Homemade Flour Tortillas
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There is nothing quite like the aroma of fresh tortillas coming off the skillet. Store-bought tortillas are convenient, but they can never match the soft, chewy, and flavorful results you get when making Homemade Flour Tortillas. With just a handful of pantry staples and less than an hour of your time, you’ll have homemade tortillas that are perfect for taco night, quesadillas, burritos, or simply slathered with butter.
Easy Homemade flour tortillas have been a staple in kitchens across the Southwest, Mexico, and beyond for centuries. Making them from scratch not only saves money but also gives you full control over the texture, thickness, and flavor. Once you try your hand at this simple recipe, you’ll never go back to grocery store tortillas again.
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Heather’s Notes
- All Purpose Flour – Provides structure and chewiness. Bread flour can make them too tough, while cake flour makes them too delicate.
- Baking Powder – Adds a little lift, keeping the tortillas soft instead of dense.
- Salt – Balances flavor and enhances the nuttiness of the flour.
- Vegetable Oil – Keeps the tortillas moist and tender. Canola or avocado oil also work well.
- Hot Tap Water – Helps the flour hydrate quickly and creates a smooth, elastic dough that rolls easily.
Substitutions & Variations
- Flour – Swap all-purpose flour with half whole wheat flour for a heartier tortilla.
- Oil – Use lard or melted butter for a richer, more traditional flavor.
- Seasoning – Add a pinch of garlic powder, smoked paprika, or dried herbs for flavored tortillas.
- Size – Make small 6-inch tortillas for tacos or larger 10-inch tortillas for burritos and wraps.
Find the full printable recipe card with exact measurements and step-by-step instructions below.
How to Make Homemade Flour Tortillas
- Mix Dry Ingredients – In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add Oil & Water – Drizzle in the vegetable oil, then pour in hot tap water gradually while stirring with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms.
- Knead Dough – Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for 3-4 minutes until smooth and elastic. Cover with a damp towel and let the dough rest for 30-40 minutes.
- Divide & Roll – Cut dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll each into a ball, then flatten and roll into thin circles with a rolling pin keeping a round shape.
- Cook Tortillas – Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat or use a hot griddle. Cook each tortilla for 30–60 seconds per side in the hot pan until golden brown spots appear. Keep warm in a clean kitchen towel until ready to serve.
Add dry ingredients to a large bowl.
Whisk to combine the dry ingredients.
Add the oil and toss to coat the flour.
It should resemble coarse meal.
Mix in the hot water with a wooden spoon.
The dough will be craggy. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30-45 minutes.
Divide into 12 pieces. Use a rolling pin to make a circle. Or use a tortilla press like this one.
Cook over medium-high heat 30-60 seconds per side. Remove to a plate or clean kitchen towel, and repeat.
Tips for Storing
- Store cooled tortillas in an airtight container or zip-top bag at room temperature for up to 2 days.
- Refrigerate for up to 1 week, wrapped in foil or plastic wrap to prevent drying out.
- Freeze in stacks with parchment paper between each tortilla for up to 3 months. Reheat directly from frozen in a hot skillet.
- Always reheat tortillas in a dry skillet or wrapped in a damp paper towel in the microwave to restore softness.
FAQs
This usually means the dough was too dry. Make sure to use hot water and rest the dough long enough.
Yes, you can use a stand mixer with a dough hook to save time on kneading.
The resting period allows the gluten to relax, which makes rolling easier and prevents shrinkage.
Practice is key, but you can also use a tortilla press for perfectly even shapes.
A cast-iron skillet, heavy-bottomed skillet, or non-stick flat griddle provides even heat and a little char for authentic flavor.
More Recipes We Love
- Cheesy Skillet Chicken Chilaquiles
- Chickpea Tacos
- Homemade Sriracha Sauce
- California Roll Breakfast Sushi
- Homemade Ricotta Cheese
- Pumpkin Spice Sherry Bundt Cake
Homemade Flour Tortillas Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil, or canola
- 1 cup hot tap water
Instructions
- In a medium bowl add the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk to combine.
- Add the oil and use your fingers to incorporate into the flour mixture. It should resemble crumbly meal. (you could also use a food processor)
- Add the hot tap water and stir to combine. Once the dough ball comes together, place a piece of plastic wrap over the bowl and allow to rest for 30-40 minutes.
- Divide into 12 equal balls.
