Love those fresh and soft flour tortillas from your favorite Mexican restaurant? Now you can make your own at home! These delicious homemade flour tortillas are easy to make, pliable yet sturdy, won’t rip and only require 5 ingredients!
Growing up in a Mexican household, my parents made flour tortillas from scratch every week. But like many kids, I never realized just how lucky I was to have such amazing food all the time until I moved out of the house and had to start cooking for myself.
I needed to learn how to make all my childhood favorites, so one of the first things I asked my mom for when I was out of the house was her flour tortilla recipe!
She first taught me how to make corn tortillas and now I’m happy to say that I’ve mastered the flour version!
Made with only 5 ingredients, these tortillas come together in no time and are perfect for making burritos, tacos, enchiladas and quesadillas and more. They’re soft and pillowy, pliable yet sturdy and make the best soft tacos ever.
This recipe is easy enough to make on your own, but it’s also a great one to make with kids!
How to make flour tortillas
Making flour tortillas from scratch is really simple! All you need is some all-purpose flour (or whole wheat flour if you want to make them whole grain), baking powder, salt, oil and warm water.
First, mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl – flour, baking powder and water. (photo 1)
Then, add your preferred oil. I used olive oil, but you could also use avocado oil, vegetable oil or lard like is traditionally used. (photo 2)
Add in warm water and mix everything together with a fork until a dough forms. (photos 3-4)
Transfer the dough onto a well-floured work surface and knead for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth, soft and elastic.
Roll the dough into a ball and let it rest, covered, for about 30 minutes up to 2 hours. (photos 5-6)
Divide the dough into 8 pieces and roll each piece into a ball using the palms of your hands. (photos 7-8)
On a lightly floured surface using a lightly-floured rolling pin, roll each dough ball into an 8 to 10-inch circle. (photos 9-10)
Don’t worry if the tortillas aren’t a perfect circle. Just do the best you can. I promise they’ll taste just as good and nobody will notice!
Preheat a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. Place the rolled tortilla dough in the skillet and cook for about 30-45 seconds, or until small bubbles start to form. Flip the tortilla over and cook for another 30 seconds-45 seconds. (photos 11-12)
The tortillas should have light golden brown spots, but not be completely burned.
I have to warn you about something before you make these – you may become slightly addicted and never be able to eat store-bought flour tortillas again!
I highly recommend making a double batch so you can have leftovers for the whole week.
Tips for making the best homemade flour tortillas
No air bubbles? If your tortillas don’t form any air pockets or bubbles after 45 seconds to 1 minute, try turning up the heat a little a little bit and see if that helps.
I find that the first tortilla is always the hardest to get just right, but once you adjust the heat after seeing what happens, cooking the rest of the tortillas usually goes more smoothly.
Don’t have a rolling pin? That’s okay! You can use a wine bottle or other similar-sized object you have. Just make sure to clean the surface well and dust it in flour.
Use a tortilla warmer to keep the tortillas soft, pliable and warm! A tortilla warmer is one of my top recommend kitchen tools to have if you’re a tortilla lover like me. It’s very inexpensive and makes such a difference. Here’s the exact one that I have.
Don’t have a tortilla warmer? Do this. I recommend wrapping your stack of warm tortillas in a clean kitchen towel and then placing that inside a plastic zip-top bag (like the photo below). That will help keep in some of the heat which will create steam and keep the tortillas pliable.
My husband is a huge fan of eating freshly made flour tortillas just as they are with a little pat of butter and rolled into a little taco. They’re just that good!
Ways to use flour tortillas
Here are some of our other favorite ways to use flour tortillas:
- Easy Carnitas Tacos
- Steak Quesadillas
- Weeknight Chicken Tacos
- Steak Fajitas
- Carne Asada
- Red Chicken Enchiladas
- Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (or whole wheat flour)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons oil (olive oil, avocado oil or canola oil)
- 3/4 cup warm water
Instructions
Hand Mixing Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder and salt. Stir with a fork to combine.
- Add oil and water and stir to combine until a dough forms.
- Transfer the dough onto a well-floured work surface and knead for about 5 minutes (or 15 minutes if using whole wheat flour), until the dough is smooth and elastic. If the dough becomes too sticky to work with during the kneading process, add in a little more flour. The final dough should be tacky, but not so much that it completely sticks to your fingers and hands.
- Roll the dough into a ball, cover it with a clean kitchen towel and let it rest for 30 minutes (or up to 2 hours).
