Homemade Flour Tortillas
Give your Mexican meals a delicious upgrade with these soft and tender Homemade Flour Tortillas! Simply made with just 5 ingredients and about 30 minutes of active time, this easy recipe for authentic flour tortillas has been in my familia for generations!
These flour tortillas are absolutely delicious, unlike anything you’ll find in the grocery store. Homemade tortillas are softer, chewier, and the flavor is simply unbeatable.
Making flour tortillas with my grandma’s rolling pin always transports me back to her cocina. I remember sitting at the kitchen table watching her roll out dozens of the softest flour tortillas you could imagine.
Here I am as a little girl with my grandma and cousin, eating a homemade flour tortilla.
The best part was when she let me snag one from the top of the stack. Honestly, there’s nothing more comforting than a tortilla still warm from the comal — especially when you slather it in butter!
If you’d like to taste a simple slice of my history, come along with me to the kitchen. Seeing these pictures of my mom making flour tortillas from scratch, just as my grandma used to, makes my heart so very happy. Making flour tortillas at home is a labor of love and takes practice, but once you learn how, you’ll never want to buy store-bought tortillas again!
What are Flour Tortillas?
Flour tortillas are beloved Northern Mexican flatbreads that are used for everything from quesadillas, burritos to breakfast tacos and are served alongside dishes like fajitas.
Why You’ll Love This Mexican Flour Tortillas Recipe
- Snack. From slathering with butter while warm, to adding a roasted chile strip or salsa, a simple sprinkle of salt, or for a touch of sweetness a dash of cinnamon and sugar. Every kid who grew up on the border or in Mexico has their favorite way to enjoy homemade flour tortillas.
- No fancy equipment needed. That means no stand mixer or tortilla press. All you need is a mixing bowl, a rolling pin, and a cast iron comal (griddle) or skillet.
- Authentic Mexican flour tortillas, just like grandma makes! Even restaurants rarely make their own flour tortillas.
- No yeast. No need to wait for rising time equals simplicity at its finest!
Ingredients & Substitutions
The complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions can be found in the printable recipe card below.
- All-Purpose Flour: This recipe is made with with basic white flour.
- Lard: My grandma always used the blue box of Morrell lard, and so do I. Pork lard is traditional for making Mexican homemade flour tortillas, but you can use an equal amount of vegetable shortening for a vegetarian version and I have heard softened butter also works well, but haven’t tried it myself.
- Baking Powder: A little bit of leavening power allows the tortillas to puff a little bit, which makes them softer and fluffier.
- Table Salt: A touch of seasoning is essential. Table salt and sea salt should be interchangeable, but if you use kosher salt, you may want to add a bit extra to account for the lower density.
- Hot Water: Using hot water helps to develop the gluten, which in turn improves elasticity. Make sure it’s warmer than lukewarm, but nowhere close to boiling, either.
How to Make Homemade Flour Tortillas
Step 1: Preheat. Place a comal (or a griddle or cast-iron skillet) over medium-high heat and allow it to heat up. Cast iron’s natural non-stick properties mean you don’t have to use any extra fat to cook them.
Step 2: Combine all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl until uniform.
Step 3: Cut in the Lard (or shortening) and combine until you have the consistency of small crumbs.
Step 4: Rough Dough. Add the hot water and mix well with your hand just until the dough comes together. The mixture may be a little sticky.
Step 5: Knead the tortilla dough on a cutting board or smooth counter until the dough is pliable and springy. Sprinkle the ball of dough and your work surface with flour if the dough is too sticky.
Step 6: Shape. Form 2 to 2½-inch dough balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough balls with a rolling pin to form 7 to 8-inch disks. If the dough is sticky, sprinkle board and rolling pin with flour to make it easier to roll out the dough.
Step 7: Cook. As you roll out each disk, place on the hot comal to cook. After cooking the first side, turn tortilla over and let it cook on the opposite side. When the tortilla starts to form air pockets, gently press down on them with a rolled up kitchen towel (like Grandma did) to release the air. WARNING: Don’t press too much or too hard, or it will make tough tortillas.
Step 8: Keep the tortillas warm in a tortilla warmer or under a clean dish towel while you roll out and cook the remaining dough balls.
Check out this video of my mom making homemade flour tortillas to see just how easy it is to whip up a batch.
Serving & Topping Suggestions
Wondering what to make with flour tortillas next? There are TONS of recipes using flour tortillas so you’ll never get bored. Here are just a few ideas to get you started:
- Tacos: Using flour tortillas for tacos is generally only found in the northern part of Mexico and in Tex-Mex cuisine. My favorites are breakfast tacos filled with migas or machaca con huevo.
