How To Make the BEST Soft & Buttery Homemade Tortillas
Homemade tortillas, soft and warm, are one of the best things in the whole wide world. Combine that with how easy they are to make and flour tortillas from scratch becomes one of the few life decisions for which there can be no regrets.
Unless you eat them all yourself. Even then. Probably worth it.
After 20 years of making what I thought were the absolute best homemade tortillas, this all-butter recipe made me realize that sometimes good things can get even better. Let me explain.
In March of 2017, I published the homemade tortilla recipe I’d been making for at least 20 years. It called for using corn oil and it was really super good. The first time I ever made them I couldn’t believe how much better they were than the ones I’d been buying at the grocery store. If you made them, you probably had a similar experience.
However, I recently purchased Nopalito, an incredible Mexican food cookbook from Gonzalo Guzman, head chef at the San Francisco restaurant of the same name. Gonzalo makes his homemade flour tortillas with butter. I have never seen a recipe for flour tortillas that calls for butter. Lard? Yes. Shortening? Absolutely.
I’d been using corn oil for decades because a sweet little Mexican grandmother told me to. She wasn’t wrong. Flour tortillas made with corn oil are delicious. But, using butter makes them even better. Not just a little bit better. A LOT better. Markedly so. Noticeably so.
My family, who for better or worse, is used to homemade tortillas said, “Ohmygod, these are really good today. What did you do? These are SO. GOOD.”
So. This simple pleasure – soft, warm, homemade flour tortillas – that was already one of the best things in the whole wide world just got even better. Life is good.
If you’ve never made Homemade Tortillas, let’s talk about how easy they are.
I’m a big proponent of slow food. It’s a rare day that you’ll find anything in a box or a bag in my kitchen.
I make most things from scratch for two reasons: 1.) I really, genuinely love to cook, and 2.) I’m kind of a control freak about what’s in my food. Ok. Three reasons. 3.) In general, homemade tastes better and I want my food to taste good.
Of course, this idea, like pretty much everything else in life, is relative. Homemade takes time and the time spent has to be worth it. There are certain things for which the finished product simply isn’t worth the time and effort required to make it from scratch. We are all dealing with a limited amount of time and must prioritize.
This is a constant struggle for me.
You know those people who will say things like, “If _____ was a priority for you, you’d make time for it.” I hate those people. With the fire of a thousands suns. Because, most of the time, my list of “top priorities” is really, really long.
Exercise. Continued education. Spending time with my family. Spending time with friends. Preparing healthy meals. Meditating. Going the extra mile at work. Volunteering. Reading. Learning. Growing.
Not to mention the basics of daily life like paying the bills, doing the laundry, cleaning the house, running errands, and taking the kids to the 10,000 places they need to go that day. Oh yeah. And sleeping. UGGGGG.
How do you prioritize when everything on your list is a #1 priority???
Every day I let a large handful of “#1 priorities” drop to the floor only to pick them up the next day and try again. This is why the end result of anything I make from scratch had really better be worth the time effort. I know I’m not alone in this.
For example, homemade bread is a staple in our house. I make a couple of loaves every week because I feel that the quality and flavor of homemade bread is so superior to what’s available at my local grocery store that it’s easy to justify the bit of time and effort it takes to make it at home.
On the other hand, I made puff pastry from scratch one time and will never do that again. Homemade puff pastry is a lot of work, and the finished product tastes pretty much exactly like the frozen variety in the grocery store freezer. It’s just not worth it for me.
How we spend every minute of every hour of every day is a tradeoff. If you’ve never made homemade tortillas, I don’t know if it’s a worthwhile one for you. I can only tell you that…
The first time I made homemade tortillas, I knew I was probably never going to purchase them again.
Homemade tortillas are surprisingly simple to make and SO. MUCH. BETTER. than what’s available in most grocery stores. Like, shockingly better. In my house, if we’re going to eat tortillas, they are going to be homemade. If I don’t have time to make them, we are simply not going to eat tortillas that day.
