These (15-minute!) gluten free and keto tortillas are super pliable, easy-peasy and make the best low carb tacos… at just 2g net carbs a pop!
15-Minute Gluten Free & Keto Tortillas
Suuuper pliable, 2g net carbs & not eggy (at all!!)
I’m very (very) excited to share this recipe for keto tortillas with you guys! Because know that I’m (half!) Mexican i.e. I know tortillas.
The result is a nice and pliable tortilla which will puff when cooked. An ideal replacement for flour tortillas (or corn, for that matter). All for your taco’s delight!
Oh, and did I mention just 1 egg for 8 tortillas?! Yup, no eggy business here here peeps.
Also note that this recipe was first published here on October 17th, 2017… and has since appeared in multiple other websites (ahem!!). Just know that you saw it here first (plagiarism is the greatest form of flattery right?! 😉
The Flours
The original recipe is a mixture of super fine almond flour (I love Anthony’s) and coconut flour (again Anthony’s best taste and texture by a mile!). Add a touch of xanthan gum, baking powder, and we’re golden.
The Substitutes
I know you guys need to substitute often (allergies, preferences etc), so this should come in handy:
- Almond flour can be substituted with sunflower seed flour on a 1-to-1 ratio. Given its similar fat and protein content to almond, this really is the best sub out there for those of you with nut allergies! Just note that its generally not ground as fine as almond and it has a different flavor profile, but I know you guys love it as you report back on it often.
- Coconut flour is a bit of a trickier one to sub as its more unique in its behavior, but still totally doable (as I found out in the naan recipe!). In fact, when yeast is involved, oat fiber had the best texture out of the lot, arguably as it is a grain. Oh, and the neat thing about oat fiber is that it’s virtually carb-less (I’m assuming there’s a trace, but labels read 3g carbs – 3g fiber = 0 net carbs!). Also keep in mind that brands vary a lot here and Lifesource seems to be the best (no weird aftertaste, etc).
- Xanthan gum is the trickiest of the lot to sub, because of its totally unique ability to act like a binder to replace gluten. Which means that for best results I suggest not trying to sub this one. Having said that, in case of allergies or sensitivity (or if paleo), you can use 1 tablespoon of psyllium husk powder instead. The dough won’t be a as malleable, but results will still be solid.
The Method
Couldn’t get any easier tbh! You simply whisk together the flours (very thoroughly!), add them to your food processor, add in a touch of apple cider vinegar (or any neutral tasting one), add in the egg and a touch of water. The dough will then come together into a ball, which you’ll wrap with plastic wrap and knead for a couple minutes (think sort of like a stress ball!).
No food processor? No worries! You can use your hand or stand mixer or even do it by hand with a little extra elbow grease. I don’t suggest using blenders though, as the dough is quite stiff and it could damage your engine.
And for the roll out, using a tortilla press is much easier (I use this one!). But it works just fine with a rolling pin and two pieces of parchment paper.
One last (very important!!) thing: when cooking, coconut flour burns rather rapidly. So while this does help you to get the traditional charred marks of flour tortillas, you do need to keep an eye out for them to keep them from burning. Having said that, you do want your skillet to be very hot in order for the tortillas to cook quickly (in under a minute) and stay pliable. Like any tortilla, if the heat is not high enough it will harden and crack.
Taco Ideas!
You’ll soon find that our keto tortillas are incredibly versatile! You can make crisp taco shells with them, use them up for fish tacos and carnitas, burritos, turn them into tortilla chips (and subsequently nachos!), taco bowls… you’ve got plenty of options!
And last, but not least, I’ve also since found that the tortilla dough has multiple uses (outside of Mexican food, that is)! So I suggest you check out our Crazy Keto Dough for more deets (think cinnamon roll knots, pizza and pasta!).
(15-Minute!) Gluten Free & Keto Tortillas
Ingredients
- 96 g almond flour
- 24 g coconut flour
- 2 teaspoons xanthan gum
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 3 teaspoons water
Special equipment
Instructions
- Add almond flour, coconut flour, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt to food processor. Pulse until thoroughly combined. Note: you can alternatively whisk everything in a large bowl and use a hand or stand mixer for the following steps.
- Pour in apple cider vinegar with the food processor running. Once it has distributed evenly, pour in the egg. Followed by the water. Stop the food processor once the dough forms into a ball. The dough will be sticky to touch.
