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Flour Tortillas

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My favorite homemade flour tortillas are irresistibly soft, chewy, thick, and flavorful — and easy to make with just 5 ingredients (no lard)!

Flour Tortillas Recipe

Meet my latest obsession that I sincerely hope may turn into your new obsession as well…

homemade flour tortillas. ♡♡♡

I’m just going to tell you right now that once you go homemade with your tortillas, get ready because you’re never going to want to turn back to store-bought. And why should we?! All you need to make a batch of the most irresistible homemade flour tortillas are 5 easy everyday pantry ingredients. All you need equipment-wise is just a mixing bowl, a sauté pan, a rolling pin. (Or you can break out the stand mixer and/or tortilla press, if you happen to own one.)  There is zero yeast involved, nor any complicated kneading required. All you need is a little over a half hour or so, and the most life-changing batch of soft and chewy flour tortillas will be yours to enjoy in no time.

Oh, and bonus? I’m happy to report that this homemade flour tortilla recipe is lard- and shortening-free. Yes, I know that they are the ingredients traditionally used in flour tortillas, but I never really cook with either. And as it turns out, I’ve found an even better ingredient that works to achieve a satisfyingly chewy texture, that just so happens to be plant-based too. Win-win!

I love to roll my tortillas extra-thick (almost bordering on na’an bread), which I highly recommend if you like your tortillas to be nice and chewy. But you can roll yours out to be as thick, thin, large or small as you would like. I’ve also included tips below for ingredient substitutions, if your pantry is running low and you can’t make it to the store right now. Plus, tips for how to prep the dough ahead of time, how to store tortillas, and also freeze flour tortillas if you end up having extras.

Serve these up for Taco Tuesday, roll them into enchiladas or burritos, fold them into quesadillas, toast them into tostadas — basically, homemade tortillas are guaranteed to kick any of your favorite recipes up a delicious notch. Let’s make a batch!

flour tortillas recipe | 1-minute video

Homemade Flour Tortillas

Flour Tortilla Ingredients:

To make this flour tortilla recipe, you will need five simple ingredients (amounts included in the recipe below):

  • Flour: I love this recipe with standard all-purpose white flour, but I have also tested and enjoyed it with white whole wheat flour. (I have not yet tested it with gluten-free flours, but please let me know if you do.)
  • Coconut oil: I also tested this recipe with a number of different fats, and coconut oil was the winner in our house by a landslide. The coconut-y flavor here (especially when using refined coconut oil) is super-duper subtle, and it yielded the best soft and chewy texture (that stayed soft the following day, too!). That said, see below for other options if you don’t love coconut oil or do not have any on hand.
  • Baking Powder: To give these tortillas a bit of lift.
  • Fine sea salt: Essential to bringing out those delicious flavors! If you only have table salt on hand, note that you will need to use a lesser amount of salt.
  • Hot water: Just heat up some water on the stovetop or in the microwave until it is hot to the touch, but not boiling.

How To Make Flour Tortillas

Flour Tortilla Dough

Homemade Tortillas

Homemade Tortilla Dough

How To Roll Tortillas (without a Tortilla Press)

How To Make Tortillas:

Alright, here is a brief overview of how to make flour tortillas (detailed instructions included in the recipe below):

  1. Mix the dough. Briefly stir together the dry ingredients, add the coconut oil and water, and stir as much as you can with a rubber spatula or spoon.
  2. Knead the dough. Then once the dough begins to come together, turn it out onto a floured surface, and use your hands to give it a brief knead for 1 or 2 minutes until it is fairly smooth. (Don’t worry about it being perfectly smooth — it just needs to hold together well in a ball.)
  3. Rest the dough. Then we will let the dough briefly rest for about 10 minutes, covered with a clean towel so that it doesn’t dry out.
  4. Form the dough balls. Now this part is up to you, depending on what size and thickness you would like your tortillas to be! I recommend dividing the dough into 12 equal-ish pie wedges, rolling each wedge into a ball, and then rolling each ball into a 6-inch tortilla (which will yield a medium-thick, taco-sized tortilla). But you are welcome to divide and roll out the dough however you would like, depending on the size and thickness of tortillas that you prefer.*
  5. Cook the tortillas. Heat a cast-iron skillet or heavy-bottomed sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the tortilla and cook for 30-60 seconds, until tiny little bubbles begin to appear on the surface and/or golden spots appear on the bottom of the tortilla. Flip and cook on the second side for about 30 seconds, or until the bottom is also slightly golden. Then transfer to a clean plate or bowl, cover with a clean dishtowel, and set aside. Repeat with the remaining dough balls. Also, if the skillet seems to be getting too hot and cooking the tortillas too quickly, just reduce the heat.
  6. Serve. Serve warm and enjoy! I recommend keeping the tortillas covered with a dishtowel or stored in a tortilla warmer until they are served, so that they can stay warm and not dry out.

