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Easily make these low carb, crispy, flaxseed vegan and paleo tortilla chips and taco shells in less than 30 minutes, using just three simple ingredients!
A while back, you may remember that I came up with a couple of ways to make flaxseed tortillas, one using eggs, and one without. At first I more often made the flaxseed and egg tortillas because I found them to be easier to make. Plus, having hens, I tend to have a surplus of eggs that I want to use up. When I first started making the vegan flaxseed tortillas, the ones without eggs, I used enough water to easily mix the ground flaxseeds with the water. I didn’t realize, though, that I didn’t really need that much water and that the excess water was what was making it take so long for me to make the tortillas really work. During the cooking process, you are working to evaporate off the water so that the dough is no longer sticky and so that it holds up into a perfect tortilla shape.
It wasn’t until I had received several messages from people telling me how much they loved them, and about how great they were baked into chips, that I decided to play with the recipe a bit more and see if I could make the most of the concept and make it the best it could be.
Through the process, I realized that there was a much easier way to use this concept. I greatly reduced the water in the recipe, and I also changed the method I used for making the tortillas themselves.
Originally, I told people to push the dough into the pan and keep pressing it into a tortilla using a spatula while you were cooking it. That method worked well for me and allowed me to make a perfectly circular tortilla (the exact size of the bottom of my pan), but I have to admit that it was a bit of a tedious process that went through various stages of a stickiness, especially when using an excess amount of water, before finally working out right. The idea was to press the tortilla as thinly as possible, which for me was somewhere around 1-2mm thick.
It turns out, though, that if you don’t have a perfectly smooth, silicone spatula like the one I originally used, following that process was easier said than done. Plus, when using an older pan, the dough did stick at times to the bottom of the pan. (I’m using an older pan in my new video about making tortilla chips and you can see that some of the dough does stick in the bottom of that pan when I’m forming my dough. The dough that stuck there did flake off once the moisture evaporated, and I probably wold have been able to make a tortilla in it had I continued with the process, but I can see why that would scare people off from finishing out the process to the end.)
My new method is super easy and quick- so much so that I was able to make the tortilla chips and taco shells in the video using one hand- while filming with the other! 🙂 Also so much so that I have been making the tortilla chips pretty much every week since I made the great discovery. Paired up with some homemade guacamole or salsa, these are pretty great and actually taste pretty close to “regular” tortilla chips made with corn.
While you can use either golden or brown flaxseeds for making this recipe, I think the lighter colored ones make more authentic looking tortilla chips. I used the golden flaxseeds in all of the pictures in this post. That said, since there are black tortilla chips on the market, perhaps the brown flaxseeds wouldn’t really make such strange looking tortilla chips.
I’m concentrating on how to make flaxseed paleo tortilla chips here in this post, but if you want to better see my tips for making tortilla shells, check out my post about making the taco shells on the Rubies and Radishes blog or watch the video below:
Ready to make some paleo tortilla chips?
Flaxseed Paleo Tortilla Chips and Taco Shells
Makes about 24 chips
Instructions
- If you don’t have flaxseed meal, you can easily grind your own in your blender.
- Preheat your oven to 175ºC/350ºF, using a convection setting if you have one.
- Preheat a skillet to medium high heat.
- Mix together the flaxseed meal, water, and salt in the preheated skillet using a spatula to immediately combine the ingredients and push them together into a dough ball. The heat of the skillet helps to make the dough less sticky and more workable, so it’s a good idea to use the spatula to help work the dough in the skillet for around a minute before forming it into a ball and using it.
- With the help of two parchment sheets or sheets of wax paper, roll the dough into a very thin sheet. Make it as thin as possible so that it will crisp up quickly in the oven without getting air bubbles.
- Once the dough has been rolled thinly, cut it into tortilla chip shapes. I find it easiest to cut the dough into round/oval shapes first and then use a pizza cutter to cut each circle into 8 triangles. I can usually form 3 circles from which I can cut 24 tortilla chips with each batch.
- Bake in the oven for 8-12 minutes, checking the dough periodically for crispness.
- Once crispy, remove from the oven and serve with guacamole or homemade salsa.
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Karen
what is serving sizee, how many chips for nutitional breakdown you show
Amber Lynn Bonevich
I had to add alot more water just to get it to come together. Any idea why?
