Homemade flour tortillas that are super tender and soft every time. This easy flour tortillas recipe only uses 4 ingredients and the only tools you need are a bowl and a rolling pin. If you have ever wondered how to make flour tortillas at home, this is the post for you! Once you have homemade tortillas, I promise you that you will never go back to buying them at the store.
Why I Love this Recipe?
My first try at homemade flour tortillas was over 10 years ago. They turned out decent but I knew they could be better, so I’ve been researching and experimenting until the recipe below was the end result. Flour tortillas don’t get any better than this!
Honestly, this tortilla recipe is super easy to make, even for someone who has never made tortillas before. It is one of the reasons I love making flour tortillas at home. No special tools or ingredients are needed for the most tender, soft, and flaky tortillas you’ve ever had.
Homemade Flour Tortillas Ingredients
In an authentic flour tortilla recipe, there are only 4 ingredients: all-purpose flour, salt, shortening or lard, and water. There are some recipes that use baking powder but if you make them correctly, there is no need for that extra ingredient. They will puff all on their own!
- All-purpose flour
- Kosher salt
- Vegetable shortening or lard
- Water
How to Make Homemade Flour Tortillas?
The key to soft and tender homemade flour tortillas is to inhibit the development of gluten in the flour by “waterproofing” the flour. You do this by rubbing the shortening into the flour with your hands to coat the flour with the fat and secondly, by using 110-degree warm water which melts the fat. Now that the flour is coated in fat, when you gently work the dough, it is much less likely to create gluten, resulting in a tender, soft, and flaky tortilla.
- Combine the flour and salt in a medium-sized bowl.
- Rub the shortening into the flour and salt mixture by rubbing it gently between your hands.
- Mix in the water with a wooden spoon, being sure the temperature is 110 degrees before adding it to the flour mixture.
- Knead the dough just long enough for it to come together, then divide into 12 pieces.
- Rest the dough for 30 minutes so it can relax and roll out very easily.
- Roll the dough into 8-inch circles.
- Cook tortillas on a hot griddle for 1 minute on each side.
How to Cook Homemade Tortillas?
You can cook flour tortillas on an electric griddle or on a nonstick pan on the stove. The key is to get the level of heat right. Usually, an electric skillet needs to be on high heat, but closer to medium-high for a pan on the stove. The homemade flour tortillas should cook for about 1 minute on each side, creating large bubbles across the surface, and turn light brown before flipping and cooking for another minute.
If the flour tortillas are cooked at too high a temperature or for too long, they will turn hard and will crack and crumble when you fold them. If you’ve never made homemade flour tortillas before, it’s a good idea to plan to sacrifice the first 1 or 2 as you experiment with getting the right cooking temperature.
How to Use Homemade Flour Tortillas?
Well, besides eating them hot off the griddle, I’ve included a few of my favorite ways to use these amazing flour tortillas after you’ve cooked them.
- Pork Carnitas are my go-to pork recipe as a filling for these tortillas. Between the amazing, caramelized pork butt and the tender homemade tortilla, you’ll never look at Taco Tuesday the same again!
- Tortilla S’mores are always on the menu when we are grilling in the summer time! All the classic s’mores flavors wrapped up in a homemade flour tortilla and grilled until hot and gooey!
- Chicken Tacos and Mango Jicama Salsa are another family favorite way to use our homemade tortillas. Just a different, more tropical take on our more traditional Mexican flavors.
- Peanut Butter and Banana Sushi comes in a close second behind the Tortilla S’mores if you want my kid’s opinions on how to use the flour tortillas. They make these as after-school snacks or even pack them in their lunches.
- Mediterranean Quesadillas might sound like a complete contrast in regional flavors, but they are outstanding! This vegetarian recipe comes together in just a few minutes and is crazy flavorful inside those amazing tortillas.
Equipment Needed to Make Tortillas
Many wrongly assume you need a tortilla press to make homemade flour tortillas. If you are making corn tortillas, then yes a tortilla press is necessary. But because of the gluten in flour tortillas, a press will be ineffective in getting a round, thin disc of dough. Instead, here is what you do need for success:
- Digital food thermometer to be sure the water is at the proper temperature of 110-degrees before working it into the flour and shortening mixture.
- Quality rolling pin to make perfectly thin discs of dough.
- Electric griddle is a must-have piece of equipment but is a nice-to-have. A griddle keeps a constant temperature and lets you cook two tortillas at the same time.
