A great flour tortilla should be soft and bendable; it shouldn’t tear or crumble apart when you roll it into a burrito. Above all else, it should taste good! I wanted a gluten free version of our favorite flour tortillas, basically, Gluten Free Flour Tortillas that don’t taste gluten-free.
Finding a combination of ingredients that would produce the perfect tortilla and in the process not taste like weird, chewy cardboard is something I almost gave up on many times.
While this recipe contains three times as many ingredients as traditional tortillas with their simple combination of flour, salt, water, and oil; the ingredients aren’t complicated ones.
Each of these items works with the others to create the perfect tortilla. I tested this recipe six times before sharing it here for the first time. Since then, we’ve made these tortillas countless times over the past few years. These Gluten Free Flour Tortillas turn out perfectly every time.
When I finally figured out this recipe, we had more breakfast burritos and breakfast tacos that month than we had eaten in the past two years. My whole family is thrilled with this recipe. For more gluten-free recipes that don’t “taste” gluten-free, check out all of the Gluten-Free Dessert Recipes!
COOK’S NOTE: You can roll these tortillas thicker, like naan bread, or as thin as possible. If you are more of a perfectionist than I am, you can even roll the lightly floured dough into a ball and create much more perfectly round tortillas.
Kitchen Tip: I use this style of pastry roller, and pan to make this recipe.
The Best Gluten Free Flour Tortillas
Ingredients
- 2 cups brown rice flour
- ½ cup potato starch
- 2 teaspoons xanthan gum
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup warm water
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 6 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- 6 tablespoons light flavored olive oil
- 2 eggs
- Additional ⅓ cup of potato starch for rolling out tortillas
Instructions
- Combine the milk and the vinegar and let it sit for a few minutes. Stir together the dry ingredients and set aside. Whisk the honey into the warm water and then add the milk/vinegar and oil. Whisk in the eggs and stir until well combined. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir with a spoon until the dough is between the consistency of mashed potatoes and biscuit dough. It should be wet and sticky. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes! (The resting time is crucial to the final result, if you skip resting the dough, the brown rice flour won’t be absorbed and the texture will be gritty.)
- When you are ready to make the tortillas, heat a large non stick pan over medium high heat. Lightly dust a mat or countertop with a tablespoon of potato starch. The amount doesn’t need to be exact, just lightly rub the potato starch across the surface with your hands, so the tortillas won’t stick to the counter. You will dust your work surface with a fresh sprinkling of potato starch for every tortilla! (I used about 2 teaspoons for each tortilla.) This makes a huge difference in the ease of rolling out the tortillas.
- Scoop a golf ball size amount of dough and drop it onto the floured surface. Roll it around just a bit to lightly coat the dough with starch. Press down with your hands to flatten the dough. I flip it over a time or two, just to make sure it is coated in the starch to avoid sticking. Use a pastry roller or lightly dusted rolling pin to spread it out into a circle. Use a large spatula to transfer it to the hot pan.
- Cook on each side for 60-90 seconds, allowing it to brown and start to bubble before flipping it over. Wrap the tortillas in a thin tea towel to keep them warm until ready to eat. Serve immediately or let cool and store in an airtight container until ready to serve. Reheat for 10-15 seconds in the microwave or in a hot skillet, just before serving. The tortillas should keep nicely at room temperature for a day or two. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
{originally published 5/11/17 – recipe notes updated 6/10/22}
Gloria Baker says
these tortillas look awesome!
Tricia @ Saving room for dessert says
I used to make tortillas years ago while living in Colorado. I always enjoyed homemade tortillas and know yours would be amazing!
Sue/the view from great island says
Wow, I'm sharing these today on facebook, they sound amazing.
Lucas Deville says
That looks yummy!!
Mrs. P. says
Have you ever tried these with a milk alternative? I'm gluten free and have a dairy sensitivity. Do you think rice milk will work with this recipe?
Mary says
I'm guessing that rice milk will be fine, but I haven't tested that myself. If you do make them, please let me know how they turn out!
Meesh says
Late, I know, but I figured I could help someone else who was wondering…
I used coconut milk and apple cider vinegar and they came out perfect! It curdled like I'd imagine cow's milk would.
Christy says
Could you substitute the potato starch with corn starch?
Mary says
That might work, but I haven't tried it myself. If you do try it, let me know how it works!
Mikhaila's Art says
i substituted the potato starch with tapioca flour. worked great!
Anonymous says
I made your these tortillas last night and I am very happy with how they turned out! Thank you!
Anonymous says
Could a tortilla press be used in place of rolling out the dough?
Mary says
Unfortunately, the dough is rather fussy and I haven't had luck making these with the tortilla press. The above method works great though!
