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Have you ever tried homemade whole wheat flour tortillas before? Let me just say that the taste and texture are far superior to tortillas that come in a plastic bag at the grocery store. Honestly, they don’t even deserve to be called tortillas compared to the real thing!
Luckily, the tastiness of homemade tortillas justifies the effort it takes to make them. Up until now, almost all the recipes I have posted have been easy to make, but I must admit that this one is definitely an exception to the rule.
Featured Comment
My family LOVED it and said to never buy tortillas again. I ordered a tortilla press as not rolling these out on a regular basis! :-)
Are Whole Wheat Tortillas Easy to Make?
I will also say that I actually tried a couple of different methods for making whole wheat tortillas, and this is the easy (easier) version. Please trust me when I tell you…it is worth it!
Once the dough has been made, it takes me about 30 minutes to roll out and cook a dozen of these tortillas. Everyone in my family (including me) practically scarfs them down as soon as I make them, and if used as wraps they can add some variety to your lunch over typical sandwich bread.
Tips for Rolling Out Homemade Tortillas
Let the dough rest. I find the dough is easier to work with if it's been resting for about 30 minutes (covered by a towel or plastic wrap) before I begin working with it.
Use a rolling pin. A rolling pin is the easiest way to spread out the dough properly to the correct thinness and shape.
What Can You Use Whole Grain Tortillas For?
My (now 15) 3-year-old’s favorite combination (which she lovingly called a “roll-up”) was to have hummus and cheese wrapped up in her tortilla. I actually love a “roll-up” myself, although I usually add diced tomatoes, cucumbers, or spinach to mine. My kids also just like to snack on plain tortillas too, and if you have time to make a big batch then you can freeze some for later!
Whole grain tortillas can also be used to replace a variety of breads in sandwiches or other snacks. Here are some fun ideas to try:
Tortilla Pizza
Use a homemade tortilla as pizza crust: Spread homemade pizza sauce (pasta sauce or anything similar you have also works fine) over the tortilla, then top with cheese, veggies, or cooked meat. This is an easy way for your kids to have a real food "pizza" snack with whole grain crust and reasonable portions. See the Tortilla Pizza recipe for more tips and tricks!
Whole Grain Tortilla Pinwheels
Pinwheels are another great snack for kids, especially picky eaters who need some coercing when it comes to vegetables. They’re also fun for parties and potlucks! Spread out your favorite fillings, roll up, and slice.
Quesadilla Style Grilled Cheese
You can also make these homemade veggie quesadillas with these whole wheat tortillas, but sometimes you just want some good ol' cheese. Thinly slice some organic cheese and place it on half of the tortilla. Fold and fry with a pat of butter until cheese melts.
You can also add vegetables like onions, zucchini, peppers, spinach, and tomatoes. Or, slice and serve with tomato soup.
Easy Breakfast Wraps
Breakfast wraps can be made fresh or ahead of time and frozen for an easy, filling breakfast idea. Add scrambled eggs, cheese, and your favorite meat and vegetables.
Can I Use This Recipe to Make Whole Wheat Tortilla Chips?
If you’re looking for a delicious, real food treat, these whole wheat tortillas can be baked into chips! It’s easy; no deep frying required. Enjoy on their own, or serve with fresh salsa.
- Make the whole wheat tortillas following the recipe directions and let them cool.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- While the oven heats, slice your tortillas into chip-sized pieces (about 6) with a sharp knife or pizza cutter.
- Lightly spray or brush them with olive oil and lightly salt.
- Bake for 7 minutes.
- Flip the chips and lightly oil and season the other side.
- Bake again for another 5-7 minutes, until crisp.
You can also make these chips in an air fryer. The method is the same, just adjust the cooking time to 3 minutes per side.
How to Store Whole Wheat Tortillas
Cool tortillas completely before storing them to keep them from getting mushy. Then just place them into an airtight container or bag and store in the fridge or freezer. Homemade tortillas will keep in the fridge for a week and can be frozen for up to 6 months.
Whole-Wheat Tortillas
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups whole-wheat flour (I used King Arthur’s white whole-wheat flour)
- ½ cup avocado oil (or other oil)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup water (heated in the microwave for 1 min)
Instructions
- In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer set with a dough hook, pour in the flour, oil and salt. Beat with the paddle until crumbly, about 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape the sides as needed. If your hand-held mixer comes with dough hooks those can be used as well.
- With the mixer running, gradually add the warm water and continue mixing until the dough is smooth, about 3 minutes.
- Take out the dough and divide it into 12 equal sized pieces. I do this by making the dough into a big log shape that is about 8 – 10 inches long. Then I cut it in the middle. Then I cut each of those pieces in the middle and so on until you have 12 pieces.