- Burritos: Spread Homemade Refried Beans on a flour tortilla with some shredded cheese for the best bean burrito. Or make Egg and Chorizo Breakfast Burritos by combining scrambled eggs and chorizo in your fluffy homemade flour tortillas, then wrapping them up for the freezer. They’re the perfect on-the-go meal. For an even heartier option, tuck cheesy Chiles Rellenos and refried beans into a flour tortilla for my all-time favorite road trip meal.
- Dessert: Want a fun dessert option? Try these Mini Tortillas with Ricotta Cheese and Grilled Peaches for a sweet and savory snack that reminds me of my grandma.
- Snack: My favorite way to eat a fresh warm tortilla is with butter, but I also love a warm tortilla with a roasted chile or homemade salsa, and rolled into one perfect spicy snack.
- Side: Steak Fajitas, Sheet Pan Fish Fajitas, or Chicken Fajitas stuffed into fresh flour tortillas with plenty of guac, sautéed peppers, onions, and salsa? You can’t go wrong. Fajitas are always a hit.
Expert Tips & Tricks
- Hot water and hot comal: Using both hot water and a hot comal is super important! The water should feel hot to the touch, but not so hot that it will burn you. And a preheated comal is essential to getting puffy tortillas with beautiful golden brown blisters.
- Roll thin: Roll the tortillas fairly thin — about 7-8 inches in diameter. Don’t worry if they are not perfectly round. Thick tortillas won’t be as tender.
- Let dough rest: If you try rolling out tortillas and the dough keeps shrinking back, cover the dough with a towel and let it rest for 10-15 minutes to give the gluten some time to relax.
- Warning: If your tortillas feel stiff after cooking, you’ve cooked them too long, the heat was not high enough, or you pressed them too many times with a towel while cooking. Cook them only long enough to get some nice bubbles on the surface and a few light brown spots on each side.
- Floured work surface: If the tortilla dough is sticky, start with a lightly floured work surface. I also like to lightly dust my rolling pin with some flour.
- Patience: If it is your first time making tortillas, you might not want to multitask between rolling and cooking since the process goes fast — it will take 1 minute or less on each side to achieve the coveted golden brown spots.
- Keep covered: Stacking the tortillas allows the tortillas to steam. Keep them covered with a kitchen towel which will help them to be soft and pliable.
Storage & Heating Instructions
When it comes to these soft flour tortillas, you have a few options: Serve immediately or refrigerate and reheat.
- Fresh from the pan or stack. Keep tortillas warm and covered. Wrap tortillas in a dish towel or keep them in a tortilla warmer to keep them warm and pliable throughout the day. They can be left out at room temperature for up to 2 days.
- Refrigerate. Store any leftovers in a ziplock bag (with the excess air pressed out) in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freeze. You can also freeze flour tortillas for up to 6 weeks. If you go this route, I recommend cooling the tortillas in a single layer, then separating the tortillas with pieces of parchment or wax paper before stacking. This will help them from sticking together in the freezer, so you can just pull out what you need as you need it.
- Reheat on a comal or cast iron skillet over medium heat until pliable. I beg you, please do not reheat flour tortillas in a microwave.
Frequently Asked Questions
The term “tortilla” can refer to two main types: corn tortillas and flour tortillas. The key difference between them lies in the main ingredient.
Corn tortillas are made from masa harina, a dough derived from specially treated corn, giving them a distinct corny flavor and slightly grainy texture.
Flour tortillas, on the other hand, are made from wheat flour and often include a small amount of fat. They are softer, more flexible, and larger than corn tortillas, which makes them excellent for wrapping ingredients in dishes like burritos and quesadillas. Flour tortillas are more common in Northern Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisines, whereas corn tortillas are more common in Southern Mexico.
It depends on the recipe, but my abuela’s best flour tortillas recipe is made with just all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, lard or shortening, and water.
“Healthy” is one of those terms that can mean a great many things to different people, and since I’m not an RDN, I don’t feel qualified to classify something as “healthy” or not. What I will say is that these homemade Mexican flour tortillas are made with minimal ingredients, and despite what you may think, lard isn’t all that bad from a nutritional standpoint. If you’re concerned about the fat content, you’re welcome to use just 1 tablespoon of lard or shortening instead of 2; they just won’t be quite as soft if you do.
As for which is healthier between bread and tortillas, it depends. Homemade flour tortillas probably have fewer ingredients and less sugar than some commercial breads. However, since flour tortillas are usually made with lard or shortening, they can also be higher in calories and fat.
