After making my first batch of tortillas the other day, I decided to try another recipe. I chose a recipe that uses vegetable oil (and very little of it) instead of lard because, lets face it, there isn’t always room for lard in our lives. At least not mine.
I ate one right off the skillet and I wasn’t too impressed. The texture was more like a flat bread than the almost pie-crust-like, flaky texture of lard tortillas. I figured that I wouldn’t make them again… but then the low fat tortillas and I had a moment.
Fast forward to 3:30am New Years day when I stumble into the house after wishing the entire city of New Orleans a happy New Year. I had one thing on my mind and one thing only: EGG AND CHEESE QUESADILLAS!! I didn’t pay attention to which tortillas I grabbed out of the fridge because, honestly, at that point it didn’t matter. Well, I grabbed the low fat batch and I was very pleased. They were good. Very good, for being low fat. And that wasn’t just my celebratory state speaking. I’ve eaten them nearly every day since! I probably WILL make these again after all!
So, for all of you who can’t afford to have lard in your diet, here is a good substitute. (but to be fair, you really can’t compare the two… lard tortillas and non-lard tortillas are just two different beasts).
Flour Tortillas v.2.0 (low fat)
Flour Tortillas v.2.0 (low fat)
Servings 12Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour ($0.16)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour ($0.15)
- 1 tsp salt ($0.05)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder ($0.05)
- 2 tsp vegetable oil ($0.03)
- 3/4 cup warm water ($0.00)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking powder. Stir until evenly combined.
- Combine the warm water and vegetable oil then begin adding to the flour mixture a little at a time. Stir and add water/oil until the dough comes together into one piece. You may need more or less water depending on the moisture content of your flour (I ended up added an extra 2 Tbsp).
- Knead the dough for about a minute. Shape into a ball and let rest, covered with a damp towel for about 10 minutes. Divide the dough into 12 pieces and shape each piece into a ball. Let rest for another 10 minutes.
- Roll each piece of dough out into a 6 inch circle about the thickness of a piece of poster board. Stack the tortillas, dusted with flour, until they are all rolled out.
- Heat a heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat. One at a time, cook the tortillas in the hot skillet until blistered and slightly golden on each side. Stack the tortillas on a plate covered with a dry towel to keep them soft and warm until all of the tortillas have cooked.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!The tortillas will stay good in the refrigerator (in an air tight container) for about a week.
Step By Step Photos
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and stir until evenly mixed.
Combine the oil with the warm water and then begin adding to the flour mixture. Stir in water until it forms one piece of dough (no dry bits left in the bowl). You may need more or less than 3/4 cups of water depending on the moisture content of your flour.
Knead the dough for about a minute then shape it into a ball. Allow the dough to rest for about 10 minutes.
Divide the dough into 12 pieces (for 6 inch tortillas).
Shape each piece into a ball and then let rest for another 10 minutes.
Roll each tortilla into a 6 inch circle. Dust each tortilla with flour and stack them until they are all rolled out.
Heat a heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat. Cook each tortilla in the hot, dry skillet until they are blistered and slightly golden on each side. Stack them on a plate, covered with a dry towel until all of the tortillas have finished cooking.
Keep the tortillas in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
At what point can you freeze these to store away? And how long do you think they would last in the freezer
I made these (small ones) to make homemade fish tacos for dinner. They worked really well, and were so easy! Thanks for the recipe!
Mel – you definitely want to cook them on both sides :) I hope they turn out delicious!!
This looks great! I want to be sure I’m right that we are NOT flipping these and heating them on both sides in the pan? Just heating them through from one side?
I’m in the mood to make these and the (not)fried beans so I can make some of the tortillas for lunches when I head back to school soon so I have quick lunches!
About to make this recipe. I calculated it and the Total calories for 1 Tortilla is 78, Fat .97g, Carbs 15.31g, Fiber 1.35g, Protein 2.4 g. This fits perfectly into my diet.
AHH! i just found your blog and i am SO EXCITED! all these recipes! all of them on the cheap! and all of them pretty healthy! you have saved me – i just moved in with my boyfriend and the task of cooking (almost) every night and keeping it healthy, easy, and affordable has been daunting. THANK YOU!
Deb – Yep, you can just replace the whole wheat flour in the recipe for regular. :)
Hi :),
Love your site. I was wondering if you have to use whole wheat flour. Could I just double the all purposed flour?
I just found your blog and I can honestly say, now that it’s 1:35am on a Wednesday night and I’ve spent the last 2 hours perusing your awesome recipes, that you are my new favorite person. LOL Seriously, I am really digging your blog, big time! And I am more of an art/craft blog kinda girl so to find me on a cooking blog….whoooo, big change. But a change I am so ready to embrace. I need to cook more, cook better foods and definitely need to do it on a budget so thank you so much!
Anyway, my take on tortillas, after living on the Mexican border of Texas for 10 years and as much as I love homemade and have a need to cut fat, the very best tortillas I’ve ever made (even better than with lard) were from packaged flour tortilla mix that you just add water, divide, roll out and dry fry. But hey, I’m willing to give these a try…who knows?
Thanks again.
Peace & Love,
~Barb~
Thanks, Beth! Your blog has inspired me to teach myself how to cook. :) Thanks for posting such great instructions.
Sarah
Sarah, it might just take practice and finding your own method but here is what I do: first I flatten it into a round disk with my fingers. Then, roll once, 1/4 turn, roll, 1/4 turn, roll etc. Just keep practicing :D
I just made these! They turned out well, but I had a hard time making them into circles. Any tips?
Thanks!
I actually made these tonight, and they were met with much happy munching!
I’m super impressed with both of these tortilla recipes — they look amazing! I’ll definitely try this sometime soon (though probably the one *with* lard.) Thanks!
I just tried the first recipe with the lard and so far so good. They seemed a bit dry at the “dough” stage, but I was happy that once i rolled them they stayed their shape. Definitely will try with vegetable oil. I know I always have that on hand. Thanks for posting the low fat version!