After years of frustration trying to find corn tortillas that don’t fall apart when steamed or dipped in sauce, I started making my own. I tried several methods that worked o.k., but it wasn’t until I tried the method that I found in one of my favorite cookbooks Gran Cocina Latina, that I was able to consistently turn out great tortillas. I usually make regular corn tortillas, but it’s fun changing them up a bit and making flavored tortillas like these red chile corn tortillas. The method and the recipes are basically the same. The only difference is that you substitute some of the water with red chile sauce. The outcome is a beautiful red tortilla with a red chile flavor and a little spiciness in every bite.
My homemade tortillas work great with beans, as soft taco shells, and in enchiladas. How they don’t fry up very well for chips, but the whole tortillas do bake nicely for tostadas. To bake preheat the oven to 375°F. Place the tortillas on a sheet pan and place in the oven. Turn 3- 4 times until crispy.
Red Chile Corn Tortillas
This recipe and process is similar to making regular corn tortillas. The main difference is that some of the water has been substituted with red chile sauce. For an exciting treat, use hot chile and then serve these with a drizzle of honey. So good!
"*"See Kitchen Notes for more information.
- Tortilla press
- 1 quart size ziplock bag
- Plate and slightly damp paper towel
- Tortilla warmer with paper towel
- 1 two burner griddle* or 2 single burner griddles
- 1 cup Masa Harina*
- ¼ tsp. salt*
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ½ cup red chile sauce*
- ½ cup hot water*
- Mix together the dry ingredients – masa harina, baking powder, and salt.
- Mix together the wet ingredients – water and red chile sauce
- Slowly add 3/4 cup of the liquid to the masa while you work the dough with your hands*. Continue to work the dough for at least 2 minutes until you have a smooth, soft dough. If the dough seems too dry, add 1 tablespoon of liquid at a time until you get a smooth, but not sticky, consistency.
- Create eight or more 1.5″ diameter balls of dough*. Roll in your hands until smooth. Set on a plate and cover with a damp paper towel. (If you have an 8″ press, roll out 2″ diameter balls.)
- Heat one side of the griddle over a medium heat. Heat the other side over a medium-low heat.
Cut off the top of the ziplock just below the locking strip. Open the bag by cutting down both side seams. Open the bag and place one side of the bag on the press.
Place one of the balls of dough on the press and fold the other side of the ziplock over the ball of dough. With your hand, flatten a little bit.
Close the press and press down to flatten the ball, but don’t press hard. Open the press and turn the tortilla with plastic 90° and press again, a little firmer this time.
Carefully roll up the top side of the plastic bag. Flip the tortilla over and carefully remove the other side of the bag by rolling from the open end. Flip over onto the palm of your hand.
Flip the tortilla onto the hotter part of the griddle. Let cook for 30 seconds, then flip. Cook for 1 -2 minutes then flip again. The tortilla should start to puff up. If it doesn’t, tap the center gently with the spatula. Once puffed (it doesn’t have to puff much) move onto cooler side of the griddle for another 60 seconds.
Continue adding other tortillas to the griddle. You’ll get your timing down to where you can be cooking 3 or more at a time.
Place a paper towel in a tortilla warmer. As the tortillas finish cooking, transfer to the tortilla warmer and cover. The tortillas will continue to steam and soften.
Continue until all of the tortillas are cooked.
Two Burner Griddle – Great for tortillas, pancakes, quesadilla, French toast and many, many more.
Kneading the dough – For those who don’t like to use their hands to mix, use a spatula to initially combine the wet and dry ingredients. However, at some point you’re going to have to jump in there and use your hands. That’s the only way you’ll be able to really get a feel for the dough. Always go for smooth and not sticky or wet. If it’s too wet, just sprinkle in some more masa.
Tortilla Size – With corn tortillas I usually get 8 tortillas, but with the red chile tortillas, I get 10 tortillas. The tortillas do start out being about 6″ in diameter, but shrink to around 5″ while cooking. If you want larger tortillas, buy an 8″ press. Make the dough balls about 2″ in diameter for the larger press.
