Soft homemade flour tortillas. These tortilla wraps are the perfect ingredients for your tacos, quesadillas, burritos, and fajitas.
Learn how to make soft, flexible tender homemade tortilla wraps with just 5 ingredients (including water!) They taste so much better than storebought flour tortillas, and you can make them any size you like.
These are SO easy to make at home! Plus, you can use white or whole wheat flour.
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I need an Easy Tortilla Recipe!
If homemade tortillas sound daunting, don’t worry, this simple recipe is easy to follow and gives excellent results.
These are one of the most popular recipes on Sprinkles and Sprouts and over on Pinterest.
People just love them!
Recent reviews
“…Absolutely amazing, tasted great….”
“….These are amazing!…..OMG they were delicious.”
“…Perrrrfect, they were totally amazing…”
How to make tortillas
You need just a few simple ingredients to make homemade tortillas!
(This is just an overview! For the full written and printable recipe see the recipe card at the bottom of the page)
- flour (all purpose or wholewheat)
- salt
- baking powder
- vegetable oil
- hot water
You can make these in a stand mixer, hand mixer or by hand!
You need to combine the flour, salt, and baking powder.
Add in the oil and then mix in hot water until you have a smooth, soft ball of dough. This dough is then divided into 16 portions. To do this, cut the dough in half, then cut each half in half again. Repeat this until you have 16 roughly equal-sized pieces of dough.
Roll each piece into a ball and then use the palm of your hand to flatten them slightly. Cover them with a tea towel and let them rest for 15 minutes.
Once the disks have rested, roll each one out to form your tortilla. You want to roll them as thin as you can, they should be almost transparent.
Once rolled, the flour tortillas are ready to cook. You do this in a dry (so no oil) skillet or frying pan. I usually use my cast iron skillet, but a heavy-based frying pan does the job just as well.
Place a tortilla into the hot skillet and cook for a minute on one side, flip and cook for 30 seconds on the other.
Once cooked, wrap them in a tea-towel while you make the next one. As the wraps are stacked together, they will keep their heat and stay soft and supple.
Recipe Tips
- Using hot water means your dough will come together quicker and be smoother. It wants to feel hot to the touch, but not so hot that it burns your fingers.
- If you want larger tortillas, divide the mixture into less portions.
- If the disks are hard to roll out or keep shrinking back, then the dough needs to rest for longer. Re-cover with your tea-towel and let them rest for a further 5-10 minutes.
- Don’t worry about making the flour wraps the perfect circular shape. As long as they are roughly circular, they will be fine. The more you make them, the easier it is.
- When rolling roll over the edges. This will ensure the tortilla is an even thickness.
- Ensure you preheat your skillet or frying pan, so the tortilla starts to cook as soon as it hits the pan. This will help keep it soft.
- The tortilla wraps only need 90 seconds in the pan. They should have light golden spots on them, reduce the heat if they are dark, or increase the heat if they are too pale.
- Cooking for 90 seconds means the wraps stay soft and supple. Cooking for longer can make a crispier wrap that cracks when it is rolled.
Make-Ahead
You can make the dough ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours or the freezer for 3 months.
Allow to come to room temperature before portioning and rolling.
Storing homemade tortillas
Can you store them in the fridge?
Pop them in the refrigerator, and they will last for 4-5 days. Or they will keep in a ziplock bag, on the counter or in a bread bin for 24-48 hours.
Can you freeze tortilla wraps
Yes! Once cooked, layer the tortillas between parchment/baking paper and freeze in a ziplock bag. Store them flat in the freezer, and they will keep for up to 6 months.
With all of the above methods, warm the tortillas through before using:
How to reheat flour tortillas?
You can either wrap them in foil and warm them in the oven for 10 minutes, or place them on a plate, cover them with a damp paper towel and microwave for 20-30 seconds.
Enjoy x
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Homemade Soft Tortilla Wrap Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups AP flour – see note 1
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
⅓ cup vegetable oil- 1 cup hot water – see note 2
Instructions
- Tip the flour, salt and baking powder into the bowl of your stand mixer. (see note 3 for doing the recipe by hand)
3 cups AP flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder - Use the dough hook to give the dry ingredients a mix, then add in the oil and water .
⅓ cup vegetable oil
1 cup hot water - Mix on a low speed (I use speed 1 on my kitchen aid), pushing down any flour, for 3 minutes until a firm smooth ball forms.
- Flour you bench top and tip the dough out.
- Cut it in half and in half again until you have cut 16 equal pieces (see note 4 if you want bigger or smaller tortillas)
- Use the palm of your hand to flatten each of your balls as much as you can and then cover with a tea-towel.
- Leave the dough to rise for 15-20minutes.
- Place a heavy bottomed frying pan or skillet over a medium heat.
- Lightly flour your bench top and then use a rolling pin to flatten a piece of dough until it is almost transparent.
- Cook the tortilla for 1 minute then flip it ad cook it for a further 30 seconds.
- It should have a few light brown patches on it. If you find it is going too brown then lower the heat.
- Transfer the finsihed tortilla to a clean tea-towel and keep wrapped until ready to serve. (see note 5 for make ahead options)
- Repeat with each ball of dough.
- Serve immediatly or store for later (see note 5)
Notes
- You can replace the AP flour/plain flour with wholewheat flour if you wish.
- Using hot water means your dough will come together quicker and be smoother. It wants to feel hot to the touch, but not so hot that it burns your fingers.
