These homemade vegan flour tortillas are a delicious way to enjoy a tasty wrap. With four basic ingredients, this is a simple and versatile recipe that’s quite fun to make.
While making tortilla wraps takes some time, the fresh flavor of these tortillas is well worth it compared to store bought options!
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Are Flour Tortillas Vegan?
Many store-bought tortillas and flour tortilla recipes are vegan friendly; however, some traditional tortilla recipes use lard. Lard is an animal product and therefore not vegan.
Luckily, it’s super easy to select a vegetable-based fat to use in flour tortillas! This recipe uses a neutral tasting oil, but vegetable shortening is also an option.
Ingredients to Make Vegan Tortillas
This recipe uses four simple ingredients to make deliciously soft flour tortillas. To make homemade tortilla wraps you’ll need:
- All-purpose flour: This basic flour creates a deliciously soft homemade tortilla.
- Oil: It’s essential to add some fat to flour tortillas to create a soft and tasty tortilla.
- Salt: Some salt enhances this recipe’s fresh flour flavor. Use a finely ground salt or table salt; dissolve large flake salt into the water if you want to use it otherwise it won’t incorporate evenly.
- Baking powder: Some baking powder helps the tortillas fluff up. This is technically an optional ingredient as tortillas are meant to be quite flat and don’t necessarily need to fluff.
- Water: Warm water hydrates the flour and creates a soft, elastic dough.
How to Make Tortilla Wraps
Making vegan four tortillas is simple, but there are a few key points to keep in mind when creating deliciously soft wraps!
Step 1: Whisk Dry Ingredients
Start by whisking the all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl until well combined.
Step 2: Stir in Oil
Once the dry ingredients are mixed, switch from your whisk to a spoon. Stir the oil into the flour until the mixture looks crumbly and the oil is well distributed.
Step 3: Knead in Water
Next, add the warm water into the flour mixture and stir until a ball of dough forms.
Turn the dough out of the mixing bowl and onto your kitchen counter, then begin kneading. This dough requires substantial kneading, so keep going until it feels smooth (about 5 minutes).
Dough shouldn’t stick to the counter or your hands. If the dough is sticking, knead in an extra ½ tablespoon of flour at a time, until the dough is just slightly tacky. Don’t add too much flour since this can create a dry tortilla.
Step 4: Portion Dough and Rest
Either let the full ball of dough rest and portion before rolling, or portion and shape into round, flat disks before letting the dough rest.
I like to cut the dough into even pieces first, then place back into the mixing bowl to rest. You can make 12 medium tortillas or 16 smaller tortillas.
Cover the dough with a damp paper towel or kitchen towel so it doesn’t dry out. Let this rest for 20 minutes.
Step 5: Roll Dough and Cook
Once the dough is rested, it’s time to roll flat.
Lightly flour your counter and begin rolling the dough from the center until it’s quite thin. It’s helpful to rotate the dough while you roll so it spreads evenly, creating a round tortilla.
I like to make my tortillas quite thin and roll them until almost transparent. My countertop pattern is almost visible through the dough when they’re fully rolled.
This is an elastic dough and will shrink while rolling. If you find the dough doesn’t stay rolled out well, it likely needs more time to rest.
I prefer to roll all my tortillas before cooking. Stack them with some flour between to prevent sticking.
When ready to cook, warm a large, non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Place your first tortilla in the pan when the pan is fully heated.
The wrap should start forming bubbles within a few seconds. Light brown spots should form on the tortilla after 30-40 seconds. It shouldn’t take any longer than 60 seconds to get golden brown spots. If it takes longer than 60 seconds, your pan isn’t hot enough.
After the first side has golden brown spots, flip the tortilla and allow the second side to cook for 30-40 seconds. Again, light brown spots should form in this time; if not, turn up the heat.
If the tortilla turns dark brown within 30 seconds, turn the heat down.
Place cooked tortillas into a clean kitchen towel. It’s important to stack up cooked tortillas in a towel since they will steam and keep the tortillas soft until ready to serve.
