Easy Flour Tortillas From Scratch
Elevate your next Mexican meal with these incredible flour tortillas from scratch. The perfect vehicle for tacos, burritos, enchiladas, and more, these tortillas manage to be soft, pliable, and sturdy all at once. Plus they’re amazingly easy to make – five ingredients and mixed either in the stand mixer or by hand.
After falling hard for homemade corn tortillas, it was only a matter of time until we went all the way and started experimenting with homemade flour tortillas, as well. And, well, what can I say? It’s worth every roll and spatula flip.
To be honest, the process is kind of the fun part. Other than, you know, eating them all!
It will surprise no one to learn that there are quite a few flour tortilla recipes floating around out there. I make no claim that this particular interpretation is “pure” or “authentic.” As an American of Slovak-German descent living in Belgium, I might actually be the last person you’d want to consult for advice on truly authentic Mexican cuisine. 😉
I can, however, tell you without a doubt when something is delicious, and believe me when I say that these tortillas meet and exceed all your tastebuds’ expectations.
How To Make Flour Tortillas From Scratch
One of this recipe’s many advantages is that it can be mixed quite easily with a stand mixer, a hand mixer, or by hand. Whichever approach you choose, the basic process is the same: combine flour, salt, and baking powder. Cut in some vegetable oil, mix in warm water, and knead it into a soft, supple dough ball.
Then, just pluck off a portion for each tortilla. The recipe should yield about 16 taco-sized shells. You can certainly measure these to be precise, but I find it a lot easier to just divide the ball in half, then divide those halves again, and so forth until you have 16 portions. No one in my family has ever complained about slightly uneven tortilla mass. :)Stretch and roll each portion into a smooth ball, flatten each slightly with your palm, and let the discs rest for a few minutes. Then you’ll just roll each one out thin, and – boom – tortillas!
Well, you do have to cook them first. That takes 1-2 minutes each in a hot cast-iron or non-stick pan. As explained more in the recipe notes below, you’ll know they’re cooking properly when you get small bubbles on the top side and light brown spots on the bottom.
I have the extreme good fortune to have recruited my husband to be the designated family tortilla flipper. He finds it pretty zen. Plus, the flipper gets first dibs on sampling, so it’s not a bad job to claim.It goes without saying that these add an extra-special touch to any meal with which you would normally serve tortillas! Some of our favorites include:
- Sheet pan chipotle lime shrimp fajitas
- Jalapeño lime fish tacos
- Skinny Baja chicken tacos
- Black bean tacos with pico de gallo
For more inspiration, don’t miss this round-up of more than 35 amazing taco recipes – there is definitely something for everyone here! And of course, don’t forget your skinny margaritas. 🙂
With a soft tortilla that manages to be pliable and sturdy all at once, you’re not really going to go wrong. If you dispense with the fillings and just eat them straight off the hot skillet, well, you won’t get any judgment from me.
Go ahead and give this recipe a try – I’m willing to bet you’ll love the results, and be pretty darn proud of yourself for making tortillas from scratch! Enjoy! ♥
If you’ve tried these tortillas or any other recipe on the blog, please remember to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. I love hearing from you, and other readers will benefit from your experience!
Easy Flour Tortillas From Scratch
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil, shortening, or lard
- 1 cup hot water
Instructions
Stand Mixer Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix briefly to combine.
- With the mixer running at medium speed, add oil and water. Mix for 1-2 minutes, stopping at least once to scrape the sides of the bowl. After the dough begins to come together into a ball, reduce mixer speed to low and continue mixing for 1-2 minutes, until dough is smooth.
Mix by Hand Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder. Whisk briefly to combine, then add vegetable oil. Stir until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Pour in warm water and stir to combine. Knead briefly with well-floured hands until the mixture comes together into a craggy dough.
Either way, to proceed..
- Whether you used a stand mixer or your hands, transfer dough at this point from the mixing bowl to a well-floured work surface. Divide into 16 roughly equal portions. Roll each portion into a ball and flatten slightly 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 and up to an hour.