And anyway, homemade tortillas don’t actually take much time or effort – especially if you have a standing mixer. Standing mixers are great because they do all the kneading for you. Simply dump all the ingredients into your bowl and let the mixer do the work of transforming flour, water, and butter into dough.
Having said that, I made homemade flour tortillas for years before I owned a standing mixer. You really only have to knead the soft dough for a couple of minutes. Still, totally worth it.
Homemade Flour Tortilla Recipe Notes:
Tortilla dough should be soft and slightly sticky, but not wet. If you’re using a standing mixer, you want the dough to clean the sides of the bowl, but stick slightly to the bottom. The amount of water you’ll need to achieve this consistency will vary based on climate, humidity, temperature, and who knows what other factors.
Start with the amount in the recipe and then add more as the dough kneads, 1 teaspoon at a time, until you have a soft, smooth dough that clings to the bottom of the bowl while sweeping cleanly along the sides. If at any point you find that you’ve added too much water, just add a bit more flour. No big deal.
Tortilla dough is very forgiving. Add flour and water as needed to create a soft dough that will be easy to roll out. If you’re kneading the tortilla dough by hand, adjust the consistency of the dough as you knead with additional flour or water until you have a soft, smooth dough that clings slightly to the countertop but does not stick to your hands.
Give the tortilla dough a rest and cook it over very high heat.
If you try to roll out tortilla dough immediately after kneading, you’ll discover that it’s nearly impossible to roll the dough flat. Kneading dough strengthens the gluten – those strands of protein that give bread structure and texture. Giving the dough time to rest allows the gluten to relax, making it so much easier to roll out into tortillas.
Cook tortillas on high heat in a dry frying pan. There’s enough fat in tortilla dough to prevent the dough from sticking to the pan as long as your pan is very hot. You also want to cook tortillas over high enough heat that each side takes only about 10-20 seconds to cook. This is what ensures that deliciously soft interior. Cooking them over low heat simply dries out the dough.
Finally, this recipe is easily doubled if you’re making tortilla for a crowd. Honestly, even though there are only 4 people in my house, I usually double this recipe. The tortillas keep for a couple of days and making plenty allows me to make breakfast burritos the next morning with enough left over to satisfy every teenage craving for the next few days.
Frequently Asked Questions about making homemade tortillas {reader questions}:
Q: What is the difference between using butter vs. lard?
A: The main difference is simply flavor. Lard works great, as does vegetable shortening and oil. I’ve used several different kinds of fat, and the tortillas always turn out about the same except for the flavor. Butter, in my opinion, contributes the most flavor.
Q: I found that the tortillas shrink a bit as soon as they hit the pan. Is this typical or is it a function of gluten in the flour? I also wonder if they are too dry and more moisture would help?
A: Yes – the gluten in the flour does cause them to shrink up a bit when they hit the hot pan. As far as I know, there’s really nothing you can do about that. I have had other readers tell me that they’ve added more butter to the recipe, which might help. Fat interferes with gluten development so it’s possible you’ll get less shrinkage with a bit more butter. In terms of them being too dry – the dough should be slightly sticky. If it ever seems too dry, just add a few more drops of water until it’s soft and smooth and a bit tacky. If you’re using a stand mixer, the dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom a bit.
Q: How do you keep these warm and soft? I have made homemade tortillas many times yet often find they are stiff when they cool off.
A: If I want to keep the tortillas warm for a while after baking, I usually stack them as I cook them and then wrap them in aluminum foil. They’ll stay warm for a while on their own if they are wrapped in foil, but you can also put them in a 350 degree oven for a few minutes to re-warm them. However, they shouldn’t get very stiff after cooling… they won’t ever be as soft and warm as when they are freshly made, but even a day or two later, they should still be soft.