Step 6: Serve Tortillas
Once all tortillas are cooked and stacked in your kitchen towel, load them with any delicious fillings you can think of!
I love making either lentil walnut taco “meat” or high protein TVP tacos! These wraps are delicious for any use you can think of!
Allow leftover tortillas to cool in the kitchen towel before storing in a plastic bag. They last in the fridge for up to a week or you can freeze them for up to 3 months.
Dairy Free Tortilla Tips and Variations
Making this vegan tortilla recipe is fairy simple but there’s a few key points to remember so the tortillas stay nicely soft.
It’s important to make a dough that isn’t sticky while not adding too much flour. If the dough sticks to your hands or countertop, add a small amount of flour at a time; no more than ½ tablespoon. Knead in the extra flour completely before adding more.
This dough requires lots of kneading; 5 minutes may feel like a long time, but it’ll create a delicious soft-yet-elastic texture! Resting the dough is also essential to create a soft flour tortilla.
It’s also essential to cook the tortillas at a high enough temperature so they aren’t in the pan too long. No more than 60-seconds per side; if there aren’t golden brown spots and bubbles by this time, increase the temperature. If dark brown spots form within 30-seconds, lower the heat.
The only substitution that works for this recipe is using solid fat instead of oil. You could use vegetable shortening as a vegan solid fat. Vegan butter is also an option, but your tortillas will take on that buttery flavor (shortening doesn’t have flavor).
How to Refrigerate and Freeze Homemade Tortillas
While making tortilla wraps, stack them in a clean kitchen towel. The heat from each tortilla will form steam and keep the stack warm, creating soft tortillas.
Allow tortillas to cool in the kitchen towel, then store in a plastic bag and refrigerate for up to a week.
Reheat tortillas in a dry pan, like how they were cooked, or wrap in tin foil and place into the oven (at about 350 °F) for a few minutes, until heated through and soft. While you can microwave these homemade tortillas, this often causes the tortilla to harder and become crunchy once they cool again.
You can also store leftover tortillas in the freezer. Once cooled, place into a freezer bag. They should last for up to 3 months.
If you make this recipe, please rate and comment below to help others benefit from your experience!
Vegan Flour Tortillas
Equipment
- Paper towel (or kitchen towel)
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ cup oil (neutral flavor like avocado, canola, sunflower)
- ¾ cup water , at room temperature
Instructions
Prepare Dough
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, salt and baking powder.2 cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon baking powder
- Switch to using a spoon and stir in oil until a crumbly mixture forms.¼ cup oil
- Next, slowly stir in water until a ball of dough forms.¾ cup water
- Turn the dough out onto the countertop and knead until the dough feels smooth. It should be slightly tacky feeling but not sticky. If it feels sticky or is sticking to your hands/ counter, knead in extra flour, about ½ tablespoon at a time.
- Divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Flatten each ball then return the dough disks to the mixing bowl. Cover with a damp paper towel or kitchen towel and let rest for 20 minutes.
Roll and Cook Dough
- After the dough has rested, roll each piece using a light dusting of flour to prevent sticking to the counter or rolling pin.
- Roll as thin as possible; use firm pressure since the dough is very springy and will shrink while rolling. The dough should be almost see-though when thin enough
- Once all tortillas are rolled, warm a dry non-stick pan over medium-high heat.
- When the pan is hot, place the first tortilla in and cook for about 30 seconds on each side. The tortilla will bubble as it cooks and golden-brown spots will form.
- If the tortilla becomes dark brown before 30 seconds is up, turn the heat down before moving on.
- When both sides are cooked, with golden brown sections throughout, remove and place into a kitchen towel or piece of tin foil to keep warm.
- Cook the remaining tortillas in the same way, adding to the kitchen towel/ tin foil to keep soft and warm.
Serve
- Serve your fresh flour tortillas with any/ all your favorite vegan tortilla, burrito or fajita fillings!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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About Nicole Stevens
Nicole is a vegan Registered Dietitian (RD) and founder of Lettuce Veg Out.
She helps people thrive on a vegan diet with balanced recipes and easy-to-understand nutrition science.
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