Masa Harina Tortillas Recipe: Your New Go-To Corn Tortillas
Believe me, once you make these little corn tortillas at home, you will never buy them from a grocery store again. Not only is this masa harina tortillas recipe super easy to make (I make them twice a week)… it also only has three ingredients, and can be batch-cooked and frozen to eat later.
You can have a lot of fun making a corn tortilla recipe from scratch – who doesn’t love kneading dough with their hands? – but the best part is, of course, eating them.
I usually eat them with my one-pot Mexican soup recipe or curried adzuki beans recipe, two very different but equally as flavorful dishes. With a buttery and sweet Mexican mango cake to round off the meal, it’s an easy crowd pleaser.
Why You’ll Love This Masa Harina Tortillas Recipe
This is a tortilla recipe with masa harina instead of standard corn flour. I prefer using masa harina to make corn chips because the corn has been soaked in lime water, dried and then ground. This process adds a really lovely toasted flavor that you don’t get otherwise.
Dough made from Masa Harina is also more elastic than normal corn flour, which makes the tortillas easy to handle. They also won’t crumble as easily.And another reason to love this recipe is that, like many of the recipes on Veggiecurean, it’s a completely gluten-free and vegan corn tortilla recipe. Healthy, simple and delicious.
Key Ingredients
- Masa harina: A gluten-free corn flour with that gorgeous toasted flavor that I mentioned. I like to use the Bob’s Red Mill organic masa harina flour for my masa harina tortilla recipe.
- Salt: Adding salt makes sure that your tortillas don’t come out tasting too bland.
- Water: The third and final ingredient is just hot water. I wasn’t lying when I said that this recipe is easy!
Step‑by‑Step Instructions
This easy recipe for corn tortillas begins in a medium-sized bowl, where you’ll combine the masa harina flour, salt and hot water together using your hands.
Once the mixture is thoroughly combined, you can move onto kneading the dough. You’ll want to keep doing this until the dough feels smooth, like modelling clay (the kind that kids play with). If the dough looks cracked or crumbles under your fingers, just wet your hands and continue kneading until the consistency is perfect.
Before the dough is ready, it’ll need to rest for 30 minutes in a bowl covered with plastic wrap. Only then can you roll it into small balls and use a tortilla press to flatten the dough (a baking dish or pot will help if you don’t have one).
Finally, you’ll finish the recipe by cooking the tortillas on a hot skillet. When bubbles start to rise on the dough (around the one-minute mark), you can flip the tortilla and do the other side. When both sides are nicely browned, it’s ready to be served!
Tips for the Best Results
- I like to use a 1:1 ratio for water and masa harina flour. If your dough seems crumbly or looks cracked, it’s probably too dry. There’s a simple solution to this, and it’s just wetting your hands and continuing to work the dough until it reaches the perfect clay-like consistency.
- Using a tortilla press will help you achieve a round, flat tortilla. However, if you don’t have one, you can press the dough on the countertop with a baking dish or pot.
- When you press the dough, make sure to cover the tortilla press with wax paper or a ziplock bag on both sides to stop the dough from sticking. The same goes if you’re pressing the dough on the countertop.
- If the dough sticks to the parchment paper, don’t stress. It’ll be because the dough is too wet. I dust the paper with some dry masa harina flour before pressing it again.
Storage & Reheating
- Serving immediately: I make sure to wrap the fresh tortillas in a clean, damp kitchen or paper towel before I store them in a sealed container. The steam from the damp towel keeps them warm and soft for around two to three hours, giving me plenty of time to serve them to dinner guests, even if they arrive late.
- Storing in the refrigerator: The tortillas also store really well in the refrigerator, which is helpful if you’re planning on adding them to your lunch the next day.
- Freezing the tortillas: Alternatively, you can freeze them for later if you’d like to keep them easily on hand with your other side dishes.
Serving Suggestions
- Masa harina tortillas are best served warm, fresh from the pan.
- If you need to wait before serving them, just make sure to let them sit in a sealed plastic container wrapped in a clean, damp paper towel. This will help to keep the tortillas soft and warm.
Nutritional Information
The recipe is suitable for vegan and gluten-free diets.
The masa harina flour is low in fat and high in carbohydrates, which will give you plenty of energy. A quarter cup of masa harina flour has around 24g of carbohydrates, 3g of fiber, 2g of protein and 1g of fat.
You’ll also be getting small amounts of vitamin A, calcium and iron.
Masa Harina Tortillas Recipe: Your New Go-To Corn Tortillas
Ingredients
- 2 cups masa harina
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2-2 cups hot water
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the masa harina and salt.
- Slowly pour in 1 cup of hot water while mixing with your hands. Then, pour in another ½ cup of hot water and continue mixing.
- Knead the dough and add more water if needed until you've achieved a smooth consistency similar to modeling clay (like the one kids play with). Try making one ball and if it's too sticky, add more masa harina; if too crumbly, add more water.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
- After resting, roll the dough into golf-ball-sized balls and cover them with plastic wrap so they don’t dry out.
- Press the tortilla, covering the tortilla press with wax paper or a ziplock bag on both sides and pressing each ball flat. If you don't have a tortilla press, you can press tortillas on the countertop with a baking dish or pot, but make sure to still use wax paper or plastic wrap to prevent the dough from sticking.
- Gently remove the raw tortilla from the press or countertop and place it on a hot skillet.
- When slight bubbles start to rise (after about 1 minute), carefully flip the tortilla.
- Flip again in another 30-60 seconds to check if both sides are lightly browned.
- Remove the tortilla from the skillet when done.
- Repeat the process until all tortillas are cooked.
- Stack and wrap the tortillas in a clean, damp cloth until they're ready to eat.
Equipment
- 1 tortilla press, Optional
Nutrition
FAQs
When you’re making corn tortillas, the correct ratio for water-to-masa harina is 1:1.
If the dough cracks when you prepare masa harina tortillas, it’s because the recipe doesn’t have enough water. You can correct this by wetting your hands and working the dough. Masa Harina dough should feel like modeling clay (the kind that kids play with).
The tortilla will stick to the press or parchment paper if it’s too wet. Dust the press or parchment paper with some dry masa harina flour and try rolling or pressing again.
Yes, resting the dough is really important because it makes sure that the dough is hydrated. You should rest the dough for 25-30 minutes, wrapped in a plastic wrap so that it does not dry out.
Make sure that your pan is really hot and press and rotate the tortilla while cooking. Then, flip and repeat.
If your masa harina tortillas feel dry or fall apart easily, the dough was too dry. You should add more water to the recipe next time.
Wrap the freshly made tortillas in a damp kitchen or paper towel and place them in a sealed container. The steam from the damp towel will keep them warm and soft for up to 2-3 hours.
