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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 700 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 kosher salt I use Morton's
- 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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Emily says
Turned out good, but took some work to get there. I'd definitely recommend adding the water/oil slowly because following the recipe, the dough ended up being way too wet and completely unworkable. I had to add an additional 1/2 cup of flour, approximately, to the mixture to have it come together and be workable. Also, if you live in a dry climate, you'll definitely want to let the dough rest under a damp towel to avoid having the dough dry out. I'd also recommend leaving the dough under the damp towel as you work on rolling the individual tortillas out. If you only have one cast iron, it's a long process to get through 16 and your dough will dry out quickly if you don't. Lastly, I found the medium heat for the cast iron pan to be insufficient. The heat was too low and barely any browning occurred causing the tortillas to dry out. I'd recommend trying medium-high heat and leaving them on for a shorter time. Other than those few hiccups, the tortillas ended up tasting wonderful and held together well.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Emily, thanks for sharing your review. I'm wondering if you might have measured something wrong. There are well over 1400 comments on these tortillas and I've never had anyone mention that they had to add more flour or the tortillas drying out.
Lin says
I just made these and I'm sorry, but I didn't like them at all. The texture was strange -- not bready enough, too moist -- due to the high amount of oil I guess. I'm looking for a recipe that turns out more like storebought ones.
Cate Bourke says
I really like the sound of this recipe. I have both almond and coconut flour; will these work to make flour tortillas? I'm trying to avoid gluten.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Cate, I haven't tried these tortillas with almond or coconut flour so I can't say for sure. I know some of our readers have had success with different types of flour. Please let us know if you try these flours.
Hillary Santiago says
All of the stores are out of flour, and all I have left is half a bag of self-rising flour. If I use that, would I just leave out the salt & baking powder?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Hillary, yes, I would try that. It might not be exactly the same proportions but it should work. You might want to add ¼ teaspoon salt to make up the difference as there is ¼ tsp in every cup of self-rising. flour
Patricia says
Hello Chris,
What do you think about using 1/2 AP flour and 1/2 WWW flour? (white whole wheat)
Chris Scheuer says
That should work!
Chris Scheuer says
I haven't tried that, Patricia but other readers have and have reported back good results.
JoRegan says
These were fantastic. I let the dough rest for an hour while I ran an errand. Dough rolled out beautifully. Medium heat in an iron pan did the trick. I don’t find very many ‘keeper’ recipes on blogs, but this is certainly one! *****
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much, JoRegan, for sharing your results. I'm so happy you enjoyed them!
Nate says
Its much better to cook tortillas on a Very hot cast iron skillet that is actually smoking. You also should have very dark charred spots in places for maximum flavor. The pics in this post, the spots on the tortillas are only light brown which is not cooked enough and missing out on a lot of flavor. Maximum charred flavor is just right before it starts to taste burnt.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Nate, thanks for your opinion. I think there are lots of ways to "do" tortillas. Your way is certainly one and I do enjoy charred tortillas. However, this recipe works best the way it's written. Hundreds of commenters are in agreement, even many with Mexican descent, some saying "these tortillas are the closest thing to my mama's". Again, thanks for sharing your opinion.
Kimberly Hawkins says
Nate,
A lot of people live in apartments with absurdly sensitive smoke detectors, my apartment has six of them. I can't cook a steak without setting them off! I did manage to find a way to make a steak without the fire department showing up and I believe this tortilla recipe will also be a safe and smokeless option for those of us who cannot cook like normal people. 🙂
Chris Scheuer says
Haha! Thanks, Kimberly! 💕💕
Gary says
Our smoke detector in the kitchen used to go off constantly. Then I changed it to a photoelectric type detector (Recommended near cooking areas) instead of ionization type. Now it only goes off when it SHOULD go off, instead of every time we cook.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Gary! Good suggestion!
Tricia says
Super excited to try these as our store has been out of the raw tortillas we normally buy for couple weeks. When freezing or refrigerating for later use, do you freeze them raw but rolled out? Thank you so much!
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Tricia, I freeze and refrigerate them after I've cooked them. Then I just warm them in a pan or even in the microwave, wrapped in a slightly damp cloth. Enjoy!
Max says
I just finished making these! I really wanted burritos but I also don't want to go to the store because of the virus. I tried one and they taste really good! I can't wait to serve them to my mum and brothers. I hope you, and anyone else reading this is safe during this virus. I can't wait to make these again soon! Though I found that I made too little to portion them into the 16, instead they only made 11 + 1 wonky one I mucked with my mun.
It's a super simple recipe and really fun and easy to do! 10/10 will be sending this to all my other quarantined friends!!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Max. We're all learning new skills during this pandemic, aren't we? So happy you enjoyed them. You too, stay safe!
Janeth says
Can I use vegan butter?
Chris Scheuer says
I haven't tried that Janeth, but I think it should work!
Carol says
Tried these yesterday. Wanted burritos for dinner but didn't want to go to store because of the virus (in that older age group). They were very good and easy to make. I let the dough rest for about an hour and no problems rolling out. My problem though, is frying them. I used my cast iron skillet and had the heat on low. No matter how low I went where it bubbled they were black and tortilla didn't Brown as pretty as yours were. So could you please tell me what kind of skillet you used or any hints you have. Thanks
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Carol, I'm so happy you enjoyed these tortillas. Regarding your problem with the scorching, it may be that a cast iron pan just gets too hot on your stove. I use a non-stick skillet with good results. Sometimes the first tortilla is not perfect but that helps me to know whether to increase or decrease the heat.
Mary says
If you hve a lefse grill use it
Joseph Tomko says
made these several times and they are the best every time....thanks so much!!!
