by Texas Homesteader ~
Homemade Corn Tortillas! What could be better? I remember the day I stood in the store looking at that handful of corn tortillas sold in a plastic bag I wondered, “Should I make these myself?” Homemade corn tortillas are easy, delicious, cheap and waste-free!
I love to make pork roast, there’s so much you can do with the leftovers! We recently enjoyed a hearty supper of pork roast & veggies one night and I planned to make pulled-pork enchiladas the next day with some of the leftover cooked roast.
Although we enjoy my quick Mix-N-Pour Tortillas, enchiladas require corn tortillas in the our household. But we had none.
As we stood in the store looking at the tortillas sold in a plastic bag, my mind went back several years to when I’d made them myself. It was easy to make ’em, & heck this big bag of masa harina was only about $3. Maybe I should dust off that tortilla press I have at home & give ‘er a go again.
Is Masa Harina The Same As Cornmeal?
No, masa harina is not the same as cornmeal. Cornmeal is simply ground corn. But masa harina is a flour made of corn that’s been treated with lime & water before being dried & ground into flour. It’s often found in the flour aisle at your local store.
But masa harina is cheap and has many uses, including today’s homemade corn tortillas. And since I’m only using 2 cups for each corn tortilla batch I’ll be able to make 8 whoppin’ batches of corn tortillas from this one bag & still have plenty of masa left for thickening my homemade chili.
How To Make Homemade Corn Tortillas:
It’s super easy to make corn tortillas:
Mix masa harina, salt & warm water & knead into dough.
Pull off golf ball-sized pieces, roll into a ball.
Flatten dough balls using a tortilla press or rolling pin.
Toss into a heated skillet & cook about a minute each side.
These tortillas are heartier than the flimsy ones you might buy in the store. And they were perfect for our enchiladas! They rolled beautifully without breaking too.
Following are a few helpful tips.
My Homemade Corn Tortilla Observations
- I wanted a little extra flavor for my corn tortillas so I added 1/4 teaspoon each of garlic powder & paprika. You can leave this out or flavor it in a way that your family enjoys most. It’s a very versatile recipe!
- Dividing the dough into 9 sections gave me the 6″ size tortilla I wanted. You can divide your dough up into smaller balls for more tortillas per batch, or larger balls for fewer but larger tortillas.
- It’s helpful to cover the dough balls with a damp towel to keep them from drying out while you’re cooking your tortillas.
- It’s recommended when pressing the tortillas to line each side of your tortilla dough with wax paper, a piece of plastic or a cut-open gallon-sized ziplock bag to make it easier to lift & transfer your thinly-rolled tortilla dough.
- I use a tortilla press to easily press my dough. But you don’t need a press to make the tortillas. I’ve read others just use a heavy pie plate or a rolling pin.
- My favored cookware for these tortillas is a cast iron comal (a small short-sided cast-iron skillet). Although I feel cast-iron is a much preferable way to cook tortillas, you can use whatever skillet you have.
- Although it’s an extra step, I prefer to pre-cook the first side of my corn tortilla for 10 seconds before flipping & beginning my tortilla cooking. I found this results in my tortilla fluffing while it cooks and that’s a good thing for both taste as well as texture. But it’s my preference & not necessary if you just don’t wanna…
- If you’re using cast iron remember it’s a very efficient metal. You might have to bump your temps down after the first several tortillas if you find they’re getting too brown on the outside before they’re cooked.
- If you place your cooked tortillas on a plate and cover them with a clean kitchen towel they’ll steam & keep your tortillas soft & pliable.
Meals That Use Corn Tortillas
I’ll be able to use these corn tortillas in many dishes. Here are our faves:
Made into Crispy Taco Shells for our Carnitas Tacos
Family favorite slow cooker Enchilada Casserole
Hot & comforting Chicken Tortilla Soup
Pulled Pork Enchiladas – a quick meal using leftover roast.
These corn tortillas make a quick & easy street taco too!
So give these simple homemade corn tortillas a try. With just 3 ingredients a minimal time you can serve your own hot soft corn tortillas.
Did you make these corn tortillas? Please rate the recipe in your comment below to help it show up on internet searches. Thanks!
Simple Homemade Corn Tortillas - yields about 10 - 12
These simple homemade corn tortillas only need 3 ingredients: Masa Harina, Salt and Warm Water. Homemade tortillas are simple, fast and delicious. Serve them tonight!
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 2 cups masa harina
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1.5 cups warm water, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, paprika and/or cumin (Optional for flavor)
Instructions
Instructions
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Add dry ingredients to bowl & stir to combine.
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Add about 1 cup of the warm water. Stir with heavy spoon to combine.
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Add more of the warm water in tablespoon increments until the mixture forms a dough. ( I usually only use about 1/4 cup more)
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Using clean hands, knead the dough until it's smooth and the texture of soft play-dough.
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(Note) If the dough is sticking to your hands it's too wet - add masa harina in tablespoon increments to correct.
