freezer. They’re almost too good to be true! Almost.
Café Tips for making these Homemade Flour Tortillas
- The recipe calls for using a stand mixer, but you can also make them by hand. Just mix up the dough in a medium size bowl with a wooden spoon or sturdy spatula. Then turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough until it’s nice and smooth (about 2 to 3 minutes) and then proceed as directed in step 3 below.
- Roll the tortillas pretty thin. You want them to look almost translucent if you held them up to the light. Thick tortillas won’t be tender.
- If you try rolling out these tortillas and the dough keeps shrinking back, let it rest for another 15-30 minutes. The gluten just hasn’t had enough time to relax.
- I’ve also used olive oil for this tortilla recipe with good results. If you use coconut or peanut oil the tortillas will take on a bit of the oil’s flavor.
- If your tortillas feel stiff after cooking, you’ve cooked them too long or the heat was too high. Cook them only long enough to get some nice bubbles on the surface and a few light brown spots on the underside. Then flip them for another 15-20 seconds.
- A tortilla warmer is a nice accessory to have when making tortillas, as you can stack tortillas after cooking to keep them soft. It’s also perfect for serving the tortillas at the table. It’s not necessary to have one though. Just use a pot with a cover that’s slightly bigger than the tortillas. Place each tortilla in the pot after removing from the pan and cover with the lid. The steam from the just cooked tortillas will keep them all soft and pliable – same way a tortilla warmer works!
- Readers have asked if it’s worth it to have a tortilla press. I honestly don’t think it’s necessary for these flour tortillas, as they’re easy to roll out.
- Wipe out the pan in between tortillas with a damp paper towel if flour is starting to accumulate.
Make them! I think you’ll love them too!
Another wonderful South of the Border recipe
Do enjoy South-of-the-Border cuisine? If so, be sure to check out our Mexican Chopped Salad. It’s another super popular recipe on The Café. It’s fantastic with just about any Mexican or Tex-Mex entree. Pair it with these Best Ever Homemade Flour Tortillas for a meal that’s sure to bring rave reviews!
If you enjoy this recipe, please come back and leave a rating and review! It’s so helpful to other readers to hear other’s results and ideas for variations.
These Best Ever Homemade Flour Tortillas are so simple and unbelievably delicious!
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil, vegetable oil or other fairly neutral flavored oil
- 1 cup warm water
Combine flour, salt and baking powder in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the dough hook, mix dry ingredients until well combined.
Add oil and water with mixer running at a medium speed. After about 1 minute, or when mixture comes together and begins to form a ball, decrease mixing speed to low. Continue to mix for 1 minute or until dough is smooth.
Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Divide into 16 equal portions. Turn each piece to coat with flour. Form each piece into a ball and flatten with the palm of your hand. Cover flattened balls of dough with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes (or as much as 2 hours) before proceeding.
After the rest period, heat a large pan over medium heat. Roll each dough piece into a rough circle, about 6-7 inches in diameter, keep work surface and rolling pin lightly floured. Don’t stack uncooked tortillas on top of each other or they will stick together.
When the pan is hot, place one dough circle into the pan and allow to cook about 1 minute or until the bottom surface has a few pale brown spots and the uncooked surface is bubbly. If browning too fast, reduce the heat a bit. If it’s taking longer than a minute to see a few pale golden brown spots on the underside of tortillas, increase the heat a bit. Flip to other side and cook for 15-20 seconds. The tortillas should be nice and soft but have a few small brown spots on the surface.
Remove from pan with tongs and stack in a covered container or zippered bag to keep the tortillas soft.
Serve warm or allow to cool for later use. When ready to use, place a slightly damp paper towel in the bottom of a microwave-safe container (with a cover) that will hold the stacked tortillas. Microwave uncovered for 15-30 seconds (start with 15) or until warm, then keep covered to hold heat while serving.
