Low Sodium Tortillas
Fresh tortillas, where have you been my whole life? Chewy, savory, and with crispy edges, these tortillas will become a perfect base for your tacos and quesadillas.
The beauty of these tortillas is that they are low in sodium, and with that, you can enjoy your tortillas in a healthier way.
These tortillas are made with simple ingredients: flour, and water. What could be easier? And they have zero extra sodium!
If you are thinking you will miss the salt in these, I assure you that you will not even notice, because when these are combined with your favorite filling, which is usually seasoned, the lack of salt in tortillas will not be important at all.
Making Flour Tortillas At Home
My kitchen is always stacked with tortillas. I use them on all kinds of occasions: Taco night, quesadillas, chip making, and more. When I want something comforting, my go-to is a tortilla with melted cheese, corn, and chili sauce.
Sometimes I buy tortillas, and sometimes I make my own, but a few days earlier I was talking to my friend, and she asked me, ”Can we have low-sodium tortillas?” I asked her why, and she showed me the nutritional label of the tortillas lying on my counter.
I realized then that 8 tortillas from that one brand have 200mg of sodium inside! I thought it was too much, so I decided to make tortillas with zero salt. Low and behold, the results are great, and they taste even better than those tortillas you get from your store!
Making tortillas in the comfort of your home is very easy. As mentioned above, you need simple ingredients, water, flour, and some olive oil. You can shape these however you want, with a rolling pin or tortilla press.
A rolling pin is very cheap, but with a tortilla press, you will have these all shaped up and ready for frying in no time. Plus, the tortilla press can be used for many other things.
I use it to press garlic, shape burger patties, crush walnuts, and make super easy dumpling wrappers. If you’re in need of a tortilla press, I always suggest this one that’s available on Amazon.
To make tortillas at your home, you will combine water, flour, and olive oil. Shape the ingredients into a dough and let it rest for 15 minutes.
Then, you just have to divide and shape the dough into small dough balls and roll them out or press with a tortilla press. And that is it – your tortillas are ready to be fried in a skillet and served with the desired filling!
Do I Need To Add Baking Powder?
I have come across several recipes that suggest adding baking powder. I have given it a test, and there is not much difference. You can add it if you want, only 1tsp. It will not harm, but does not make difference in texture.
My Tips For Making Perfect Tortillas
- Roll the tortillas fairly thin. You want them about 6-inches in diameter and to look somewhere translucent if you held them up to the light. Thick tortillas will not be soft enough.
- If you are trying to roll the tortillas and your dough keeps coming back and shrinking, you just have to leave the dough to rest for another 15-20 minutes so the gluten can develop.
- For this recipe, I used olive oil and tried out butter. These both work great. When it comes to other types of fat, I do not recommend coconut or peanut oil, because the tortillas will taste just like those oils. Always choose neutral-tasting oils.
- Your first tortilla is your friend. This one will show you how much time is needed to cook so they are perfect. If your first tortilla is stiff, then you have cooked it too long or at way too high heat.
- Cook the tortillas only long enough to get some nice bubbles on the surface and a few brown spots on the underside. Then flip them and cook for another 15-20 seconds.
- It is also important that you allow your tortillas to steam each other. Stack them directly after cooking and keep them covered with a kitchen towel (or use a tortilla warmer like this one). This help will help the tortillas steam up each other and get nice and soft.
Low Sodium Tortillas
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 8 minutes
Servings: 8 6-inch tortillas
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup lukewarm water
- ¼ cup olive oil
- Desired filling (I used ground beef, cherry tomatoes, chopped parsley, and cheese)
Instructions
1. Combine flour, oil, and water in a mixing bowl. Stir until the dough comes together.
2. Transfer the dough to a kitchen counter, dusted with flour. Knead the dough for 10 minutes or until elastic.
3. Let the dough rest for about 15 minutes. This will help the gluten develop.
4. Divide the dough into 8 parts. For smaller tortillas, you can divide the dough into 12 parts.
5. Roll out the dough into circles of equal size.
6. Cook the tortillas in a skillet for 40 seconds. Flip them and cook for another 20 seconds.
7. Stack tortillas and cover them with a clean kitchen cloth.
8. Serve tortillas as desired and enjoy!
Low Sodium Tortillas
These tortillas are soft with the perfect crispy edges, without all the sodium!
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup lukewarm water
- ¼ cup olive oil
- Desired filling (I used ground beef, cherry tomatoes, chopped parsley, and cheese)
Instructions
- Combine flour, oil, and water in a mixing bowl. Stir until the dough comes together.
- Transfer the dough to a kitchen counter, dusted with flour. Knead the dough for 10 minutes or until elastic.
- Let the dough rest for about 15 minutes. This will help the gluten develop.
- Divide the dough into 8 parts. For smaller tortillas, you can divide the dough into 12 parts.
- Roll out the dough into circles of equal size.
- Cook the tortillas in a skillet for 40 seconds. Flip them and cook for another 20 seconds.
- Stack tortillas and cover them with a clean kitchen cloth.
- Serve tortillas as desired.
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