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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!
The BEST Pico de Gallo!
If you make these Homemade Flour Tortillas, you DEFINITELY want this fabulous Pico de Gallo to serve with them. This fabulous pico pairs perfectly with chips, grilled proteins and any Mexican entreé. It's so fresh and delicious you'll want to eat it with a spoon!
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.
Best Ever Homemade Flour Tortillas
Ingredients
- 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
Instructions
To make by hand:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
To make with a mixer:
- 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. (I like to separate my tortillas with parchement paper.)
- 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.
- 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.
Notes
Nutrition
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Mimi D. says
What did I do wrong? First time making tortillas. I followed recipe exactly. I could taste the flour in them. And they were dry. Not at all like a tortilla. I used light olive oil. Maybe 2 minutes kneading was not enough. ( I even watched the video. )
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Mimi, it's really difficult to say what went wrong without having been right there in the kitchen with you. Two minutes of kneading should be fine. If they were dry, it's either too much flour or that they were cooked too long.
Danica says
First time trying and they were perfect, thank you!
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Yay! Thanks, Danica!
Semiona says
I second that, so disapointing... the texture of the dough was perfect, but they are dry and break apart even after cooking time as per instructions...
Chris Scheuer says
Hmm.. sorry you did not have success with this recipe. So MANY have loved these tortillas, as you can read from over 700 5-star reviews. Perhaps your heat was too high??? It's really hard to say without having been right there in the kitchen with you. If you stack them and cover them with a towel, the steam keeps them nice and supple and soft. Again, not sure what went wrong.
Kathy says
My comment was deleted by mistake I used a cake pan with a plyedor a lid and a wooden board to roll out with a wooden rolling pin they did not stick to the wood at all and I use a little flour on the board and rolling pin great! The proportions of ingredients is perfect. I would use oil but not olive oil. It doesn’t taste right. Ktb
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks for sharing your technique, Kathy! Regarding the olive oil, you don't taste it at all if you use a mild olive oil.
Dan says
Far too much oil for me!
Chris Scheuer says
Hmm, you shouldn't even notice the oil in these tortillas. The oil just helps make them soft and pliable. Not sure what went wrong for you, Dan.
melissa johnstnon says
hello I'm a family consumer science teacher I want my students to make these but we only have 43 minutes classes. My question is can the dough balls rest over night then be rolled out and pan fried? thanks so much
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Melissa, I think that could work. I would make the dough, form the balls and flatten them with your hand. Then stack the flattened balls between parchment and store them in a zippered bag. The next day, you can roll them thin and cook them in the pan.
julie says
I had forgotten to get tortillas at the store, and I live a bit further from the grocery stores so I decided I wasn't going to change my meal plan and would just make them homemade.
I'm glad I found this recipe. It was so easy to work with and it ended up being more delicious then if I had used the store-bought ones. It’s not overly sticky and it was easy to roll. I divided my dough in 8 to make larger ones and they were 12 inches easy.
I have since remade the recipe and even halved it because we needed less of them, and it worked perfectly!
d used the store bought ones.
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Awesome! Thanks for the review, Julie!
MaryAnn says
These tortilla shells are amazing. I don’t usually leave reviews but they are great. My only suggestion is don’t use olive oil. I tried it once with olive oil and I didn’t like the taste.
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Thanks, MaryAnn!
Loretta says
We used light tasting Olive oil and it tasted great.
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Thanks, Loretta!
Amy says
Thank you so much for sharing! I made these twice and it came out amazing! I've been buying tortillas at the grocery store for years, until recently I had seen all the unnecessary ingredients in the back of the package. I had used my Kitchenaid mixer for this and it's so quick! I had let it rise for about 2 hours and then used my non stick to fry it. Will definitely keep this in my weekly rotation!
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Awesome! Thanks for the review, Amy!
Debbie says
Fantastic! Thanks so much. I was justvabout to buy an expensive tortilla press, but thought I'd try a recipe first. I prefer flour over corn flour so this was perfect.
I have a rolling pin that I love, so pulled it out. They were so easy to roll & turned out soft & delicious! You have saved me from spending money on a press & now I know I can make these anywhere - home, picnics, camping.....love, love, love!
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Thanks, Debbie! So glad you enjoyed these!
Kathy says
Excellent recipe. I’m a Texas native who has lived in Ohio for decades. I haven’t been able to find a decent packaged flour tortilla up here - I am very picky.