Store in an airtight container or zippered bag at room temperature for 24 hours or refrigerate for up to 1 week. To freeze, separate tortillas with parchment paper or waxed paper and place in a zippered bag before placing in the freezer.
See Café Tips above in post for additional instruction and tips.
Recipe adapted from Genius Kitchen
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Kaleigh Lawrence says
Really easy to make and my roommate and I love them! I made these without a stand mixer and just kneaded the dough after mixing the ingredients until a soft and smooth ball was made. So glad I found this recipe! Now I can stop wasting money and plastic bags!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Kaleigh! You may be spoiled for life (and never want a store-bought tortilla again), but that’s not such a bad thing! 🙂
Alyssa says
I was super intimidated by the idea of making homemade tortillas but this was surprisingly easy and so, so good!! Love. Love. Love. Thank you so much for sharing! ❤️❤️❤️
Chris Scheuer says
I love it, Alyssa! You might just become known as the little tortilla maker in the familly!
Palma Valerio says
I am a lover of Mexican food, well, a lover of food, period! A true foodie…and i spend most of my time cooking or baking up a storm in our beautiful kitchen at home.
This is the absolute best tortilla recipe I have ever tried! After living in Mexico for several years, my taste for authentic Mexican food is more particular than the average Canadian.
Love, love, love this easy recipe!
Thank you.
Palma
Chris Scheuer says
Such a great compliment to the recipe, Palma, since you actually lived in Mexico! I really appreciate you taking the time to share your review!
Taylor W. says
This recipe looked very similar to what I remember of my Grandmother’s recipe when she taught me to make tortillas. I haven’t made them in years and couldn’t remember my Grandmother’s recipe. Your recipe is quite close, if not almost exact. When I made these, 1 hour wasn’t enough of a rest for the dough. Letting the dough rest for 3-4 hours resulted in really great texture tortillas. Maybe it’s the flour I am using? I used all purpose, but I have noticed this flour brand is quite bland (even in cookies). I think my past errors have been the brand/type of flour used. I am going to try different brands of flour in the future. My Grandmother always used self-rising flour and she used corn or vegetable oil. I used canola. Wondering what difference the oil makes? One interesting thing that my Grandmother would do from time to time was to add a beaten egg to the dough to add in protein. This might have been during times when we were not eating a lot of meat or there was some need for extra protein? I don’t remember being able to tell a big difference between the ones with an egg and without. The tortillas never lasted long! Thanks for the recipe and reviving the memories of my childhood!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks for sharing your review, Taylor! I love it when recipes evoke wonderful memories of days gone by!
Trish says
Holy crap these are so amazing! First, super easy to make…yes they were a bit in the pancake family as i ruined the first 2 before I got my heat right. And second, incredibly delicious! This is a keeper recipe and I can’t wait to make them again! Thanks for improving my dinner!!
Chris Scheuer says
Haha! Your comment made me laugh! I’m so happy you enjoyed these tortillas! Thanks for your enthusiasm:)
Anna M says
Just made it in my Vintage Kitchen Aid. How I miss La Pina Flour which was used soley to make the best flour tortillas. It has to do with the flour. But this recipe works. My mother=in-law would be proud. I used all these to try and do have friends do a taste test. Bacon fat, lard, peanut oil, and my fave, olive oil. My friends and family enjoyed the taste of the bacon bits. Yum! Not everyday. They all came out the same. Then of course, add butter. MMMMMMMMM Enjoy. I recommend this recipe!!!!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks for your in-depth review of these flour tortillas, Anna! I’m super happy that you enjoyed them and it’s great to know they turn out well with all the different oils and fats!
Krisia Justesen says
This is my go-to tortilla recipe. It takes no time at all in the KitchenAid, and they are always perfect! Sometimes I make them with coconut oil instead, and they are just as good. I’ve also replaced up to 25% of the flour with whole wheat flour and an extra tablespoon or two of water, for great whole wheat tortillas.