- To make this by hand, combine the dry ingredients into a bowl then add in the oil and hot water. Start to combine with a spoon and once a rough dough forms, use your hands to knead it into a smooth ball. Continue the recipe as instructed.
- If you want larger tortillas, divide the mixture into less portions.
Make-Ahead
You can make the dough ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours or the freezer for 3 months. Allow to come to room temperature before portioning and rolling.Storing homemade tortillas
Can you store them in the fridge?
Pop them in the refrigerator, and they will last for 4-5 days. Or they will keep in a ziplock bag, on the counter or in a bread bin for 24-48 hours. Can you freeze tortilla wraps
Yes! Once cooked, layer the tortillas between parchment/baking paper and freeze in a ziplock bag. Store them flat in the freezer, and they will keep for up to 6 months. Will all of the above methods, warm the tortillas through before using:How to reheat flour tortillas?
You can either wrap them in foil and warm them in the oven for 10 minutes, or place them on a plate, cover them with a damp paper towel and microwave for 20-30 seconds.
Nutrition
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Let’s share the food love and make the world a tastier place 🙂
Raffaella says
Tried many recipes but this one was the best! Thanks
Claire McEwen says
Thank you so much, I am so happy you enjoyed it 🙂
Cx
Mewded says
They were amazing! An all time favorite.
Claire McEwen says
Oh I am so pleased you liked them 🙂
Cx
Nicola says
I just made these and they tasted lovely but were crispy instead of soft. What did I do wrong? Thanks
Claire McEwen says
Hi Nicola,
It sounds like you might have cooked them for too long or maybe used too high a heat. Because they are rolled thin, they only need a maximum of 90 seconds cooking in total, over a medium heat.
Hope that helps 🙂
Cx
Kim says
I don’t have a microwave at home. Can I heat frozen tortilla using a frying pan ?
Claire McEwen says
You can definitely heat them in a pan instead. I would use a medium-low heat so they don’t get too crispy 🙂
Cx
Jay says
Hi Claire,
Thanks a lot for the recipe. It’s so easy and simple; and the wraps are super delicious.
Unfortunately, they were breaking when trying to roll them as wraps! Any advice what ingredient should be increased/decreased to make the wraps less breakable while wrapping??
Thanks a lot 🙂
Claire McEwen says
Hi Jay,
I suspect that the wraps might have been cooked too long or they had cooled before you used them. Because they are rolled so thin they only need 90 seconds cooking. This helps to keep them soft and subtle.
Cx
Alice says
Hie Claire
I don’t have baking powder, can i use bicarbonate of soda?
Claire McEwen says
Hi Alice,
Bicarbonate of soda won’t have the same affect, because it needs an acidic element to help it work.
I would just leave out the baking powder, I have done that before (by mistake) and the recipe still works okay 🙂
Hope that helps
Cx
Ritah says
I don’t think I’ll ever make tortillas again🙆🏽♀️. It’s so much work, difficult to get into that round shape, the first 3 were a flop🤣
Claire McEwen says
They are definitely a labor of love, rolling them all out!
Cx
Roxanne says
Hi I’m trying out this recipe but need fairly large tortillas. How many sections should I cut it into? What size wraps would they be if I sid 16 sections?Thanks
Claire McEwen says
Hi Roxanne,
The recipe, as written, makes 16 small tortillas. If you want more of a jumbo tortilla I would suggest only sectioning the dough into 8 pieces.
Hope that helps
🙂
Dan Plummer says
Hi,
Do you need a mixer to make this? Or can you just use a wooden spoon because I don’t have a mixer. 😢
Claire McEwen says
I do use a mixer, but you can do it without, I did it once camping, it works well it just takes a bit of effort!
I use a knife to incorporate the ingredients then turn it out onto my board and knead it with my hands.
Hope that helps
🙂
Kay says
Hi can you use olive oil instead and how much in grams is 3 cups of flour.
Thanks
Claire McEwen says
You could definitely use olive oil instead 🙂
It works out about 420g of flour.
Hope that helps
Cx
Caroline says
This recipe came out really well. It was my first time to make wraps; just have to get the rolling and shaping right..
Claire McEwen says
Oh yeah 🙂
So pleased you enjoyed them Caroline.
I still get some wonky shaped ones occasionally.
I find constantly turning the wrap as you roll it helps to make it more circular. But I don’t worry too much as they taste great no matter what shape 😉
Cx
Bronwen Smith says
These are amazing! I used bread flour as I didn’t have any other in the house. Initially looked at the volume of dough and didn’t think I’d get out 16 wraps and make the first one WAY too thick and big. You need to roll these our super thin, til they’re almost see-through. They shrink a lot in the pan, but OMG they were delicious. MUCH better than bought ones. I’ll be making and freezing my own from now on.
Claire McEwen says
Oh I am so pleased you enjoyed them Bronwen, they take some rolling but I hope you agree the taste is worth it 🙂
They freeze fabulously too 🙂
Thank you for coming back to comment
Cx
Bronwen Smith says
Quick question…. do you think this will work with self raising flour?
Claire McEwen says
Hi Bronwen,
I am not sure it will. Although the recipe does have some baking powder in it, it isn’t in a high ratio to the flour.
To turn plain flour into self raising flour the ratio is 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder per cup of flour. Here we are only adding 1 tsp to 3 cups of flour.
I think the self raising flour would puff up too much when cooked.
It might make a really nice flat bread, but I don’t think it would be any good as a wrap.
Hope that helps (sort of)
Claire x
Lynn says
Thanks a lot for sharing this. You’re my hero.
Claire McEwen says
Hi Lynn,
Thank you so much, glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