Can You Freeze Tortillas? Most food can be frozen, with a few exceptions. I would read this before trying, just to be sure!

Tortillas

Tortilla is one staple to Latin and North Americans. It is widely consumed as the main source of carbohydrate for a lot of people. Hence, people make it in large quantities and store them for later uses.

Tortillas are tender and chewy flatbreads which are enjoyed all over the world. The smooth texture of this flatbread really melts in your mouth. Originating from Mesoamerica, Tortillas are now well-known worldwide. 

Tortillas are used to make tacos, burritos, nachos and a lot more Mexican delicacies. Any kind of red meat-be it beef, pork, mutton or white meat like fish and chicken are used to make fillings for Mexican dishes. These are cooked deliciously with vegetables and spices, the juices of the meat when released while cooking makes the filling so scrumptious. When the filling is wrapped with a soft tortilla and topped off with sour cream and guacamole, the dish tastes wonderful as ever. 

Tortillas are a source of carbohydrate which most people eat as their main food, just like how in Asian countries rice or noodles is widely eaten for large meals like lunch and dinner. Tortillas are made from both corn and flour.

The flour tortillas are made of all-purpose flour, olive oil and salt. Flour tortillas were introduced in Europe and later Americans also started to have it. These are usually handmade however improved technology these days blessed us with machines that manufacture bulks of tortilla.

On the other hand, Corn tortillas are rather the original tortillas. Corn tortillas were made by the Mexican people from Oaxaca region. These are generally made from maize. Corn tortillas were made by machines like tortilla presses. These machines are still manufactured for corn tortillas in Mexico. 

There is another kind of tortilla available in the market. It is called Nopaltilla. This is a cactus-corn tortilla that is it is made from corn found from cactus. These are not quite popular among people. 

Can you freeze tortilla?

Both corn tortillas and flour tortillas can be frozen. Freezing both the kinds are just the same, just because they are made from two different ingredient doesn’t mean it will complicate the process from the other.

Tortillas are available in cheaper price in the supermarket than in grocery stores. Thus, people often buy them in bulk and store them for further uses. Freezing food items are mostly done so that they stay good for a longer period. It is a general suggestion to not have frozen foods as they lose their freshness, flavors and sometimes nutritional benefits over the time.

Just in case we are wondering what to do with the extra tortillas that you have bought from the grocery or even if you have made that by yourself, do not worry. Like most other food items, tortillas are also freezable. 

Is it Alright to freeze tortillas?

Tortilla is one of the most freezer friendly foods. You may think that tortillas taste better when they are straight out of the stove, but which food item doesn’t taste heavenly when served fresh? In fact, tortillas taste just the same even after freezing. 

Store bought tortillas can be frozen quite well if they are unopened. The can stay well up to 6-9 months however you can always check the expiry date for that. Store bought tortillas are made including food grade preservatives, this ensures that tortillas have a prolonged shelf time. 

How to freeze tortillas?

In order to freeze tortillas, we will require tortillas, zip lock bags or airtight container, and parchment papers. The steps to freeze tortillas are as follows:

Take the tortillas and place it in a stack of 5.

• Place parchment paper between each tortilla; make sure to cut the parchment paper in such a way so that they are slightly larger than the tortilla.
• Finally, hold all of it together and place it inside a zip lock bag.
• Put it in the freezer. 

These steps are to be followed if the tortillas are store bought. In case you want to store homemade tortillas, you must need to carry out few additional steps.

• Make sure the tortillas are cool.
• Follow the steps mentioned earlier.

These ways you can leave your tortillas to freeze in the freezer and these shall stay good up to three months.

Studies suggest that by following these steps carefully, tortillas can be kept good up to 8 months. But it will not have the same texture and flavor. Thus, it is recommended to eat these tortillas within two to three months. 

How to thaw tortillas?

Thawing tortillas are just as easy as freezing them, they are so thin and light-weight that they can thaw pretty fast. Moreover, tortillas do not contain any fat content thus thawing is easier. Usually the high amount of fat in specific foods items, mostly meat, increases the thawing time.

However, if you are in a hurry, you can heat up the tortilla in a microwave but this might turn the tortilla a little soggy. We suggest you to heat it up in a pan as you can control the temperature and gently flip it over while it is reheating.

So, in order to thaw tortillas, you just need to transfer the zip lock bag or the airtight container to the refrigerator. This should be done for 4-5 hours or overnight.

Bottom line

As previously mentioned, tortillas can still retain their quality and taste even if they are frozen. But, that needs to be done in a proper way so that none of our tortillas go to waste. Any food item is freeze able when preserved in the best way. Tortillas are no less! In this article, we have tried to guide you to freezing your tortillas in finest possible ways so that they can be served as good as freshly made ones.