These really are the best ever homemade flour tortillas, no one can believe how easy and delicious they are!
This Best Ever Homemade Flour Tortillas recipe has been a long time 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, however, it’s different.
Way easier than you might 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 (if not, maybe ten at the most). After mixing, it’s super important to give the dough a rest. This helps relax the glutens, in order to make rolling the tortillas much easier.
MY OTHER RECIPESThen just portion the dough, roll each piece nice and thin and give them a stint (one-two minutes!) in a hot, dry pan. Voila! Once you take the first taste, you’ll NEVER want pre-packaged tortillas again
Flour tortilla pizzas – so delicious!
These Best Ever Homemade Flour Tortillas will make any South-of-the-Border meal extraordinary. 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!
More ideas…
I’ve also used these Best Ever Homemade Flour Tortillas for wonderful sandwich wraps and I’ve even 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 the Best Ever 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 nice and thin. You want them to look almost opaque 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.
Note: This recipe was originally published back in August of 2013. The photos were terrible but in spite of that, this recipe is by far, the most popular recipe on the blog. It has over 800 comments and over 370 5-star reviews. I’ve gotten emails from people all over the world who have made and loved them. We’ve re-taken the photos and tweaked the post a bit.
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.
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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 vegetable 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 well-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 get soggy.
When the pan is very 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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AlyB says
Thanks for your tip to roll these thin. That worked great and they were delicious both as quesadillas and as tortilla chips! I have made other flour tortilla recipes many times before but I agree with you that this one is the best. I also used 1/3 ww flour which added a nice layer of complexity. After a rest of an hour or so, they were easy to roll out and transfer to my skillet.
I’m super, super excited to be able to make decent chips since I live outside the US and they are expensive and salty here. Now I have them just in time for the summer parade of hummus, guacamole and bean dips on my table. I even found a source for fresh cilantro, so I can’t wait to get cooking. Thank you, Chris and Scott!
Chris Scheuer says
That’s awesome Aly, I love that you’ve had good results with these.
Ariel says
GREAT RECIPE!!! love it, simple, delicious, perfect!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Arie – so happy you enjoyed them!
Lori says
I love tortillas and from all the wonderful comments would love to try this recipe but I’m on a restricted sodium diet, can I leave the salt out or reduce it?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Lori, yes, you could definitely reduce the salt. Since you’re probably used to a lower amount of sodium, they should be fine.
Suzanne T. Jones says
Sea salt;)
Terre Lee says
This recipe is awesome! Thanks for sharing! I’ve made them twice in the last two weeks, once for Mahi Mahi tacos and once for fajitas and I must say that my family and I love them! I will never buy store bought tortillas again! This recipe is so easy to follow and not that time consuming so it works out great with my schedule! Thanks again!!
Ashton says
Great recipe!! And so simple to make!! 💖 it!!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks for letting us know Ashton!
Anh says
Hello Chris, thank you for the recipe. I like it that you use oil instead of lard, etc…
My tortillas did not bubble up at all and I am sure I followed the recipe exactly. The flavor is awesome. I have to try again.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Anh, so happy you enjoyed them. Yes, try again! They should definitely bubble up after hitting the hot pan!
Jonathan says
From an American who grew up in the southwest, who has been living in Europe for years – thank you!!! This recipe is a knock out and will be my go-to recipe for satisfying my Mexican food cravings in a land where they don’t know what tortillas really are. Simply perfect!
Chris Scheuer says
Wow, that’s a compliment, thanks so much, Jonathan!
Gerlinde says
I just made corn tortillas in the Castro Adobe the old fashioned way and it was fun. Now I will try your recipe at home . Thank you!
TeePoon says
can I use self raising fpour ?
Chris Scheuer says
No, use all-purpose or plain flour.
M Liz says
Can you use different flours such as wholewheat, spelt or brown rice flour? Or do you have to do strictly all purpose or plain flour? Thanks for your help!
Chris Scheuer says
Lots of readers have tried different types of flour with good results!
Ray says
Do I have to grease the pans before cooking?
Chris Scheuer says
No, you don’t. Enjoy!