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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 500 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!
I LOVE the results, and I think you will too. These homemade flour tortillas are tender, soft and flavorful. Because they keep well, they can be made in advance and warmed in the microwave or on the stovetop, just before serving.
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 them. But whether you use a mixer or not, it’s super important to give the dough a little rest after mixing and dividing the dough. This helps relax the glutens, in order to make rolling the tortillas much easier.
Just portion the dough, give it a rest, then 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.
You can either make these tortillas with a stand mixer or by hand. I find it’s just as easy to put them together without a mixer. You’ll find directions for both ways in the recipe below but we’ve created a video to show you how easy they are to make by hand:
Café Tips for making these Homemade Flour Tortillas
- Roll the tortillas fairly thin. You want them about 6-inches in diameter and to look somewhat 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 and melted butter for this tortilla recipe with good results. I don’t recommend coconut or peanut oil as the tortillas will take on 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.
- It’s also important to allow your tortillas to steam each other. Stack them up directly after cooking and keep them covered with a kitchen towel. This help them steam each other and get nice and soft.
- 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.
- These tortillas keep well in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. They will feel stiff though when they’re cold. When you want to use one or two, just place them in a slightly damp paper towel and microwave for 10-20 seconds. They’ll be nice and soft again.
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
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Combine flour, salt and baking powder in a medium-size bowl. Using a sturdy silicone spatuala or a sturdy wooden spoon, mix dry ingredients until well combined.
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Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the oil and water. Stir well from the bottom up, until all dry ingredients are incorporated and the dough begins to come together and form a shaggy ball.
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Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 1-2 minutes until the dough is nice and smooth. Proceed with step number 3 below for the remainder of the recipe.
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Combine flour, salt and baking powder in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the dough hook, mix dry ingredients until well combined.
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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.
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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.
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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. (I like to separate my tortillas with parchement paper.)
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When the pan is hot, place one dough circle into the pan and allow to cook 45 seconds to 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.
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Remove from pan with tongs and stack in a covered container or zippered bag to keep the tortillas soft.
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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.
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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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Miss Stella Rodriguez says
We use a Tortilla press to make our own, Corn Tortillas.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Stella.
Ashley Smith says
Don’t accidentally use self-rising flour…. lol
Chris Scheuer says
Haha, Ashley!
Kelly says
To funny Ashley. Ha ha ha. I’ve actually done that hee hee ha ha
Rita says
Hi Chris. I would like to know please, if I can freeze the uncooked pastry into portions, because of very limited space in the freezer at the moment. I’ve made these tortillas alot of times, and they turn out great every time. Thanks Chris.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Rita, they are best if frozen after they are cooked. Just stack them on top of one another and they won’t take up much space.
Ryan says
Absolutely love the recipe. They will become a staple in our house from now on!!!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much, Ryan!
Cait says
Hi there. I just made the dough with the exact measurements and ingredients and my dough came out extremely wet, definitely not a shaggy ball. I used scoop and sweep with the flour. Do you happen to have a recipe with using grams?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Cait, if you look under the ingredients list you can click to convert the measurements to metric. Hope that helps!
Melody says
Thank you for supply metric. Flour particularly as you can measure volume out several times and it can vary by as much as several ounces either way. So much more exact and more likely to have consistent results. These are great. I’ve made chipatti before so the skills are the same and you are so right! Like most homemade, much better than store bought!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment, Melody!
liloldunit says
If it’s wet, you may have had air pockets in the 1 cup measurement. I caught my measuring cup with a good size pocket of air. Times 3 and the dry ingredients are short, giving you a wet dough.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, lilodunit.
Judi Gibbs says
Yes, these are DEFINITELY a winner. And the best I’ve had. Mine weren’t nearly as ROUND as yours, but I think with practice I will get better. And I am excited to try them as pizzas; great suggestion. I will be serving these tonight with YOUR sopa de tortilla so thanks again.
Chris Scheuer says
Yay! Thanks for leaving a comments, Judi!
Luna says
Best ever tortilla recipe and its super easy to make! The texture of the dough is perfect! Smooth, soft but not overly soft and pliable. Thank you!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much, Luna!
Iya says
Hi! How many calories are there in one tortilla?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Iya, there are 124 calories per tortilla.
Heather says
How long will these keep in the freezer? And also how long does it take to thaw out generally?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Heather, I think they would last a few months in the freezer. And they will thaw on the counter in about an hour I would think. You can layer with parchment when you freeze them, that way you can pull out only what you need at a time.
Karl-Heinz says
Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Would you have a whole wheat version of it as well?
My Indian friends would like them even more and for me at would be a variation more, thank uou
Chris Scheuer says
I do not have a whole wheat version at this time, Karl. If you read through the reviews, I believe others have tried various amounts of whole wheat flour.
Yasmin says
This recipe was the second time making tortillas and they really came out great! Thank you for posting this recipe!
Chris Scheuer says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Yasmin!
Ann-Charlotte says
This is the best tortilla recipe for sure.
Living in Swedes, it’s impossible to buy good tortillas at the store.
The tortillas here are very thick and flavorless:(
I was thrilled to find this recipe and have made them several times now. Everyone absolutely loves them!
Tack så mycket! (Thank you so very much!)
/Ann-Charlotte
Chris Scheuer says
I’m so glad, Ann-Charlotte! Thanks for letting us know!
hlye says
Thank you for the recipe! Love it.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Hlye!
Samantha Stoner says
I make these weekly! Thankyou so much!
Chris Scheuer says
Awesome! Thanks, Samantha!
Crystal says
I’ve made these so many times and they’re so perfect. Thanks for sharing.
Chris Scheuer says
Yay! Thanks so much, Crystal!
Amie says
These were easy to make and delicious!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much for letting us know, Amie!