These quick, pliable, low carb, paleo tortillas are my go to recipe now whenever we cook Mexican foods or I want to make myself a sandwich or lettuce wrap.
Lately I’ve been on a roll with sharing my favorite recipes for making grain free sandwich and salad wraps, tortillas, pitas, etc. A couple of weeks ago I showed you how I usually make myself paleo pitas for serving with recipes like my grilled souvlaki.
Not too long before that I also shared with you my recipe for flaxseed paleo tortillas without eggs. I shared those because I have a friend who can’t eat eggs or wheat, and I wanted to show her that you really can make a pliable tortilla without eggs. While I have made those tortillas several times now, truth be told, I don’t make them very often.
My real go-to recipe for low carb, paleo tortillas is this one, and I make them almost every week now. The nice thing about either of them is that they keep very well for several days in the fridge, so you can make them ahead of time. I keep them in a plastic ziplock bag, and they are even more pliable after being in the bag in the fridge for a while.
I have hens at home, and actually like that this recipe uses several eggs because it helps me use some of them up. I also think it’s a good idea not to go overboard on eating flaxseeds, and this recipe uses a lot less of them than the other one. The flaxseeds, though, do a wonderful job of helping to make a pliable tortilla without using flour. They work so well that this tortilla can be made very thinly and still hold up well to filling and rolling it up.
In any case they are very quick to make, and I find them quicker and easier than making something like a pancake, for example, despite it being made by a similar method. I think it goes so quickly because you spread out the mix very thinly, so it cooks very quickly. Plus, with the fat content in the flaxseeds, I don’t have issues with these sticking to the pan.
Low Carb Paleo Tortillas with Flaxseed and Eggs
Instructions
- Start making your tortillas by grinding your flaxseeds in your blender until you get a fine flaxseed meal.
- Add your 4 eggs and salt to the flaxseeds and continue to blend until the ingredients are well mixed.
- Let the mixture set for a few minutes; you will see that the mixture will get quite thick.
- Heat your skillet to medium heat and add a few drops of oil to it. Use a cloth or paper towel to wipe the bottom of the pan with a fine layer of oil.
- Pour in some of your flaxseed and egg mixture into the pan and use a spatula to help spread the mixture, covering the pan with a thin layer.
- Let it cook for a minute or two until the edges start to separate from the sides of the pan. You can now use your spatula to help release the tortilla from the pan and flip it over.
- Brown for about 30 seconds on the other side and remove from the pan. Make a stack of tortillas as you remove them; the moisture from the other tortillas will help make them even more pliable.
Eileen
Have you tried using them in a baked recipe like Enchilladas? Will they hold up?
Tracy Ariza
Hi Eileen,
That’s an interesting question! I’m actually very surprised that I haven’t tried that yet! š
My gut feeling would be that yes, I think they would hold up, but I haven’t tried it myself. I’d almost think they would hold up better than corn or wheat tortillas because they wouldn’t absorb the sauce in the same way. That’s just my guess, though.
I was actually planning on making fajitas tonight, and was going to make of few of these for myself, so maybe I could give it a try somehow.
I’m in a bit of a spring detox mode, though, and have taken all dairy, grains, and sugars out of my diet for several weeks. Enchiladas without dairy don’t sound too fun to me, so no promises. š
When I do get around to trying, I’ll try to update here.
If you try it before I do, I’d love to hear how it goes!
Angel
This recipe didn’t work out for me at all š it was so thick and sticky that I was lucky to even spread it out to the size of a biscuit. I tried a spoon, a knife, my hands, but it would just stick to and make a mess on every nearby surface. I even tried adding whole wheat flour to make it less sticky, but with no luck. I got so fed up that I just tried to massage some baking powder in and stick the thing in the microwave for two minutes, and I wound up with a very hard, but tasty and uniquely flavored, biscuit. I glad I’m halved this recipe so that I wouldn’t have wasted double the amount of ingredients. I used 1/4 cup brown flax seeds, two eggs, and a sprinkle of salt. I wish this would have worked out ā¹ļø
Tracy Ariza
Hi Angel,
I’m sorry to hear you had problems with the recipe.
