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.
Can I make a big batch of the dough and store it somehow? Bc you need this dough for almost every recipe. I didn’t see anywhere where this idea is mentioned.
Hi Oscar! Sure thing! You can keep it in the fridge for about 4 days (I just take a piece here and there for fresh tortillas, mini pizettes etc) 😉
What about freezing it? Can I do it and if so what is the recomendation for thawing?
following…this is a great question.
I don’t have xantham gum. Can I substitute guar gum?
I just finished making these wonderful tortillas. I have a taco baker for the oven. Could I bake these into a tortilla bowl? or taco shell on a rack? I love your site and since finding it use it almost exclusively. I never have to worry about high carb counts. You are a lifesaver.
Thank you soooo much!!!
xxoo… Donna
Awesome to hear Donna and definitely! Search the site (upper right corner) for taco shells (and tortilla chips!) xo
This recipe is fantastic!! Thank you so much for posting!
Thank you Tabitha!
I finally figured out why mine didn’t work out. In the description area, it’s talking all about coconut flour. BUT…the recipe says almond flour. That correction would make all the difference!
Mmmm??? The recipe calls for BOTH almond flour AND coconut flour Kimmee… xo!
Paola,
Can you skip the coconut flour??
Sorry! My error. I was reading too fast.
Thanks for the reply.
I will try the recipe again.
Hi Paola! First off I have to say, your website has been a LIFESAVER since I went keto! I don’t think I would have made it this long without your chocolate chip cookies and muffin recipes. Would it be possible to prep a large batch of these and freeze the uncooked dough to use later when a taco craving hits? Or does it have to be made fresh? Thanks!
Super awesome to hear Olivia!! OK so in my experience this dough doesn’t freeze well uncooked if you want to make tortillas (texture wasn’t optimal), but you can always freeze the cooked tortillas (or I just make a weekly batch, keep it in the fridge and use it as needed… keeps roughly 4-5 days). If you use the dough for ravioli etc those can be frozen uncooked xo!
These guys taste amazing! Easy, fast cooking. Love ❤️ I’m now making the Bagles and are proofing in the oven as we speak:) can’t wait 😊 look so good!
Thank you for these recipes ❤️💋🙏🏽👍🏼
Thank you so much for your comment Violet! Super awesome to hear, hope you love the bagels too! 😘
Hi Paola, this recipe is fantastic. But I don’t get this, why are you saying that you need to cook these on medium heat, while also saying that you need to cook them on high heat at the same time?
Made these and they were and awesome option for tacos and quesadillas!! So you mentioned that if they cook too long they crack… is it possible to make a ‘chip’ out of these…like for a nacho alternative?
Yeah! Search the blog for tortilla chips, they even puff up (they’re also linked in the post xo!)
I wondered the same thing.
Hey, I wanted to know how long the these tortilla’s stay good. I meal prep a lot, so I wanted to know if I could make the batter or tortilla’s ahead of time. Thank you!!!
I froze them and just took a few out for a meal. Worked wonderfully! I used a microwave, but I’m sure just leaving them out on the counter would work.
These are so amazing! My husband and I have been keto for 2 months, and we have missed tacos. Taco bowls with cauliflower rice are good, but not the same. I made one batch and since we both love them so much I went right to Amazon to get the tortilla press! I am awaiting it’s delivery today! I enjoyed the workout from using a rolling pin, but I know I will be making these all the time now! Thank you, thank you for this great recipe!
I’m allergic to almonds, is there a way to make these using only coconut flour?
All coconut won’t work Derrick, but you an try sunflower seed flour instead xo!
OMG! Yes, Yes, Yes… a dream come true… thank you for this recipe, I made the chips and the tortillas, delicious x one-million!
I made these last weekend using the recipe as posted, and I didn’t personally like the coconut flavour that the coconut flour gave them. The only brand we can get is very strong in the flavour department. Great for baking sweet things, not so much for burritos.
Made another batch today making smaller tortillas for tacos, but subbed out the coconut flour for the same amount in oat fiber, and they turned out fantastic.