If the dough is crumbly it's too dry - add warm water in tablespoon increments to correct.
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Separate the dough into about 10-12 golf ball sized sections
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Flatten each dough ball between plastic wrap or wax paper using a tortilla press, rolling pin or a pie plate.
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Heat a cast-iron comal (or other skillet) using medium high heat
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Add flattened tortilla to hot comal and pre-cook 1st side 10 seconds before flipping and cooking 1 minute. You will see light brown spots forming. Flip back to first side and cook 30 seconds. You may see the tortilla puff up a bit - this is perfect!
Remove cooked tortilla to a waiting plate.
Cover cooked tortillas with clean kitchen towel to allow them to steam.
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Enjoy!
To store, wrap cooled tortillas in airtight container and store in the refrigerator.
Recipe Notes
It's helpful to preheat your comal while you're forming the dough balls so the first flattened tortilla hits a hot comal. But cast iron is very efficient with heat. So you may need to dial the heat back as you continue cooking your tortillas. You don't want them singed on the outside & still doughy on the inside.
~TxH~
Our Favorite Tex-Mex Recipes
Homemade Seasoning Mixes & Sauces
- MYO Taco Seasoning
- MYO Pinto Bean Seasoning Mix
- Quick Salsa Substitute Using Canned Tomatoes
- Creamy Hatch Chile Sauce
Entrees & Casseroles
- Homemade Pork Tamales (w/Instant Pot Shortcut Option)
- Quick Southwest Quesadillas
- Sheet Pan Jumbo Beef Quesadillas
- Cheesy Stacked Chile Relleno Casserole
- SW Chicken w/Herbed Rice
- Pulled-Pork Enchiladas
- Crispy Southwest Chicken Egg Rolls
- Simple Carnitas Tacos
- Enchilada Casserole
- Lazy Cook’s Chile Relleno Cups
- Cheesy Chile-Chicken Casserole
Rice
- Texas-Style Spanish Rice
- Cilantro Lime Rice
- Garlic Sage Buttered Rice
- Batch-Cooking Rice In An Instant Pot
Beans
- Instant Pot Pinto Beans
- Slow Cooker Ranch-Style Beans
- Different Flavors To Dress Up Plain Pinto Beans
Soups
Bread & Tortillas
- Spicy Jalapeno Cornbread
- Mix-n-Pour Tortilla Recipe – No Kneading, No Rolling
- Easy Corn Tortillas
- MYO Crispy Taco Shells
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This corn tortilla recipe is in my permanent collection! I’ve found it’s a simple tasty recipe, steaming them as they come off the griddle makes them soft and pliable. It helps to make the dough balls soft so the tortillas press more thinly.
Do you use the tamal masa harina or the regular grind?
The bag of masa harina in the photo is the only masa harina available in our little country store, I’m assuming it’s just regular grind? (I don’t really have another kind to compare to here) Can anyone weigh in here? ~TxH~
Well Tammy, you made me do it. I slow-cooked a pork butt yesterday and last night had pulled pork sammies. Today I had to go to G-town to pick up our Archie the Sccottie at the groomer. While waiting on the pick up time I went to Super 1 and purchased a tortilla press. Just washed it. I will soon try to press out some masa with your guidelines. Then assemble pulled pork enchiladas for this evening. Just in case I do have yucky store bought flour tortillas as a backup. But I’m thinking positive. Thanks for the inspiration.
I think you’ll be pleased, Ken. Start to finish I can makes these corn tortillas in about 15 minutes. Heck it’d take me longer than that to run to the store & buy them! And we’ve been very impressed with the flavor & texture of them. Plus they roll beautifully without cracking. Just make sure to make your corn tortilla dough the consistency of playdough and you’ll be golden! ~TxH~
Thought I’d update on making these tortillas on my 2-burner cast iron griddle – it works beautifully! I press & put a tortilla on the griddle and press another dough ball. Flip tortilla #1 at 10 seconds & add tortilla #2, press tortilla #3. Flip #2 and add #3. And so it goes… They run right down the assembly line and a batch of tortillas is made in minutes. Love it! ~TxH~
oh yum! Pinned for later. I can’t wait to try these.
I have never made my own tortilla shells. I may have to try it. I went to school with a friend and her mom made them all the time. Her tacos were the best. I may need to try making this recipe.
I made them yesterday for our enchiladas, Nancy. RancherMan raved. The tortillas are GONE. So I’ll be making a double-batch for him today. LOL Thankfully they’re truly ridiculously easy to make. NOTE – I never use all the water, I start with a cup and add until I can knead up a playdough consistency. But I typically have water left in the cup. ~TxH~
Thanks so much for this recipe! I can no longer find fresh-made, delicious, stone ground 100 percent whole corn tortillas anywhere. Most are made with flour these days, and they’re pasty and yukky. This is just what I need to get started on my tortilla-making adventure.