Thanks for the wonderful, easy recipe!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Krisia, for sharing your results. It’s great to know that WW flour works well!
Virginia says
Tortilla euphoria! I love the simplicity of your recipe, and after just making the first batch, I am already planning to make these again tomorrow. Thanks for posting!
Chris Scheuer says
Awesome! You’re welcome, Virginia! Thanks for sharing your results!
Jillian says
Never once have I made homemade tortillas until today. Buying the ingredients sooo much cheaper than buying store bought and they taste so much better. Easy to do. Mine weren’t perfectly shaped at all but taste yummy! Process started going faster when I employed my 13 YO daughter in the watching and flipping them. We tripled the recipe and they are a hit in my household. Yay! Thank you
Chris Scheuer says
Yay! Now everyone is spoiled for life 🙂 Sorry!
Ashley Spencer-Smith says
My family ate them like candy… I had to practically wack their hands with the back of my wooden spoon just to make sure I still had one for my dinner. I halved the recipe and probably added “too much” oil as a result, but they were still amazing.
We’re trying to really pull in the purse strings and it was breaking my heart to possibly have to forgo some of our favorite wrap/tortilla-based meals, but I can honestly say this recipe is better than the storebought alternatives. It is also important to note that they actually are not much more cumbersome to make either. Once the dough is made and rolled, your processing for a tortilla dinner is pretty much the same as warming and cooking times for tortillas is virtually the same.
Chris Scheuer says
Haha! I love it! My husband calls his very favorite things “candy”! So happy you enjoyed them!
Donna says
Have tried different recepies without good results. Let’s see they tuned out but, took so long to make so long to roll out and weren’t that’s great. Went back to store bought. In a pinch I looked up a recepie again. Found this one it turned out great. So easy to make and taste is 5 stars. Will definitely be making these many more times. Thanks for sharing.
Chris Scheuer says
Yay! So glad you enjoyed these, Donna. I love it when I finally have success with something like this!
Julie Weiss says
What am I doing wrong if these come out crispy instead of soft and pliable? No, I’m not overcooking them.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Julie, I would try cooking them a little less and be sure to stack them together after cooking to let the steam keep them soft. I find that, even if I overcook them a bit, they can get a little crisp. But the steam seems to soften them up.
Jared says
Julie I kept getting crispy tortillas as well even without overcooking. Turned out I was making the dough too dry. Make sure you don’t skimp on the fat/oil/butter whatever you’re using. Also make sure you aren’t working too much flour back into the dough while kneading it. I have tendency to way over flour my work surface and hands, and that was putting too much flour back in, making the dough really dry, and the tortillas always came out hard.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Jared! Good advice!
Jacob says
Thank you for the recipe! I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go through the trouble of making my own tortillas for flank steak fajitas but I figured it was worth the effort when I had such high hopes for the meat I was cooking. It was worth it! I cut the recipe in half and let the dough rest for 2 hours. 8 tortillas and over 1.5# of meat later by myself and I couldn’t be happier! Happy cheat meal to me and thanks again for a great recipe!
Chris Scheuer says
Yay! Glad this recipe worked out so well for you, Jacob. Sounds like a great dinner!
Emily says
You’ve hit on perfection here. Easy to mix, easy to roll out very thin. The only thing I did differently is get the tea towel very slightly damp for the resting period. I doubled the batch on my first attempt and they all came out great with minimal effort. Adding this to my permanent recipe collection!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much! Great advise on the damp tea towel!
Jennifer Capps says
Didn’t think this could be as good and as easy as the recipe and reviews suggest, but it is! Worked perfectly, hand kneaded, using all the timings and tips given. So tasty and satisfying to make, thank you!!
Chris Scheuer says
Yay! Thanks, Jennifer! So happy you had great success!
