A staple recipe for us, spelt tortillas are in the regular rotation and can be used in so many ways. I first started making these more regularly years ago because it was impossible to get good tortillas in Germany and never stopped! This is a really simple five ingredient recipe.
You might think you don’t have enough time to make these easy tortillas, but you probably do. The trick is to toss whatever you’re filling them with in the oven while you make them so that you end up with dinner on the table in the same amount of time anyway. We often make refried beans with the tortillas and then just have a burrito with raw veg, or roast up some cauliflower for vegan cauliflower tacos.
It ends up taking about 15 minutes total, but that’s with some practice quickly rolling and frying, so it might take a little longer the first couple of times you make them. The trick is to roll them out as thin as you can, and use enough just flour so they don’t stick to the counter.
There are loads of delicious spelt-based staples here on OE. If you’re looking for more easy spelt flour recipes that make great sides, try spelt flour buns, easy coconut oil biscuits, or another yeast-free favourite, sweet potato flatbread.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Spelt flour: use light spelt flour for tortillas most like store-bought. Blend whole grain and light, or use all whole grain, if you want something more wholesome. Plain white flour can be subbed 1:1.
- Olive oil: any type of liquid oil can be subbed for the olive oil.
- Coconut oil: this is best for cooking because it splatters much less than some other options (like olive oil) but you can use your preferred cooking oil.
Step by Step
1. Mix dry ingredients: whisk the flour, salt, and baking soda in a mixing bowl.
2. Knead the dough: add the water and oil, then knead until the dough comes together.
3. Divide: split the dough up into roughly equal pieces.
4. Form balls: roll the dough into balls (this makes for better final shapes).
5. Roll out: use a rolling pin to roll very thin, or a tortilla press if you have one.
6. Cook: for a few seconds on each side, until bubbled up and lightly golden.
Recipe Notes
The tortillas might be a little crunchy when they first come out of the pan if they’re a touch overcooked, but they soften up quickly and are very roll- and fold-able. Cover with a damp tea towel while you continue cooking.
I reduced the original amount of baking soda by half from the original recipe. If you want puffier tortillas, use a half teaspoon, but please note that they tend to taste slightly metallic with that much.
How to Store
Storage: best fresh, these can be kept in a sealed container for a couple of days. If you plan on storing them, it’s best to use leftovers for something like quesadillas rather than a recipe where they’ll need to be flexible, like a wrap.
Freezing: the tortillas do tend to harden and dry out after freezing and don’t work very well for wraps after they’ve been frozen. I’m testing an alternative that uses some starch to make this a better option, but for the time being, only freeze if the tortillas will be used for something like chips.
Newsletter
Expert Tips
- Don’t worry if it rips: if you tear one while rolling it out, just press the dough back together and roll it again. Don’t worry if they’re not perfect, especially not the first time.
- Cook briefly: it’s key not to overcook the tortillas. They need a very short time in the pan.
- Use hot water: it doesn’t need to be boiling, but should be at least tap hot. This makes the dough much easier to work with.
- Brush off the flour: as you continue cooking, any residual flour left in the pan will slowly start to burn. Try to brush any excess flour off the tortillas before frying to prevent this.
Fill Your Tortillas
Roasted Potato Tacos
Cauliflower Tacos
Hummus Wraps
Vegan Refried Beans
If you make these Spelt Tortillas or any other vegetarian sides on Occasionally Eggs, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more OE, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, purchase the Occasionally Eggs cookbook, or subscribe for new posts via email.
Whole Grain Spelt Tortillas
Ingredients
- 300 grams spelt flour*
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 180 ml hot water
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- Coconut oil for cooking
Instructions
- Add the flour, salt, and baking soda to a large bowl and mix to combine. Stir in the water and olive oil, then stir or knead with your hands until the dough forms into a ball.300 grams spelt flour*, 1 teaspoon sea salt, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 180 ml hot water, 3 tablespoons olive oil
- Place a large, flat bottomed pan over medium heat. Lightly flour a flat surface (a counter) and take a piece of dough that's about the size of a golf ball, or two tablespoons. Flatten it with your hands and then roll it with a floured rolling pin, going in every direction to try to make it round, as thin as you can. Use as much flour as you need to keep it from sticking.
- Add a little bit of coconut oil to the hot pan and use a silicon brush to make sure the pan is coated with oil. Place your rolled out tortilla into the pan and let it cook for 20-30 seconds, then flip and cook the other side for another 20-30. Don't overcook.Coconut oil
- Repeat the process for the remaining tortillas, placing the finished ones on a plate covered with a lightly damp tea towel as you go. They'll soften as they sit while you finish cooking the remaining dough but might seem a little crisp at first.