Hi Paola,
Amazing. Just amazing. This recipe is perfect. Hi from the Netherlands by the way. I was looking for a while for a taco/wrap recipe that would work. Tried a few, didn’t work. Tried a few liquid ones, didn’t work. But this? This is PERFECT. Well they were square but I guess I just need to balance the doses a bit better and get a tortilla press but wow they are awesome. Very happy.
These are amazing! I honestly couldn’t believe that they remained pliable and did not crack!
And SO easy! Made them for dinner 2 nights in a row. 🙂
You’re is bay far my favorite website for keto recipes that actually live up to their descriptions and are truly delicious!!
Thank you!!
LOL! That’s awesome to hear Jess! 😉
Is the vinegar essential? I can’t have anything acidic. What does the vinegar do for the recipe? I’m excited to try them so I’m hoping I can leave it out. Thanks, Pam L
Paola, I just tagged you in a new blog post recommending these tortillas. They are my go to! Thanks for the great recipe!
So many comments I hope I am not repeating a question. How well do these freeze? I would like to make a big batch and freeze them. Should I use a vacuum seal or just zip lock bag?
Paola,
First off, I love your website – great recipes and I’ve learned a lot about cooking from reading it!
Second, I made this recipe exactly as published. I loved the taste, look and flavor, but for some reason, my tortillas came out hard and brittle. I couldn’t for the life of me make a soft, pliable tortilla like you described. Eating it warm or letting it cool made no difference, it still became very hard. Every time I tried to bend or fold the tortilla it snapped in two like an old grade school pencil. Help. What am I doing wrong?
Oh no Jamie, sounds like you ended up with tostadas! Did you make sure to add the water? What brand of xanthan gum are you using? And lastly (and the usual culprit), your skillet/pan wasn’t hot enough. You want to cook the tortillas in under a minute at VERY high heat, otherwise if you slow cook them you end up with crisp tortillas (i.e. tostadas!). I hope this fixes it! xo and happy to hear you’ve enjoyed the other recipes!
Paola – a follow up to my original post. I’ve remade the tortillas following your recommendations and guidance. They turned out perfect!!! OMG, what a game-changer these are! Finally, I can have my beloved fajitas I love so much that I haven’t had since I started my keto lifestyle. These look, taste, and feel exactly like wheat flour based tortillas. There is no difference, as far as I’m concerned. MMMmmmm, soft and pliable and tasty – yes!!! Here is what I have learned from my cooking experience:
1) You must use HIGH heat on your skillet, pan, or whatever. I mean really high! I was previously using a very cheap aluminum pan that didn’t get hot enough and probably didn’t distribute the heat evenly throughout. I used my high-end cast iron skillet and turned the heat up so much that my “seasoning” avocado oil that I coat it with in storage with was just barely starting to smoke. I then came back down on the heat a little bit and used a medium heat flame on my gas stove. But it was still very hot, probably much greater than my cheap aluminum pan I used previously. When I cooked the tortillas, they only required about 30 to 40 seconds on either side, prior to flipping. It was really quick. I can’t state how important it is to cook this very fast – that is the secret to soft and pliable tortillas! If it’s taking longer than a minute per side, your heat is probably not high enough. When is it done? Just look at it. It should have that slight “charring” of the tortilla and change from a yellow to a white color. When it does that and looks like a “normal” tortilla, then it is done, in my opinion.
2) There seems to be a correlation between the time/temperature and softness/pliability, I’ve noticed. “Low and slow” heat seems to cook the entire tortilla and makes it harden and crack to make a tostada, as mentioned above. You want to quickly cook and char the outside without cooking the inside too much so that it can remain soft and pliable. You accomplish this by using “high and fast” for the temperature. If you stick to this it will avoid hardness and cracking of the tortilla.
O.K., Paola, now count me as a devoted follower, lol! Keep up the great work and keep putting up awesome recipes, I appreciate it!
Thank you so much for these additional instructions. I was trying to figure out where the recipe called for cooking over medium heat in a “very hot” skillet, and now I understand. I also realize that my el cheapo nonstick frying pan would never work for these, so I will have to pull out and re-season my cast iron skillet.
These taste nothing like real tortillas, it will never pass for my Mexican family.
Marianna they’re not made out of corn, so they’re (quite obviously!) never going to taste like ‘real Mexican corn’ tortillas! Think of them more as a flour version (yo soy Mexicana viviendo en Mexico asi que estoy de acuerdo a que obvio no saben a maiz! 😉 xo!