*To save time, I like to do a bit of multitasking and roll one tortilla out while another one is cooking on the stove. But if you would like to roll all of the tortillas out at once, be sure to place a paper towel or clean kitchen towel between each tortilla so that they do not accidentally stick together while waiting. In general, I also recommend covering any dough that is waiting to be cooked, so that it does not dry out.

Homemade Flour Tortillas Recipe

Possible Variations:

Want to customize this homemade flour tortilla recipe? Feel free to…

  • Make the tortillas thinner: Slice the dough ball into 16 wedges, instead of 12.
  • Make the tortillas thicker: A very good idea, if you would like to indulge. Slice the dough ball into 8 wedges, instead of 12.
  • Make the tortillas a different size: Feel free to also slice the dough ball into fewer wedges so that you can roll the dough out into 12-inch tortillas, if you would like. Or do the opposite for even smaller tortillas.
  • Use a different fat: In place of coconut oil, you can also use lard (which is traditional), butter, or a mild-flavored oil such as avocado oil or vegetable oil. Or a combination of any of these.
  • Use a different flour: I also enjoyed this recipe using white whole wheat flour.
My Favorite Shrimp Tacos (made with Homemade Flour Tortillas!)

My favorite shrimp tacos recipe, made with homemade flour tortillas.

Homemade Tortillas FAQ:

Here are a few answers to some of the most-asked questions about making flour tortillas:

  • Can I make this recipe with gluten-free flour? I have not yet tested this recipe with any gluten-free flours, but if you do, I would love to hear how it goes.
  • Do I need to buy a tortilla press? I don’t have one (no room in our tiny kitchen!) and find it quite simple to make these with a rolling pin. But if you would like to buy a tortilla press, they are pretty fun!
  • Can I make the dough in advance? Sure, just make the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes. Then cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 48 hours.
  • What if the tortilla dough seems too wet? No worries, just add in some extra flour.
  • How do you get perfectly-round tortillas with a rolling pin? Often, you don’t…which is perfectly ok. After making hundreds of flour tortillas — many of which weren’t perfectly round — I can vouch that a slightly wonky-shaped tortilla is still just as delicious. ;)
  • Do I need to grease the skillet? Nope, the flour coating the tortillas should prevent them from sticking.
  • What do I do if residual flour left in the skillet starts to burn? If that happens, remove the skillet from the heat and use a dry dish towel or a paper towel to dust the residual flour off of the skillet.
  • What if the tortillas bubble up while cooking? That’s good! They should bubble up a bit while cooking. But if the bubbles grow too big and it seems like the tortilla cannot cook evenly, just smoosh the bubbles down with a spatula. ;)
  • What should I make with these homemade tortillas? The sky is the limit! Tacos, burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas, tostadas, chilaquiles…you name it!
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Flour Tortillas

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 75 reviews
  • Prep Time: 15 mins
  • Cook Time: 20 mins
  • Total Time: 35 mins
  • Yield: 12 tortillas 1x

Description

My favorite homemade flour tortillas are perfectly soft, chewy, thick, and flavorful — and easy to make with just 5 ingredients!


Ingredients

Scale

Instructions

  1. Mix the dough.  Briefly stir together the flour, sea salt and baking powder together in a large mixing bowl until combined.  Add the hot water and coconut oil and stir until a shaggy dough begins to form.
  2. Knead the dough. Turn the dough onto a floured surface, and use your hands to knead the dough for 1-2 minutes until it is fairly smooth.
  3. Rest the dough. Form the dough into a round ball and pat it down slightly so that it forms an evenly-thick disk. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
  4. Form the dough balls. Use a knife to cut the dough into 12 equal wedges.  Use your hands to roll a wedge into a roughly-shaped ball.  Then use a rolling pin or a tortilla press to roll the dough ball out into a 6-inch tortilla.
  5. Cook the tortillas. Heat a cast-iron skillet or heavy-bottomed sauté pan over medium-high heat.  Add the tortilla and cook for 30-60 seconds, until tiny little bubbles begin to appear on the surface and/or golden spots appear on the bottom of the tortilla.  Flip and cook on the second side for about 30 seconds, or until the bottom is also slightly golden.  Then transfer to a clean plate or bowl, cover with a clean dishtowel, and set aside.  Repeat with the remaining dough balls.  (I like to roll out the next tortilla while the current one is cooking, to save time.) Also, if the skillet seems to be getting too hot and cooking the tortillas too quickly, just reduce the heat.
  6. Serve. Serve warm and enjoy!  I recommend keeping the tortillas covered with a dishtowel or stored in a tortilla warmer until they are served, so that they can stay warm and not dry out.