- Tortilla warmer is another piece of equipment that is handy but not necessary. I like using one to keep my finished flour tortillas warm for an hour.
Homemade Flour Tortillas FAQs and Troubleshooting
Generally, homemade flour tortillas won’t puff for two reasons. First, your cooking surface is not hot enough. Homemade tortillas puff up as the water and shortening create steam inside the dough. So, if your cooking surface isn’t hot enough, then there won’t be steam.
Another reason your tortillas aren’t puffing is that too much gluten developed while mixing. So, be sure you thoroughly rub in the shortening into the flour, use 110-degree water, only knead the dough until it comes together, and don’t rush the resting phase.
Absolutely! Uncooked homemade flour tortillas freeze very well. Roll out the tortillas as instructed in the recipe, then place parchment paper between each uncooked tortilla. Place them in a freezer bag and freeze until needed, up to 3 months. You can cook them directly from frozen or allow them to thaw before cooking. The frozen version will take a bit longer to cook, probably closer to 2 minutes on a side.
If your flour tortillas are cracking and hard on the surface, it’s because you cooked them either too hot or for too long. Find that perfect cooking temperature that cooks each side of the tortilla in 1 minute per side. If the inside texture of the tortilla is tough, it’s because too much gluten developed. Be sure you thoroughly rub the shortening into the flour, use 110-degree water, and only knead the dough just until it comes together.
Yes, those versions of fat will work in homemade flour tortillas. Here’s my order of best to worst substitution. Lard would be the best substitute and provide the most authentic flour tortilla recipe. Because most people don’t keep lard in their pantry, the recipe is written using vegetable shortening instead. Butter is in second place but if you use it, work quickly when rubbing the butter into the flour because it will melt quickly. Last on the list would be using oil in place of the shortening. Because the fat is in liquid form, your tortillas won’t be quite as soft and flaky as they would be using shortening or lard.
If you are making homemade flour tortillas, you need a quality rolling pin to get the disc of dough thin enough. The gluten in flour tortillas will make a tortilla press a fairly useless tool. You can press down as hard as you can and that dough will never get thin enough because the elastic strands of gluten will keep pulling the dough back in on itself. The tortilla press exists solely for making homemade corn tortillas, which have zero gluten in them.
Yes, making homemade flour tortillas is not only less expensive but also a healthier option as well. To make your own flour tortillas costs around $0.16 per tortilla, compared to buying store-bought versions which run around $0.26 per tortilla. And, even if homemade were more expensive, they taste significantly better and are worth every penny.
As far as being the healthier option, store-bought tortillas also include preservatives to keep them shelf-stable for a long time. Great for the company making them, but not so great for you. So, start making homemade flour tortillas because they are so much better tasting, less expensive, and healthier!
Watch How to Make Flour Tortillas
Looking for More Great Mexican Recipes?
If you are here, it’s because you love amazing Mexican recipes as much as I do! So, let’s hook you up with three more before you go that will knock your socks off:
Homemade Flour Tortillas
My flour tortillas recipe is so simple and the homemade tortillas turn out soft and tender every time! Stop settling for the store bought ones!
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 12 tortillas 1x
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons vegetable shortening or lard
- 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons water at 110 degrees
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Add shortening and rub it into the flour with your hands until it is completely incorporated. It should have a cornmeal type texture.
- Be sure water is 110 degrees and add to the flour mixture. Mix together with a wooden spoon then dump onto a floured counter and knead just until the dough comes together. It will still be fairly lumpy. Do not knead too long or it will develop too much gluten.
- Divide dough into 12 pieces, roll them into balls, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes or up to 3 days in the fridge. Don’t rush the resting or you won’t be able to roll the dough thin enough.
- Flour your counter and one dough ball well. Roll into a very thin 8″ circle. Cover with a towel and repeat. To help keep a round shape, be sure to rotate the tortilla often during rolling.
- Heat an electric skillet to high heat, or a nonstick pan on the stove to medium high heat. Cook tortillas on first side until puffed and lightly brown, about 1 minute, flip and cook another 1 minute. Remove from heat and cover with a towel and serve immediately.