These tortillas are super-easy to make Kathryn Grace. I typically roll out 10-12 tortillas with each batch, and I’m learning to just go ahead & make a double batch each time. RancherMan loves ’em and they’re gone in such short order. LOL. ~TxH~
When I was in the mountains living in a 35 ft travel trailer, I had no room for my tortilla press, but desperately wanted some corn tortillas. You know my motto–What has God put in my hand? So I looked through the cabinets and found two small saucers. I lined them with a plastic bag, and using my hands and leaning forward, pressed the masa dough between them. It made a small, slightly thicker tortilla. I cooked them on my pan, and when I fried them later with a bit of oil, they made a chewier yet just as delicious bit of goodness that was perfect for wrapping up taco fixings. Ya know, sometimes food tastes better when it’s made with love and creativity!
I’ve always loved your motto “What has God put in my hand”, Evelyn. And as a result, you’ve certainly found a perfect way to easily press those corn tortillas. Yea! ~TxH~
I read that somewhere over 20 years ago. It got me to thinking about looking for a solution in what was already around me instead of jumping in the car and driving all over creation to spend money. It really came in handy Sunday at church. It was our ‘grub Sunday’, and so many folks were out sick or taking care of sick family that there wasn’t a lot of potluck foods brought in. The dear lady who was in charge of the kitchen that day got this ‘deer in the headlights’ look. I had come in to see if I could help set up during the service. I said, “Okay, we are intelligent women who serve a big God. If He can feed 5,000 with a few sardines and saltines, I know we can look to see what God has put in our hands and feed 60 hungry people.” And we did! Enough folks had brought food that we were able to supplement with a few items from the food pantry room. We made a list what we would be replacing this week, and made up mac and cheese for the kiddos, a simple spaghetti dish, opened cans of corn, green beans and ranch beans, and I pulled together a beans and rice dish. We grabbed a fellow from the church and sent him for a bucket of chicken from the grocery store, and viola! We fed our ‘multitude’. That little motto has saved the day countless times.
“…Intelligent women who serve a big God” Love it! Good for you for feeding the multitudes with His help! XOX ~TxH~
I had to look up the word comal (cast iron griddle) I’ve always just used a cast iron skillet for tortilla heating or cooking. I did recently pass up a cast iron griddle at a thrift store, it was $40.00 and I thought – that’s a lot of money for something I don’t really need. The next week I thought Oh, I think I’ll spring for that any way, it was a Griswold brand which is what my skillets are. Well, of course it was gone. Many years ago I had friends from southern Texas (we were all working or going to school in the Mid Willamette Valley here in Oregon) and Rosita always made everything at their house from scratch. For years I made tortillas and mole sauce and all kinds of good things I learned from her. Life changes and now I’m pretty much content with the wimpy, chemical contaminated, nasty corn tortillas from the market. At one time my husband and I had a bar and restaurant on the Oregon Coast and one of the cooks often made enchiladas for a special. I remember she always went into the bar and got a couple of shots of tequila “for the sauce” but I’m pretty sure she was the one who got sauced.
Grizwold is a great name, Candace. That would certainly raise an eyebrow for me too. But I’m kinda like you – $40? Quality like that may be worth that cost, but it has to be worth it to MY budget too before I’ll pick it up. Thankfully I stole one at a garage sale years ago. Not Grizwold but a 2-burner cast-iron griddle for (wait for it) only $5! Now THAT’S in my budget! I use it for my mix-n-pour tortillas, quesadillas, pancakes and these corn tortillas. The comal is handy too, although it only cooks one tortilla at a time. But like you, I’m often content with commercial corn tortillas too – making them homemade when time permits. It’s all about balance, ya know?? But I’m tickled at your note about the cook at y’alls bar & restaurant. LOL! ~TxH~
Wait–mix and pour tortillas? Did I miss a recipe somewhere along the way? Details, woman, DETAILS!
LOL Evelyn! Here ya go, girlie –> https://texashomesteader.com/easy-mix-n-pour-tortilla-recipe/
~TxH~
Thank you! After I get the dogs all back in from their potty breaks, I will be making chili and trying this recipe.
Mix-n-pour tortillas are a nice quick substitute for the traditional tortilla, Evelyn. Not exactly the same texture but so much faster it’s often whipped up here at the Taylor household. It’s like a very thin, flat, tortilla-flavored pancake. They roll beautifully without cracking and we love ’em especially for snacking. That RancherMan of mine’s a bread-eating fiend, I need something quick & easy! LOL
Oh, and I’m making chili tomorrow – perfect weather for it. I’ll probably whip up some jalapeno cornbread for the side. Spicy! ~TxH~
I like to add a bit of oil to mine to made them more pliable. I guess lard would be better but it is something we don’t use. A friend gave me a small round cast iron griddle that is perfect for one tortilla. – Margy
I’ve heard of others adding oil to their corn tortillas as well Margy. And my comal is only good for one tortilla at a time, but as I was telling another reader earlier – I also use 2-burner cast-iron griddle and it works great and makes tortillas faster! ~TxH~