Notes

Coconut oil: I recommend using refined coconut oil, if possible, whose flavor is a bit more subtle.  But unrefined coconut oil will work great too.

Stand mixer instructions: If you have a stand mixer, just combine the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer as directed in step 1.  Then use the dough hook to knead the dough on medium-speed for 1-2 minutes in step 2.

Storage instructions: Cooked tortillas can be stored in a ziplock or food storage bag at room temperature for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to 3 months.  (I recommend placing a small piece of parchment paper between the tortillas when freezing, so that they do not stick together.)

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135 comments on “Flour Tortillas”

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  1. Do you think you could use EVO instead of the Coconut Oil? Thank you!

  2. Hi! Love love love your recipes. This one sounds great too but I was taught to never use hot tap water in cooking as there can be nasty stuff lurking in water tanks. Boiled (and cooled if necessary) is the way to go

    Thanks, kat

    • Thanks, Kat! I hadn’t heard that before, but just read up on hot tap water online and you’re right, it sounds like it’s not advised (esp in older homes). I just modified the ingredient notes to encourage people to heat water in the microwave or on the stove — thank you!

    • Thanks for calling this out Kat, this is so true. For those curious, here is a NYT article that explains: https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/29/health/29real.html

  3. Can you use almond flour in place of reg flour?

    • I haven’t tested the recipe with almond flour, so I’m not certain. You will likely need to modify the other ingredient amounts a bit with almond flour.

  4. Hi! Could I substitute another oil in place of the coconut? I’ve never used it, so don’t know what might work…canola? margarine (soft, in tub)? I’d love to try these! Low-sodium diet, so can’t have store-bought ones. Can’t go out to shop now, so can’t try the coconut oil. If I try a liquid oil, I guess I would add it with the water? Soft margarine – ?
    I’ve been on the low-sodium for over a year now and it’s great, but there’s a few things I really miss – and making wraps is a big one!
    Thanks!

    • Sure, I’ve listed a few alternatives above that you can try including butter, shortening, or other mild-flavored oils. And if you are on a low-sodium diet, feel free to reduce the amount of salt in the recipe. :) Enjoy!

  5. have you tried this with almond or chick pea flour?

  6. can you use Gluten free flour?

    • I haven’t tested the recipe with gluten-free flour, so I’m not certain. But I imagine that a GF all-purpose flour blend would work fairly well.

    • Corn flour, warm water, and a pinch of salt = delicious GF tortilla. Super easy.

  7. Is an oil necessary? What would one do to make these tortillas that are oil free ?

    Thank you,

    Tom

  8. I hav made my own flour tortilla for years and have always ued LARD. Tried your recipe and they do not fry and taste like a flour tortilla. Sorry

  9. Could gluten free flour be used? Thanks, Karen

    • I’m also curious if gluten free flour could be used for these.

    • I haven’t tested the recipe with gluten-free flour, so I’m not certain. But I imagine that a GF all-purpose flour blend would work fairly well.

  10. Omg, these are so good. We couldn’t wait until tomorrow to try making a batch and our entire family loves them!!! Thanks for figuring out a recipe without lard!






  11. If butter can be substituted, how much should be used in the 1x recipe? Would it be softened or melted after selecting the correct amount?

  12. Can these be frozen?

  13. Hi, I like the idea of the “Flour Tortillas” never had them before! I am 80 years old, live alone so hav e to normally reduce recipes accordingly. (No probs usually). my concern is, what do you fill them with, your pics show a filling that looks quite appetizing, but does not describe it. ,is it a compulsory filling, or do you have variations?. please Rasap. Bob Clay.

    • She filled them with her shrimp taco filling. Any taco filling would be delicious or make quesadillas!

    • Hi Bob!
      I’m not the writer of the blog; but, I loved your comment and felt like replying. At my house, we use the flour tortillas for quesadillas (like a tortilla grilled cheese). We also brown ground turkey with a taco seasoning packet from the seasoning aisle. Add a little guacamole and cheese. It’s so delicious.