- Using the palms of your hand roll each piece into a round ball and flatten it out on a baking tray or board. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes or up to one hour.
- Heat a cast iron skillet, griddle or 12-inch skillet over med-high heat. The pan should be fairly hot before you begin cooking the tortillas.
- On a lightly floured board or counter top, use a rolling pin to turn each ball into a 8 to 10 inch flat circle (measure against your recipe if printed on a 8.5X11 sheet of paper). Be careful not to use more than a teaspoon or two of flour when rolling out each ball into a tortilla because too much excess flour will burn in the pan.
- Grease the pan with a touch of oil (or ghee) and then carefully transfer each tortilla, one at a time, to the pan and cook until puffy and slightly brown, about 30 to 45 seconds per side. Set aside on a plate to cool slightly. Eat within an hour, refrigerate or freeze.
Dianna says
Made these yesterday and they were fantastic! My family loved them so these will definitely be my go-to tortilla fix(-:
Jenn says
I made these whole wheat tortillas yesterday and my whole family loved them! I think we ate 2 or 3 before I was even done making them, tearing off pieces to "try" them as soon as they came off the griddle! We tried some with a little shredded cheese too and they were delicious! They are delicious warm or cold- i had one as a wrap for lunch today. I did not have any avocado oil on hand, so I used canola oil as well and they did come out kind of greasy after they cooled. I noticed someone else used canola oil and said they were kind of greasy. I will try olive oil next time, or maybe look for another kind of oil next time i go to the store. This recipe is definitely a keeper! Thanks!!
Fitz says
I was having a little trouble rolling them out on the counter, but I tried rolling between two sheets of parchment paper and that made it really easy. I traced the outline of my pan on the top sheet of parchment too so I knew how big I could make them.
Looking forward to having something new for lunches this week instead of the same old sandwich bread.
Gretchen says
These were so yummy! My family scarfed them down. I could not make them fast enough.
Stephanie says
I absolutely LOVE this recipe. Made it this morning and had some difficulty transferring the tortillas to the pan, but I believe that will resolve itself with practice. Made a wrap with the baked chicken from dinner, romaine, cucumbers, tomatoes, and balsamic salad dressing also made for lastnights dinner. It was wonderful! Thank you sooo much!
sarah says
I made these yesterday to go with our taco soup. Easy enough to make & i have a tortilla press so the shaping wasn't difficult either. However, we just weren't thrilled with them. (sorry) I'm not sure if it was a texture issue, if they were too thick.....I'll make them again and have some suggestions of trying different flours and oil (coconut, which sounds intriguing) to see if that clears the texture....plus i just need to smash them thinner i believe. LOVE the website & my family is enjoying the "new foods" i'm making....same dishes, better ingredients = healthier eating!!! yay!
100 Days of Real Food says
These do not work well with a press...you really need to roll them out with a rolling pin for them to be the right thickness (i.e. thin). The press is better for corn tortillas.
Charlotte says
Thanks so much for this recipe! I can't wait to try it. My husband and I LOVE tortillas, but I'm always discouraged when I see the long list of unnatural ingredients in the stores. I plan on making a big batch of these every weekend when I make my homemade bread! I love your website...thanks for helping us out!
Andy says
Could olive oil be used in the recipe? Also could the wraps be baked instead of being cooked on the stove top?
100 Days of Real Food says
I don't think olive oil is a good idea because these need to be cooked at a very high temperature (which is not recommended for olive oil). I doubt baking would work either, but you could certainly experiment!
Andy says
I've been using olive oil and it's been working pretty well. I tried baking once but they were too crispy. I'll still be using the stove top. Thanks for sharing the recipe. My partner and I really like the tortillas.
Tricia says
Is there any other way for you to format the recipes on this site? I find that I have to cut and paste to be able to print them and I like to keep them in a binder in the kitchen?
100 Days of Real Food says
I am working to add a print function to the blog...thanks for your patience!
Gina says
I made the whole wheat tortillas two days ago and they are awesome! They were not very difficult to make, other than the struggle to keep them roundish, lol (my lack of skill). Thanks for the recipe!!!
Isabel says
I grew up on homemade flour tortillas. I just made these and they came out perfectly! Thank you for the fabulous recipe!
Mandy says
I can't wait to make these! How long do you keep them in the fridge? My family could easily go through two batches of these in a week, could I just keep them in the fridge all week or should they be frozen?
100 Days of Real Food says
They would definitely be okay in the fridge for a week.
Rhonda says
Made these last night with whole grain spelt flour and safflower oil. Can't use wheat and didn't have avocado. First the final product tasted great but had some challenges. 1. Didn't want to come off the counter 2. If didn't use right was too stiff 3.Next day even with a moist paper towel over it in microwave refuse to be pliable..Still tasted great and ate it like a chip Any ideas what I did wrong? Cooked too long? Spelt flour usually behaves nearly identical to wheat.
