Whole wheat tortillas with no oil or fat! Perfect for your plant based burritos, soft tacos, and quesadillas! This easy recipe uses just a few basic ingredients, and is easy enough for your to enjoy fresh homemade tortillas any day of the week.
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After sharing my recipe for Fat Free Tortillas, I realized that some of you prefer whole grain recipes. So I decided to test my tortilla recipe with whole grain flour, and I’m thrilled with the result!
Yes, you can enjoy your Mexican dishes and sandwich wraps with fresh oil free whole wheat flour tortillas! They’re so much cheaper than whole grain wraps sold in the stores, and you get to control the ingredients. What’s better than homemade tortillas for your burritos and wraps? Make up a bunch of these when you have time, and freeze them so you can enjoy the homemade quality any time you want wheat tortillas!
Ingredients for homemade wheat tortillas
The ingredients for these tortillas are so basic, you likely have them in your plant based pantry.
- Whole wheat pastry flour – you can use regular whole wheat flour, but I like working with the finer texture of whole wheat pastry flour.
- Vital wheat gluten – can be omitted, but helps make the dough more elastic.
- Baking powder – helps the texture of the tortillas.
- Salt – for flavor. This can be reduced or omitted if you are sensitive to sodium.
- Hot water
Instructions
In a medium bowl, whisk together the whole wheat pastry flour, vital wheat gluten, baking powder, and salt.
Add in the hot water, a little at a time, mixing with a fork or by hand. Continue adding the hot water until you have a soft, but not sticky, bowl. If you add too much water, you can reduce the stickiness by adding in flour a tablespoon at a time.
Knead the tortilla dough for about 5 minutes on a floured surface, until you have a nice smooth ball of dough.
Divide the dough in to 10 pieces and form them into small balls. You can dampen your hands with a little water if you find it makes it easier to form the balls of dough.
Cover the balls of dough with a damp kitchen towel and allow the dough to rest for about 15 minutes. This will relax the gluten and make it easier to roll the tortillas.
Preheat a cast iron skillet or electric griddle to medium heat.
After the dough has rested, take a ball of dough and press it into a disk. Roll the dough with a rolling pin on a well floured surface. Turn the dough as you roll to maintain a round shape. Roll it as thin as you can, to approximately 8 to 10 inches diameter. It’s OK if your tortillas are not perfectly round.
Place the tortilla in the pan and cook until it bubbles and starts to brown. Flip it over and cook on the other side until it forms light brown spots.
Place the cooked tortilla on a plate and cover with a damp towel. Or place the tortillas in a Ziploc bag with a couple of paper towels. The steam from the warm tortillas will help to soften them.
Repeat with the remaining dough balls. I roll out one ball of dough while the previously rolled tortilla is cooking, keeping the remaining balls of dough covered with the damp towel until I’m ready to use them.
Are you new to oil free cooking? Check out my Oil Free Cooking Tips to learn more about oil free baking, roasting, sauteing, and more!
Serving Suggestions
- These tortillas are perfect for making the tortilla bowls for my Vegan Taco Salad!
- Fill them with your favorite burrito fillings, like my Lentil Walnut Taco Meat, Easy Refried Beans, or Instant Pot Black Beans.
- Use these wheat tortillas instead of the corn tortillas in my Quinoa and Black Bean Enchiladas.
- Make a vegan quesadilla with my Vegan Cheddar Cheese or Vegan Pepper Jack Cheese.
- Fill with hummus, falafel, and veggies for an easy and delicious sandwich wrap.
- Top with my Pizza Sauce, Vegan Mozzarella, veggies, and maybe my Vegan Pepperoni or Italian Sausage, and heat in the oven for a tortilla pizza!
Frequently asked questions
Definitely! Although they to take a little bit of time and effort to make, they are actually quite easy! They cost pennies to make, and the flavor of homemade tortillas is so much better than any you buy from the store!
The tortillas can be stored in a Ziploc bag in the refrigerator for 5 to 7 days. For longer storage, freeze the tortillas in a Ziploc bag for up to 3 months.
I haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free flour, but if you’d like to try making the gluten free, I’d recommend using a 1-to-1 gluten free flour blend like the one from Bob’s Red Mill.
Explore our Vegan Staples Cookbook
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Whole Wheat Tortillas
Ingredients
- 3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 to 1 ¼ cups hot water
Instructions
- Combine the whole wheat pastry flour, vital wheat gluten, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
- Gradually stir in the hot water to form a soft, but not sticky dough. If you add too much water and the dough is sticky, add more flour a tablespoon at a time. If the dough is too dry, add more water a tablespoon at a time.
- Knead the tortilla dough for about 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth.
- Divide the dough into 10 pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Cover the balls of dough with a damp towel to keep them from drying out, and let them rest for 15 minutes.
- Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat.
- Roll out a ball of dough on a floured surface as thinly as you can. The rolled out tortilla will be about 8 to 10 inches in diameter.
- Place the rolled out tortilla in the heated skillet and cook until it forms bubbles and begins to brown. Turn it over and cook on the other side until it bubbles and begins to brown.
- Place the cooked tortilla on a plate covered with a damp towel, or in a Ziploc bag with a couple of paper towels. The steam from the hot tortillas will soften them.
- Repeat with each of the remaining balls of dough.
Nutrition
Nutrition calculations are approximate.