If they are stiff after cooling, my guess is that they were overcooked. It’s important that the pan you cook them in be very hot – hot enough to cook them in about 30 seconds or less. If the pan isn’t hot enough, the dough will dry out too much as they cook.
I also received a great tip from a reader about keeping tortillas in a cloth warmer: “I have a cloth type tortilla warmer and after cooking them they went straight into this holder to keep warm and moist for an hour. This is the ONLY warmer that keeps tortillas warm and not hard, stiff nor dried out. You can even use it in the microwave oven to rewarm the next day.”
Q: Can you freeze these tortillas?
A: Yes – you can freeze these homemade tortillas. Make sure they are completely cool, wrap no more than 5 together tightly in plastic wrap and then either wrap again in aluminum foil or put in a ziplock bag. They should last in the freezer for at least 3 months
Useful equipment for making homemade tortillas:
More totally-worth-it bread recipes:
- My Favorite Homemade White Bread
- My Favorite Homemade Whole Wheat Bread
- Extra Soft and Buttery Homemade Dinner Rolls {AKA – those rolls}
- Easy Homemade Pizza Dough
- Cinnamon Swirl Bread
- Homemade Garlic Naan
- Buttermilk Cheddar Jalepeno Cornbread
- Homemade Potato Rolls
If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or take a picture and tag it #ofbatteranddough on Instagram.
Happy baking!
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Soft Homemade Flour Tortillas {Butter Recipe}
- Prep Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes (includes 1 hour of resting time)
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour and 35 minutes (includes 1 hour of resting time)
- Yield: 20 flour tortillas
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
After 20 years of making what I thought were the best homemade tortillas, this all-butter recipe made me realize that sometimes really good things can get even better.
Ingredients
- 4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/3 cup warm water
Instructions
- Add the flour, salt and baking powder to the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook, and stir to combine.
- Add the softened butter and water and mix on medium-low speed until all the ingredients come together into a dough. Let the mixer knead the dough for about 5 minutes, adjusting the flour or water as necessary to achieve a soft, smooth dough that clears the sides of the bowl but still sticks to the bottom. (See notes)
- Dump the dough out onto a work surface and divide it into 20 balls of dough. Cover the balls of dough with plastic wrap and let rest on the counter for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Heat a large non-stick or seasoned cast iron frying pan over medium-high heat until very hot. If you sprinkle a drop of water into the pan the water should sizzle and “skip” across the surface of the pan, evaporating completely in a matter of seconds. (You can also use a griddle, turned to high heat.)
- Remove one ball of dough from beneath the plastic wrap and use a rolling pin to roll it into a thick disk, about 6 inches in diameter. Use your fingers to pat and stretch the dough into a thin tortilla. (You may or may not need to sprinkle your work surface with a bit of flour to prevent sticking depending not the work surface itself and how wet the dough is. If the dough is really sticking to your work surface, lightly flour the surface trying to incorporate as little flour as possible into each tortilla.)
- Lift the rolled out tortilla and place it in the center of the hot pan. Let the tortilla cook on one side until brown spots begin to form here and there on the surface of the tortilla that’s touching the pan, about 20 seconds. Use a spatula to flip the tortilla to the other side and cook until a few brown spots appear on the other side, about 10-20 seconds. Use the spatula to remove the tortilla from the pan to cool on a wire rack. Repeat with the remaining balls of dough.
Notes
- Tortilla dough should be soft and slightly sticky, but not wet. If you’re using a standing mixer, you want the dough to clean the sides of the bowl, but stick slightly to the bottom. The amount of water you’ll need to achieve this consistency will vary based on climate, humidity, temperature, and who knows what other factors. Start with the amount in the recipe and then add more as the dough kneads, 1 teaspoon at a time, until you have a soft, smooth dough that clings to the bottom of the bowl while sweeping cleanly along the sides. If at any point you find that you’ve added too much water, just add a bit more flour.