Anonymous says
You'll be glad to know I just made these using a tortilla press to make them nice and round. I'm not so good with the rolling pin. I first flattened them to a disk about 4", placed them between two pieces of parchment paper and pressed 'half way' very gently; lifted the paper and sprinkled a little more starch around the edges and pressed gently again. I peeled the paper from one side, transferred them to the hot pan using the other piece of paper and gently lifted it off once in pan. They turned out gorgeous and delicious. Flexible and soft but strong enough to hold a very juicy and large portion of pulled pork. Thank you!
Dina says
These look great, Mary. Any sense if you can freeze them?
megdalena says
I have been craving fajitas for weeks, but have been avoiding making them because tortillas make me sad. I made this recipe tonight and followed it exactly and OMG! These tortillas are AMAZING! thank you so much for your hard work and persistence in creating this recipe! They were delicious! And even better than the flour tortillas I used to be able to enjoy.
megdalena says
I have been craving fajitas for weeks, but have been avoiding making them because tortillas make me sad. I made this recipe tonight and followed it exactly and OMG! These tortillas are AMAZING! thank you so much for your hard work and persistence in creating this recipe! They were delicious! And even better than the flour tortillas I used to be able to enjoy.
Kelsie says
Thank you so much! These were great! I used them in a "taco bake" casserole, and my two kids (1 allergic to dairy and corn, and the other to gluten) pretty much inhaled it. I used my homemade almond milk in place of the milk. It didn't curdle very well, but the end product was fantastic just the same! I halved the recipe, in case of disaster (I'm good at testing the bounds of "fool-proof), and they were great. 🙂
Nomadgurl says
I've recently discovered that I have a gluten intolerance, and wow, this recipe is a life changer!!!! I made these for dinner tonight and they are amazing! The taste and texture are even better than the regular gluten versions I used to get in the supermarket. I am never going back. This recipe is a keeper. Thank-you so much!!!!!
Anonymous says
Do you know the calorie and fat content of these?
Mary says
That isn't information that I track. However, you can use http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php to enter the ingredients and figure it out though! Hope that helps
Shaina says
I subbed cornstarch for potato starch because it's what i had on hand. They turned out great!
Stephany Gatrelle says
I made these today. They turned out so good! I did not have potato starch so I used Tapioca flour instead, thanks to previous recommendations. They are so soft and pliable. They were also very tasty! They are WAY better than any gluten free wrap I have bought at the store. The only problem I had was getting them more round and as I rolled them out they would stick to the surface. I just kept adding more tapioca flour. I am sure with more practice I will get better at the rolling process!
Anonymous says
Thank you for the recipe! I plan to make these soon since I've been craving wraps and tacos for so long. Would it be possible to add a flavor – like spinach or tomato, something that isn't a dry spice and might complicate the recipe a bit. Has anyone tried making that?
Mary says
I'm not sure about adding wet ingredients. You could get away with spices or maybe dehydrated tomato or spinach powder. If you decide to play with it, I'd love to hear how it works.
Anonymous says
Wow. Just found out I have gluten issues, my husband probably does as well, and so does my sister. One of the biggest things that made me sad was not being able to eat wheat flour tortillas. I am so excited to try these! The other thing is I LOVE PIZZA!!! Do you have any really good recipes for non-gluten pizza crust? Thanks so much for these recipes.
Mary says
I haven't yet found a pizza crust that I love enough to share here. I will definitely keep you posted though!
Sherri Baker says
Do you have any nutrition information for this recipe? carbs / calories etc? I have celiac disease and am also diabetic so I have to watch the carbs as well. Thanks!
Mary says
Hi Sherri! That isn't information that I track. However, you can use:
http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php to enter the ingredients and figure it out though! Hope that helps
Sherri Baker says
That site is amazing!! Thank you!! I look forward to checking out your recipes! Glad I stumbled across your site.
NevadaPuP says
OMG these are FANTASTIC 🙂 Great taste and just like a wheat flour tortilla. I substituted 1 cup of the Brown Rice Flour with Almond Flour to save a little on the carbs, used Almond Milk, used Maple Syrup instead of Honey and Tapioca Starch instead of Potato (I am nightshade free too) I rolled out the sticky dough balls between 2 sheets of parchment paper and put it all in my medium heated pan. This is a simple trick to working with these types of flour. After a minute of cooking the tortilla falls off the paper and end result is no sticking in the pan and you get amazing awesome flour tortilla's 🙂 THANK THANK YOU for the recipe.
Katie Kowalski says
Thats an awesome tip with the parchment paper, always held off making wraps because of the stickiness. I’ll have to try it 🙂