You know when you try something out expecting one result and what you get is so much better? Yeah, these are that. I noticed recently that Bob’s Red Mill has started ranging in Australia – I was excited to say the least. FYI – they have nothing to do with this post, I just really like their stuff … that said, if they sent me a hamper, I wouldn’t say no, what I would do is giggle like a kid at Christmas. I get excited about baking supplies, it doesn’t take much. Anyway, while I already have my standard organic whole wheat and whole spelt and rye flours, I haven’t played around with gluten free stuff too much. Probably because we aren’t gluten free – funny that. But you know I like a good experiment when it comes to baking and cooking. I definitely don’t go for gluten free flour mixes just for the sake of it, but I have been wanting to try Quinoa flour amongst a few others for a while.
I finally got some the other day and after putting it into a jar, there was still a bit left in the bag. I was in the midst of making pancakes, shocker, and figured that I’d just add some water, make a simple batter and see if I could get a crepe out of it. To my surprise, what emerged from the pan was more like a tortilla than a crepe. Thin but flexible enough to fold, strong enough to hold a filling and a little bit earthy.
When we decided to make Fish Tacos last weekend, I knew that this was what I needed to use. I have been trying to avoid packaged tortillas ever since we started this new way of eating thing – most of them are either white/refined flour, or whole wheat but with a long list of other crap in them. I love homemade corn tortillas, and the dough is dead simple with Masa Harina and water, but the rolling I can do without unless I have a lot of time on my hands. Yes I know I can just get a press thing, no I haven’t yet.
Anyway, there are two ingredients in these, they cook in minutes and are perfect for Fish Tacos at the very least, and any other filling you would put in a tortilla at best.
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Quinoa Tortillas
Ingredients
1 c quinoa flour
1-ish c water*
pinch sea salt
Full Method in under 100
Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl or a large jug. Allow to sit for a couple of minutes while you pre-heat a sturdy non-stick skillet over low to medium low heat*.
Oil pan lightly [I used coconut oil on a paper towel] and pour in approx 3 Tbsp [just shy of 1/4 c] of batter*. Immediately tilt pan around in a circle to spread evenly.
Allow to cook until edge just begins to lift off pan on it’s own, flip to cook other side until small brown spots start to show, flip back to original side for an extra 30 seconds. Set aside on a cooling rack and stack other tortillas on top. Any crisp edges will soften as they cool.
Serve at room temp with filling of your choice. Makes 8-10 four inch tortillas
Notes:
- Batter should be quite runny so that it spreads easily in the pan, but just thick enough that the tortillas are sturdy. Test out a little bit and add more water or quinoa flour as necessary. It’s better to have this a touch too thin than too thick, you want it to spread nicely in the pan when you swirl it.
- Low to Medium-low heat lets the batter spread around before it cooks.
- Makes small-ish saucer size tortillas, if you are talented at batter swirling and experiment with larger ones, let me know how it goes!
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Wow! This is fabulous. I’m so glad you stumbled upon this in a random kitchen experiment. It’s so true that seeking out real foods opens a whole new world of possibilities!
Thanks, I love happy kitchen accidents, especially when it results in deliciousness!
I am definitely going to try this. I have been working on perfecting a tortilla but haven’t found the right flour for it. I got a tortilla press but I end up making them too thick and then they are a little hard. I have to try and make them thinner but it’s hard to work with! So def trying this 🙂 Thanks.
I hope they work for you, I just made another batch for dinner last night. Let me know how it goes!
I am so glad that I stumbled on this….I developed a corn allergy recently, which, for a Mexican it was, well,devastating. I had to eliminate so many of my culutural foods. I am definitely going to try these tortillas 🙂 My husband will be so grateful.
Oh no! I hope these work for you!
Hey, thank you for this recipe … will definitely try it very soon. I bake gluten-free, and I’m always looking for new recipes.
I just threw this together as a trial run with Whole Spelt Flour because I am out of Quinoa. They were a pinch thick but tasted great. A little vanilla, an egg, and a touch of honey (if you were so inclined) would probably make this into an awesome crepe.
Thank you for this! I have been meaning to do this myself. I have a Vitamix and was going to just make some flour from my big bag of Costco quinoa. I make pizza crust or farinata, in a similar way, equal parts garbanzo bean flour to equal parts water. You can see the recipe here: http://bfffoodproject.blogspot.com/2011/02/garbonzo-bean-flour-pizza-crust-or.html
I have a son who is no gluten no dairy and we usually use corn tortillas but I’ve been wanting to make quinoa tortillas.
I’ve been looking for things to do with the big bag of besan (chick pea flour) I have in my fridge, your pizza crust looks like a great idea! Thanks.
Bob’s Red Mill products are awesome. I love quinoa. I love tortillas. I love fish tacos. For sure I am giving this recipe a shot! Thanks!
