Q: I'm looking for suggestions on what to do with a bunch of leftover flour tortillas from a fajita party, besides have another fajita party or eat quesadillas for the next three weeks. Help!
Sent by Katie
Editor: Katie, here's a thread on things to do with leftover corn tortillas — a lot of the ideas would also be good for flour tortillas:
• Seeking Suggestions: Ways to Use Up Leftover Tortillas?
Readers, what are your favorite ways to use up leftover tortillas?
Related: What Is the Best Way to Heat a Tortilla?
(Image: Emma Christensen)
Straw Mat from The ...

Cut into strips, I use them to thicken soups. I add them during a re-heat, or the last 10 minutes of cooking. They add a nice bit of texture, too. This also works with leftover corn tortillas. Or, you can brush with oil, crisp them in the oven to use for dipping into hummus.
Brush tortilla with a little bit of water and sprinkle on a mixture of cinnamon and sugar, use a pizza cutter to cut into wedges, bake in the oven until crisp. Let cool and serve with fruit salsa.
Freeze them.
Mexican lasagna - use the tortillas in place of lasagna noodles, season the beef with taco seasoning, use a cheddar cheese and enchilada sauce - so easy, so delish!
I would recommend the cinnamon sugar idea as well, I make that for breakfast. Only instead of baking it, I just brush both side with a little butter (usually warm the tortilla a bit in the pan and then just rub the butter stick on both sides) flip once and sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar. I cut it afterward and serve with chopped up berries if I have them.
Another idea is a mexican themed lasagna. Use the tortillas instead of lasagna noodles and spread in some corn and beans perhaps.
Alton Brown on Good Eats had a good episode about tortilla reuse. Can't remember the name of it, however.
One night the kitchen was almost empty I just started throwing stuff together. Ended up with provolone, mushroom and proscuitto quesadillas that were amazing.
My house loves mexican lasagna (although I use shredded chicken instead of ground beef, and sour cream mixed with an egg for the ricotta cheese). My sister in law makes an easy and fabulous appetizer: take an 8 oz package of softened cream cheese, and mix in a packet of taco seasoning (or and equal amt. DIY taco seasoning if you are so inclined). You can also add chopped black olives to this. Spread on the flour tortillas, and roll up. Then slice them up, and chill for a bit. Serve with salsa - SO GOOD!!! They stay for a couple of days in the fridge, so I often make a mini batch and take them for lunch.
Tortillas are not just for Latin cooking. Many culinary genres have a form of flat bread like tortillas. Chinese wraps with duck and plum sauce is awesome. How about pressed sandwiches on a tortilla. Try replacing naan with a tortilla in Indian cuisine when eating curries and other stewed dishes.
Make grilled taquitos - Fill them with shredded chicken or whatever filling you want, roll and grill them with cooking spray or a little olive oil. Serve with shredded lettuce, guac, salsa, etc.
Chilaquiles!! Tortillas cut into triangles, fried, drenched in enchilada sauce, topped with eggs/chicken/cheese/onions/sour cream. Margarita on the side, please. YUM.
Definitely make chilaquiles! Yum!
great for making individual pizzas. i have been doing it for years --my kids love them. saute flour tortillas in a tiny bit of oil until they puff up. put on baking sheet, make a pizza: i use my own tomato sauce, mozz cheese, raw italian sausage, spices, drizzle a little bit of olive oil on top and bake for about 10 minutes, or until sausage is cooked and cheese is melted. you can put ANYTHING on these for quick and easy pizzas.
I fry mine in a few inches of oil in a big cast iron pan. Sprinkle with salt and have people over for a movie. They'll be gone by the end of the night, especially if you serve them warm with bloody marys on the side ;)
make chips.....cut in triangles and spray with pam. Sprinkle with salt and bake 5-10 minutes in one layer on cookie sheet. Flip them and spray with pam and sprinkle with salt again. 5-10 more minutes and fabulous fresh chips.
I second the chilaquiles and the rolled tacos!
Or, here's a Nicaraguan dish somewhat similar to chilaquiles (in concept) and usually made with bigger and thicker corn tortillas (but I'm sure flour tortillas will work . . ?):
Cut up tortillas into triangle-like pieces or little squares or whatever, just small, like 1-2 inches square. Fry them in a pan until they get crispy. Add some salt and lime while you're at it. Add eggs to the pan as if to make scrambled eggs and just mix them with the tortillas. Some of the tortillas will end up being covered in eggs, some not, it doesn't matter. If you like to add tomatoes and onions to your eggs (because that's how we always ate them at hoome), you would add them like you would normally. Season your eggs as you like them normally too. When the eggs are done, serve and enjoy with a piece of cuajada (described in the link below) or queso seco (second link below) on the side.
http://www.nicaliving.com/node/1092
Unlike the article describes it, it doesn't taste like tofu, but more like feta.
http://itsnotyouitsbrie.com/queso-seco-nicaraguense-juans-moms-cheese
Although there are several kinds of queso seco, some as hard as a rock!
Make "tortilla pies" and freeze them. In a pie tin, layer up:
tortilla
salsa
refried beans
cheese
tortilla
salsa
guacamole
cheese
tortilla... top with cheese
Thaw them out, bake them in the oven and slice into wedges. Mmm...
http://thesweetest3.com/
A fav around my home is to cut them into strips, and throw the strips into a pan, once they get crispy add some scrambled eggs and sometimes a little cheese is good to. Nice basic and easy to dress up.
