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.
212 Comments on “Easy Flour Tortillas From Scratch”
These are awesome and simple to make! I loved them so much. Only thing I would do differently is put less salt. At least for me they tasted a bit to salty for my tasting. But awesome overall!
I doubled the oil (avocado) and halved the baking powder because I do not like doughy tortillas. The only ones worth buying are the raw Tortillaland ones, but they are not sold in Pittsburgh. These are better than those sold in grocery stores.
Fabulous recipe! Thanks so much for posting it! These are so much more tasty than store bought. And yay for perfect using a vegetable oil. Who has lard on hand anymore?
You’re welcome, Tami, so glad everyone enjoyed the tortillas!
Can you use olive oil instead, that’s all I have.
Yes, olive oil should work!
My sister made this receipe and they were just awesome and so easy. Thank you
Perfect💝💝💝💝
Can I make a big batch, then freeze for later use?
Yes, definitely! Just separate the tortillas with sheets of parchment or waxed paper and store in a zip-top freezer bag.
Good recipe! However, they became crispy instead of being soft and foldable… Why is that? Could I have done something wrong?
Hi Polina, sorry that they crisped up on you! A couple possibilities: is your baking powder fresh? Old baking powder can impact the consistency and is a frequent culprit. It’s also possible that they cooked a touch too long, or on too high of heat. Hope you give it another try and get that soft, pliable result we all crave!
i tried it out at home and these were great really love the recipe
I made these on Sunday and today is Wednesday and they are still soft. I’m terrible at making them and tried many recipes. I will continue to make this recipe. Thanks!
Yay thanks for teaching us to make tortillas! Easy and yummy! Used butter for the fat and it worked fine 🙂 fun to make with the hubby
So glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for taking the time to leave this review!
What did I do wrong the dough was a bit dryer. I used a stand mixer I was hoping that it would be easier. I am not saying it was the recipe they taste good but not sure where I went wrong.
So sorry you had trouble! It could be as simple as how the flour was measured, if it was packed tightly or otherwise a little too much, that could dry out the dough. Next time if it looks a bit crumbly at the dough stage, sprinkle on a few drops of water and work it in with the mixer or your hands until the dough absorbs it and is smooth!
Good tortillas……just one little piece of advice make sure to roll tortillas super thin…..the thinner the better.
Just made these tonight for dinner! They were so good, my husband and I agreed we won’t be buying store bought anymore. I was able to get 16 small taco tortillas and kept them in foil with a damp paper towel to keep them soft and moist. Thank you for this wonderful recipe!