100 Days of Real Food says
I've never worked with spelt flour, but if it was trying to stick to the counter then you should add more flour (spoonful at a time) until the dough is less sticky. If the end product was too stiff then you need to turn the heat higher when making them. If it takes too long for them to cook they get stiff during the process. My pan is usually smoking a little and it only takes a minute on each side before they start to brown. I hope that helps!
Kathy Maas says
Can you used your ground wheat (from wheat berries) instead of King Arthur flour?
100 Days of Real Food says
Yes, but you might need to adjust the amount a little. I sometimes have to add a little more of my freshly ground flour than a recipe calls for.
Joann says
Don't have a heavy duty mixer/ANY mixer...would a bread machine on dough setting work?!
100 Days of Real Food says
I have not tried that myself...but you could even mix by hand. I am sure they made tortillas before kitchen appliances were invented!
susan says
i made these and they tasted very good. but mine came out a bit on the crispy side making them hard to 'roll.' any suggestions?
100 Days of Real Food says
You need to have the heat higher. If it takes too long to cook (due to lower heat) then they get hard. I hope that helps!
susan says
ahhhh that is probably it. i thought the high heat was making them crispy so i turnned it down!! oops. they are still delicious but i will turn the heat up next time. thanks!
Kimberly says
How long do these stay good in the fridge?
100 Days of Real Food says
For about a week or a week and a half (not that ours ever last that long!). You can freeze them too.
Jennifer says
made the tortillas today - super easy and loved them straight from the pan - good and hot!! I am wondering why you roll them flat, let them rest and then roll out again. Could they possible taste better? I mixed the dough and pressed into circles with my hands (one of my children must be "borrowing" my rolling pin-ha). I let that rest for an hour and then put straight in the pan. Forgive me - I am not an experiences baker...thanks
Heather says
Can you substitute brown rice flour? Wheat allergy and rice flour tortillas from the store loaded with gums and what not so would love to try a homemade version.
Kate says
Thank you so much for this recipe! My 5 year old and I had so much fun making these together. They were easy to make and so delicious! I really appreciate that you take the time to create healthy, all natural recipes to replace the store bought things loaded with chemicals! Keep up the great work! I am definitely buying a tortilla press so we can make the corn tortillas too.
Courtney says
I am going to make these week and I am wondering... does the dough need to rise during the resting period? We live at high altitude and if I want to make it rise I need to do some extra things to make that happen. No big deal but I wanted to try and do this right rather than mess it up the first time. Thanks!
lilmrsmchenry says
I'm up at 7000 ft myself, so I always look for that too. You should not need to adjust since there is no leavening agent such as yeast or baking powder. I'm trying this recipe soon as well but have made other tortillas before.
100 Days of Real Food says
No the dough does not need to rise...just take a little "rest" :)
Lisa says
I tried these last night and they were great -- one question though, I used regular whole wheat flour and canola oil and found them a bit oily. Has anyone tried to reduce the oil? Will they end up being less pliable that way?
100 Days of Real Food says
Did you put a lot of oil in the pan when you were making them?
Lea says
@Lisa - We had the same issue. We enjoyed the flavor, but the greasiness was a little much for us. My husband said he has looked at other tortilla recipes, and they all use less oil, butter, shortening, etc. We will alter the oil amount and try again!
Kris says
I made these last night with my daughter and yes they were a little to greasy. I thought I added to much oil. I'm going to try again with a little less oil. I usually cook my tortillas on an electric griddle and do not add oil. That may help others. I am Mexican and rarely make tortillas because of the lard and white flour. I was soooo excited to try this recipe as I've been searching for a good whole wheat recipe. My family loved them and we will make again. Thank you so much for your time devoted to helping us all.
Kim Kauffman says
Just got finished making these and they are so yummy! They are time consuming (especially since I had my 10 month old with me :) but they aren't hard at all. Thanks for the recipe!
chris says
I made theese tonight, I was really disouraged with the way they were looking. i am not to talented with a rolling pin. (with cooking in general) But what they lacked in beauty they more then made up for in taste.. Incredible!!! Thank you for all you do...
100 Days of Real Food says
So glad it worked out...you will get better at making them look pretty over time. Practice makes perfect! :)
Helen Taylor says
do you have to use white whole wheat flour?
100 Days of Real Food says
No, regular whole-wheat flour will work just fine!
Trish says
I made these tonight and they were awesome!!!...and it feels so good to know that what I am serving my family is not only healthy and delicious, but made by me. Thanks so much for the recipe :)
Caroline says
Where do you get your Avocado Oil? I haven't been able to find it at our grocery store. Thank you.