My mom and grandma always used regular all-purpose flour, so that’s what I use. That said, higher-protein options like bread flour or 00 flour might be great if you prefer a chewier result.
While I’ve seen some flour tortilla recipes that call for butter or oils, I make my flour tortillas recipe with lard, just like my grandma taught me. For a bit of porky flavor, use fresh lard; for neutral flavor, use shelf-stable lard. You could also use bacon fat if you like, but the bacon flavor will be strong and you won’t need to add any salt. If you want to make vegan flour tortillas, I recommend using vegetable shortening (e.g. Crisco), which can be used as a 1-to-1 replacement for lard.
So, why not use oil? First, using a fat that is solid at room temperature is key to achieving the proper consistency. Second, using either butter or oils may mess with the fat-to-flour ratio — butter, while solid at room temperature, includes water, and liquid oils have less fat than solids.
Since there is no yeast in this dough, there may be no need to let the dough rest. But, that doesn’t mean you don’t have to. If you try rolling out tortillas and the dough keeps shrinking back, cover the dough with a towel and let it rest for 10-15 minutes to give the gluten some time to relax.
Yes! Freezing flour tortillas is an excellent way to extend their shelf life. Jump up to the “Storage” section above for more info.
Again, it depends on the recipe. This one can easily be made vegan by using vegetable shortening in place of lard. If you’re at a restaurant, it’s worth asking.
As with all good things, flour tortillas can indeed go bad. To keep them in their best shape, refrigerating or freezing is the move. Hop back up to the “Storage & Reheating” section for more info.
Flour tortilla dough is softer and more elastic than corn tortilla dough because it contains gluten. The presence of gluten means the dough tends to spring back when pressed, making it difficult to achieve a thin, even shape with a press. Instead, rolling them out with a rolling pin allows for better control over the thickness and ensures that the tortillas are evenly thin and round.
There are tons of options! You can refrigerate or freeze them, or use them in recipes where stale tortillas are a benefit (e.g. for making tortilla chips or chilaquiles).
More Mexican Basics
- Homemade Corn Tortillas
- Masa For Tamales (Easy Tamal Dough)
- Tamales with Masa Harina (Masa Dough Made with Masa Harina)
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below and leave me a comment to let me know how it turned out!
Homemade Flour Tortillas
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons lard or shortening
- 1 1/4 cups hot water
Instructions
- Place a (griddle or cast-iron skillet) over medium-high heat and allow it to heat up.
- In a bowl combine all the dry ingredients. Add the lard or shortening and combine until you have the consistency of small crumbs.
- Add the hot water and mix well with your hand. The mixture may be a little sticky. Knead on a cutting board or smooth counter until dough is pliable and springy. Sprinkle with flour if the dough is too sticky.
- Form 2 to 2½-inch dough balls. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough balls to form 7 to 8-inch disks. If the dough is sticky, sprinkle board and rolling pin with flour to make it easier to roll out the dough.
- As you roll out each disk, place on the hot comal to cook, it will take 1 minute or less on each side. After cooking the first side, turn tortilla over and let it cook on the opposite side; when tortilla starts to form air pockets press down gently on it with a rolled up kitchen towel (like Grandma did) to release the air. Don’t press too much, or it will make tough tortillas.
- Keep the tortillas warm in a tortilla warmer or under a clean dish towel while you make the rest.
Video
Notes
- Hot water and hot comal: Using both hot water and a hot comal is super important! The water should feel hot to the touch, but not so hot that it will burn you. And a preheated comal is essential to getting puffy tortillas with beautiful golden brown blisters.
- Roll thin: Roll the tortillas fairly thin — about 7-8 inches in diameter. Don’t worry if they are not perfectly round. Thick tortillas won’t be as tender.
- Let dough rest: If you try rolling out tortillas and the dough keeps shrinking back, cover the dough with a towel and let it rest for 10-15 minutes to give the gluten some time to relax.
- Warning: If your tortillas feel stiff after cooking, you’ve cooked them too long, the heat was not high enough, or you pressed them too many times with a towel while cooking. Cook them only long enough to get some nice bubbles on the surface and a few light brown spots on each side.
- Floured work surface: If the tortilla dough is sticky, start with a lightly floured work surface. I also like to lightly dust my rolling pin with some flour.
- Patience: If it is your first time making tortillas, you might not want to multitask between rolling and cooking since the process goes fast — it will take 1 minute or less on each side to achieve the coveted golden brown spots.
- Keep covered: Stacking the tortillas allows the tortillas to steam. Keep them covered with a kitchen towel which will help them to be soft and pliable.
