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One of my favorite things we did when we were in Costa Rica was learning how to make homemade tortillas. I love to cook and bake from scratch so I jumped at the opportunity to learn how to make tortillas (for free!)
Costa Rica has some of the freshest food I’ve ever had while traveling. There are a few Costa Rican staples, but it’s not largely known for its food like Mexico or Cuba. A few of the staples we were able to sample were Gallo Pinto for breakfast (rice, black beans usually served with eggs) and Casados for lunch (rice, beans, a meat, salad and plantains.) The foods I fell in love with, however, were the incredible assortment of fresh tropical fruit and veggies. While there, we ate mangoes, papaya, pineapple, yucca, coconut, guava, guanabana to name a few. At home, I try to recreate the tropical fruit spreads as often as possible.
Back to the tortillas. Oh the fresh, handmade, homemade tortillas. Five simple ingredients, a little mixing, a quick turn on a hot griddle and you can have this yummy goodness. I learned that in southern Costa Rica, this was usually made as an afternoon snack.
Homemade Tortillas
Ingredients:
- 2 heaping spoonfuls of corn flour – Masa Harina will work here in the states. Do not substitute corn meal, as it’s too grainy
- 1 spoonful of sour cream
- 1 spoonful of cheese – any good quality cheese will do. I like to use queso fresco or queso Mexico and shred it up for both mixing in and putting on the tortilla
- A pinch of salt
- Water
Mix the first 4 ingredients in a bowl with your fingers until it starts to get clumpy. Yes, there are no exact measurements and that’s okay. I use my dinner spoons and it works out fine. Add water a spoonful at a time until you get a nice dough ball that you can roll around the bowl and it does not stick to the sides.
Place the dough ball on wax paper and start to press into a flat tortilla shape. Once you get it all pressed out, put on a hot skillet and press out any air bubbles with the wax paper. When it’s lightly browned one side, flip over and continue to lightly press with the wax paper to cook all the way through.
Enjoy warm with a dollop of sour cream and more shredded queso.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m hungry. I think I’ll go make some fresh tortillas with a side of papaya. A perfect, local Costa Rican snack.
Do you have any favorite foods you’ve learned to make on your travels? Comment below and tell me more about it!
ashleigh says
March 12, 2016 at 9:54 pmOooh I have all of those things in my cupboard, better give them a try!!
Vicki says
March 13, 2016 at 12:18 amOh! This looks like fun – and super tasty. I’ll definitely be giving these a try!
Jenna says
March 13, 2016 at 3:35 amOh wow–these tortillas look delicious! I seriously need to make these soon. It’s so fun to learn how to cook different recipes when you travel, especially when they are delicious like this! Thanks for sharing!
Toni | 2 Aussie Travellers says
March 13, 2016 at 4:52 amOh those do look great and such simple ingredients too, definitely going to have to give that a try as a side with my next batch of chili. You are lucky to have got the recipe, I often spend ages analysing a favourite dish when travelling and then trying to recreate it from memory and scribbled notes when I get home.
Tonya says
March 13, 2016 at 8:33 amIt was easy to get because it was so simple and really no measuring cups!
(Helps I took a picture of the ingredients too!)
Holly says
March 13, 2016 at 11:17 amOoo a recipe. The food in Costa Rica was so good. I may have to get this a whirl.
Laura Lynch says
March 13, 2016 at 3:09 pmI have always loved fresh homemade tortillas. They really aren’t that hard to make, as you’ve shown. I have to go make these now. Yum.
Paula says
March 13, 2016 at 5:32 pmI love taking local cooking classes when I travel. It gives you the chance to bring a little bit of the trip home with you. We did a cooking class in Vietnam that ended up just being my husband and me as the other groups cancelled. It was fantastic. We learnt to cook a 5-course meal and then sat down and ate it all!
I think I will have a go at making these tortillas. They look really good
Tonya says
March 13, 2016 at 5:48 pmPaula, that sounds like an amazing experience. I definitely want to do more of these!
Wandering Carol says
March 13, 2016 at 7:23 pmSounds delicious. I’d love to taste the Gallo Pinto as well. I’ve really never heard much about food from Costa Rica before.
Tonya says
March 13, 2016 at 8:29 pmCarol it’s really tasty and easy to make. There’s specific sauce but if you can’t find it, Worcestershire makes a decent substitute.
Trevor Thorpe says
March 13, 2016 at 9:03 pmIf someone taught me how to make homemade tortillas, I might never leave home, let alone get to Costa Rica.
Darlene says
March 13, 2016 at 10:36 pmWaahh! Tortillas! I love them! I didn’t know that one of the ingredients is cheese. That makes it all the more yummy! Im hungry now for quesadillas hehe. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
anto says
March 14, 2016 at 2:00 amI never even thought of making my own tortillas but it sounds like a great alternative for the packaged stuff we get here!
Trisha Velarmino - P.S. I'm On My Way says
March 15, 2016 at 7:24 amThank you, thank you for this insightful post! I am a complete sucker for Central and South American recipes and these homemade tortillas hits the spot! I can’t wait to try it out and get creative with flavor combinations! Thank you sooo much, Tonya!
Tonya says
March 15, 2016 at 7:47 amGet creative! Yes Trisha… I love that you can experiment with these. I’m usually a by the book cook, but this one is fun to try different types of sour cream and cheese.
Trisha Velarmino - P.S. I'm On My Way says
March 15, 2016 at 7:24 amThank you, thank you for this insightful post! I am a complete sucker for Central and South American recipes and these homemade tortillas hits the spot! I can’t wait to try it out and get creative with flavor combinations! Thank you sooo much, Tonya!
Carmen | Carmen's Luxury Travel says
March 15, 2016 at 11:17 amI really enjoyed the food in Costa Rica when we went. I’ll have to try making these tortillas at home and see how they come out. Yours looks delicious.
Danielle says
March 15, 2016 at 9:27 pmLooks so yummy and most of all easy to make!
Sarah Hoang says
June 10, 2016 at 4:30 amOh! they are tasty. It’s quite easy to make tortillas. I will try cooking them for my family.
Ashley says
March 12, 2017 at 8:21 pmGreat instructional! Thanks for your comment on my article about the 5 Best Costa Rican Recipes. I hope you make it back to CR. Pura vida!
Tonya says
March 19, 2017 at 12:35 amOf course, my pleasure! I definitely crave more of the fresh food!
Erin says
March 26, 2017 at 12:42 pmGreat instructions! Will save for my friends. I would replicate this, but lately have been making tortillas with cauliflower. After 7 years in Costa Rica, I had to give up the flour. :/
Tonya says
March 26, 2017 at 12:47 pmErin, that’s too bad. Even corn flour? I also would be interested in what this might taste like with cauliflower. I’m guessing you grate it to use in place of the flour?
Charlie Marchant says
April 15, 2017 at 7:11 amOhhh these look so goooood!
Tonya says
April 15, 2017 at 7:16 amThey are. And kind of fun to make. I love to cook and not using precise measurements feels like rebellion!