- Divide the dough into 8 separate pieces and roll each piece into a ball.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll each dough ball into an 8 to 10-inch circle. (While you're rolling out each ball, you can place the rolled tortillas on top of a clean kitchen towel or lightly-floured parchment paper.)
- Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. 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.
- Remove from the skillet and place it in a tortilla warmer. If you don't have a tortilla warmer, I recommend wrapping the tortillas in a kitchen towel and then placing them inside a large zip-top plastic bag. Serve immediately.
Stand Mixer Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add flour, baking powder and salt. Mix for a few seconds on low using the dough hook attachment.
- Turn the mixer on medium speed and while it's running, add the oil and water. Mix for 1 to 2 minutes until a dough forms. You may need to stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl to incorporate all the flour.
- Lower the speed to low speed and mix for 2 to 3 minutes (or 6-8 minutes if using whole wheat flour), until the dough is smooth and elastic. If the dough is too sticky, add in a little flour until the dough is tacky to the touch, but not sticking to your fingers and hands.
- Transfer the dough onto a well-floured work surface and knead for about 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. If the dough becomes too sticky to work with during the kneading process, add in a little more flour. The final dough should be tacky, but not so much that it completely sticks to your fingers and hands.
- Roll the dough into a ball, cover it with a clean kitchen towel and let it rest for 30 minutes (or up to 2 hours).
- Divide the dough into 8 separate pieces and roll each piece into a ball.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll each dough ball into an 8 to 10-inch circle. (While you're rolling out each ball, you can place the rolled tortillas on top of a clean kitchen towel or lightly-floured parchment paper.)
- Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. 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.
- Remove from the skillet and place it in a tortilla warmer. If you don't have a tortilla warmer, I recommend wrapping the tortillas in a kitchen towel and then placing them inside a large zip-top plastic bag. Serve immediately.
Video
Isabel’s Tips:
Nutrition Information
This recipe was published in January 2016 and updated with new photos and helpful tips in June 2019.
I loved these! Did a test trial on Sunday and then made them with gringo tacos tonight and they’re just perfect.
Can vegetable oil be used (instead of olive, canola, or avocado oil)?
Hi Miah! Yes it definitely can!
Can you use gluten-free flours to make these tortillas? I miss flour tortillas a lot. Right now I’m using King Arthur or Bob’s Red Mill flours. What adaptations might help?
Hi Patricia! We haven’t tried making a gluten free version yet, so I’m not sure about that. You may try looking up other food blogs that specifically make gluten free flour tortillas since some of them add extra ingredients to help them get a better consistency. I hope this helps!
Hi after I would press them they would shrink to about 4 inches none of mine bubbled even after turning up the heat what did I do wrong?
Hi Gia! It sounds like they may have needed more moisture. Next time you can add an extra splash or two of water and see how that works.
If you made the same mistake I did, it’s the lack of rolling pin. I tried squishing with my hand, and thought it was thin enough. It wasn’t. Once I pulled out the rolling pin, they came out perfect. (Note: I used butter as my oil, and added a dash of taco seasoning)
I very much appreciate this recipe share. I have it as a “go to”. Thank you for making my cooking result to “good mom, thanks”.
Can you freeze the dough before making them into the round tortillas? Or is it better to fully make them and then freeze? Thanks!
Hi! I would recommend fully making them and then freezing!
How can you make 8- 10” tortillas with 2 cups of flour? It’s impossible to stretch them that thin by hand. I have a press and a roller. A commercial machine is the only way.
Hi Ken, thank you for your feedback. We test our recipes multiple times to ensure quality and consistency, but there is always a degree of variability to be expected. We suggest doubling the recipe if you are needing more tortillas.
Can you use a tortilla press for flour tortillas?
Hi Stacey! Yes you can! Just make sure to use parchment paper so the dough doesn’t stick.
I have arthritis in my hands. When making pasta, I pat out portions to run through the widest pasta Machine width, folding a third of each side to the middle each pass before preparing dough for cutting. Is there any way to adapt tortilla kneading in a similar way? I do so want to have better tortillas..
Hi Kathy! If you have a tortilla press, that would definitely make it easier! if you use one, just make sure to use parchment paper so the dough doesn’t stick.
I made those amazing homemade flour tortillas! So so good ive already shared the re how to so many! Easy and DELICIOUS.. got me craving more!
Thank you for this recipe!!