- Wrap dough in cling film and knead it through the plastic for a minute or two. Think of it a bit like a stress ball. Allow dough to rest for 10 minutes (and up to three days in the fridge).
- Heat up a skillet (preferably) or pan over medium heat. You can test the heat by sprinkling a few water droplets, if the drops evaporate immediately your pan is too hot. The droplets should ‘run’ through the skillet.
- Break the dough into eight 1” balls (26g each). Roll out between two sheets of parchment or waxed paper with a rolling pin or using a tortilla press (easier!) until each round is 5-inches in diameter.
- Transfer to skillet and cook over medium heat for just 3-6 seconds (very important). Flip it over immediately (using a thin spatula or knife), and continue to cook until just lightly golden on each side (though with the traditional charred marks), 30 to 40 seconds. The key is not to overcook them, as they will no longer be pliable or puff up.
- Keep them warm wrapped in kitchen cloth until serving. To rewarm, heat briefly on both sides, until just warm (less than a minute).
- These tortillas are best eaten straight away. But feel free to keep some dough handy in your fridge for up to three days, and they also freeze well for up to three months.
Help the taste is great I added cumino & garlic powder but they are not pliable. & I used a tortilla press I’m a tortilla maker at home but these I need help with any thoughts key they are not pliable & split?
Hi Gracie! Garlic powder can make them hard (and prone to sticking). Otherwise most likely your skillet wasn’t hot enough (they need to cook in under a minute) xo!
I wanted to come back and say I remade them with the spices I added & made them much more thinner almost paper thin kept them wrapped in a towel and the were pliable. I also fried some up & made chilaquilles 💕
These were tortillas! They were a hit with my men.
Nice recipe, but I’m a little confused. In step 4, you say you don’t won’t the skillet too hot, heat over just medium heat. But in the Recipe Notes you say you want the skillet very hot. Which is it?
Hi Richard! Yup,thats the thing about tortillas- you want the skillet to be very hot so they cook in order a minute and puff up (but also not hot enough to burn them!). There are actual jokes about this, and it really is a thing that each person needs to play around with. xo!
Thanks for the recipe! Is the vinegar used for it’s acidity? If so, I think I could substitute it with lemon juice. My mother can’t have vinegar right now.
Hi Christy! Sorry I missed your comment earlier! The vinegar also affects the taste slightly, so in all honesty I’m not sure if lemon would be a perfect sub here. xo
Just made these tonight. Wonderful!!!! I made the recipe 1.5 times, to allow for goof-ups, but I didn’t have any!
I just bought a tortilla press and I think this is essential for easily making uniform tortillas. I also cut a ziplock bag in half to use in the tortilla press.
There was no coconut taste, which surprised me. Even my DH declared them a definite success!
I have some corn flavoring which I’m going to try adding next time around.
Thank you so very much for this – and all – your truly wonderful recipes.
Your incredible creative efforts are so appreciated!!!
So, I love this recipe. I use it all the time. I just messed up at added TBSPs of water instead of tsp… is there anyway to save it or should I just ditch it and start again?
Hi Jenn! Yeah I would start over unfortunately. Having said that, don’t through it away! Spread out the dough as well as you can and bake it. You’ll get some sort of crackers (or bread crumbs at least) xo!
Breadcrumbs, you say? Hmmmm. You might be onto something!
I am allergic to eggs so can you suggest substitute for eggs.
Unfortunately I haven’t found something that works great here Sunil
Paola is there a substitute for the Xanthan Gum?
Unfortunately no 🙁
Dear Paola, MUCHAS GRACIAS for these wonderful tortillas!!! Now at long last I can enjoy tacos again. We had fish tacos the other night, and I was in love. Question: do you think these tortillas would hold up in an enchilada dish? Just wondering. Thank you so much again–totally brilliant recipe!
LOL de nada Lisa!! 😉 And yup on the enchiladas, just make sure your sauce is more on the thick side and you’ll be good! xo
As everyone has already said, these are AMAZING! Hands down the best thing I’ve made while going Keto (& I’ve experimented quite a bit). I loaded them with lettuce, cheese, Quorn Beef Strips (I’m vegetarian & it’s made from mycoprotein – 0 net carbs!), & some salsa. So very tasty. I might buy a tortilla press just so I can make these more often! I cannot thank you enough for this recipe that is now going to be a staple in my kitchen.
