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Make your own homemade flour tortillas in under an hour and ditch the store-bought kind for good! This recipe is super easy and user friendly, giving you the best fluffy and soft flour tortillas that are perfect for burritos, fajitas, and tacos.
Homemade flour tortillas will forever remind me of my family. My dad made them so often, he quickly became an expert and made picture-perfect round and fluffy tortillas every single time.
I grew up eating them with everything – a big bowl of pinto beans, carne con papas, chile verde, and chile colorado.
Now that I have a family of my own, I want to keep that tradition alive.
This flour tortilla recipe is easy to make and a definite crowd-pleaser. Don’t be surprised if you don’t have any leftovers!
Here’s why I love this recipe so much:
- Simple ingredients: This flour tortilla recipe uses only 5 ingredients that you probably already have stocked in your kitchen – all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, olive oil (or butter), and water. That’s it!
- Flexible recipe: You can adjust this recipe based on your preferences. You can use whole wheat flour, adjust the salt to your liking, and use your preferred fat like oil, butter, or lard.
Ingredients in Flour Tortillas
- All-purpose flour: Basic all-purpose flour is great for flour tortillas. It’s easy to find, you probably already have it in your pantry, and is what you need for authentic and traditional Mexican flour tortillas!
- Baking powder: This is what helps create extra fluffy and soft tortillas. You’ll only need a small amount or it can give the dough a metallic taste.
- Salt: A hint of salt adds flavor. You can add more based on your preference.
- Fat: Flour tortillas can be made with oil (olive oil, avocado oil, or canola oil are great options), room-temperature salted butter, or lard. I personally like to use olive oil or butter.
- Warm water: It’s important to use warm water to give you a soft and pliable tortilla dough.
How to Make Homemade Flour Tortillas
Mix the dry ingredients like the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl until combined.
Add the wet ingredients like the oil, butter, or lard and the warm water to the dry ingredients. Gently mix by hand until a dough forms.
Transfer the dough onto a well floured surface and knead until the dough becomes smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. The dough should be slightly tacky, but not sticky enough to transfer to your fingers. If the dough is too sticky, add flour 1 tablespoon at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.
Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces for large burrito-size tortillas or 10 equal pieces for medium soft-taco-size tortillas. Roll each piece into a ball and place them onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours on the counter.
Roll each ball into an 8 to 10-inch circle for large tortillas, or a 6 to 8-inch circle for medium size tortillas.
Cook the tortilla on a medium skillet over medium-high heat for 30-45 seconds on each side. The tortilla dough will start to form bubbles and get brown spots as they cook.
Transfer the cooked tortilla into a tortilla warmer as you cook the remaining tortillas.
Serve immediately with your favorite Mexican dinner.
Flour Tortilla Recipe Tips
- To prevent the dough from sticking, make sure to keep your working surface and your rolling pin lightly floured. Then, place the rolled tortillas on top of a clean kitchen towel or a piece of lightly floured parchment paper. Don’t stack them on top of each other or they may stick together.
- The key to keeping your tortillas soft, pillowy, and pliable is keeping them in a tortilla warmer. The steam created inside the tortilla warmer keeps your tortillas soft and delicious while you finish cooking the batch or while serving.
- If you don’t have a tortilla warmer, you can wrap the tortillas inside a kitchen towel and place them inside a gallon size ziplock bag.
- The number of tortillas this recipe yields depends on the size of tortillas you want. This recipe makes 8 large burrito-size tortillas or 10 medium soft-taco-size tortillas.
- To make this recipe with whole-wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour, you’ll need to knead the dough for an additional 10 minutes to get it soft and smooth.
- Switch up the fat. You can make these tortillas using oil, butter, or lard. Salted butter adds a bit more flavor and makes the tortillas extra soft and fluffy. For even more indulgence, use equal parts lard or shortening.
- You can double or triple this batch and have fresh flour tortillas for the week. They keep in the refrigerator for up to a week and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Ways to Use Flour Tortillas
There are an infinite number of ways to use flour tortillas! Here are a few of my personal favorites:
- Make tacos: Load up some warm tortillas with carnitas, carne asada, barbacoa, or birria, and top them off with finely diced white onion, chopped cilantro, crumbled cotija cheese, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
- Roll them into enchiladas: Flour tortillas are ideal for enchiladas because they don’t rip and fall apart while baking like corn tortillas sometimes do. Chicken enchiladas, black bean enchiladas, breakfast enchiladas, and beef enchiladas are a few of my faves.