Chris Scheuer says
You're welcome, Joseph! I'm happy you enjoyed them!
Amanda says
Loved these!
Other recipes resulted in naan like results, not this one! I used my bread maker to knead the dough because I'm lazy-bones. I split the dough and let rest covered for about 2 hours as I had to go out. They rolled out nice and transparent almost! If they began to shrink I just let them sit rolled out then rerolled to the desired size and thickness. I was a little impatient multi-tasking supper so some weren't as thin as I would like- but still delicious! We had them with some quinoa "meat" tacos. Wonderful!
Thank you so much for your recipe!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Amanda, for sharing your review. Great idea to use your bread machine!
Merry says
Yum! I wonder why mine came out thick and not very bendy though. I let them rest for 20 minutes. I did use a tortilla press, could that be the problem?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Merry, I didn't have good results with a tortilla press. Try rolling them next time. It won't take long!
Morgan says
Love this! So simple and delicious.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much, Morgan! 💕
Mia says
Absolutely great recipe. This is the first time I have ever made tortillas and truly worked great. They tasted perfect. So easy to make. Will not buy store bought ones again. Thank you so much. I can't get them perfect circles yet but that will come lol. Thanks again
Janine Kinnett says
Would these work if using a gluten free, cup for cup, flour?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Janine, although I haven't tried these tortillas with GF flour, I know others have left comments that they've had success with this.
Julie craig says
Hi there, I buy my son these low carb wraps as he's on a very strict diet. He's lost 90 lbs in 7 months!
My question is : is there a way to make this lower carb or lower fat per tortilla? Also EVERY bread he eats must be Whole grain or mulitgrain (I must look I forget)
I am going to make these tomorrow for myself & hubby 🥰
Thanks in advance
Julie C
PeaceAndEats (YouTube) <--- may I share this recipe on my channel and give them this link?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Julie, I haven't tried altering this recipe for low carb or lower-fat diets. You might want to go with a recipe that's been specifically created for this.
Megan says
I bet you could try with almond flour and a little tiny bit of coconut flour, probably try a little shortening instead of all oil, so happy for your son! That’s so exciting, my dad has lost almost 30lbs in the past few months doing the same. It takes a lot of determination!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Megan!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much, Megan. I know this will be helpful for others!
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Julie, I haven't tried to adapt this recipe to a low carb version but perhaps one of our readers has. Yes, you can share this recipe and the link. Thanks!
Lisa Resch says
This recipe is nothing less than the best ever homemade tortilla recipe! Couldn't be any easier and tastier! Really awesome, thank you.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much, Lisa! I'm so happy you enjoyed them!
Christine Manck says
These are fantastic! I've made tortillas before but they most often came out like naan. Which was nice but not what I was looking for. These
tortillas came out great, nice and soft. I'm going to try making a smaller batch of larger ones to use for sandwich wraps. I'm also going to try a tomato basil version as I have powdered Tomato. Thanks once again for a great recipe!!
Chris Scheuer says
You're welcome, Christine! So happy you've enjoyed these tortillas!
Chris Scheuer says
You're welcome, Christine. I appreciate you taking the time to leave your review. The tomato basil version sounds wonderful!
Jacopo says
Hello, could you convert the recipe in grams for all the ingredients?
Thank you
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Jacopo, if you look right above the "Instructions" in the recipe, there's a button that says "Metric". Just click on the button for the conversion.
Christine says
The recipe didn’t work for me. I let the dough sit, covered, in the refrigerator overnight. I couldn’t roll the dough larger than 6” . Putting 2 pieces got me to 8”. Didn’t matter how long I rolled the dough. Mine turned out more like naan. Taste was ok but was a tad greasy.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Christine, I think your problem might have been refrigerating them. That's not in the instructions. It's great to let the dough rest but not in the refrigerator. If you try the recipe again, just let it rest on the counter, well covered.
Justin says
ive made these a few times for the residents at my home, and they've loved then. I personally found them a little bland so i added seasoning salt, garlic/onion powder(half a tsp each), and just over a pinch of powdered beef broth to them the second time and found it even better
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Justin for sharing your review. Your rendition sounds wonderful!
Veronica says
I’m looking forward to trying this recipe. Does it work with a bread maker as I don’t have a device with a bread hook??
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Veronica, you could use a bread maker. They can also be easily made by hand.
Michele P says
OMG! These are FANTASTIC! I will never buy another tortilla in the store again! They were so easy to make and just delicious and tender.
Chris Scheuer says
Yay! So happy you enjoyed them, Michele!
Chris Scheuer says
I love your enthusiasm, Michele! Thanks so much for sharing your results!
Donna Lynn says
I am very impressed with this recipe! Perfect measurements of all ingredients. Only thing I did different was using coconut oil instead of olive. Kneaded by hand because I live off-grid in Northern Ontario, Canada. We use solar, so no fancy kitchen appliances! Picky hubby loved tbem, even though, hard as I tried, they were some sort of alien looking shapes. That says A LOT when Mr. Hard-to-impress likes something! Thanks for sharing! Donna.
Chris Scheuer says
That's so awesome, Donna! Hello, all the way to Northern Ontario! I'm so happy you both enjoyed these tortillas. Thanks for sharing your results!
Silvia says
My goodness... I've probably tried at least 20 different flour tortilla recipes and they never seemed to come out right--too dry, too thick, tasteless... but these! These are amazing! So soft and delicious, thank you sooooo much I am literally on the verge of tears lol!
Chris Scheuer says
Yay! I didn't mean to make you cry but I'm so happy you finally found "the one"! 💕
Chris Scheuer says
Yay! Thanks for taking the time to share your results, Silvia. I'm so happy you finally found "the one"!