    • Hi, Bob — you also can use these in place of regular store-bought taco shells, or roll them out a bit larger, and make burritos. Including breakfast burritos stuffed with scrambled eggs, sausage and cheese, topped with salsa and/or hot sauce.

      As others mentioned, fish tacos are also delicious, especially with the excellent, very fast recipe for mango salsa on this site.
      If you get adventurous after mastering tortillas, try homemade guacamole — much like these, store-bought will never again be acceptable.

      They also make an excellent snack just tearing off pieces and scooping up salsa and/or guacamole.

      Hope you’ve had a chance to try these a few different ways!

  14. Havent baked them yet but they sound amazing! Can these be substituted for gluten free
    I see a few ppl.have asked but gotten no response. I’m celiac so the response would be helpful

    • I haven’t tested the recipe with gluten-free flour, so I’m not certain. But I imagine that a GF all-purpose flour blend would work fairly well.

  15. I love this! It means we can have tortillas whenever we want not just when we buy the packaged kind. Thank you!

  16. I tried your 1-hour cinnamon roll recipe today and it was amazing! I can’t wait to try this recipe too

  17. Hi Ali! First of all, the cameo by your sous chef assisting with the tortillas on Instagram was hilarious. Thanks for that laugh! Second, I think I’m going to play around with this recipe using whole wheat flour… I know WW is usually a bit drier/absorbs more so I was thinking about increasing the water just a tad- adding an extra 2-3 Tablespoons maybe? Do you think that’s the best place to start? Would it need more oil do you suppose? I’m always nervous to adapt recipes that are already perfect! I will of course let you know how it turns out…

  18. So good!! Your recipe was detailed and thorough which really helped with the recipe. Love it, thank you!!!






  19. Amazing! I made the dough and my two teenage sons rolled them out and cooked them. They were delicious!!!






  20. I made mine with Spectrum shortening and they are not as tender as I would like them to be. Could this make a difference in the texture? Now, waiting for the momofuku pork roast to be done so I can eat them. Thank you for the recipe.






  21. Yum! These are so good and so much easier than I thought it would be to make tortillas! Thank you for the recipe :) I also made your cinnamon buns the past two weekends – so good!






  22. These were a huge hit at my house just now! Thank you so much. [Except now I’m kind of in trouble because my family kept saying how much better they are than store-bought, so what was prompted as a quarantine necessity (to be totally honest:)) might have to become the norm, just as you predicted!] But seriously, these were so good that they *more* than made up for some of our other favorite ingredients for fajitas that we were missing thanks to quarantine ;) Side note: I did use CANOLA oil since we recently found out my husband has a coconut allergy, and it worked great.






  23. I follow you and love your recipes, but I’ve moved on to making tortillas much simple. I make tortillas quite a bit so I now have found the flour mix through Walmart and all we do is add water. If you ever get a chance you should try it. It makes for making dinner or breakfast a lot much easier. Ruby in Washington

  24. Hi, I made this for the first time yesterday with stickey beef and chilimayo?? and they tasted SO good? Thank you for the inspiration???






  25. These turned out amazing! I will never go back to store bought tortillas. Super quick and easy. Thanks for the delicious recipe.






  26. I don’t know why I thought this was a good idea – I am literally the worst at rolling out dough. Oh well. I tried. They were good, they’ll take some patience and practice. Oh, and I used All Purpose Gluten Free Flour and it seemed to go ok considering. I think the only problems I encountered were my inability to work with dough, not the ingredients or recipe.

    I saved my leftovers for scrambled eggs and black beans for in the morning.






  27. Thank you very much for this recipe. This is great tortilla recipe, perfect and very easy to make. I will never buy tortilla from store anymore. My tortilla turn out very soft and fresh. I used Canola oil as I didn’t have coconut oil. I used rolling pin and slightly cooked more 50 -60 seconds each side. It’s great recipe. Thank u so much.






  28. Wow! Thank you so much for this recipe! I made this tonight using vegetable oil and table salt because it’s what I had and they still turned out great! These tortillas are so soft and fluffy…they are so much better than what you can find in stores. I will now want to make these anytime we have fajitas or tacos! The recipe was easy to follow and I was inspired to try these after seeing your instastories! Thank you again!!!

  29. These were amazing! So easy to make and turned out great. They do have a hint of a coconut flavour (which I loved) but if you aren’t a fan of coconut you might want to try a different oil.

    We are expats living in the UK so don’t have access to good tortillas. This is a game changer. Thanks so much!

  30. These are great! We ran out of tortillas, which inspired me to give this recipe a try. And they are amazing! So easy & delicious. I’ll definitely be making these again. :) I used about half whole wheat flour – yum.

