Homemade Tortillas are made from simple ingredients to make soft, chewy flour tortillas for any Mexican dish. These stay soft for days! Use them in tacos, burritos, and enchiladas.

homemade tortillas

HOMEMADE FLOUR TORTILLAS

There are certain recipes in life that once you’ve made the homemade version, you’ll never go back to the store bought kind.

Like homemade whipped cream. I didn’t even know that it was a thing until I went to college. 

Homemade guacamole is the same story. I can’t eat store bought guacamole once you’ve had the fresh, chunky guacamole. 

I never once thought I would make make a homemade flour tortilla recipe until I went to the store and they were completely out everywhere.  From that point on I was determined to find an easy tortilla recipe that I could make in a jiffy.

There is nothing like biting into a soft chewy homemade flour tortillas. It seriously takes any Mexican food to the next level. Taco Tuesday will be epic!

INGREDIENTS IN HOMEMADE TORTILLAS

Only a few basic ingredients in these homemade flour tortillas.

  • Flour – all-purpose flour is used in this recipe. You can also use bread flour for a lighter texture. 
  • Salt – gives the tortillas flavor.
  • Baking powder – gives the tortillas fluffiness.
  • Vegetable oil – helps the dough have elasticity and makes super soft tortillas. You can replace the vegetable oil with any other oil like coconut oil, olive oil, or canola oil.
  • Water – helps bring all the dough together.

homemade flour tortillas

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE TORTILLAS

  1. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the oil and mix the dough together with your hands or a mixer slowly adding the water a little at a time to the flour mixture until the dough comes together in a soft dough. You might not need all of the water.

  2. Knead the dough for 1-2 minutes by hand or with a dough hook of a stand mixer until the dough is a somewhat smooth ball. Cover dough with a kitchen towel and let dough rest 15 minutes. This allows the gluten to relax and makes for easier rolling.

    tortilla dough being rolled out

  3. After dough has rested, divide dough into 16 equal pieces for 6-inch tortillas or 12 equal portions for 8-inch tortillas. Roll each piece of dough into a ball and using a rolling pin on a floured work surface or between two sheets of parchment paper roll into a thin circle. Remember that the tortilla will puff up quite a bit so roll as thin as you can unless you like a thicker tortilla.

  4. Cook each tortilla on a medium high heat in an ungreased skillet for about 1 minute or until golden brown spots and bubbles form. Flip and cook on the other side. Cover cooked warm tortillas with a clean kitchen towel while you cook the remaining tortillas. I roll out a dough ball as a tortilla is cooking. Tortillas will soften even more as they rest.

flour tortillas on a plate

MAKE AHEAD TORTILLAS

You can make the dough a day or two ahead and store in the fridge. Let dough rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before rolling out and cooking.

HOW TO STORE TORTILLAS

Store leftover tortillas in a plastic resealable bag for about 3 days. Tortillas can be frozen up to 3 months.

OTHER MEXICAN RECIPES

homemade tortillas

Homemade Tortillas

4.34 from 6 votes
Homemade Tortillas are made from simple ingredients to make soft, chewy flour tortillas for any Mexican dish. These stay soft for days! Use them in tacos, burritos, and enchiladas.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 16 tortillas

Ingredients

  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 1/2 cups warm water

Instructions
 

  • In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the oil and mix the dough together with your hands or a mixer slowly adding the water a little at a time until the dough comes together in a soft dough. You might not need all of the water.
  • Knead the dough for 1-2 minutes by hand or with a dough hook of a stand mixer until the dough is somewhat smooth. Cover dough with a kitchen towel and let the ball of dough rest 15 minutes. This allows the gluten to relax and makes for easier rolling.
  • After dough has rested, cut dough into 16 even pieces for 6-inch tortillas or 12 even pieces for 8-inch tortillas. Roll each piece of dough into a ball and using a rolling pin on a floured surface or between two sheets of parchment paper roll into a thin circle. Remember that the tortilla will puff up quite a bit so roll as thin as you can unless you like a thicker tortilla.
  • Cook each tortilla on a medium high heat in an ungreased skillet for about 1 minute or until little brown spots and bubbles form. Flip and cook on the other side. Cover cooked tortillas with a clean kitchen towel or a damp paper towel while you cook the remaining tortillas. I roll out a dough ball as a tortilla is cooking. Tortillas will soften even more as they rest.

Notes

MAKE AHEAD:

You can make the dough a day or two ahead and store in the fridge. Let dough rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before rolling out and cooking.

Storage:

Store leftover tortillas in a ziplock bag for about 3 days. Tortillas can be frozen up to 3 months.
Cuisine: Mexican
Course: All Recipes, Main Course
homemade flour tortillas