Thanks Ann – I feel the same way about all of the above!
It’s south cheaper to grind your own quinoa. We borrowed a grinder. Set it on fine and it made a ton of flour. We probably ground less than 4 cups of quinoa – maybe even less. And I got about 10 cups
Of flour. I got the quinoa from Costco. $10 for a 4lb bag.
we just tried this recipe wanting tacos and we ended up with perfect crepes and changed dinner halfway through it all cooking…tacos tomorrow maybe???
Hi! Not too long ago I discovered a recipe for chickpea flour crepes and they are really good (known as socca in France). Anyway, can’t wait to give yours a try. Thanks!
Wow!! This sounds amazing, never thought of quinoa in tortillas! Came here from Katherine’s blog hop and glad that I did! You have a wonderful page 🙂
Thanks Ambika – glad you popped over, hope you enjoy!
I have a huge bag of Quinoa in my pantry. Do you think I could just put in my food processor and make the flour?
Hi Tina – I have never done it but would imagine that if you have a processor strong enough (I can see the vitamix and thermo bloggers waving their hands around from here!) it would work. Let me know how you go!
Yes. We bought the red quinoa from Costco and borrowed a friends grinder. Grind it fine and it will be perfect.
I just tried making these and they didnt turn out 🙁 I’m not sure why.. maybe I added too much water?
Yours look SO SO SO good though! I’ll give it another try once I get more quinoa flour 🙂
Oh no! The can be temperamental if the pan is too hot or if there is too much oil (only need a really light coating, I use a paper towel to wipe it on)
If you want to drop me an email I may be able to help. Hope they work next time!
Thank you for posting this recipe. I was on the search for a recipe like this, having incorporated quinoa into my diet recently and realizing it had a somewhat corn like taste to me, I thought can one make a tortilla out of quinoa flour? Like another person who commented previously, I too am Mexican with a recent corn allergy (I also have a dairy allergy). I had resigned myself to the idea that I’d never eat enchiladas again, but this is a great find! Thanks again.
My partner and I would like to find a way to easily make gluten-free burritos, for quick packed lunches, but we haven’t found a gf tortilla sturdy enough to handle being folded into a burrito and frozen. Will these work?
Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi Rachel, not sure if these would work well once frozen and thawed… they are best fresh but probably worth making a batch and trying it with one or two – you know, and eating the rest 😉 I tend to make them more a soft taco size than burrito however. Would love to hear how it goes!
I wonder if this will work with my chickpea (Besam) flour…
I made this last night with fresh ground RED quinoa flour. Worked great!!!!
I’ve seen this method for making quinoa tortillas on a few different blogs and I was wondering if it only works with a teflon skillet. I’ve tried it twice in my cast-iron (which is seasoned well, by the way) and all I get is a stuck tortilla that has to be scraped off and ends up looking like a scrambled tortilla. The only way I was able to make them was to add eggs and oil to the patter. I’d love to be able to make these with a regular cast-iron skillet instead of an unhealthy non-stick one.
I’m wondering the same thing about cast iron. I can’t bring myself to buy teflon, but there has to be a way to make healthy tortillas without it.
Hi Ever and Amy, a well-seasoned cast iron should work exactly like a teflon pan when it comes to non-stick!
A couple tips:
* Make sure the pan is pre-heated, this is really important. It only needs to be on low to medium-low but should be fully up to temp.
* Wipe pan with a paper towel and a small bit of coconut oil, you don’t want an oil slick, just a thin coating. This is extra important with cast iron.
* Once spread into a crepe let it cook until the edges lift on their own (like in the pic), it will not flip on any pan until it’s ready, the edge lift is the indication.
* Wipe with the oiled paper towel in between each tortilla.
Good luck!
I was wondering if you grind your own quinoa flour, do you first need to rinse and dry the quinoa?
Hi Robin, I’ve never ground my own flour but I’d say yes to washing and letting it dry first. The flour will be bitter if the saponin isn’t rinsed off.
These look super yummy! Been looking for something to have tacos with instead of plain lettuce cups.
Has any one tried making a large batch and freezing the leftovers?!
I haven’t tried freezing them, they do keep pretty well in the fridge (wrap in plastic) but need to be re-heated before using. If you do freeze them let me know how it goes! ~ JJ
What is the best way to store these after cooking? Also, have you ever tried making a bunch and freezing? Thanks!
Try this tonight. Found the quinoa flour didn’t absorb the water. How look should it have to sit. Manage to get one. Was to thick and grainy. But flavour was good. Help. Want to make for grandchildren.
Hi Karen, it should absorb instantly. If your quinoa flour is coarse it won’t absorb the water as well and the batter will split a bit. I use a really fine flour (it’s a bit luck-of-the-draw to find a good one). If the batter is smooth but too thick, simply add water a tsp at a time until it runs off the fork in a thin stream. Good luck! ~ J