- When ready to cook, warm a large cast-iron or heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat.
- Keeping the work surface and rolling pin lightly floured, roll each dough ball into a circle about 6” in diameter. (Try not to stack the rolled tortillas on top of one another - this makes it more difficult to transfer them to the pan. If you need additional staging area, a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper works well.)
- Transfer tortillas one at a time into the hot skillet. Cook for about 1 minute, until small bubbles form on the top and brown spots form on the bottom surface. (If it takes much longer than a minute to see golden brown spots on the underside, increase the heat slightly. If instead the tortilla browns too much or too quickly, reduce the heat.) Flip and cook the other side for about 30 seconds.
- Remove from the pan and stack cooked tortillas loosely wrapped in a clean kitchen towel. (This will keep them soft, pliable, and warm.)
- Serve immediately or allow to cool for later use. Tortillas can be stored for 2-3 days in the fridge in a plastic zip-top bag; before using, wrap tortillas in slightly damp paper towel and microwave for 15-30 seconds. Tortillas can also be frozen for 2-3 months; to freeze, separate tortillas with sheets of parchment or waxed paper and store in a zip-top freezer bag.
180 Comments on “Easy Flour Tortillas From Scratch”
Thanks so much for sharing this awesome recipe!😋 I’ve been looking for an easy and delicious one and this is it!!! I’ll be making this all the time. Not jutst for taco’s, but for burritos, desserts , act…….,
What is the purpose of hot water? Why use hot water?
In my experience, hot water simply absorbs better and creates the best texture, as the flour seems to absorb more hot water than it would cold. This may have to do with how hot vs. cold water interacts with the proteins in flour, which in turn relates to how the gluten develops. There’s an interesting Quora thread on this if you want to dive in further!
Can you freeze the dough to use later?
Hi Robyn, unfortunately I am not sure whether the dough can be frozen before rolling out. I know the cooked tortillas freeze well but uncertain about the dough!
Has an absolute perfect taste. Just the right amount of salt to get a hint in every bite. The recipe really brings out a very strong authentic natural taste finding the temperature range was a little fight at the beginning but I didn’t waste more than 2 finding it. Once I found it. Lord they were delicious. Whole family fought for the plate of them. Thank you for sharing such an amazing Item to whip up.
I used gluten free all-purpose flour, same amount of everything and the tortillas kept falling apart! If using gluten free flour, what should I do differently?
I think that without gluten in the flour, you would need something else to bind everything together! I can’t say from personal experience, but I did a quick search and this recipe appears to get good reviews – possibly worth a try! https://glutenfreebaking.com/how-to-make-gluten-free-flour-tortillas/
I make tortillas often simple I learned to watch my Mom with the mixer, it makes it much faster, simple ingredients and the rewards are great. Nice Job they look good and I am sure the taste is the best.
Chef Ernie
My question is how do I use this recipe to make 13 inch chipotle sized tortillas? I have a kitchen aid mixer and an electric stove what temperature do I cook the tortillas at please respond I have tried other tortillas they did not work some to complicated thank you in advance
Hi Davey, you can roll the tortillas out larger if you like, all the way to 13 inches, you just will get fewer per batch, and they might take more care to transfer and flip in the pan. You should be able to cook them on medium-high heat – just experiment with your stove a bit to find the best setting. It’s perfect when the tortilla starts to bubble and get brown marks on each side after just around 1 minute. Good luck, hope these work for you!
Great recipe! I followed exactly (using shortening) and it was super easy and quick. After “discarding” (read: consuming) the first tester tortilla, which was a bit flat and overdone because my pan wasn’t hot enough, the rest puffed up perfectly in the cast iron skillet.
I’m now currently fighting the urge to eat the whole stack in one sitting…
Followed stand mixer directions. Used these to make Tacos de Papa. I found it best to not fry them too much when using for tacos. I kept the dough moist by covering with a wet towel, and kept my tortillas soft by using same wet towel and in a warming oven. They were so yummy! I used a non-stick pan with some oil spray so they were pretty healthy, too. Thanks! This recipe is super easy, and delicious. And it actually made 16 of them!
