Flexible gluten free tortillas | vegan, too

Soft, flexible gluten free tortillas are easy to make in any size, and they're perfect anywhere you'd use a corn tortilla, plus for burritos, tacos, and wraps. Roll them out with a rolling pin or a tortilla press, if you have one.

What makes this gluten free tortilla recipe special

The gluten free products market has really grown, enough that there are a number of packaged gluten free flour tortillas you can buy. But none of them equals the taste and texture of a homemade flour tortilla.

With this simple recipe, you can make these gluten free wraps as small as you like, and up to 10-inches in diameter—or as big as your skillet can hold. With these detailed step-by-step instructions, photos, and even a how-to video, you'll see that the dough is stable enough to shape however you like.

Recipe ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make these tortillas;

• Gluten free flour blend: You need a well-balanced all purpose mix here, like Better Batter's classic blend or Nicole's Best multipurpose blend. If you're using Nicole's Best, be sure to add 1 scant teaspoon xanthan gum separately, since it doesn't already contain it.
• Tapioca starch: Although your flour blend will already contain some tapioca starch, which all good blends do, you need to add more tapioca starch as a separate ingredient. It will help make the dough easier to handle and the tortillas a lot more flexible.
• Baking powder: Adds rise to your tortillas so they aren't flat. Check the date on the canister to make sure yours is fresh.
• Salt: Brightens the flavor of the tortillas.
• Virgin coconut oil: Adds richness, flavor and tenderness to the tortillas. Virgin coconut oil is the kind that comes in a jar and is solid at cool room temperature.
• Warm water: Adds moisture and brings the dry ingredients together. As the tortilla dough sits, it will absorb the water and become easier to handle. After the original 3/4 cup of water, only add more water very slowly if the dough is crumbly. Otherwise, you'll end up having to add too much tapioca starch to shape the tortillas and they may end up stiff and dry.

How to make gluten free tortillas

These flour tortillas are made simply and easily using a mixing bowl and a spoon, plus a whisk for the dry ingredients..

1. In a large mixing bowl, place one of my recommended all purpose gluten free flour blends (including xanthan gum), tapioca starch, baking powder, and salt, and whisk to combine everything well.
2. Add virgin coconut oil (the kind that’s semi-solid at room temperature), and mix it in to the dry ingredients using the tines of a fork. We want the fat evenly distributed throughout the flours until it resembles small peas or coarse sand.
3. Add warm water, and mix to combine. The dough should be thick and should stick together well. If there are any dry bits, mix in a a bit more water just until it all comes together.
4. Cover the dough and let it sit for about 20 minutes. This will make the dough easier to handle as the flours absorb the water. The dough will become a bit more stiff.
5. Divide the tortilla dough into 4 equal pieces, and work with one at a time while the rest stay covered so they don’t dry out.
6. When you’re ready to shape the dough, test each piece to see if it’s ready by sprinkling it lightly all over with tapioca starch, and beginning to roll it out. If it appears to crack and break, press it back together into a ball and repeat the process until the dough rolls smooth.
7. Once the dough is smooth, sprinkle a flat surface lightly with tapioca starch, place the dough on top, and sprinkle again lightly with more tapioca. Roll out the dough into a rough round shape by working the rolling pin in all different directions from the center out. Touch the dough frequently as your roll it out as it’s easier to feel thicker lumps with your hands than it is to see them with your eyes.
8. If you’d like neat, perfectly round circles, place the lid of a pot or an 8-inch metal cake cutter along the edges of the dough and press down to cut off the rough edges. Remove the excess dough.
9. Heat a round 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium-high heat (or a nonstick skillet, but over medium heat so you don’t damage it) until water sprinkled in the center sizzles.
10. Lift the raw, shaped tortilla carefully off the rolling surface and place it gently in the center of the hot skillet. Let it cook for about 45 seconds or until it begins to color in spots on the bottom (lift the corner up to peek). Using a wide spatula, flip the tortilla and cook on the other side for another 45 seconds or until it bubbles and takes on color in some spots.
11. Remove the tortilla from the hot skillet and wrap it in a tea towel, or place it in a tortilla warmer (anything to keep it warm).
12. Repeat with the other pieces of dough, rolling each piece of dough, cutting out rounds, and cooking each tortilla in the hot skillet.
13. Stack the cooked tortillas right on top of one another, wrapped in a tea towel or in a tortilla warmer.
14. Gather together all the scraps of raw dough from working with each of the original 4 pieces into a cohesive piece of dough, and roll it out again as before. Cut out 8-inch rounds, then gather and reroll the scraps once more. You should have a total of 6 8-inch tortillas by the end.

Tips for handling the dough from gluten free flour tortilla recipe

How do you get such clean lines on your flour tortillas?

The secret to getting round tortillas with a clean, round edge is to use a cake cutter. One of those big old metal collars that look like really, really large cookie cutters.

It isn't necessary at all, but it does make for a more evenly-cooked tortilla. Once the rolled-out dough is very smooth, I use a 6-inch or 10-inch cake cutter to cut out rounds.

You can also use the lid of a large pot if it has sharp edges. Then, cut out the round cleanly, and remove the scraps to reroll with any remaining dough.

Using a tortilla press to shape the raw gluten free tortilla dough

You can shape this gf flour tortilla dough with a simple tortilla press, if you prefer that to a rolling pin and a smooth, floured surface. Try slicing a quart-size zip-top bag in half and lining the top and bottom of your tortilla press with each half, to prevent the dough from sticking.