- Heat a nonstick skillet over high heat. Roll out 1 ball at a time to a circle shape. Add to the hot skillet and cook for 1 minute, flip and cook for another minute. Remove to a plate and repeat with remaining dough. Serve warm.
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Recipe Nutrition
* Nutritional information is not guaranteed to be accurate.
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Recipe By:
Co-Founder at Spiceology | More About Heather…
Heather is a recipe developer and content creator living in Vancouver, Washington. She started Farmgirl Gourmet in 2006, almost 20 years ago, as a way to share recipes with friends and family. Heather is also the co-founder of Spiceology , a unique spice company, which she started in 2013. She shares family friendly recipes for easy everyday meals with a gourmet twist.
I really love this recipe and hope you will too!
Have you made this with other flours or a combination of flours? Wonder if I could do half corn? Making these this week for sure!
I cut recipe in half and use 1/2 cup w/w and 1 cup Einkorn wheat. I can cook a few and leave the rest in frig (covered) and use the next day !! I cook in iron skillet with no oil and they are fabulous !!!!!
Yum this looks good.:D
Man! So mad I didn’t see this until today….we just had tacos last night…
Next time for sure!!
Thanks to you all for your comments. They really are delectable. Soft and perfect. Now that I’ve said that I think I’ll go have one. 🙂 I hope you let me know what you thought after making them.
xoxo – Heather
Great post. I can’t wait to try these
Inspired post! Bubbly and delectable right off the griddle! I have wanted to make tortillas for a while, but just haven’t. Homemade are so much better than from the store. Absolutely on my list to make soon.
Oh wow, these look awesome. I know what we’re doing when I reach WA! Taco Night! 🙂
Wow, these look great!! I would love to attempt to make my own, I bet the flavor is amazing! And chickpea tacos sound so good!
I make my own corn tortillas ever since I went to Yucatan and got hooked:) Flour tortillas were on my next list of projects, so I am glad that you have this recipe up. I am in Serbia, taking care of my mother, and tortillas are almost impossible to find. The ingredients, on the other hand, are available! Looking forward to trying them!
These really remind me of Chapatis I used to make ALL the time when my son was growing up. We used to cook a lot of “Indian” inspired foods & would use the chapatis as a “side” bread or to wrap some yummy, savory beans, hunks of tofu with Indian spices (I’m still holding on jealously to some spice blend packets from Culpepper the Herbalist (I can no longer get them online, so I have to wait ’til I visit England to get them!), yogurt & veggies up like an Indian wrap. I got my recipe from “Laurel’s Kitchen.”
Similar to this recipe (BTW, the cookbook this recipe comes from is my absolute FAVORITE for cooking Indian food — “The Bombay Palace Cookbook” by Stendhal)
Chapatis #3
breads, indian
1 1/2 cup flour, unbleached
1/2 cup flour, whole wheat
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoon ghee
1/2 cup water
Mix flours, salt, and butter and add just enough water to make a firm dough, somewhat like a biscuit dough. Knead for 10-15 minutes – the more the dough is kneaded, the lighter the bread will be. Shape the dough into a ball, cover with a sheet of plastic and let it rest for at least 1 hour. If left to rest overnight in the refrigerator, the finished bread will be even lighter. When ready to bake, take a small piece of dough about the size of a golf ball, or a bit smaller. On a lightly floured board, roll the dough into a thin circle, about 5 inches in diameter. Repeat with all the dough. Heat a griddle or heavy-bottomed iron skillet until it is very hot (you will notice the smoke rising from it). Place the rolled out chapati on the griddle and let it cook for 2-3 minutes, depending on how thin you have rolled it. Using a pair of kitchen tongs, you can lift the chapati to see if the underside has turned a golden brown. Flip, and cook the other side about 1 minute. As they are cooked, store the chapatis on a towel in a warm covered container until ready to serve. Serve as soon as the last chapati is baked. NOTE: In India breads sometimes are baked in the fiery clay tandoor, where they develop brown spots and bubbles. To achieve a similar effect at home, you can use tongs to hold each chapati over a hot gas flame until it puffs like a little balloon. The chapati will collapse as it cools. The Bombay Palace Cookbook Stendhal per Ellen Cleary
Yield: 10 servings
Can not what to try them!
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They sound super easy and tasty! It reminds me of making pie crust as far as working with it.
They were awesome <==== husband of this food blogger!!!