I like to brush them with butter or olive oil, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and bake them until golden and toasty.
Yum. One of my favorite snacks...
This also works with cinnamon sugar. I have been served desert nachos, using cinnamon coated crispy tortilla wedges served with fruit and whipped cream. That is also quite tasty.
I am sure that you could freeze the tortillas too if you have too many of them to use up.
Chicken and Dumplings!
I second the Nicaragua's recipe. In Mexico we do that too and we call it "migas" (just add some beans and sour cream)
You can also make some tortilla soup!!!
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/tortilla_soup/
Pinwheel appetizers:
Mix cream cheese with finely diced ham and diced black olives. Spread thin layer on tortillas.
Roll up, skewer with toothpicks, and refrigerate. Slice into pinwheels and serve!
Migas. Pinwheel sandwiches with fresh veggies and cream cheese.
scramble eggs with some salsa, and roll the eggs up in the tortillas. Easy breakfast that doesn't need fork or spoon.
Brie and grape quesadillas !
1. Fry lightly in some oil, when crispy, add honey drizzles and cinnamon sugar. Delish!
2. Spread with cream cheese, basil leaves (or pesto), sundried tomatoes. Roll up and slice. Yummy!
3. Perfect for pizzas, if you like thin crusts! Any toppings work!
Make enchiladas (i guess this style is officially suiza, though to me this is what real enchiladas are and how I grew up eating them).
You make a chili sauce, though you could get premade enchilada sauce and adjust it to taste. Lightly fry the corn tortilla, drain, and smother in chili sauce. place tortilla on place, place a mixture of queso cotija (or if not available a sharp grating cheese) and minced onion. Roll. Repeat. Usually about 5 per person. Top with more queso cotija, shredded lettuce, source cream, and enjoy.
They are really simple and very tasty.
I love tex-mex style enchiladas made with flour tortillas. Any kind of filling (cheese and olives, chicken, beef, pork, spinach, etc.).
The pinwheels idea is great too (though traditionally there is some ranch dressing mix added to the cream cheese, along with pimientos, black olives and green onion). Let them sit overnight in the fridge for better flavor.
I prefer this with corn tortillas, but...
Crisp tortilla on hot burner or in pan.
Add sliced hard boiled egg.
Fresh Aruglua.
Salt & Pepper.
Wickedly simple and shockingly delicious.
Good luck!
Make Ina Garten's Chicken Soup:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/mexican-chicken-soup-recipe/index.html
yeees chilaquiles!!! I often find myself waiting for my tortillas to get old so I have an excuse for chilquiles.
1. Just cut them in triangles or squares, fry them in oil. pat dry the excess oil.
2. In a pan put oil and 3 tbsp chopped onion and tomato puree. Mix tortillas in sauce.
For topping you can use grilled chicken, or just cheese (Monterrey Jack would do), avocado, cream or even chopped lettuce. Beans aside.
It looks like Kitchn has already turned your flour tortillas into corn. Lucky you!
Ole to all the suggestions above. My darling mother-in-law makes chicken and dumplings, using the flour tortillas for the dumplings. She cuts the tortillas into strips about 1 inch x 2 inches, then drops them into the hot chicken and broth. About 30 minutes they are puffed and yummy.
BUT, in my family, we eat flour tortillas just like sliced white bread. You don't actually, have to do anything with them: just heat, add a thin scrape of butter, roll it and eat it. It's that simple.
mexican lasagna, tortilla chips - you can make them cinnamon flavored too.
I love to heat flower tortillas on top of my toaster (i don't have the little conventional ovens) and then, while they're still warm, spread Nutella hazelnut spread and top that with bananas and strawberries. Fold it up and aim it at your face... don't forget to open your mouth.
FANTASTIC little sweet snack.
FLOUR*** tortillas..... flour... lol.
<A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Me-Philosophy-Kenny-Shopsin/dp/0307264939">Kenny Shopshin</A> admits to using them to <A HREF="http://whatscooking.us/2007/11/23/tortilla-crepe/">make crepes</A>, and serves them to many patrons who claim they are the best crepes they've ever had.
whoops, wrong crepe link. here ya go
Shopsin Crepes<a/>
I use tortillas kind of like rotis and eat it with Indian curries. Here are some ideas for Indian tacos that I made and sold a few weeks back:
http://abcdsofcooking.blogspot.com/2010/05/greenpoint-food-market.html
Sorry I missed the flour tortilla part.
You can lightly fry them and then sprinkle them with cinnamon and sugar.
THe other thing I like to do with them is to cook them in a dry skillet/comal, then brush with melted butter, sprinkle some salt and herbs.
Make homemade tortillas! Just slice them to a size you like, lay out on a pan, spray with a bit of olive oil, and bake at 350 until golden brown. Awesome, homemade chips warm from the oven.
I Use crushed up TORTILLA CHIPS in my fritattas - eggs whites, pureed or diced veggies, one spoon full of salsa a handful of chese and a generous handful of crushed tortilla chips - UNBELIEVABLE!!!! Yummy for Lunch or dinner also! Enjoy.