- Leftovers don't store very well, so if you have a lot of extras, try cutting them into pieces and baking them at 200°C (400°F) for about ten minutes to make chips the next day.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was first published in May 2017. it has been updated with very slight changes to the recipe as of January 2023.
Katharina says
Hi there I‘m wondering whether you can successfully freeze the wraps? Or would they break when I roll them? Thanx!
Alexandra Daum says
Hi Katharina, I do find that they tend to dry out more after freezing and do tend to crack a bit when rolling. I think you could probably switch out part of the flour for a starch and it would help with that but I haven’t tested it.
LL says
Could one substitute lard for the fats in this recipe? Thank you!
Alexandra Daum says
I’ve never tried it and have never cooked with lard, so I can’t really comment on this – you’d just have to try it!
Sara says
Do you have a tortilla recipe that works for storing in the fridge to use for lunch wraps? Thanks!
Alexandra Daum says
Hi Sara! I don’t, but it’s definitely something to think about. I imagine it’d need a higher oil content and maybe some kind of starch to help keep it softer when cold – I’ll do some testing!
Kub says
Great recipe it’s quick to prepare I’ve made pizzas with the dough and tortilla chips the dough gets real thin if you keep rolling it out I used white spelt and sprouted spelt flour they work good together thanks for sharing. Peace&Love
Holly says
Thank you for this spelt flour tortilla recipe. I’ve made them a few times now with and without a tortilla press and I love them. Thank you
Debra Carlan says
These were so easy to make and tasted lovely.They didn’t quite look as good as yours but hopefully practice will make perfect.
Thank you for this recipe
Alexandra says
Lovely to hear that, thanks Debra!
Silvia Stanbrook says
Thank you for this great recipe. I tried spelt flour tortillas before but they always came out tough….not this one. It´s really great! Soft pliable tortillas. I´ve made them tonight and my family just loves them. Here in Germany its difficult to find ingredients for mexican food……We have not been eating any wheat products for 3 years now and our health is so much better . This is a keeper! Love from Germany….
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
It is SO hard to find good ingredients for Mexican food in Germany! I’m so happy you like the recipe, Silvia : )
Tomi Ellis says
It's the first time I've made anything from your blog and, after making these tortillas, I know it's not going to be the last. Really simple, tasty and quick!
she loves biscotti says
I have pinned this one to try. This recipe looks like a keeper. I love the fact you are using spelt flour. Fantastic post, thanks for sharing ♥
The Food Blog says
I've been wanting to make my own tortillas, it's on my list, because, have you seen the ingredient list on the commercial ones? Yuck. And the organic ones are so expensive. These look easy and yummy!
Emerald says
Has anyone tried freezing these??
Gabrielle @ eyecandypopper says
Such a great recipe! I love spelt and it's always hard to find healthier tortillas that actually fold! Good job, I look forward to giving this a try in the near future!
UrbnSpice - A Taste of Heart & Home says
I look forward to trying your spelt Tortilla recipe, Alexandra. My daughter can tolerate spelt flour easily, so it is very timely for me. Thank you! They look delicious and healthy.
Dana Sandonato says
These are gorgeous, Alex! Making homemade tortillas has been sitting in the back of my mind for a while now, but I keep shrugging it off for fear that it would be time consuming. But this post has inspired me to get to it, much like Cassie did with getting me to make my own bread (which I do weekly, now). So, next up, tortillas! These look delish.
Nicoletta De Angelis Nardelli says
Yummed and pinned it too! Would love to make homemade tortillas! They look beautiful and do not seem so hard to make, so I'm definitely going to attempt. In Italy, too, all the ethnic food is not as good or as popular as it is here in Canada or America. So, making your own sounds pretty good to me 🙂 .
Elaine @ Flavour and Savour says
PInning this one, and I will definitely be trying it. I've found that spelt agrees with me, so this will be a really useful recipe. Thanks!
M-Pie says
What a great alternative to the wheat tortilla! Plus the glycemic index must be way lower! I definitely will try it out!
Alexandra Daum says
I'm so happy to hear that, Cathey! It is fun, isn't it?
Cathey Mitchell says
You're right, it really is super fast to make these. For anyone hesitating, just try it! Once you get the hang of it, it's actually a lot of fun x)