Homemade Flour Tortillas

Soft, tender, homemade Flour Tortillas are not only deliciously versatile, but the recipe is surprisingly easy to make with just FIVE simple ingredients!

Easy Homemade Flour Tortillas with text overlay.

If you enjoy Tex-Mex recipes, you'll also love Easy Spanish Rice, Instant Pot Refried Beans, Creamy Jalapeño Enchiladas, Slow Cooker Charro Beans, and The BEST Homemade Taco Seasoning!

Have you ever made your own homemade tortillas before? It might sound intimidating, but they're actually super simple to make with just five basic ingredients.

Corn tortillas may be the "original," but I have to admit that I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Flour Tortillas.

Ingredients in food processor.

Ingredients

While traditional Flour Tortillas are made with lard, I realize that most of you probably don’t keep that ingredient on hand or perhaps prefer not to use it.

  • I usually make my Flour Tortilla recipe with butter, but vegetable shortening will also work.
  • Aside from your fat of choice, you'll obviously need flour. I use unbleached all-purpose.
  • In addition to those two main ingredients, you'll also be using baking powder, salt, and water.

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

Stack of flour tortillas on a plate.

How to Make Homemade Tortillas

Making homemade tortillas may sound intimidating, but if you take it one step at a time, I promise it's totally doable! Take a peek:

  1. Combine the dry ingredients.
  2. Work in the butter.
  3. Knead the dough for a minute until smooth.
  4. Divide into ten pieces and roll into balls.
  5. Roll dough balls into circles.
  6. Cook on first side until bubbles start forming, flip, and cook on second side.

Should you prefer a visual, there's a handy-dandy video accompanying this post to walk you through the steps. 🙂

An Easy Shortcut

As I do with many of my favorite recipes -- from pie crust to shortbread to scones -- I rely on my trusty food processor to effortlessly whip up these homemade Flour Tortillas.

However, don't let that stop you from making them if you don't have a food processor! You can certainly put them together by hand. It's just a matter of blending the ingredients and then kneading the dough.

Rolling 'em Out

Then comes the trickiest part (at least for me)...rolling. The rolling in itself is not challenging, mind you. The aspect I have a hard time with is rolling my homemade tortillas into actual, round-ish circles.

However, I will say that this endeavor gets easier with practice. I will also share that if your Flour Tortilla ends up with a random, Florida-shaped appendage, you have my permission to trim it off with a knife (and nobody will ever be the wiser!). But if you choose to leave it, I can assure you that nobody has ever turned down a soft, warm, fresh-from-the-skillet flour tortilla due to the fact that it wasn't perfectly symmetrical. 😉

Homemade tortillas stacked and folded over.

Preferred Thickness

While you're working on achieving your circular tortillas, the only variable you’ll need to worry about has to do with how thin or thick you prefer them. This recipe will yield a dozen very thin flour tortillas, or about 10 average tortillas, or about 8 thick ones. How thin you roll your tortillas will also determine how long you’ll need to cook them on each side so that they remain soft but aren’t too doughy on the inside.

Basically, this flour tortilla recipe is pretty darn easy to make. But the first time you attempt it, you will probably need to experiment just a bit to figure out the right temperature and cooking time based on your stove.

I typically cook my homemade tortillas on a big stainless steel griddle. However, you can use a cast iron skillet or even a nonstick pan if you prefer. And when I make tortillas, I typically double this recipe, because it takes only slightly longer to whip up twice as many tortillas once the food processor is already dirtied up.

Freezing Flour Tortillas

If you'd like to make homemade Flour Tortillas in bulk for future use, they actually freeze really well. That being said, it's important to separate each tortilla with a piece of wax paper or foil so that they don't freeze together in one big lump. Once separated, tightly wrap the stack of Flour Tortillas in foil and then place in a freezer-thickness plastic baggie. Freeze for up to six months.

To thaw, pop the bag into the fridge for a day or two.

You can also reheat your tortillas before serving. Simply place a few of them on a plate, cover with a damp paper towel, and microwave for 2o to 30 seconds. Or place individual tortillas in a warm pan for a few seconds, flipping with tongs.

Homemade Flour Tortillas So who’s ready to try this easy homemade tortilla recipe??? Whether you’ve got tacos or burritos on the menu, or whether you simply plan to slather your tortillas with butter or dip them in salsa, you can’t go wrong. I hope these are a hit with your crew!

