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These really are the best ever homemade flour tortillas, no one can believe how easy and delicious they are! They’re perfect for enchiladas, soft tacos, burritos, quesadillas, wraps… Check out the over 350 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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Real Mexican Tortillas says
I’m so glad you found yourself a recipe.
But just to tell you, as a real Hispanic woman, we don’t have recipes for our tortillas. It’s a tradition that gets passed down and is perfected by the person. We don’t make our masa in a mixer, we knead it by hand. This is why yours have come out too crispy, crumbly, or too sticky. A testal isn’t made by forming into a ball and mashing down. It is carefully made by turning in our hands so that when the tortilla is rolled out, it comes out round. Then the tortilla is cooked on a comal not a pan. It is taken off the comal and into our tortilla warmer. It is perfection, warm, and can be eaten right then or at the table with food. It is not dry, hard, or crispy. We can’t teach you in a recipe because there is no recipe. We have to show you. There are no measurements because as I said before, it’s a tradition that gets passed down.
Chris Scheuer says
Dear Real Mexican Tortillas,
You are so blessed to have this wonderful heritage! Thanks so much for sharing the charm and deliciousness that is often passed down through Hispanic generations.
However, others of us, who don’t have this amazing background and/or learning experience do have to rely on a recipe and a tried and true technique for tortillas.
If you look through the comments, there are many Hispanics who have thoroughly enjoyed this recipe because it does taste like their “mother’s” or “grandmother’s” tortillas but perhaps they just never had the opportunity of learning at their mother’s or grandmother’s sides as you have.
Your tortillas sound AMAZING!
Kind regards,
Wanna-be Real Mexican Tortilla Maker
AJanie says
I am also real Hispanic woman, where my mother woke up at 3 am to make a costal of flour tortillas for her entire children (married with families) and I have to say, this recipe is the best recipe I’ve found after so many and they remind me of hers! They came out soft and I just loooved how they fluff up on the pan. Dear Real Mexican, I think you must have made them wrong.
Thank you so much for your recipe. It definitely brings joy and satisfaction when we have our tacos and quesadillas.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks for your feedback 💕
Sharon says
Has anyone tried this with a gluten-free option? What flour would you recommend?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Sharon, I haven’t but hopefully some of our GF readers will chime in!
David says
Thanks for the receipe and step by step instructions. Would you be able to provide this recipe by weight (grams)?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi David, if you look above the word “Instructions” in the recipe, there is an option for metric conversion. Enjoy!
David says
Opps! Sorry Didn’t see that! Thank you!
Maria B Rugolo says
EXCELLENT RECIPE! I made these using my stand mixer. Allowed the tortillas an hour rest before rolling. This is definitely my go-to recipe for tortillas from now on. Can’t wait ot to try the “pizza” with the few remaining. Thanks for a great recipe.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much, Maria, for sharing your results! 💕
Chris Scheuer says
You’re welcome, Maria! I’m so happy you enjoyed these tortillas!
Sara says
Omg! The best tortillas ever! I’ve tried a few different recipes and these where by far the best! They were so soft and they tasted so good!! I’m never buying store bought tortillas again! These homemade ones are just amazing! Thanks so much for this recipe!! 💜
Chris Scheuer says
You’re welcome, Sara! Thanks for sharing your review! It would be hard to go back to store-bought tortillas after these!
Katy Poplar says
It worked well! It made 16 thin tortillas good for burritos although a bit small.
Chris Scheuer says
Awesome! Thanks for sharing your results, Katy! If you’re making burritos, you might want to divide the dough into 12 or even 10 portions for larger tortillas.
Jenn says
First time successfully making tortillas from scratch and they turned out So Great!!saving this recipe for all future taco nights!
Chris Scheuer says
Woohoo! That’s so awesome, Jenn. Thanks for sharing!
Joao Ferreira says
It came out perfect thanks keep up the good worl god bless
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Joao! We appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment!
Our Simple Home says
I tried the recipe tonight and loved it. However, my tortillas seem to be a bit dry. What could I do to help this problem? I measured all the ingredients as listed above. I’m excited to try again with any recommendation you might have. I’m originally from Texas, so fresh tortillas are a way of life. We recently moved and I can’t seem to find any that are up to par!
Chris Scheuer says
Hi, flour can differ in different areas of the country. Do you measure your flour and level, stir, scoop and level or scoop, fill then level? The different ways of measuring can also yield more or less flour. I prefer the stir, scoop and level OR the scoop (with a separate cup), fill and level methods.
The other culprit in dry tortillas is cooking them too long. These tortillas don’t take long at all to cook. And be sure to stack them between paper towels or parchment so they can steam a bit and soften each other.