Haven’t seen if you use oil in the pan when frying? Thinking about olive oil or coconut oil. Thanks!
No oil needed!
I would love to use these tortillas for enchiladas! Do you have an low carb enchilada sauce recipe? I wouldn’t want the tortillas to fall apart!
yay. I am so tired of spending $8 for a pack of 8 almond flour tortillas so I am so glad these turned out well! and they hold together better than the ones from the store, too. the only change I made was using cream of tartar and baking soda in place of baking powder because I didn’t want the corn and couldn’t find a baking powder without it. A++++++
OMG! I can’t thank you enough for giving me back fajitas, tacos, burritos and enchiladas! Okay, I haven’t actually used these tortillas to make enchiladas yet but I am going to this weekend. Fingers crossed it works and they don’t fall apart on me. 🤞🏻🙏🏻 These tortillas are so easy and so tasty. I highly recommend investing in a tortilla press, the Victoria 8″ is only $25 on amazon and well worth every penny. I bought one before going keto to make corn tortillas and dusted it off to make these, takes mere seconds to press a tortilla and so much easier than rolling them out! Now I’m wondering if I can use it to press my fat head pizza crusts….
At any rate, thank you Paola for another awesome recipe! We had fajitas the other night and for dessert I made your chocolate mousse for one (two) with a pinch of chili powder thrown in. So delicious!
Super awesome to hear Cat! And you should be fine with enchiladas (I make them all the time!). Just make sure your salsa isn’t too wet, that’s were you could run into problems xo!
Ijust purchased a Victoria press and can’t wait to try these!!! Do you use the round parchment paper you can buy for the Victoria or do you keep the dough in between the plastic wrap? 🙂
I am so sorry Jaleesa, I just saw your question. I just use my regular parchment paper, the kind on the roll. One sheet on the press, then the dough, then another sheet over the dough. Just don’t press them too thin or it’s a pain to get them off the parchment paper.
So easy to make and so delicious! Everyone in the family loved them 🙂 We cooked up ribs in the slow cooker and filled the tortillas with shredded meat, lettuce and avocado. Amazing 🙂 Thanks so much!
Do you have to use a food processor to mix everything up or can you just mix it by hand?
You can do it by hand (or even better with a hand mixer too!). If you do by hand you really need to break out the arm muscle as the dough is quite stiff (and sticky!). But I’ve done it before 😉
Hi, I was excited to find your gf tortilla recipe. However, I can’t eat eggs. Do you have any suggestions for making these egg-free? Thanks, and I understand if that is an insurmountable request.
I made the chips version of these yesterday (and saved some dough to make the tortillas tonight), and they turned out awesome! The only problem I ran into was the dough completely stuck to the wax paper I used for rolling them out 🙁 I ended up losing a whole ball’s worth of dough because it was hopelessly stuck to the paper. For the rest, I fixed this by spraying a bit of olive oil onto the paper before rolling out the dough and it didn’t stick at all!
It sounds like the dough was too wet (very large eggs, different coconut flour etc)- so try either skipping the water next time or adding less xo!
Oh okay, thanks for the tip! I read the dough was supposed to be sticky so I assumed it was as it should be, good to know it was actually too sticky!
It will feel sticky because of the xanthan gum, but should be firm 😉
Could it be because she used wax paper and not parchment paper? I use parchment or plastic wrap.
Possibly, but I’ve used it before too on emergencies and it worked alright
I thought about that but I even tried flipping it around to use the non-waxy side and still had trouble. Thanks for the idea though! I’ll try adding less water to the dough next time.
I made it twice and the second time I substituted whey protein for coconut flour (I didn’t care for the coconut flavor) and it turned out amazing! I used around 2 teaspoons extra water (total 5 teaspoons of water). I even made them into tortilla chips and they crisped up nicely! Thanks for the great recipe!
How much whey protein did you use? Same amount as the coconut flour?
Yes I used the same amount as coconut flour
Thanks for posting your substitution. I’m not a huge fan of coconut, in general, and while I love these tortillas, I’m sure I’d love ’em even more without the coconut taste.
Deliciosas!!!
😉