I definitely have to try these! I make the homemade taco seasoning when we make tacos, but never tried making homemade tortillas before. Looking forward to trying these the next time I make tacos – or maybe even breakfast burritos 🙂
Good recipe but I used shortening.
I doubled the recipe and mix all my dry ingredients together then cut in the shortening with a pastry cutter and store in a ziplock bag so I can make a few tortillas at a time when I need them. Use 1/3 cup tortilla mix per tortilla, add hot water and prepare as directed.
Can the vegetable oil be replaced with olive or coconut oil, or even a mix of the two? I currently have no vegetable oil, shortening or lard…
I’m not positive but suspect those would work! I’d personally try coconut oil first. If you give it a spin please come back and let us know how it turns out – I’d love to try, too!
BEST FLOUR TORTILLAS EVER.
I used cold salted butter, cut in squares and used the DOUGH setting on bread machine for about a half hour, till all the flour was taken up and the ball was smooth (scraped down once or twice)
Loosely mixed dry ingredients in separate bowl first, put in bread machine, and then just dumped in butter and hot water on dough setting for about a half hour.
Otherwise, followed ingredients and instructions almost exactly. Super easy. Amazing. Only made 10, not 16. Probably not 6 inches consistently.
Would these work at all without oil/shortening/lard? I don’t eat oil/butter but really need a good tortilla recipe
Hi Tara! I suspect you probably need some kind of fat to get the softness and traditional tortilla texture here, but if you avoid that entirely you might be able to find a delicious flatbread recipe or similar that would work as an alternative.
Made these for a little fiesta tonight and they were a HIT! So easy to make and soooo yummy! Thank you for such a great recipe!
These tortillas were amazingly easy and delicious! My family raved about them and can’t wait to have more. This is definitely a keeper recipe! Thanks for taking the mystery out of how these tortillas are made. Super simple and way better than store bought. I won’t be able to go back. For those who are intimidated if they don’t have a stand mixer, I made my without one, hand stirring and it was very easy.
Katharine, this sweet comment absolutely made my day! I’m so happy you enjoyed the tortillas and THANK YOU for taking the time to share your thoughts. 🙂
Howlong do they store, and can they be frozen?
Thanks!
2-3 days in fridge. (Ziploc)
2-3 months in freezer.(Separate each tortilla with parchment paper)
I can’t believe how simple it really is to make tortillas! Your directions we’re very easy to follow and they came out great. I froze half of them and they came out like I just make them fresh! Thank you
I love these but mine look nothing like yours and are not as bendy!!!!
You probably over kneaded/mixed them which stretches out the gluten which will make them more stiff and rubbery instead of a nice soft shelled tortilla you were looking for.
Made these today can’t wait for my families reaction. I pre tasted one it brought me back to when my mama made them. Yum💜👍🏽
This seems like a great and easy recipe. Growing up with my grandma, she would make tortillas everyday. So I cant wait to try it out. She never used a rolling pin because she had a tortilla press but you can also use the back of a pack and just smash down the rolled dough balls. You will get a perfect tortilla!
For the first time in my adult life, I was able to successfully make flour tortillas! Thank you so much for this recipe. My picky 5 year old son devoured one immediately and the one I just ate was filled with homemade refried beans, fresh sweet onion and salsa verde. I’ll be using this recipe forever!!!
Hooray, that is so wonderful to hear! It’s such a win when the kids like it, too! 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to leave this feedback!
I can’t believe I’ve never thought of making these myself! I bake bread and all sorts of other things, but this never crossed my mind! I can’t wait to make these with the kids tonight, seems like the perfect project for us!
I will try your recipe asap. It sounds so easy & delicious! I missed your recipe for corn tortillas & would like to make them also. I love Mexican food, my husband & I spent many winters in Mexico. I haven’t traveled since his illness & passing so just hang out with my 6 fur babies! I hope to travel again someday, I’m 78 so better get with it, haha!