- Fresh from the pan or stack. Keep tortillas warm and covered. Wrap tortillas in a dish towel or keep them in a tortilla warmer to keep them warm and pliable throughout the day. They can be left out at room temperature for up to 2 days.
- Refrigerate. Store any leftovers in a ziplock bag (with the excess air pressed out) in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freeze. You can also freeze flour tortillas for up to 6 weeks. If you go this route, I recommend cooling the tortillas in a single layer, then separating the tortillas with pieces of parchment or wax paper before stacking. This will help them from sticking together in the freezer, so you can just pull out what you need as you need it.
- Reheat on a comal or cast iron skillet over medium heat until pliable. I beg you, please do not reheat flour tortillas in a microwave!
Photos by Jeanine Thurston / Video by Pure Cinematography
Originally published: November 2013. This recipe is also published in the Muy Bueno cookbook.
105 Comments on “Homemade Flour Tortillas”
What a beautiful story & great recipe! I can’t wait to try… tnx
I tried this recipe for tortillas and it’s amazing this is the only thing couldn’t make but watched my grandmother and mother make them many times they never measured.now IV got it.rhey came out almost exactly like moms but everyone has their own way and taste.you and grand ma would be around.me be a man and the only one that could make tortillas.when two sisters can’t cook Mexican food like myself and yes now with fresh tortillas I’m the best..thank you! PS. my wife even enjoyed them !
My late mother was not a good cook but her tortillas were the best, hands down. I never picked up her technique although i have tried for 50 years. Mine always get crispy and crunchy. I’ve tried different recipes – some with no fat, some with no baking powder, etc. Your Grandma’s seems to be the closest to my mom’s but the video measurements don’t seem to be the same as the written recipe. Please clarify or verify. Thank you. P.s. over the years my mom used a metal pipe, a wine bottle and even a broken broom stick. Never a real rolling pin. I have several rolling pins but settled on a sanded wooden dowel that is reminiscent of momma. It rolls out beautifully. 🙂
Can you tell why you don’t let the dough rest.
Thank you.
I made these but they came out doughy and heavy after they were cooked. Did I handle the dough to much? Maybe to much flour? Maybe I didn’t kneed them ling enough or to long? Any ideas why this happened?
It says 1 Tablespoon of lard. That can’t be right. Maybe 1 cup??? 1 Tbsp is not enough for 4 cups of flour.
It is absolutely correct. This recipe is tested and even published in our printed cookbook. Buen Provecho.
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe! They are just like my mom makes. Unfortunately, my mom doesn’t measure anything either and I totally forgot how she showed me when I was younger. So when I moved from to Texas to Puert Rico I wasn’t able to make the tortillas like hers. After spending countless hours on YouTube trying to find a recipe that didn’t include 6 tablespoons of lard/shortening to 4 cups of flour (which I know is waaaay to much lard for that amount of flour) I found your recipe. I honestly can’t thank you enough!
Wow. I just stumbled across this recipe and my heart just bust! My abuelita used to make tortillas when I was little. I gobbled them up with butter! Same rolling pin as yours. The curtains in your photo are also eerily familiar. I’m so lucky to have these memories of her and cherish the time we had making gorillas just the way you describe. Thank you.
Oh and, One last coincidence- I am named after my great grandfather, Jesus!
My brothers were teasing me when I first started learning. They were making fun of the shape, oh that one looks like Texas, that one looks like a flag and so on, but my dad put a stop to that really fast when he told them, the tortilla is not going to roll down into your stomach so it does not matter what the shape is, what matters is that she is trying.
Would like the recipe to make some
A friend of mine in Lubbock TX taught me how to make flour tortillas. My daughter loved to eat them warm out of the pan with just butter. That was 35 years ago! And I’ve tried to remember how we did it, and used other recipes, and … Here you are!!! I’m so happy to have found your recipe. It’s perfect!
Thank you! So happy to hear that!!! Please be sure to subscribe so you continue to receive new recipes in your inbox.
Excellent instructions! Great job and video .
5 C. of flour, I use 3-4 Tbsp. of
Crisco or Lard. 1 Tbsp. Baking powder, 1 Tbsp. of salt, and about 1 1/3 C. of HOT water.
It depends on how much water with humidity.
Your instructions on how to make dough was perfect. I just use more of the ingredients. They come out soft and delicious!!
Awww, this made me miss my mom. Thank you!
Hi! How can you recipe have only one tablespoon of the lard to four cups of flour when most recipes have three cups of flour in between 3 and 6 tablespoons of lard? Did you have a typo?
We are struggling to find a great recipe. All the ones we’ve used the tortillas come out like lead.