- If kneading the dough by hand, follow the instructions below using your hands to bring all the ingredients together inside a large bowl. Dump onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 2-5 minutes until you have a smooth, soft dough.
- Adjust the heat of the pan as necessary if the tortillas start to cook too quickly and burn spots appear instead of the lovely brown spots.
- I received a great tip from a reader about keeping tortillas in a cloth warmer: “I have a cloth type tortilla warmer and after cooking them they went straight into this holder to keep warm and moist for an hour. This is the ONLY warmer that keeps tortillas warm and not hard, stiff nor dried out. You can even use it in the microwave oven to rewarm the next day.”
Keywords: homemade tortillas, homemade bread, flour tortillas, Mexican food, bread, quick bread, recipe
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Just made these for dinner tonight. Awesome, quick, easy and so good. Will never buy tortillas again!
★★★★★
I am so glad to hear it, Betsy! That’s exactly how I felt the first time I made these. I don’t think I’ve bought tortillas since. Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know. Your comment totally made my night! xoxo
Can you freeze these?
Hi Mary! Yes – you can freeze these homemade tortillas. Make sure they are completely cool, wrap no more than 5 together tightly in plastic wrap and then either wrap again in aluminum foil or put in a ziplock bag. They should last in the freezer for at least 3 months, and up to 6. I hope this helps! xo
Hi Rebecca do you have step by step pictures or possibly a video for these? I followed directions (my first time making tortillas) and they came out very stiff and had to pitch the entire batch out. I am hand kneading as well. Thank you!
Hi Brooke! I don’t have a video that shows how to make these (maybe someday!), but I’d love to troubleshoot the problem with you! First of all, what was the consistency of your dough like? After kneading, the dough should be soft and smooth and slightly tacky – not so sticky that it clings to your hands, but wet enough that it feels tacky.
Second, how old is your baking powder? The baking powder helps keep these tortillas soft and tender. But, baking powder doesn’t really work well when it’s old. To test whether yours is still active, stir about half a teaspoon into a cup of hot water. It will immediately start to fizz and release carbon dioxide gas if it’s still fresh enough to use.
Finally, cooking the tortillas in a pan that’s not very hot can also cause them to be super stiff. Cooking tortillas in a warm pan, rather than a very hot one, can dry out the dough. If your tortillas were easy to roll out, but then tasted stiff after cooking, this might be the problem.
Any thoughts? I hope we can figure it out because homemade tortillas are one of the best things ever! xo
I just bought the baking powder, I’m assuming the consistency was the issue. (By the way, I had made your white bread the other day and it came out amazing!) at first the dough was too sticky so I added flour and I thought I had everything even out but then when I rolled them into balls and let them sit, the outside was hard and had cracks. I kneaded some more and then rolled out the disk. My pan at first was very hot and after some adjusting I was able to get the temperature right.
Yes – it does sound like consistency is the issue. Glad to hear you made my white bread recipe the other day and it came out well! You’re looking for the same dough consistency with the tortillas as with the bread – soft and smooth and slightly tacky. Did you cover the little balls of dough with plastic wrap? Since you mention that the outside of the dough was hard and had cracks, it sounds like the little balls of dough dried out while resting….
Can a tortilla press be used with this recipe?
★★★★★
Hi Donna! Yes – a tortilla press can be used to make these. Just be sure to use waxed paper – plastic wrap will probably also work – to keep the tortillas from sticking to the press. Please let me know if you have any other questions! And, I’d love to hear what you think of the tortillas after you make them! xo
Do you press down on the tortillas while they’re cooking? My mom always does that.
Hi Joe! Yes – you certainly can press the tortillas down in the pan with the back of your spatula while they cook if you like, but you don’t have to. Try it both ways and see what works best for you! Please let me know if you have any other questions, and if you make these I’d love to know what you think of them! xo
You are so right that homemade tortillas really are one of those things that are so much better the packaged variety that they are worth the minimal effort it takes to make them from scratch. I’d never seen a recipe that uses butter before so had to give these a try. The butter adds so much flavor! This is my new favorite recipe.