    Thank you!






  31. Made the flour tortilla recipe and made them a little thicker as you suggested,for nan-type bread. They were wonderful! I liked it better than the actual recipe for nan bread from your site that I tried also. Love your recipes and the daily life tidbits. Thanks so much!

  32. These were fantastic. My family requested that I never use store bought tortillas again. Thanks!!






  33. I made a gluten free version using Bob’s Red Mill all purpose gf flour. It turned out ok but not as soft as I would have liked. I find their flour kind of dense and gritty so I’d be interested in trying again with a different one. My family loved them and gobbled up the whole batch in one sitting.

  34. So good!!! These were so easy, quick, and delicious. I’ll never use store-bought tortillas again. All I had was unrefined coconut oil on hand, but I thought the coconut flavor paired really well with your shrimp taco recipe! A+ all around, thanks!






  35. I’ve never made tortillas before and these are incredible. I was so surprised. Thanks for the recipe!!! Gamechanger!






  36. This recipe is so easy and DELICIOUS. I made two batches last night for our fajitas. The first batch I cut into 12, the second bath I cut into 8 to make slightly larger tortillas. Definitely making them again for our next taco night!






  37. Thank you for the recipe, these were delicious! When I tried to roll them out, I could not get them thin enough. I tried both a tortilla press and rolling pin and both times the dough would roll out and then spring back into a smaller, thicker circle. Do you have any idea why this may have happened? Thanks again for the recipe! They were still delicious, just thicker than we wanted!

  38. This is the first time I have commented on a recipe before – I usually just lurk in the comments section to see what other are saying :) – but O. M. G. these were the easiest and YUMMIEST tortillas. The coconut oil was very subtle and the texture was amazing. Bookmarking this recipe to use again and again and again in the future!






  39. My suuuuuper picky husband announced “mmmmm these are delicious!”, my son devoured his & even the baby liked it. I’ve never attempted tortillas before but this pandemic has so many of us getting creative with what we have on hand. All I had was unrefined coconut oil but they were still absolutely delightful. Thank you so much – we will be making these again.






  40. I suck with dough, but this was pretty easy. I did have to add some more flour because my dough was sticky but the result was great. Made some delicious veggie tacos! Thanks!






  41. Awesome recipe! Super easy and the family loved them. I did cut recipe in half with no problem






  42. Made with vegetable oil since I didn’t have the coconut – so so easy! came together quick too. Liked them rolled thinner. Served them as banh mi wraps (with pickled veg, fresh mint, and scrambled eggs – super yum!!!) My kids loved them too. One used hers to make a breakfast burrito filled with leftover sauteed kielbasa and scrambled eggs. Can’t wait to play with this recipe, it’s a good base to work with. Thank you for this recipe without using lard! It’s a godsend :)






  43. This is the best recipe I’ve ever tried for homemade flour tortillas.. (and I have a recipe from my Mexican grandmother ?). I used butter for the fat in mine and can’t stop making them. They’re a new weekly thing in our house! Thank you!






  44. Gonna try these! Thanks kkv

  45. These are so tasty! Thx so much for the recipe. One question tho … what do you recommend to be the best way to reheat them?






  46. These are delicious and so easy! I made them for my family on cinco de mayo and every single persons raved about how much better these were than normal store-bought tortillas. I had never made tortillas before, and now I use this recipe and make them regularly. Thanks!!






  47. These are SO good (& relatively easy to make)! Thank you so much for sharing!






  48. Just made these, and oh, my word…so good! Thank you for sharing this recipe.

  49. We may never buy tortillas again! My husband LOVES them, and when we tag-team the rolling and cooking, it goes super fast. All the ingredients are pantry ingredients, so whenever we feel like something involving tortillas, it no longer requires a trip to the store! We also have a teeny kitchen and can’t both fit into it at once, but when I roll the tortillas on the dining table and he cooks, it feels like we finally get to cook together again!






  50. Tortillas turned out great with coconut oil, but significantly better with lard — we used the same batch of dry ingredients divided in half for an exact comparision.

    These are perfect for fish tacos with homemade mango-jalapeno salsa and guacamole!
    (Always use whole-seed cumin for the guac — literally a minute or two to toast in dry skillet and grind with mortar and pestle; so much more flavor!)

    Another fyi though: butter is about 18 percent water, so you’ll want to adjust for that when adding the rest.
    And unsalted butter is best, but if you only have salted, also add a bit less regular salt to this dough.