I prefer to roll out the dough using a rolling pin, since a tortilla press won't press the dough thin enough, or make a larger round than about 7-inches. So you'll still need to roll out the dough with some tapioca starch and a rolling pin after it comes out of the press.

I still like using a tortilla press, but only for thicker tortillas. It's great to use when I make fresh gluten free corn tortillas, which are naturally thicker. A press is also really handy when making rice-free cassava flour tortillas, which are more fragile and harder to roll out evenly.

Packaged gluten free tortillas

If you'd rather buy than make your gluten free tortillas, there are quite a few on the market these days. Many of them are available in stores, and my favorite one is only available to order online, but I don't order them often because the tortillas are expensive, and so is the shipping. Here are the brands I can recommend (although homemade is far superior):

My favorite store-bought tortilla brands

• Mission Gluten Free Tortillas: They're sold fresh, not frozen, and are sold in original and spinach herb flavors. They usually cost about $1 per tortilla, and come in a 6-pack. They also contain soy, but are gluten, dairy, and egg-free. They're sturdy enough and large enough to make a proper burrito. They do, however, taste like potato and taste better browned in a skillet than when simply heated in the microwave. Overall, a solid choice.
• Rudi's Gluten Free Bakery Plain Tortillas: These tortillas are usually sold frozen, are not nearly as easy to find as Mission, and appear smaller in size than Mission. They have a really classic flour tortilla taste, though, and perform well when heated. If they were easier to find, I'd probably buy them often.
• BFree Quinoa & Chia Seed Wraps: BFree brand products recently started showing up in my local grocery store, and they're usually pretty good quality. These tortillas are very flexible, and even though they look strange because of the obvious chia seeds, they don't taste “healthy.” They are more expensive, though: nearly $9 for 6 tortillas. They also now sell Sweet Potato Wraps and High Protein Wraps, but I haven't tried either of them.
• Siete Almond Flour Tortillas: Siete also has a cassava and coconut flour variety, but I really prefer the almond flour one. It tastes like almonds, but not in an overpowering way, and they're super thin and flexible. They usually cost about $1 a tortilla in a package of 8, and I now see Siete products at almost every major grocery store I visit.
• Mi Rancho Burrito Size Gluten Free Tortillas: These are by far the best packaged gluten free flour tortillas I have ever bought. They're super flexible, taste just like good flour tortillas should, and they're large enough to make a full-size burrito. The problem is that you can't find them in stores anywhere. I've only ever found them for sale on the mirancho.com website, and you can only buy a 3-pack of 6 tortillas each. The cost, with shipping, ends up being relatively high compared to others on my list ($30 for 18 tortillas), but it's worthwhile if you know you're going to use them regularly. Mi Rancho also makes really good gluten free corn tortillas with great corn taste, and those seem very available in brick and mortar stores.
• Maria & Ricardo's Gluten Free Quinoa Flour Tortillas: These are the newest addition to my repertoire, and they're excellent. They don't taste like quinoa flour to me, and heat really well. I find them in person at Whole Foods, and they're also available on amazon.com if you have Prime shipping for $30 for a 3 pack of 6 tortillas each (so the same price overall as Mi Rancho above). They are made in a facility that processes wheat, but on a dedicated gluten free line. They're “certified gluten free” by gfco.org, though, and I feel comfortable serving them to my family, but only you can make that choice for yours. Maria & Ricardo's also has other gluten free tortilla varieties available (among them are cauliflower tortillas and sweet potato tortillas), but I haven't tried any of them.

Gluten free flour tortilla ingredients and substitution suggestions

The best gluten free flour blend

I highly recommend using Better Batter all purpose gluten free flour blend in this recipe, or our “mock Better Batter” DIY blend if you can't or don't want to buy Better Batter itself. If you use a brand that I recommend against, especially Bob's Red Mill all purpose blends, you should not expect good results.

Assuming that you use an all purpose gluten free flour blend in this recipe that's dairy free and gluten free, this recipe makes tortillas that are vegan and gluten free. If you use Cup4Cup gluten free flour, a high starch blend, you will probably need more water or your dough will be crumbly.

Adding more tapioca starch/flour to a blend that already has some

In addition to an all purpose gluten free flour blend, this recipe needs added tapioca starch. Tapioca starch is also sometimes referred to as tapioca flour.

Every all purpose gluten free flour blend I recommend already has tapioca starch in it as an ingredient. You still need to add the additional tapioca starch called for in the recipe.

You may already have Expandex modified tapioca starch, which is chemically modified tapioca starch, because you bake yeast bread with our gluten free bread flour. If so, you can use Expandex in place of the additional tapioca starch, but you'll need less.

To use Expandex in place of the added tapioca starch, please use the following amounts in place of the all purpose gluten free flour blend and tapioca starch/flour in the recipe as written. You'll then use the remaining ingredients as written:

• 1 3/4 cups (245 g) all purpose gluten free flour
• 35 grams Expandex modified tapioca starch

Virgin coconut oil

This recipe calls for virgin coconut oil, which is the kind of coconut oil that is cold processed, preserving much of its antioxidant properties. It's solid at cool room temperature, about 72°F, which is what makes it appropriate for this recipe.

If you're sensitive to a slight coconut aroma that some solid coconut oil has, you can use triple-filtered coconut oil. It has no aroma at all.

In place of virgin coconut oil, you can use vegetable shortening. I like Spectrum brand nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening.

FAQs about gluten free tortillas