Tracy Ariza
Hi Amber,
To be honest, I have no idea why, but I will say that I used to add a lot more water, but then realized that I didn’t need as much.
I started using less because it was easier to make the tortilla in the pan with less.
For these, with a little more water, it might take a little longer to dry the chips out, but it shouldn’t be much of an issue.
Just add as much water as you need to get it to come together.
Last minute thought…
Are you using brown flaxseeds? They tend to gel more so they may work better with a tad more water. I’ve tried making the tortilla with both, but I think I’ve only used the golden with this recipe.
Robin
Can the chips be fried instead of baked. Calories aren’t my problems carbs are because I’m diabetes
Tracy Ariza
Hi Robin,
Honestly, I’ve never even tried it. Because of the fat content of the flaxseeds, I don’t feel like they taste like a baked alternative, you know? They taste like a normal, crispy tortilla chip to me.
I wasn’t trying to avoid calories either, I just find that baking them is simple, less messy, and I can avoid problems with oils at smoke points, etc.
I’d love to hear how they turn out if you try it, though. I may make some Mexican flautas or something similar with them if they turn out well. 🙂
cindy
Hi Tracy,
I made the tortilla receipt but found it fairly thin and the pieces started to break. Are most flax seed meal the same? Should I have used a little more flaxseed meal?
Tracy Ariza
Hi Cindy,
If pieces were breaking, it sounds to me like it dried out too much.
When you have a mix of hot water and the flaxseed meal, the resulting dough should be very flexible, almost rubbery. Have you watched the video to get an idea of the texture?
I’ve tried using both colors of flaxseeds without any problem, but I always grind them myself. I’m not sure if maybe a store bought flaxseed meal might have some other additive in it that could cause problems, maybe?
I think if you watch my video, it would really help give you a better idea of what to expect. You’ll see how once you dry out the tortillas, they go from very flexible to very dry and brittle like a tortilla chip or taco shell. 😉
You may have just cooked too much. If you want to keep them flexible like a tortilla, and you roll out the dough, you don’t need to cook them in the skillet for very long at all.
If, after watching the video and trying that out, you’re still having issues, let me know and I’ll try to figure out how to pinpoint the problem!
Rene Tewksbury
Great recipe. Have you tried using 2 Silpats? Makes it sooo easy. I also use them to roll out my pizza crusts.
Tracy Ariza
Hi Rene,
That’s a great idea! I had considered it, but I find that because of the high fat content of the flaxseeds, that I don’t really have a problem with sticking. I was going to use two sheets of parchment paper, but didn’t end up needing to. That’s a great suggestion for people who have problems rolling out the dough, though, so thanks for your comment.
R
Dear Tracy, Thank you so much for sharing your recipes. I’m very grateful. 🙂
Keep coming up with new allergy-free recipes and conquering any challenges 😀
Candice | Whole Health Hacks
I’ve always been intimidated by the thought of making crackers at home, but these looks so easy (and delicious). Thinking I need to add this to the to-do list this weekend! Can’t wait to try!
Tracy Ariza
Hi Candice,
Definitely give them a try. They are very easy to make at the last minute, and are a healthy way to satisfy a salty/crunchy craving!
Martine
Can I use hemp seed in stead of flax seed?
Thanks
Tracy Ariza
Hi Martine,
I have no idea because I’ve never worked with hemp seed and don’t know its properties (if it gels up like flaxseed or not).
Here in Spain flaxseed is easily found at health food stores and even the larger supermarkets in their organic/health foods sections, but I’ve yet to find hemp seeds here.
Just the other day, I was surprised to find what they referred to as hemp protein and bought it out of curiosity. I’m assuming it is probably ground hemp seeds. So far, though, I’ve only tried adding it to my smoothies.
If you try it, though, I’d love to know how it goes. I’m not sure I’m ready to experiment with it like that yet because just a tiny package was still pretty expensive. (I’m guessing the price will go down when and if more people start buying it.)
Bethany
This recipe sounds amazing! I love flaxseeds! Pinning.
Tracy Ariza
Thanks so much, Bethany!
Yes, it’s become one of my favorites lately. 🙂
dixya @food, pleasure, and health
i have made crackers once at home and it was such a satisfying experience. i love this version with flax too.
Tracy Ariza
Thanks so much, Dixya! 🙂