Doubling the Batch – To make a double batch, increase the masa to 2 cups, the liquid to 1 ½ cups (3/4 cups water and 3/4 cups red chile) and baking powder to 1 tsp., and the salt to ½ teaspoon. A double batch usually doesn’t need the full 1 1/2 cups liquid, so I initially work in 1 cup, then add more liquid a little at a time until I get the right consistency.
Masa Harina – There are several brands of Masa Harina, and different brands yield a little difference in texture and color. For tortillas for soft tacos, I use a white corn masa flour like Torti Masa. It is a finer masa than most other brands, yielding a softer, tender, and more moist tortilla. For enchiladas or tostadas, I use brands like Bob’s Red Mill, Meseca or Quakers. These brands yield a little thicker, firmer tortilla that holds up better in enchiladas.
Red Chile Tortillas – Because of the thickness of the red chile, a little more liquid is needed. I usually end up using the full cup. You’ll probably be able to get 8 – 10 tortillas from this size batch.
Red Chile Sauce – The red chile you use can be made from pods or made from powder.
Water – The water you use should be hot water.
Salt – Many tortillas recipes omit the salt all together. I’ve tried that and didn’t enjoy the flavor as much. It didn’t seem to affect the cooking process so the salt is really for taste.
Below are some recipes that work great with these tortillas.
Chicken Tacos with Green Chile Corn Relish
Grilled Portabello Tacos with Red Chile Yogurt Sauce
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I’m saving this recipe. I am SO fascinated by the homemade corn tortillas and they have chile in them? Wow they are very special ones for sure (to impress anyone!). I haven’t been here (or any blogs) much, and first thing I noticed is your new (or newer) picture of beautiful MJ. I LOVE your smile – made ME smile. 🙂 You haven’t changed at all since you were young (in your about page). I’m going to browse your site a little longer to see what you’ve been cooking. 🙂
Thanks so very much Nami!!! Oh, you’re so sweet…I’ve change a lot since I was young, but yes, the smile is still there. I get it from my mother. 🙂 Hope you are still enjoying your awesome new kitchen!!!
I’ve never made tortillas from scratch, MJ, but your recipe really does make me want to give it a try! Your Red Chile Corn Tortillas look delicious – and your step by step instructions make them look very do-able.
Thanks so much April!
I’ve never made my own tortillas, such a shame. Yours look so good, but I cannot buy masa harina around here… Is there a good substitute?
I’ve never tried using it, but I’ve read that you can use a fine ground yellow cornmeal, but you’ll probably need to add about 1/2 tsp. to one cup of cornmeal. Thanks Adina! Hope you’ve ha a wonderful weekend.
I love the color. I have not forayed into tortilla making but you might want to check out the cookbook Tacos by Alex Stupak and Jordana Rothman. (I reviewed it here: http://eliotseats.com/2016/03/06/deviled-egg-tacos-with-sikil-pak/.) They have some really delicious sounding tortilla recipes in it too.
I guess I need to find a tortilla press! 🙂 Thanks, M.J.
I saw that! Loved the deviled egg tacos and the book looks like a real keeper! Thanks Debra for linking to it.
Even the tortillas are infused with chillies! Nice one, I love it
🙂 Thanks Raymund!
I’m so glad to see this post MJ! I’ve not had stellar experiences when making my own corn tortillas, and usually look for the freshest local tortillas… I’d always prefer making my own. I’m anxious to give your recipe a try, and I love the addition of red chile sauce!
Thanks Tamara! Considering how far I have to drive to find freshly made tortillas, I might as well just make them at home. 🙂
Home made tortillas… LOVE!!! A goal this year is to make my own bread, pizza base and now tortilla, wouldn’t have thought to make them fancy with red chilli tho. Cant wait to try. 🙂
Thanks Anna! Oh you really need to make your own bread! There is nothing Better!
