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Homemade White Corn Tortillas – A 3-Ingredient Gluten-Free Recipe

Making your own white corn tortillas is much easier than you think.

It only requires 3 ingredients and takes just a few minutes to prepare.

white corn tortillas
Homemade white corn tortillas.

Plus, they contain no preservatives that keep them fresh on the store shelves for months!

And don’t worry if you don’t have a tortilla press like you see in your favorite Mexican restaurant.

A heavy skillet will work just fine!

Yellow vs. White Corn Tortillas

Corn tortillas are sometimes the forgotten gem of gluten-free diets.

They can be used not only for tacos and burritos, but also as a substitute base for pizzas and flatbreads.

corn meal and water
Slowly add the corn meal to the water. It will look like this at first.

Even though we are not on a specific gluten-free diet, we still prefer white corn tortillas when we are eating tacos or making enchiladas.

Why do we prefer white corn tortillas over yellow corn tortillas?

The white corn variety is milder in taste and have a higher moisture content which makes them more pliable and easy to work with.

They are perfect to use for tacos, burritos and enchiladas as they can be rolled easier than yellow corn tortillas.

Yellow corn tortillas are still gluten-free but tend to fall apart a little easier than their white counterpart.

tortilla dough
Keep mixing the ingredients together until a dough forms.

The are often used for tacos, but you will often find two tortillas served with every taco when you order them from a restaurant or food truck.

That is because they are extremely thin and tend to rip easily.

However, yellow corn tortillas make excellent chips when baked or fried.

And yes, on occasion we still prefer our larger homemade flour tortillas. Especially when making wraps for lunch or dinner.

How To Make The Tortillas

Making white corn tortillas is simple and easy.

PAN corn meal
We used P.A.N. pre-cooked white corn flour for this recipe.

Most corn tortillas are made from masa harina corn flour. However, I decided to make them using a pre-cooked white corn meal instead.

The reason? I already had the pre-cooked white corn meal in my pantry.

I had used the pre-cooked corn meal to make gluten-free buns for a friend of mine and I didn’t want the rest of it to go to waste.

tortilla dough balls
Roll the dough into individual sections.

So I decided that I could use it to make white corn tortillas.

I was shocked at how easy it was. All that is required is to mix the water and salt together and slowly add the pre-cooked corn meal until it forms a dough.

**Please note – this is not the standard corn meal that you typically use for corn bread. You must use a Pre-Cooked corn meal for this recipe.

How to Press The Tortillas

Once you have your large dough ball, the fun begins.

dough in plastic
Place the dough in between layers of plastic wrap.

Tear off sections of the dough and roll them into balls. The size is totally up to you.

If you have a tortilla press, you can use that to flatten the dough to make the tortillas.

However, I am guessing most of us don’t have one handy in the kitchen. But don’t worry, a heavy skillet will work just fine!

cast iron skillet
Use a heavy skillet to press the dough.

All you need to do is place your dough ball in between two sheets of plastic wrap.

I used a gallon storage bag and cut it down each side and placed the dough in the center.

Use your heavy skillet and press down to flatten the dough. Peel back the plastic wrap and you will see that you have just made thin, round white corn tortillas.

white corn tortilla in skillet
Heat the tortilla on each side in a hot skillet.

Heat them in a hot skillet and two minutes later, you are ready to enjoy them!

And if you don’t eat them all, both the dough and cooked tortillas freeze extremely well.

Enjoy!

Mary and Jim

Jim and Mary Competti have been writing gardening, DIY and recipe articles and books for over 15 years from their 46 acre Ohio farm. The two are frequent speakers on all things gardening and love to travel in their spare time.

As always, feel free to email us at thefarm@owgarden.com with comments, questions, or to simply say hello! You can sign up for our free email list in the subscribe now box in the middle of this article. Follow us on Facebook here : OWG Facebook. This article may contain affiliate links.

White Corn Tortillas

White Corn Tortillas

Delicious homemade white corn tortillas made with just 3 simple ingredients.

Ingredients

  • 1 ¾ cup lukewarm water
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 2 cups Pre-cooked White Corn Meal

Instructions

  1. In a medium size bowl stir together the water and salt.
  2. Add the white corn meal ½ cup at a time to the mixture and stir/knead.
  3. Let mixture rest for 5-10 minutes.
  4. Divide dough into 12 even sections and roll each into a ball.
  5. Place a dough ball between two sheets of plastic wrap and press down using a tortilla press or a heavy skillet.
  6. Cook in a hot cast iron skillet for 50 seconds, flip and cook for an additional 50 seconds.
  7. Cover with a towel and cook the remaining tortillas.

Notes

Best when served immediately after cooking. Recipe courtesy of Old World Garden Farms

Nutrition Information:

Serving Size:

1 grams

Amount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g
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