Notes
You can freeze uncooked tortillas after they have been rolled out and before you cook them. Layer parchment paper between each uncooked tortilla, place in a freezer bag, and freeze until needed. You can cook them either from frozen or allow them to thaw first.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Grilled
- Cuisine: Mexican
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 tortilla
- Calories: 156
- Sugar: 0 g
- Sodium: 140 mg
- Fat: 6 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 20 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: homemade flour tortillas, mexican tortillas, authentic mexican recipes
Cara Jones says
My homemade tortillas always turn out awful 🙂 I think I need to take a class on proper rolling pin techniques, haha!
Also, I need your Mac n cheese recipe. Yum!!!!
M.B. anderson says
Mine used to come out all shapes, never round! My mother told me not to worry, because they didn’t go in your tummy round, anyway. Now, when I make them, they are round!
I love that MB!
Margo J Rodriguez says
This is the way my mother made them; however i make them now using white wing tortilla mix without the shortening I just add water and roll. They are healthier and faster to make with the same authentic feel and taste minus the fast and salt.
Minnesota Prairie Roots says
Oh, wow, scary close call.
Steph Nelson says
I follow your blog for your great recipes and love your sense of humor and sarcasm! I can completely relate to your daughters accident. Although mine was not in the kitchen, it was much larger and one I will never live down. My parents were remodeling their home down in SE Iowa and I was in charge of moving the tractor from the window where we were throwing the debris into the bucket of the tractor to the dump pile and back. Long story short, I thought the tractor was shut off, took my foot off the clutch, the tractor lunged forward about 3 or 4 feet and completely caved in one whole side of the house!! Talk about scared! And no, I’m not talking about scared the house would completely fall down, scared of what my parents were going to say. It was definitely a HUGE mistake, one I hope I never encounter by my children, but was fixed and you would never know it. Yes, I do hear about it quite often but lucky no one was hurt! I look forward to reading more of your posts and getting more great recipes! Go Vikings (my husband is from Minnesota) 🙂
LyndaS says
I have coil marks on a cookbook – I did not realize that I had set it on a hot “eye.” Poor thing.
Your tortillas look delicious. Going to have to give them a try. Thanks for sharing.
LaDawn says
Wondering what you use for your shortening/lard
I use Crisco but if you want the most authentic result, lard would be it!
Heidi says
I have a friend from New Mexico who told me to make Sopapillas (the decadent, deep fried dough dessert), all you have to do is roll this same dough into a square, cut them in half to make triangles, then deep fry them in lard (or your choice of deep frying fat). Then sprinkle the fried dough with powdered sugar and serve with honey for dipping. Dinner and dessert made with one recipe, how great is that!
Thanks Heidi….now I have to make those ASAP!
Vanessa says
Yes!! I add a bit of sugar & ground cinnamon to the dough
Tanisha Garnier says
Oh my gracious, this was my first time trying to make homemade tortillas and these turned out perfect! And they taste great. Thanks for sharing this recipe 🙂
I’m so glad you loved them as much as we did Tanisha!
Ivy Danforth says
I learned how to make flour tortillas in Chad Africa from a Jewish lady whose last name was Brown but married into a Mexican family. That is a lot of origins! She taught me how to stretch them over your open palm before cooking them. Extra touch but so much better. Thanks for the recipe
Thank you for your added insights Ivy!
Easyladys says
All-purpose flour works best, but you can also make whole wheat tortillas by using whole wheat flour or a mixture of wheat bran and wheat germ.
Andrew C says
I put in 2 3/4 cups water & mine was soup. Never turned to dough. Tried adding another cup of flower. Still soup
Hi Andrew! Looks like you made a mistake. The recipe is for 2 3/4 cups of flour and the water is 3/4 C + 2 Tablespoons. I hope you try them again because they are AMAZING!
Jane Lytle says
The video displays the water measurement wrong. It says 2 3/4 + 2 TBSP water so perhaps that’s where he went astray
Alix says
Yes Jane is right, the video captions are incorrect!
Patricia DeCroix says
Wow! I’m glad I read these comments before making tonight! I thought the video looked so simple I would not have read the recipe and it would have been soup!! Because the measurements were exactly the same for flour/water, made it simple to memorize….whew. Thank you for the comments. Can’t wait to make these for the first time Cinco de Mayo !
JoElle says
Made these delicious, easy tortillas just as directed. I used lard instead of shortening. The dough was easy to work with and puffed perfectly. Store bought tortillas just didn’t seem good enough for the pork carnitas I was making. So glad I found this recipe. Definitely a keeper!
Thank you JoElle! It makes me so happy to hear you loved this recipe and I appreciate you coming back to leave your review 🙂