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a stack of warm Flour Tortillas and a vat of queso calling... 😉

Helpful Tips & Tricks

  • If you prefer, you may substitute the butter with lard or vegetable shortening.
  • You may make this recipe by hand instead of using a food processor. Mix in the butter with your fingers or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles cornmeal. Then slowly stir in the water. Knead on a lightly floured surface until a smooth and elastic dough is formed.
  • For thinner flour tortillas, divide dough into 12 balls. For average tortillas, divide it into 10 balls. For thicker tortillas, divide it into 8 balls.
  • To roll your homemade 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.
  • Do not stack rolled-out tortillas while waiting to cook them or they may become soggy.
  • Before cooking a rolled-out tortilla, toss it back and forth a bit between your hands to knock off any excess flour.
  • If flour does start to accumulate in your pan it will burn, so be sure to carefully wipe flour out of pan between cooking tortillas.
  • Slightly increase the heat if a tortilla doesn't have golden spots after 1 minute. However, decrease the heat if the spots turn dark brown or black.

Close-up of how to make flour tortillas.

Recipes Using Flour Tortillas

Flour Tortillas piled on plate.

Homemade Flour Tortillas

Soft, tender Homemade Flour Tortillas are deliciously versatile and surprisingly easy to make with just a few simple ingredients!
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Mexican
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 10 tortillas (more or less, depending on desired thickness)
Calories: 101kcal
Print Pin Rate

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
  • ¾ cup lukewarm water

Instructions

  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined. Transfer to the bowl of a large food processor. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles cornmeal, about 15 (1-second) pulses. With the food processor running, slowly stream in the warm water.
  • Process until the dough forms a rough ball.
  • Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead for 1 minute until smooth and elastic. Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces and roll into balls. Cover dough balls with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
  • Heat a large skillet over medium to medium high heat. While skillet is heating, roll tortillas into 7- to 8-inch diameter circles, using a bit of flour to prevent sticking. Place a tortilla into hot skillet and cook until it bubbles up a bit and light brown spots form on the underside, anywhere from 10 to 60 seconds depending on how hot your pan is and how thick your tortillas are. Flip tortilla and cook until second side is done. Repeat until all tortillas are cooked.
  • Serve immediately or store in a tightly covered container. To reheat, stack on a plate and cover with a damp paper towel. Microwave for 15 to 30 seconds or until warm.

Notes

  • If you prefer, you may substitute the butter with lard or vegetable shortening.
  • You may make this recipe by hand instead of using a food processor. Mix in the butter with your fingers or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles cornmeal, and then slowly stir in the water. Knead on a lightly floured surface until a smooth and elastic dough is formed.
  • For thinner tortillas, divide dough into 12 balls. For thicker tortillas, divide it into 8 balls.
  • 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.
  • Do not stack rolled tortillas while waiting to cook them or they may become soggy.
  • Before cooking a rolled out tortilla, toss it back and forth a bit between your hands to knock off any excess flour.
  • If flour does start to accumulate in your pan it will burn, so be sure to carefully wipe flour out of pan between cooking tortillas.
  • If tortilla doesn't have golden spots after 1 minute, slightly increase heat. If the spots are dark brown or black, decrease heat.

Nutrition

Calories: 101kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 118mg | Potassium: 67mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 35IU | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 1mg
Made this recipe? I'd love to see on IG!Mention @FiveHeartHome or tag #FiveHeartHome!

 

Adapted from AllRecipes. This recipe was originally shared at Lil' Luna in March 2015 and then published here on May 3, 2015. It was updated on April 15, 2020, and May 30, 2020.

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49 Comments

  1. Hi, I'm trying your recipe and from the comments I"m sure they will turn out great! Regarding freezing them, do you cook them and cool them before you freeze them? Or do you just roll them out and then put the waxed paper between them and freeze them, then cook them after they are thawed? Thank you for your help!

  2. DSC00927FW.jpg
    This is a rolling pin turned on a lathe, 21" x around 2" diameter at the middle.
    Black walnut, With this, round Tortillas are easy peasy. <3

  3. 5 stars
    I made this for a school project, and they were SOOO good! I actually thought it would be really hard but it was fun and EASY. Thank you so much, I'll definitely be using your blog in the future!

  4. 5 stars
    Thank you so much for this great recipe! I can make these any time because I always have the ingredients on hand. Because of Cvid, we gave up our weekly trip to our Mexican restaurant. I can make the fajita filling just like theirs, but the store bought tortillas are a let down. My husband is terrific at rolling dough, so we have an efficient little assembly line going.

  5. 5 stars
    Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I am yeast intolerant and these tortillas are the perfect bread substitute. Quick easy and delicious! And the way you write your tips and instructions makes it so easy. Thanks for sharing 👍🏻😊

    1. I really appreciate your kind words, Myriade. I'm so glad you found this recipe easy to make and that you enjoyed the final result! 🙂

  6. The tortillas came out perfect. I followed the recipe to the exact and also doubled it, I was able to make 16 tortillas.