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This one of those recipes that looks so good and I have to make! Thanks for sharing all the tips to make these! I love tortillas!
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I love tortillas, especially homemade, though I’ve never made them myself. I love how simple your recipe is and they look so scrumptious! This is on my list to make asap!
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This is such a beautiful post. I love making everything homemade and your recipe is so good. Thanks a lot.
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These tortillas sound amazing and you give hope to those of us who have not dared to try to make our own.
Homemade tortillas sound like a great way to REALLY enjoy taco night! They look like they would be great for sandwiches too.
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I love soft tortillas and homemade is always best! Loving how easy these are to make and the butter is a fabulous addition 😀
★★★★★
I love tortillas! They are so good for lunch! Never tried to make them myself, but it actually doesn’t look that hard) Going to try your recipe next week!
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I’ve been making my own tortillas for years, but I’d never even heard of making them with butter. These looked so soft and yummy that I decided to try your recipe and I’m so glad I did! These are the BEST. TORTILLAS. EVER. My new standard recipe. 🙂
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Homemade tortillas are always the best! It looks so soft, pillowy and absolutely perfect. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
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Oh my!! What a dream!! I never dared to make my own tortillas but you just inspired me!!
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Hooray! Please let me know how they come out for you! xo
When I was in grad school, there was a grocery near my house that sold tortillas that were handmade locally. I practically lived on them. Ever since I moved away 10 years ago I have been trying to find or make something similar and have never come close. These are them!! I almost started jumping up and down with excitement when I took the first taste. Thank you!
★★★★★
I am so happy to hear this Sara!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know! xoxo
Quick question…. what is the difference between using butter vs. lard?
Hi Bernadette! The main difference is simply flavor. Lard works great, as does vegetable shortening and oil. I’ve used several different kinds of fat, and the tortillas always turn out about the same except for the flavor. Butter, in my opinion, contributes the most flavor. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xo
Before this recipe, I couldn’t have imagine making my own homemade Flour Tortillas. But, you made it sound so easy that I decided to give it a try. OMG! They are sooooo good I can’t even believe it. And, so much easier to make than I ever would have thought. We are going to be eating these at every meal. LOL.
★★★★★
Yes yes yes yes your paragraph on priorities is SO SO SO true. I work full time as a scientist 50 hours a week. I put another 20ish hours a week into my food blog. I have a 4 year old and a 1 year old. If it’s not essential to daily life, it does not get done, and I do not need other people with ample amounts of free time telling me me what I should make time for in my life! (Confession: I will probably never make my own homemade tortillas, because we live mere blocks from an amazing outdoor Italian and Mexican market in Philadelphia with a little store that sells nothing but authentic handmade Mexican tortillas. They are the best I’ve ever had, and why make my own when I can walk from my house, hand over my $3, and get 30 of them in exchange? But they are sooooooooo much better than typical store bought, so I don’t know what I would do if I had to choose between sleep or grocery store tortillas.)
I have never made tortillas before and will never buy them again unless I’m in a pinch. These are that good.
I found that the tortillas shrink by about 1/4 – 1/3 as soon as they hit the pan. Is this typical or is it a function of gluten in the flour? I also wonder if they are too dry and more moisture would help.
I like the comment about pushing down with the spatula as they get a moist ring in the center.
★★★★★
I am so happy to hear that you love these tortillas, Brian! That’s exactly how I felt the first time I made them. They are so much better than anything in a package that it becomes difficult to justify not making them. 🙂 Yes – the gluten in the flour does cause them to shrink up a bit when they hit the hot pan. As far as I know, there’s really nothing you can do about that. I have had other readers tell me that they’ve added more butter to the recipe, which might help. Fat interferes with gluten development so it’s possible you’ll get less shrinkage with a bit more butter. In terms of them being too dry – the dough should be slightly sticky. If it ever seems too dry, just add a few more drops of water until it’s soft and smooth and a bit tacky. If you’re using a stand mixer, the dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom a bit.