100 Days of Real Food says
I found it at Earth Fare. You could substitute a different oil instead.
Erin I. says
Can you use a tortilla press instead of rolling the dough?
100 Days of Real Food says
You could try, but you would probably still have to roll it out a little after pressing it. I've never tried it, but that's what I've heard from others.
Sarah says
Best tortillas I've ever had! Like others, we will never go back to store bought! Can't wait to try the corn tortillas. We are working our way through your recipes and so far we haven't been disappointed!
100 Days of Real Food says
So glad to hear that...thanks for taking the time to leave a review!
Jaime says
Made these tonight and they were to die for! My husband usually hates whole wheat tortillas, but he ate 2 of these and packed some for his lunch tomorrow! Thanks!
Julie says
Amazing! I did it without a mixer, too. It was perfect - we ate half the batch at dinner! Thanks for another one. :-)
100 Days of Real Food says
I am glad you enjoyed them...thanks for the review!
Kelly says
Has anyone tried making these with olive oil?
Gretchen says
contemplating 10 day pledge - just made these tortillas tonight (had to just dump everything in a bowl and mix it by hand really quick as my 3 year old misplaced my mixing attachment and my 8 month was climbing up my leg crying. So once hubby was home, I cooked them up and they tasted sooo good. He said we can't go back to store bought after these. Fajita dinner tonight was all real food (chicken wasn't local though) and cost us under $3 total and we have plenty of leftovers. yay!
100 Days of Real Food says
So glad to know it was easy to mix these by hand (even with a baby climbing up your leg LOL). And I agree with your husband...if you eat like this it doesn't take long to get spoiled!
Stephanie says
I've been following your blog for a while now and trying to decide if I want to take the 10-day pledge. I finally decided to try one of the recipes first. Oh my goodness, these wraps are good! I didn't have a dough hook and was feeling too lazy to get the mixer out so I just used a wooden spoon and a bowl and they still turned out great. They are easy to make, soft, fresh and so much better than store-bought wraps. I'm going to make a big batch this weekend and freeze them! Thanks so much for sharing all of your recipes! I think I'll replace my store-bought bread with these as well, at least until I make some homemade bread.
Kelly says
I'm so glad to hear that you didn't have a mixer or a dough hook as I have neither of those utensils and wanted to make this recipe tonight. Thank you so much for posting this I'm going to try it right away.
100 Days of Real Food says
Thanks for letting me know this recipe worked without a mixer. My laziness is opposite of yours which means I barely ever mix things by hand! :) Glad you enjoyed the tortillas.
Laura says
Okay, I've tried making these tortillas twice now, and both times, the dough came out super sticky and wet. What am I doing wrong? Do I not need to add the whole cup of water?
Lisa says
I am so sorry to hear that! But you are right on track...if the dough is too sticky/wet then it is too much water. You can either add more flour or use less water. I usually pour in the majority of the water and then look to see if it needs the last few drops. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't. I will add a little note about this to the recipe! I hope you give it one more shot because they are so worth it!
mom2lo says
How well do these freeze? Do you have any suggestions for freezing them? I need to make enough for my family gathering of 20 people... so probably at least 40-50 tortillas. I'd like to make the dough and get them ready before we drive 4 hours to our gathering location... thoughts? ideas??
Lisa says
Yes, they freeze beautifully! Just put them in freezer safe gallon zip lock bag. I do it all of the time :) Just take them out the night before and you will be good to go. Also they are best if just slightly heated before serving.
Tatum says
These are incredible! So much better than store bought. Thanks you for sharing.
Andrea says
Thank you so much for this recipe (and this blog!) I can't wait to try it. Quesadilla's are one of the things my picky 2-year-old will eat and a good way for me to sneak in veggies and protein...but I've been dismayed at the long list of ingredients for store-bought whole wheat tortillas. Can't wait to try to make these!
Lisa says
Try spreading some roasted butternut squash or cooked sweet potato on the tortilla before adding the cheese for quesadillas...adds a nice flavor and lots of other goodness too!
Jennifer Hennessy says
I am making these again for the 7th time now. I just can't get enough! Everyone I make them for loves them, of course I always give you the credit. Tonight I am making some homemade Spanish brown rice and throwing a little habanero cheese, lettuce and tomato inside. My version of a vegetarian burrito. I will skip the habanero cheese for the kids.
Thanks again!!
Lisa says
Love it! So glad I got you hooked :) Thanks for the comment!
Tinker Cavanagh says
i tried these whole wheat tortillas and they were yummy. i filled them with a thai chicken with mango salsa, a recipe that i really love. i will never buy another tortilla from the store again. thank you for this recipe.
Lisa says
I am so glad to hear that! And I have to agree...once you try these you get spoiled and cannot buy them from the store again.