Thank you for your comment Robyn, that’s awesome to hear! And a tortilla press is highly recommended 😉
I just made theses and they were awesome but the only problem I have it’s not 2net carbs it’s about 5net carbs am I doing something wrong ? Just added everything on MyFitnessPal.
Hi Sheeba! I would suggest you check the values of everything well, as you can easily grab wrong numbers on MyFitnessPal xo!
I came up with the same – about 4.5 net carbs each. I scanned barcodes on my ingredients too? Can different brands of flours make a difference? I used Bob’s Red Mill for all my dry ingredients. They sure were delicious though! My hubby was thrilled! My dough never formed into a ball? It was like these little beads but I dumped them out onto the cling wrap and worked it into a ball. Wondering why that happened?
Could be that it’s taking in a wrong value for the xanthan gum (happened to another reader). Values do vary between brands, but not by 2g. If your dough didn’t form into a ball you could try adding a teaspoon more water (coconut flour absorbency does vary a lot from brand to brand). xo!
Wow wow wow! These are INCREDIBLE! We had chicken fajitas last night and they totally hit the spot. There were only 2 of us eating so I’m glad I kept half the dough back for another night as I think we would’ve had trouble resisting the lot! Thank you so much for spending so much time in the kitchen developing these recipes for us, it really is much appreciated!
It’s my absolute pleasure Shona! Just so happy to hear you guys enjoyed them so much 😉 xo and thank you for your comment!
These are the business!!! I did not have high hopes since a lot of keto bread-alternative type items usually all taste the same. These are surprisingly awesome! I have been buying low carb ones from the store but I totally prefer these! I am eating some right now with cinnamon “sugar.” and bacon. duh.
And by the way, you have some of the best keto recipes on the web! Thank you for being such a phenomenal resource!
Hello has anyone ever tried to turn these into chimichangas? I haven’t had any luck so far with a tortilla that is pliable enough to fold, roll and fry (I know deep frying isn’t Keto, but my gluten free teen really misses chimis)
Thanks 😀
I would like to know this too. And I don’t know why frying would make them unfit for ketosis. I’m on a low-carb, high fat diet for a time and I would like to see if I can make these tortillas into chimis using a higher fat oil. I read somewhere that the author gives advice on how to make these into taquitos but I haven’t found that post yet. I think I recall seeing it once, though, and the author saying you should start with an uncooked tortilla, wrap your items and then fry. I believe she also said that if you want more crisp, put them in the oven. I am going to try this anyway. Maybe I will report back.
I am so sad! I didn’t get them right 🙁 They stuck to the parchment paper, when I separated the two sheets of paper half of the dough was in one side, and half on the other…what did I do wrong? A video would be nice to watch the exact process. Thanks
Oh no! The issue was simply too much water (either too large egg or the dry ingredients weren’t measured properly). There will be a video coming hopefully next month (I had surgery on my wrist, so haven’t been able to do it :-S!) xo!
Ok, thanks, I’ll try that. I also live in Mexico City, would be nice to have a comm line with you since some ingredients sometimes are hard to find here 🙂
Which ones are you looking for? I can def help ;)!
Oh, and get well soon!
Alma,
I use a ziplock bag cut in half instead of parchment paper, works every time. 🙂
Thank, April! 😀
These are the best and easiest tortillas I have tasted!! Thank you!
My pleasure Jessica! Thanks for reporting back 🙂
Really great recipe! I did modify this one cause i wanted them to be keto but i dont have a sensitivity to gluten so i added a half of cup of vital wheat gluten and a table spoon of lard or coconut oil. Made them a little more pliable and i was able to press much thinner.
Thanks for your detailed comment Allen and happy these worked well for you! Just keep in mind that gluten in any form isn’t strict keto as it’s a known inflammatory food (though if it works for you, just don’t sweat it!). xo!
I have to say, I was very intimidated to try this recipe. I was super worried I was going to screw it up somehow but man….these came out PERFECT on my first try! I reread every tip and instruction multiple times before attempting and I didn’t even need to stress. These are sooooo good! I have really missed tortillas and this completely hit the spot. My boyfriend even liked them! Thank you so much!