I started making tortillas last year, but tried your recipe for this evening’s fajitas. I’m switching to your recipe permanently.
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Awesome! Thanks, Kathy!
Alexa says
Your recipe is by far the best torilla recipe I have ever tried (and I'm a notoriously bad cook). I came here to ask though, do you suggest I make any adjustments to the recipe if I used high protein bread flour? Such as, adding a bit more water? After I rolled the dough into individuals balls to rest, it was difficult to get them to be perfectly round with a split or two. Perhaps too dry?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Alexa, when you mix up the dough, add a little extra water (1-2 teaspoons) if it seems dry. I don't think it's the bread flour. Some flour is just "thirstier" than others.
Rachel Manzo says
Rachel Manzo, Feb. 19, 2024 First time my flour tortillas ever tasted like Mom's, even my husband said, almost like your Mom's, I loved
them, thanks so much for the recipe, I had another one because you know my Mom never measured anything, lol the only thing I switched was
the oil, I used bacon lard, thanks again
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Thanks for the review, Rachel!
Nick says
Hi guys i have just seen your Tortilas recipe .
Can you use self raising flour in place of flour and baking powder. If so will the flour amount be the same.
Best regards,
Nick Wright.
Tzaneen
South A.frica
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Hi Nick, hello in South Africa! You don't want to use self-rising flour for these tortillas. Self-rising flour has specific amounts of flour, baking powder and salt which will differ from this recipe.
Berly Noriega says
I followed everything but they came out thick and super hard to chew not soft. Disappointed with the results. I think the resting period after divided caused them to dry out. I live in the east coast so I don’t know if that makes a difference. Now I have to figure out what to do with these hard tortillas.
Chris Scheuer says
So sorry you had trouble with these tortillas, Berly. It’s difficult to say what went wrong without having been right there in the kitchen with you. It shouldn’t matter where you live.
Amber D says
I made these tonight and they were so easy! I had been gifted a tortilla press and it just would not get them thin enough.. So I broke out the handy dandy rolling pin and ah ha! Success! Will definitely keep this recipe in the toolbox! Thanks for sharing!
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Great! Thanks for your review, Amber!
Cecily says
Missed where I could leave stars when I posted my previous wall of text! Love it! I don't bake and these were ridiculously easy.
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Thanks!
Helen N says
Made these tonight. I did not have AP flour, so I used what I had, spelt flour. Had an earthy taste but I still liked how they turned out. This is my first time making homemade tortillas. I will definitely make again with the right flour 🙂
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Thanks, Helen!
Brian says
thank you so much for your recipe. Never made a flour tortilla before and everything you said works all the way down to the rolling pin. Made 125g -135g balls and was able to make 10" tortillas that still fit into the 12" non-stick pan. A 1gallon zip lock freezer bag wrapped in a towel and into the freezer they go.
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Awesome! Thanks for your review, Brian!
Cecily says
I have said so many times, "Cooking is art, baking is chemistry, I Do Not Bake." But I get super tired of running out of tortillas, and they just LOOK like they should be simple to make, so I've tried several times and come up with a stiff flat bread. No one mentioned resting the dough, or why you would do that (and I suck at following directions if I don't know why).
A week ago, I Googled "tortilla recipes" again, and yours was the first result, so what the heck. And I skimmed the article part first to see if there was some trick to actually making them GOOD, and for the first time, I learned about resting dough and WHY TO DO THAT. And my very first batch turned out quite respectable! I just made them for the second time for burritos for my daughter and her friend, and rave reviews all around.
They actually ARE EASY. Just letting the dough sit an hour or so, I could roll it out to see the design on the vinyl tablecloth through it, haha. They're so thin and soft and perfect. I cannot thank you enough!!!!!
Thank you so much!!!!
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
So glad to hear that, Cecily! Thank you for letting us know!
Amy K says
Delicious!! Will make them again and again. (Mine didn't puff up, but i use German baking powder (although doubling it) so that's probably to blame. still soft and delicious.) Made the BEST enchiladas, and then breakfast tortillas.
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Thanks, Amy!
SHAWN J TINLIN says
I'm not sure what happened with Kath's recipe either, a shame as I have used this recipe twice and I refuse to buy commercially available wraps anymore. Simple and sooooo yummy! A couple of questions though. One, you do have recommendations on freezing which I tried and they weren't particularly good. Suggestions? Secondly, I want to try this recipe with cornflour. Should there be any modifications to your recipe as published?