We don’t have many good options for tortillas around here—and I’ve thought often that I need to make my own. Adding to my foodie bucket list 🙂
Thanks Liz! They are actually quite easy to make. Hope you give them a try.
I can eat this spicy chile corn tortillas with some mild curry. Love it this post MJ.
Thanks Swathi!
They look so gorgeous, dear MJ! Red chile sauce makes wonders, I am sure not only from the aesthetic side 😉
(What a beautiful photograph! I like it a lot!)
Thanks Sissi! Now that you’ve made NM red chile, you now how these could taste. 🙂
I am keeping this to try MJ! I love tortillas and especially corn ones! Your new photo of you looks lovely with that inviting, wide smile! Pinned!
Thanks Katerina! Glad you like the photo! I needed to update it. 🙂
I’ve always wanted to try making my own tortillas, but I’ve found it intimidating. This is a great post and your tortillas look really lovely!
Oh Amy, they are so much easier than you think. And believe me, you’ll find homemade much better than store bought.
I have a tortilla press… use it to make roti.. LOL! I guess I should try my hand at some tortillas now! 🙂 These tortillas look so flavorful… I would just heat them and add some butter… that’s all I need. 🙂
I would not expect anything less from you than making your own tortillas….with red chile! Just love them, so beautiful and I bet absolutely the best.
Thanks so much Evelyne!
Excellent tutorial! I don’t take the time to make my own tortillas often enough. Your scrumptious post is an inspiration! Adding red chile sauce is genius.
Thanks so much Deb! Glad you enjoyed the tutorial! I wanted to add more picture, but I have a very hard time cooking and taking pictures at the same time. The camera gets too messy. 🙂
I’ve never added chile sauce to my tortillas! Great idea — I’m SO going to do this. 🙂 I often (usually) don’t knead my tortillas quite as much as you do. I usually have a pretty good dough after a couple of minutes, but I should try kneading more to see whether I like that better. I love the flavor of homemade tortillas, but the only downside is they’re thicker than a tortilla factory makes. That’s often a plus, IMO, but in enchiladas I do like a thinner tortilla. Anyway, super recipe — thanks.
GREAT! Adding red chile was one of those “liquid for liquid” ideas, so why not and it worked! On the kneading, I have found that the consistency of tortilla is better fits my tastes with a longer kneading. The Gran Cocina book actually says 5 – 10 minutes, but I have found 5 minutes longer enough. On the enchiladas, since I normally make the restaurant style, flat and one serving at a time on the serving plate, the thicker tortillas work nicely. If I were to make a casserole type batch, then, you’re probably right – thinner is better. Thanks John!
Hello Peach Lady,
Could I make these with regular skillets? with just water for our aging digestive tracks?
BTW your new photo is lovely.
Yes, you could use cast iron or any heavy skillet that has a nice even heat. And I make them with just water all of the time. I explain how in the Kitchen Notes. Thank you for your comments Darlin!
I have never made corn tortillas…I love these with red chile so much! Thanks for sharing, MJ.
Thank you Angie! With all of the grains you work with, I’m surprised you haven’t made tortillas before.
I am in love home made tortillas and not any corn tortillas but red chile ones. Awesome. I know they taste so much better homemade. When I am visiting back in the real world I need to smuggle back in some Masa harina or just stop off at your house for dinner.
Oh I knew you’d love these! Sure the boys will love them too. 🙂 And then if you do make it to New Mexico, you are welcome to dinner any time!!!!
Hi MJ, how have you been?
Glad to be back again and I can see that you have been busy. Just the other day I thought I wished I could make tortillas because what you get here is not worth mentioning. Anyway homemade and fresh corn bflat bread is always comforting and wholesome. Can’t wait to try your red chili corn tortillas!
Hey Stranger! 🙂 We’re fine over here. Hope you are doing well and it’s nice to see you back. I’m not surprised that you can’t get tortillas there. Can you even get masa harina? Hope so. That’s needed for good tortillas. Thanks for your comments Helene!