Thank you SO MUCH for taking the time to leave a comment for me! xo
How do you keep these warm and soft? I have made homemade tortillas many times yet often find they are stiff when they cool off. Thank you
Hi Wendy! If I want to keep the tortillas warm for a while after baking, I usually stack them as I cook them and then wrap them in aluminum foil. They’ll stay warm for a while on their own if they are wrapped in foil, but you can also put them in a 350 degree oven for a few minutes to re-warm them. However, they shouldn’t get very stiff after cooling… they won’t ever be as soft and warm as when they are freshly made, but even a day or two later, they should still be a bit soft. I’m wondering if you might be overcooking yours slightly. It’s important that the pan you cook them in be quite hot – hot enough to cook them in about 30 seconds or less. If the pan isn’t hot enough, the dough will dry out too much as they cook. I’m wondering if that might be the issue here?
That could be the case. I’ll try these tomorrow and watch the 30 seconds per side recommendation. Thank you!
I made these for the first time 2 weeks ago and they came out great. No adjustments needed from the recipe too! It does take time to prep, roll into balls and then wait for the dough balls to bind with the flour for elasticity. (I like leaving them on the counter vs placing them in the refrigerator for 1 hour. I’ve tried both ways now). I did not have a tortillas press since I was away from my kitchen-so I used a rolling pin which worked fine. I have a cloth type tortilla warmer(2 sided round with an opening to place the tortillas inside) and after cooking them they went straight into this holder to keep warm and moist for an hour. This is the ONLY warmer that keeps tortillas warm and not hard, stiff nor dried out. You can even use it in the microwave oven to rewarm the next day.
We got 22 tortillas from the recipe and the 4 of us ate them all. So much better than store bought flour tortillas. Well worth the wait! I’m making them again for Super Bowl Sunday! Go 49’ers!
★★★★★
I’m so happy to hear that you like this recipe Janet! I’m going to add a note in the recipe about your recommendation for a cloth tortilla warmer. I’ve never used one, but am placing an order for one right now to try it out. Thanks so much for the tip! I couldn’t agree with you more about how much better homemade tortillas are when compared to the store bought variety. Once you’ve tasted the difference, it’s hard to go back. 🙂 Thank you SO MUCH for taking the time to leave a comment for me! xo
I waited until I made these a few times before commenting. They are so easy to make and taste sooo good. My husband is from Texas and is used to fresh tortillas that we can’t get where we live now. I’m so happy to make these for him. He loves them and so do my hips lol😊
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Hi Sierra! I am so happy to hear that you and your husband are enjoying fresh homemade tortillas! They really are so much better than the packaged variety, aren’t they? The first time I made them, I knew I could never go back. Thank you so very much for taking the time to leave a comment for me. I truly appreciate it! xo
I decided to try and over achieve with one extra tbs of butter because… well, it’s butter and there’s no such thing as too much. until there actually is such thing.. and my dough balls didn’t really do much but flatten out and the texture was still pretty “wet.” should I throw this batch out? It doesn’t look savaged as I can easily combine the wet mess back together, add more flour, and see if that helps? But since I decided to mess it up all on my own, I figured I would consult the pro before I tried to hero it on my own. So sorry to ruin your seemingly-perfect recipe, kicking myself in the butt for not just sticking to the laws! Can you please help?? Lol thank you!!
Hi there! I don’t know that I’m going to answer in time, but the dough is totally salvageable. It sounds like you just need to add some more flour. This dough is super forgiving – you don’t need to be very exact with the measurements, so I’m sure the extra butter isn’t the issue. If you haven’t thrown it out, put the whole thing back into the mixer and add some more flour, a little bit at a time, until the dough is smooth, very slightly tacky, but not wet. Keep me posted????