Thanks for this recipe!
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Shawn, so happy you have enjoyed these tortillas!
Regarding your questions. I have frozen them between sheets of parchment with good results. I warm them up a bit in a pan before serving.
I haven't tried using cornflour so I can't say what type of modifications you would need to make.
Venus Childress says
Corn tortillas are made a little differently. Normally fat is not in the recipe. They are usually pressed rather than rolled out, maybe because the dough is "wetter" than flour tortillas. My daughter suggests that you roll the corn tortilla between parchment paper or something similar.
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Thanks, Venus!
Kath says
Worst tortillas ever. I've made tortillas for years. Today I decided to try something different. BIG MISTAKE!!!! I have never had tortillas so difficult to roll, and do devoid of air that they didn't rise at all. They were totally useless. I threw them all out, and went back to my original recipe. Making these were a complete waste of my time.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Kath,
Hmmm... not sure what went wrong as so many others have had such great results and we love this recipe so much. It's difficult to say what went wrong without having been right there in the kitchen with you. So sorry, I hate that you wasted time and good ingredients.
Heather says
This recipe was AMAZING this is my second time making them! Super easy and very good
how do you store left overs so they don't dry out?
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Heather! So happy you enjoyed them. I store them in a ziplock bag.
Cathy says
Hello, have you tried halving the flour with whole wheat flour? If so, did you change anything e.g. amount of water used
Much appreciated!
Cathy
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Hi Cathy, many readers have reported success using whole wheat flour. You may need a little more water. Enjoy!
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Cathy, I haven't personally made these with WW flour but other readers have reported using WW flour with good results. I might start with a portion of WW and the rest AP flour to start.
Yekhethelo says
Ball does not form smoothly by hanď, unfortunately would not recommend
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Yekhethelo, I'm sorry you had trouble with this recipe. I always make these by hand and get a very nice smooth dough. Not sure what went wrong without having been right there in the kitchen with you.
Pam says
They are great. Just like I remember my mother-in-laws. Soft and tasty. I tried a recipe yesterday and they were awful. Today I was going to find a recipe that worked and found this one. I’ll use it for now on. Thank you!!!
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Awesome! Thanks for your review, Pam!
Melissa Ardith Cooper says
Looks so amazing. Could I use these to make frozen breakfast burritos?
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
They would be great for breakfast burritos, Melissa! I would make larger tortillas if using them for burritos.
Connie says
My family’ really enjoyed them. Easy to make!
Thank you for sharing 🙏🥰👏
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
So happy to hear that, Connie! Thanks for your review!
Marie says
This recipe is amazing! I just made these and was astonished at how perfectly they came out! Nice,light, and wonderfully soft and easy to fold.
And so simple to make. The instructions are clear and need only a few staple ingredients. I don't think I've ever had a better tortilla! No more store-bought for me!
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Awesome! Thank you for your review, Marie!
Syeda Fatima says
Hi there!
Thanks for such an easy and delicious recipe. I'm of Indian origin and have a lot of experience making Indian chapatties, which are very like these tortillas. I forgot to add baking powder, yet my tortillas were very soft and flexible. I also rested the dough for only 5 minutes because I was in a hurry, and as expected, they were difficult to roll, but that's on me. My experience with Indian flatbread came in handy here.
Store bought tortillas are somewhat sweeter in taste and have so many additives that aren't even needed. I prefer to store unused dough in the fridge and make fresh tortillas as needed. Allow to come to room temperature and use up in 3 days. Once again, thanks for sharing!
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Thanks for your review, Syeda! So glad you enjoyed these!
Deb says
Great recipe which will be my go to from now on. Thanks so much.
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Awesome! Thanks, Deb!
Emily says
I tried this and they were so delicious and I'm making them again tonight but, I have a question about the amount of flour I use. I added the amount that was asked in the recipe but it seemed to make them really dry at the rising stage. I found myself adding water and extra oil. What can I do to avoid this and make sure my dough is smooth or is this normal? The end result was fire regardless
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Emily, I've never had the dough come out dry but, if when you're mixing it up, the dough seems dry, just add a little extra water at that point. It could be your flour, some flours are "thirstier" than others.
Cashey Davis says
Absolutely fun and super easy! Came out beyond perfect and it’s pretty relaxing to make! Definitely storing this recipe away for future use!
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Awesome! Thanks, Cashey!