Homemade flour tortillas are one of the easiest things to make! But they also have one of the biggest payoffs with taste and texture. Absolutely unlike anything you can buy at the store, homemade tortillas are soft, pillowy and so incredibly delicious!
These tortillas are perfect partners for my Tex Mex Skillet Chicken Fajitas or stuffed with my Green Chile Chicken Salad!
Why Make Your Own Tortillas?
- Y’all. Amazing. That’s all I can say. Homemade flour tortillas taste SO. GOOD!
- The texture of a real, homemade tortilla is everything (think warm clouds).
- They only take about 15 minutes to make. (It’s hard to imagine you can get that much taste & texture difference in just 15 minutes.)
- Store bought tortillas aren’t even in the same universe. As a matter of fact, they might need a new name. I don’t think they’re tortillas at all.
- Because they need to be dipped in my Fresh Salsa and Tex Mex Guacamole recipes ASAP!
We have always loved going into Mexican or Tex Mex restaurants that make their own tortillas. We get so excited. We know soft, warm tortillas that taste beyond incredible are headed our way!
Honestly, I never thought about making them at home because I assumed they would be hard or take a lot of time, but when I found out they actually add only about 15 minutes to my meal prep…? Seriously, I’ve been making them about once a week ever since.
And let’s talk about store bought flour tortillas. If you’ve never tasted a homemade tortilla, the ones you buy at the store don’t even taste like the same food. They are not soft, not chewy good, no flavor…
As a matter of fact, once you’ve tasted homemade tortillas, you might question if store bought ones are even food at all. No kidding. A tiny peek at the ingredients label shows them to be equal parts food and chemical preservatives. Ick. And they taste like it.
Recipe Ingredients & Overview
I’ll walk through an overview of ingredients & steps in these next sections along with helpful tips!
Look for specifics at the end of the post in the recipe card.
- all purpose flour
- baking powder
- salt
- butter
- hot water
- a little olive oil for the skillet
How to Make Homemade Flour Tortillas
Mix the Dry Ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the dry ingredients with a fork (flour, baking powder, and salt).
Add the Wet Ingredients. Add in butter (cut into small pats) and hot water. Use your fork or a pastry cutter to blend the ingredients together to create a shaggy dough. Cover the dough and let it rest for about 5-10 minutes.
Roll Out the Tortillas. Pull off pieces of dough to create approximately 16 equal parts. Roll them into semi smooth balls.
Take the balls you intend to make into tortillas immediately and roll them into paper thin disks, using a rolling pin or tortilla press. (I prefer a rolling pin. I explain why in the recipe video.) It’s ok if they aren’t perfectly round.
Cook. Heat a small skillet on the stove top at a medium high heat with a drizzle of olive oil. When the skillet is hot, add one rolled-out tortilla.
When it begins to form bubbles (about 30-60 seconds), flip and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove from the skillet and store in a paper towel-lined tortilla warmer or on a plate between paper towels to keep warm.
RECIPE TIPS
- If you use a pancake griddle instead of a small skillet, you can cook about 5-6 tortillas at time!
- If the skillet or griddle begins to smoke while you are cooking or between tortillas, the heat is too hot.
- I have skipped the “resting time” before and didn’t notice much difference in the texture of my tortillas.
- If the resting time is important to you, I recommend making the dough first and letting it rest while you do other meal prep tasks (like making your fajitas or prepping your tacos), then rolling out and cooking your tortillas last.
Making Ahead, Storing, Freezing
- Any balls of dough you aren’t going to use immediately can be stored in a zip top bag for 3 days in the refrigerator and made at another time.
- Leftover cooked tortillas can last at room temperature in an airtight zip top bag for up to 3 days.
- Cooked tortillas can be frozen for up to 3 months.
More Tex Mex Recipes To Love
- Overnight Breakfast Burrito Casserole
- Tex Mex Sour Cream Enchiladas
- Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- Layered Beef Enchilada Casserole
- Cheesy Mexican Beef & Rice Casserole
Equipment
- small cast iron skillet OR
- pancake griddle
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons butter room temperature
- 1 cup hot water
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the dry ingredients with a fork (flour, baking powder, and salt).
- Add in butter (cut into small pats) and hot water. Use your fork or a pastry cutter to blend the ingredients together to create a shaggy dough. Cover the dough and let it rest for about 5-10 minutes.
- Pull off pieces of dough to create approximately 16 equal parts. Roll them into semi smooth balls.
- Take the balls you intend to make into tortillas immediately and roll them into paper thin disks, using a rolling pin or tortilla press. (I prefer a rolling pin. I explain why in the recipe video.) It's ok if they aren't perfectly round. Any balls you aren't going to use can be stored in a zip top bag for 3 days in the refrigerator and made at another time.
- Heat a small skillet on the stove top at a medium high heat with a drizzle of olive oil. When the skillet is hot, add one rolled-out tortilla. When it begins to form bubbles (about 30-60 seconds), flip and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove from the skillet and store in a paper towel-lined tortilla warmer or on a plate between paper towels to keep warm.
- Continue until all of the tortillas have been cooked!
Notes
- If you use a pancake griddle, you can cook about 5-6 tortillas at time!
- If the skillet or griddle begins to smoke, the heat is too hot.
- I have skipped the “resting time” before and didn’t notice much difference in the texture of my tortillas.
- If the resting time is important to you, I recommend making the dough first and letting it rest while you do other meal prep tasks (like making your fajitas or prepping your tacos), then rolling out and cooking your tortillas last.
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