Jo says
Love this recipe. I use half white flour and half atta flour. It’s an indian wholemeal flour which is alot finer and softer than regular wholemeal so you still get a lovely soft dough. I make a batch quite regularly and freeze them. They take no time to defrost when you need them. Thank you so much for posting.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much, Jo, for sharing your results! I’m sure this will be very helpful to other readers.
Neetu says
Hey thanks for the tip. I thought we make roti’s all the time with only water and flour and they turn out so soft so atta should work and I also used half atta and half all purpose flour. I saw many recipes using shortening so was a little nervous about using oil but let me tell you that Indian roti or chapati has no oil or shortening and it’s so soft. So if you are scared of oil , don’t be. They will turn out very soft. Main thing is to be careful not to overcook them. Thanks for the wonderful recipe. I m never going to store tortillas again.
Jamie says
Hey! Love them when I make them, but I need some help! I’m not sure if it’s because of the heat/humidity here (I live in Vietnam), my mixing method (bowl, spatula, hands) or my measurements, but the dough is insanely sticky until I add almost double the flour. Any suggestions on this?
Chris Scheuer says
Hmmm, it’s humid here too but probably nothing like Vietnam. I would just add as much flour as you need when kneading to combat the stickiness.
Andrea says
“Roll the tortillas pretty thin…almost translucent” And olive oil?! No, no, no! Coming from a Mexican American family in southern Texas whose great-grandmother taught her how to make them, these are two BIG no-no’s! While thickness is a matter of preference to some, olive oil was not available to families in those regions until the very recent past. Not to mention that many of the foods you listed as “South of the border” are not. They are Tex-Mex foods that are from north of the border. While I love many of your recipes, this post was very disappointing and a little offensive…
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Andrea,
Thanks for your thoughtful comment and kind words about our recipes.
I have to agree with you that many of the recipes that we call “South of the Border” are more Tex-Mex than true, authentic Mexican. That being said, “South of the Border” is simply an American term that refers (in the culinary world) to recipes that have Mexican-inspired flavors or ingredients. There’s even a restaurant chain, here in the States called South of the Border. The restaurant serves Mexican-inspired appetizer, entrees, desserts, etc. but not the kind of true Mexican food you’d experience in Mexico City, Guadalajara, Puebla or even Tijuana.
Regarding the tortillas, if you scroll through the 100’s and 100’s of 5-star reviews and comments, you’ll find, more than a few, from readers of Mexican descent and others who grew up in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, etc. Some have described them as “tasting just like my mama’s” and “so similar to the tortillas I grew up on”.
I have come to suspect (with no disrespect to your great grandmother, whom I’m sure made wonderful tortillas) that there are probably more tortilla recipes than there are pretty Senoritas in Mexico.
I am like you and love the recipes I grew up on. My family’s background is German and NO ONE makes dumplings like my mother did. But that’s not to say that other people’s German dumplings are not delicious as well as German-inspired.
If you try this Best Ever Homemade Tortillas recipe, please come back and share your review and a star rating. Feel free to use your favorite oil or shortening. We love getting feedback from our readers and troubleshooting any problems they run into.
Kind Regards,
Chris
Peaches says
Seriously?what was offensive?its not like she talked down to anyone.
I think it’s great that she gives up her time and recipes for free just because she likes sharing her new found recipes.
I tried these and they are soooo freaking easy to make and everyone especially my Mexican friends were really impressed. So thank you for sharing,it is a recipe I will add to my family recipe book to give to my girls. Angelica will love it.
Again thank you Peaches
Rosalina says
Thank you for sharing! I have been making this recipe for the 5th time now and thaught it’s time to leave a Thank you message.
Could you please advise if 124kcal is per tortilla or per recipe!!??
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much, Rosalinda! I’m so happy you have had good success! Yes, the 124 calories count is per tortilla. That’s about the same amount as purchased tortillas this size would have.
Erin says
Do you think this would work with whole wheat flour?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Erin, I think you would use some WW flour but I think they would be quite stiff if you use 100% WW.