For the past couple of months, my mom has been wondering how to make homemade tortillas. In a fit of temporary insanity (aka I didn’t want to continue studying just yet), I finally searched a recipe on the internet. And then I made some quesadillas with them.

I actually really loved the outcome. It’s such an easy recipe –anyone can do it. And it feels homemade and organic. Whatever that means. As long as it’s not fast food and preservative-heavy.

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Introduction: Flour Tortillas and Quesadillas

In Mexican cooking, which to be honest I miss so much right now, tortillas are thin, circular flatbreads made of cornmeal or flour.

Flour tortillas have a good amount of fat and calories compared to corn tortillas. They’re softer, easier to roll, and equally adaptable to many recipes*, including tacos and wraps. And quesadillas.

*I even saw a recipe on Tiktok where they made a sandwich out of flour tortillas by cutting down the circle and folding it over. It’s the same thing we did with the nori/seaweed in making an onigirazu here.

A quesadilla is a tortilla that is filled with cheese and heated. This definition makes “cheese quesadilla” a bit redundant. But that’s to emphasize that I was too lazy to add other savory fillings such as chicken or beef, which can sometimes also be found in a quesadilla.

Once again, I cannot emphasize how easy these recipes are. And yet how impressive they can be if your guests have no idea how to make flatbread or how to heat cheese.

Let’s start!

Ingredients: Flour Tortillas and Quesadillas

To make 10 pieces of flour tortillas (with each piece around 10-15 cm when rolled out), you’ll need:

• 3 cups of all-purpose flour or wheat flour
• 1 tsp of salt
• 3 tbsp of olive oil
• 1-1.25 cups of water

To make 5 cheese quesadillas (or 10 if folded), you’ll need:

• 1 cup of grated processed cheese — I was just talking about preservatives, and yet we only had Eden cheese at home…
• 1 cup of grated mozzarella and cheddar cheese
• 1 onion, finely minced
• 2 tomatoes, minced
• Butter

Other ingredients that would make your quesadilla awesome, if you were less lazy:

• Hand shredded chicken or diced beef
• Bell peppers, diced
• Black beans
• Chili powder, ground cumin, pepper et cetera

Homemade Flour Tortillas and Cheese Quesadillas Recipe

Melted cheese sandwiched between homemade tortillas. Yum. Ready for breakfast, second breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner, supper, whenever!

Making the Flour Tortillas

Prep time: 20-30 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

1. Mix all dry ingredients for the tortillas in one bowl.
2. Add in the olive oil. Mix with your hands.
3. Slowly add water until the dough is formed. It shouldn’t be sticky. Most of the dry ingredients should be well incorporated. You can use more or less water, depending on the flour that you use.
4. Knead the dough for at least one more minute.
5. Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces. Shape and press them lightly to create a flattened disc.
6. Let the dough rest under a towel or cling wrap for 15 minutes. Though I personally took one hour since I went back to studying. Lol.
7. Using a roller pin, flatten each ball until you get a flat uncooked piece of dough that’s around 10-15 cm in diameter. In my opinion, there’s no need to be super strict about the thickness of a tortilla.
8. Set your pan to medium heat. There’s no need for oil, since the tortilla dough already has oil. And we’re not actually frying dough.
9. Heat one side of the tortilla for around a minute. Air pockets should form.
10. Then flip the tortilla and heat the other side for another thirty seconds. There should be browning of some parts of the tortilla. But be careful not to burn either side.
11. And you’re done!

You can store homemade flour tortillas in your fridge for about week, probably longer if you store it in the freezer.

Making the Cheese Quesadillas

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

1. Set your pan to low-medium heat. Add half a tablespoon of butter.
2. Add one tortilla to the pan. Sprinkle the center with a handful of cheese, onion, and tomatoes (and any other ingredient you can think of), leaving an inch or so as a margin. Be careful not to layer too many ingredients.
3. Add another tortilla over the filling like a sandwich. Press down on the quesadilla to ensure that the heat and melting cheese gets everywhere.
4. Melt another teaspoon of butter on top of the second tortilla. Let it heat for another twenty or so seconds.
5. Flip the quesadilla to heat the other side.
6. Sprinkle with some garnish, then serve and enjoy!

An alternative and probably more traditional way is to fill one tortilla and then fold it over like an omelette. I prefer making my quesadillas like a circular sandwich pizza thing.

Anyway. Quesadillas are a great any-time-of-the-day food. And they’re super filling!

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Until next time.

❤️ Your resident kitchen gremlin

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