Lol that’s awesome to hear Kayla! So happy you guys enjoyed them! xo
Hi Paola! I absolutely love these! I’m Spanish so it opens up so many other options! But the only thing is that I’ve been making some of your recipes since I started 2 months ago, I follow the instructions thoroughly but I still have the strong taste of baking powder. Is there any way not to taste the baking powder anymore without ruining the food? Thanks!
Melanie I’m sorry to have missed your comment earlier! In all honesty this is the first time I’m hearing about the baking powder taste, and since you’re getting it in all the recipes have you considered that maybe yours has lost it’s potency? I chuck mine out every 6 months to ensure it works 100%. I hope this helps! xo
If I don’t have apple cider vinegar can I use regular distilled or balsamic?
Use regular, not balsamic! xo!
Hello! Can I substitute the xhantan gum with gelatin?
Unfortunately no Flo, they don’t behave the same
Is 89 calories for a single tortilla?
Yes Lace! That’s also fairly average (even below average) to any tortilla (at least Mexican ones) xo
HI!! I was wondering if I Can substitute apple cider vinegar for regular vinegar?
Hi Jess, yup go for it! xo
Hi! These look sooo good, like proper tortillas and not egg wraps, I’m eager to try them!
Thank you so much for your great recipes, and by the way I finally baked the thin mints, and keep the in the freezer like you suggested. Soooooooo good! I just switched the peppermint extract for oil, they were great!
A question, has anyone tried to make breakfast burritos with this tortillas? I was thinking maybe make 4 instead of 8 to have plenty of space to roll up some eggs, cheese and sausage or whatever and freeze them for those hectic mornings!.Thoughts? It would be great to just stuff one in the microwave and take it on the way, I miss those quick fixes since converting to low carb!
Hi Alba, I’m sorry I missed your comment earlier. You can definitely make them bigger and freeze. Though in all honesty I haven’t tried in a microwave as I don’t own one (a bit hippy over here!) xo!
Don’t worry, thanks for the answer! I think I’ll try it and report back here 🙂
Freezer burritos are great! You can just pop’em in the oven ten or fifteen minutes if you dont have a microwave, it beats having to prep breakfast when you are in a rush! Hoping it goes well, I’ll be back 🙂
Yes please do report back! And you’re right, beats having to breakfast prep. Check out the breakfast hot pockets on the site, they use the uncooked dough from the tortillas. And you can freeze and bake straight from the freezer. xo!
I have extra large eggs well that’s work to make these tortillas
It will probably be too much liquid added Veronica. You can not adding the teaspoons of water, but I suspect it will still be too much egg. xo!
This tasted really great even though I found it difficult to roll thin. My tortillas came out thick, couldn’t get them thin. What could have gone wrong please
Hi Funke! Maybe try adding a more water next time (even just a teaspoon could make a big difference). Grain free flours vary a lot from brand to brand (and how you store them), so they each absorb humidity a little different. Might take a couple tries to find your own sweet spot. Also keep in mind that these are best pressed down with a tortilla press, much easier to get them nice and thin than with a rolling pin. Hope this helps! xo
Thank you for the advice.
Made these last night and they were amazing!! I had my doubts because of other keto flour recipes I’ve tried that were just plain awful (bagels), but these turned out perfect! I’m so happy I found your site and I can’t wait to try your other recipes!
Arlene that’s so awesome to hear! Hope you enjoy the recipes and thanks so much for reporting back 🙂 xo!
Made these today, and they taste just like tortillas usually do. However… mime were rather pale and pasty, no charred marks- how do I fix this for next time?
Hi Grace! It sounds like your pan wasn’t hot enough to char them, so just heat it up longer next time and play around a bit! xo
This is the first recipe I’ve made of yours, and I’m convinced that you must be some sort of wizard. They are wonderful! Since I’m a full-time student, I don’t have a lot of time to cook during the week. I know that you said that these are best served fresh, but even after a couple nights, wrapping them in foil seems to work really well.
You’re seriously a lifesaver, the lack of tortillas while being keto was killing me.
Oh lol I’m so happy to hear that Annelisa! And thanks for reporting back in detail 😉 xo!
These are INSANELY DELICIOUS!! Totally wasn’t expecting them to be better than actual flour tortillas! I can see myself at 70 yrs. old still making these. Wow, just wow.
LOL!! That’s so awesome Nate!! Literally cracking up here