- Serve with braised meats and beans: Flour tortillas are the perfect vessels to sop up all the saucy dishes in Mexican cooking! Meals like chile verde, chile colorado, carne con papas, and borracho beans are perfect.
- Burritos and more: Use them to make bean and cheese burritos, chimichangas, chicken fajitas, or cheese quesadillas!
Stand Mixer Instructions
To make this in a stand mixer, mix everything on low speed using the dough hook for 3-4 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. If using whole wheat flour, you’ll need to mix for 6-8 minutes.
Storing and Reheating
To store, place in the fridge in a gallon-sized plastic zip-top bag for 5-7 days.
To freeze, place a sheet of parchment paper in between each stacked cooked tortilla. Place the stack in a gallon-sized plastic zip-top bag and freeze for 3-4 months.
To reheat, place the tortillas between two damp paper towels and microwave for 30 seconds or until warmed. You can also warm them on a skillet over medium heat.
More Mexican Recipes
Homemade Flour Tortillas
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- ¼ cup olive oil (avocado oil or room temperature unsalted butter is also great!)
- ¾ cup warm water
Instructions
- Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl until well combined.
- Add the oil and water, and mix together with your hands until the dough starts to come together and all the dry ingredients are incorporated.
- Transfer the dough onto a well-floured work surface and knead for 5 minutes until the dough is super smooth and elastic.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces for large burrito-size tortillas or 10 equal pieces for medium soft-taco-size tortillas. Roll each piece into a ball.
- Lightly flour a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and place the dough balls on top. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours on the counter.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into an 8 to 10-inch circle for large tortillas, or a 6 to 8-inch circle for medium size tortillas. Make sure to keep your working surface and your rolling pin lightly floured to prevent the dough from sticking. (While you’re rolling out each ball, you can place the rolled tortillas on top of a clean kitchen towel or a piece of lightly floured parchment paper. Don’t stack them on top of each other or they may stick together.)
- Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. When very hot, place a tortilla on the skillet and cook for 30-45 seconds, or until small bubbles start to form. Flip it over with your hands or a spatula and cook for another 30-45 seconds. The bottom surface should have some brown spots.
- Transfer the cooked tortilla to a tortilla warmer or a plastic zip-top bag to keep the tortillas soft and warm. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.
Notes
- Flour: You can use whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour. Just note that you need to knead the dough for an additional 10 minutes.
- The key to keeping your tortillas soft, pillowy, and pliable is keeping them in a tortilla warmer. The steam created inside the tortilla warmer keeps your tortillas soft and delicious while you finish cooking the batch or while serving. If you don’t have a tortilla warmer, you can wrap the tortillas inside a kitchen towel and place them inside a large plastic zip-top bag.
- To make this in a stand mixer: Mix everything on low speed using the dough hook for 3-4 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. If using whole wheat flour, you’ll need to mix for 6-8 minutes.
- You can double or triple this batch and have fresh flour tortillas for the week. They keep in the refrigerator for up to 7 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe was published in January 2016 and updated with new photos, helpful tips, and a better overall recipe.
Photography by Ashley McLaughlin.
Love love your recipes! I love the authenticity of them all. So glad I found you! ❣️
Can’t wait to try this recipe Thank you for sharing!
Thank you. We really enjoyed 😊.
J-24
I am not a cook but like all the recipes and will start cooking using your recipes. My mom also used to do all the cooking and as a child I would help but I wasn’t interested in cooking and I regret that I didn’t write those recipes and seen yours published reminds me of a time that I was involved with cooking. Thank you and will try your recipes
1st time making then. I had to add a little more water.
Reminds me of my grandma’s tortillas! Thanks so much!
Never made tortillas before! !!! Had fun & they turned out great! thank you for all the great tips!
Excellent tortilla recipe. Thanks Isabel. I appreciate the extra effort you put in on the detailed history and explanations.
I could not recommend this enough. If you are mexican like myself and are looking for a simple way to make authentic tortillas look no further than this recipe. I use Crisco vegetable Shortening to get the same texture of tortillas as using lard. Other than that all the measurements and ingredients check out. Use this for your next meal or snack!
I’ve tried making my mama’s tortillas over the years many times with no success. She never measured anything! My precious mama passed away a year ago so in honor of her, I tried to make tortillas. This recipe is so close to hers so I gave it a try. Success!!! The whole time I was making them, I was telling her, “look mom, I’m making tortillas!” The dough was perfect and they rolled out so nicely! Thank you for the recipe!!