Homemade Flour Tortillas

Homemade Flour Tortillas made from 5 Ingredients. They’re so soft, easy to make, and can be used for burritos, tacos, quesadillas, however you like!!

Whether you’ve got tacos or burritos on the menu, or you simply plan to slather your tortillas in queso and salsa, you can’t go wrong with these homemade flour tortillas!

Easy Homemade Tortillas

Our family eats Mexican food quite regularly. In fact, I’m pretty sure that my family would have no objections to eating it every single day.

We love to use these tortillas to make enchiladas, burritos, tacos, and even taquitos! These meals always taste so much better, and more authentic, when they’re made with fresh homemade tortillas!

Believe it or not, flour tortillas are surprisingly simple to make and require just a handful of basic ingredients. While traditional flour tortillas are made with lard, I realize that most of you probably don’t keep that ingredient on hand or prefer not to use it.

I usually make my flour tortillas with butter (unsalted), but vegetable shortening will also work. Aside from your fat of choice, all you’ll need is flour, salt, baking powder, and water.

It always amazes me that such simple ingredients can yield such yummy results!

how to make flour tortillas

I’m telling you – they’re easier to make than you think!!

All you need is:

• 2 cups flour (plus 2 tbsp flour)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• ¾ cup warm water
• ½ cup butter (unsalted), melted

DOUGH. Mix dry ingredients together. Add warm water and melted butter. Mix with hands until combined. Add extra flour if needed (1 tbsp at a time), but it should be a little sticky. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.

ROLL OUT. While skillet is heating up, divide dough into 12 dough balls. Roll out onto a lightly floured surface using a pastry roller (or rolling pin) to about 8 inches wide.

COOK. Add tortillas to hot skillet (or griddle) and cook until bubbles form and golden brown spots form on both sides, anywhere from 10 to 30 seconds depending on how hot your pan is. Flip tortilla and cook until second side is done.

Repeat until all tortillas are cooked. Serve immediately or store cooked tortillas in a tightly covered container.

To keep tortillas warm while serving, the easiest way is to use a tortilla warmer. If you do not have one you can use a pot and lid that is slightly bigger than the tortillas.

make these into tortilla chips

You can easily turn your tortillas into chips by either frying or baking them.

FRY: Fill a large frying pan with about 2 inches of vegetable or peanut oil. Heat to  350°F. Cut tortillas into strips or triangles. Add a few pieces to the oil and fry for about 45 seconds turning every 15 seconds. Use a spider skimmer to remove chips and place on a paper towel or wire rack.

Season with salt and other favorite seasonings.

BAKE: Preheat oven to  350°F. Brush the tortilla with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and any other seasonings that you wish, then cut into triangles. Place a single layer on a baking sheet.

Bake for about 4-5 minutes, use tongs to flip halfway, and bake for another 3-4 minutes.

Tips for Making Flour Tortillas

Making these are quite simple, but we wanted to share a few tips to help you out.

• Butter substitute: If you prefer, you may substitute the butter with lard or vegetable shortening.
• Thin vs. Thick: For thinner tortillas, divide dough into 14 balls. For thicker tortillas, divide it into 10 balls.
• Rolling: To roll tortillas into a round-ish shape, roll flattened ball of dough in one direction from the center to the top edge. Turn the dough a quarter turn and roll again from the center to the top. Repeat rolling and turning until tortilla is to desired size and shape. A pastry roller helps with this.
• No Stacking! Do not stack rolled tortillas while waiting to cook them or they may become soggy.
• Shake the Excess Flour. Before cooking a rolled out tortilla, toss it back and forth a bit between your hands to knock off any excess flour.
• Wipe the Pan. Carefully wipe flour out of pan between cooking tortillas, otherwise it will accumulate in the pan and start to burn.
• Heat: If the tortilla doesn’t have golden spots after 1 minute, slightly increase the heat. If the spots are dark brown or black, decrease heat.
• Stiff Tortillas: If your tortillas feel stiff, you have either cooked them too long or used too high of heat.

RECIPE FAQ

To make them ahead of time, you can either keep the dough in the fridge or the freezer until you are ready to cook them. You can either store the dough in balls or pre roll them.

Divide the pre-rolled tortillas with parchment or wax paper. Store in the fridge for up to a week. Store in the freezer for up to 6 months. Thaw in the fridge before cooking.

Place the tortillas directly into the pot as soon as they have been cooked. The steam from the tortillas will keep them warm and soft.

How to store leftover tortillas? Allow tortillas to cool, separate with a piece of parchment paper or wax paper, place in an airtight container

• Counter: 2-3 days
• Refrigerator: 6-8 weeks
• Freezer: 6-8 months (To thaw, put the bag of tortillas in the fridge for 24-48 hours, or defrost in the microwave.)

How to reheat flour tortillas? Stack on a plate and cover with a damp paper towel. Microwave for 15 to 30 seconds or until warm.

Trust Me – Double the Recipe!

When I make tortillas, I typically double this recipe, because it takes only slightly longer to whip up twice as many tortillas once your hands are covered in dough.

These are a dinner time staple in our house! I hope you like them as much as we do.

Use homemade Flour Tortillas in these:

• Baked Chicken Chimichanga
• Cream Cheese & Chicken Taquitos
• Green Chile Burritos
• Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
• Smothered Burritos
• Bean Chimichanga
• Chicken Quesadillas
• Cheese Crisp

**This recipe was updated on 3/28/22 – made it even easier and yummier!