Thank you for bringing back beautiful memories of my mom making tortillas and how she would roll one up with butter or refried beans and cheese and hand it to me. The kitchen smelled so good. Friends and family would get excited and want one too and I have tears rolling down my eyes right now. Thank you. Only we Latinos know those precious moments.
“Muy bueno” indeed! I have been searching for a biscocho recipe similar to yours for a very long time; can’t wait to try it this fall. I also viewed the tortilla making video. The ease with which your mom prepare’s the tortillas is reminiscent of all practiced and privately lauded cooks in our home kitchens, where love is a fundamental ingredient in all recipes.
Should the baking powder be 3 teaspoons instead of 3/4 teaspoons. Looks like the video shows 3 teaspoons. 3/4 to me is too little for tortillas. I make tortillas often so just my opinion.
I was thinking the same thing! Also, I’m wondering why she doesn’t let the dough rest like in all other recipes that I have read.
Hello, I love your site, I am Hispanic and I’ve been searching to an authentic tortilla recipe. I have one question…on the video it looks like more then 1 tablespoon of lard is used, can you please clarify?
I thought the same thing. ????
Great recipe thau cameout awesome. Thanks.
Tonight we will make these for dinner. Looks so delicious ☀️ I’m so looking forward to seeing my family in Mexico this summer and showing them some recipes we’ve learned from your beautiful website. It will impress my papa 🙂 Thank you
My husband really enjoys the quality of your videos and we both agree your mom makes it look so easy to make these tortillas
Amazing site !!!I love it!!!making flour tortillas this morning..
I was just telling my sisters that I literally started crying watching the video of your mom making tortillas. I was looking up people making tortillas on YouTube, and after seeing all these people trying their best but tearing up tortillas and making them all crazy looking, and I am sure they tasted fine, BUT, I found this video, and she rolls up the dough just like mom used to, she flips the dough around while rolling it like mom used to she flips them hand to hand like mom used to, and she even has that flat steel griddle like mom used to make pancakes on. I’d give anything to be 4 feet tall again, eye level to the stove watching mom make those tortillas. Thank you SOOOOO much for that video!
Same! You took the words right out of my mouth. Exactly the same! My poor momma made tortillas twice a day everyday! Mine will never taste or look as good. The first one was always mine, with butter… and when i was little, she made small, “baby” ones, just for me. I still have my momma, but she’s been ill for 15 years, bedridden for 6. I would do anything to go back to those days, even if only for a moment.
Hola Yvette! Could I use olive oil instead of shortening?
Hi ISA, I have made flour tortillas using olive oil. I use about 1/4 cup of olive oil to 3-4 cups of flour. In my opinion, the flavor of the olive oil is a little overpowering and gets in the way of the simple flour tortilla taste. I have also made flour tortillas with the following (not all at once, though–LOL): corn oil, canola oil, vegetable oil, coconut oil, shortening, butter, lard. I thought that the best tasting tortillas, ultimately, were the ones I made with lard, shortening, or butter. I also made tortillas with 100% whole wheat flour and they are more nutritious (lots of fiber), but have a stronger, “nuttier” flavor and are slightly stiffer than those made with all-purpose flour. I’ve also experimented with add-ins like garlic powder, chile powder, crushed chili flakes, dried dill weed, crushed thyme leaves, etc., etc. I would recommend that you use Muy Bueno’s ratio of ingredients and just experiment with the oils to find your favorite version!
Hi Isa, I honestly wouldn’t recommend it. We have tested and re-tested this recipe over and over and the recipe you see here tastes perfect as-is! Happy tortilla making.
So, that’s your mom in the video? She is awesome and you are so lucky to have had a loving mom. I noticed the rolling pin before reading your blog comments. It reminds me of the small, but tapered, Chinese rolling pins which are so useful and simple. I never could handle those large clunky ones sold in American stores.
I just learned to make corn tortillas today so decided to search the tube for flour tortilla information. Thank you for posting this beautiful video!
Yup that’s my lovely mommy! I am very blessed. Thank you for your lovely comment.
When I seen this video first thing I noticed is how cute your momma is!! Second thing I noticed was cabbler girl baking soda. That’s what we use!
You mom makes them exactly how we make them and just like you I’m always sneaking a tortilla but I like mine with butter.
After my grandma passed my mom got her famous rolling pin. My grandma would’ve been 90 this year. She’s been gone since 2002
Do you and your mom have any videos together of making tamales?
Thank for sharing from Bakersfield, Ca
Thank you Angelina! I’ll be sure to tell my momma. I love a warm tortilla with butter too. YUM! I have a tamalada video, unfortunately my mom was not in town for that video, but you can find it here: https://youtu.be/l96uvEKamwo