Before giving some of my tips for troubleshooting, I would like to mention that brown flaxseeds tend to thicken things up more and more quickly than the golden ones do. That could be a big part of the problem. (I found that out when I started making hair gel from flaxseeds, and experimenting with both types!)
If you find the mixture to be too thick, you can add more egg to the mixture. Definitely don’t add flour! That will only thicken things up more!
I can give you a few tips if you are willing to give it another shot. It sounds like you are frustrated, though, so I can understand either way.
First, once blended together, it’s easiest if you pour and make them immediately. The flaxseeds will thicken the mixture over time, making it harder to spread. You also need to be quick to spread the mixture out over the bottom of the pan. I find that with this recipe, it’s normally relatively simple to spread them out with a normal silicone spatula, so something was different in the way your mixture turned out. It could be due to a number of factors, of course: the flaxseeds used, the size of the eggs, etc.
I may have to make a video of myself making them to give a better idea of what the process looks like. I really love these, and really would love to be able to help you to get them to work.
Carly
About how many does one recipe make? With 4 eggs and 1/2 cup flax seed?
Tracy Ariza
Hi Carly,
Hmmm…I used to make these all of the time, and have sort of switched back to the pure flaxseed tortillas after I figured out a quicker way to make them.
If I remember right, I got around 3-4 of them with the recipe because ideally you want them to be pretty thin. It really depends on the size of the pan you are using, though. I tend to make them in a smaller sized pan.
Kali
Can you use flaxseed meal instead of flaxseeds?
Tracy Ariza
Hi Kali,
Yes that’s fine. You’re basically making your own flaxseed meal by grinding them in the blender. š
Khadijah
Hello!
Can you mention nutritional information of this tortilla?
Thank you
Tracy Ariza
Hi Khadijah,
I’m just getting caught up on comments after getting back from a vacation, but I’ll look into it and try to post the information here soon.
Glenda
I have flaxseed meal, how much would I use, in other words how much meal do you get from the cup of seeds?
Tracy Ariza
Hi Glenda,
I would think it’s just a bit less than a cup, but pretty close in volume either way because flaxseeds are pretty small and pack pretty close together. I’ve never really measured it out, and I’m away on vacation so I can’t try it out right now, but I’ll try to remember to give it a try and add a note to the recipe when I get back home.
In any case, I don’t think the small difference would make much of a difference in the recipe. I’d probably just try the 1:1 substitution.
I hope that helps!
Judy Lilly
Hi, .. I was looking for a low carb tortilla recipe to possibly use with my new crepe pan. Would the four egg recipe possibly work, or would t be too thick?
Thanks in advance to your reply.
Tracy Ariza
Hi Judy,
I think you should be fine. I spread my batter out very thinly to get the tortilla the way I wanted it.
If you have a problem with it thickening up too much, you can always add another egg or the tiniest bit of water to very slightly thin it out to the needed consistency. (Just be careful not to overdo it or it may not hold together very well.)
Marcie
My batter came out very thick and I could not spread it in the pan. Any recommendations?
Tracy Ariza
Hi Marcie,
Yes, the batter can get quite thick, especially if you leave it for awhile.
I make a similar recipe without the eggs, and the batter is even thicker. It’s actually more of a dough, and you can even roll it out. I’m about to post about how you can use the dough to make homemade tortilla chips and taco shells.
If you check out that recipe, you can push the dough into the bottom of the pan to form the tortillas.
Keeping that in mind, you can choose to fix yours by either trying to use the method I use with the other tortillas without eggs to shape them and form your tortillas (I’ve never tried it with eggs, so I’m not 100% sure it would work easily), or you could try adding some more egg to thin it out and make it more spreadable (which is probably what I would do). š
I hope that helps and that they work out well for you.
Jessi K
Have you froze these yet? How did they turn out? Thanks!
Tracy Ariza
Hi Jessi,
I actually haven’t tried it yet because they are pretty quick to make and store quite well in the fridge for at least a week. (I’ve always used them up within a week, so I’m not quite sure how long they last, but that’s usually good enough for me.)
If I do try it, I’ll report back. I’d love to hear how it goes for you if you try freezing them.
Mary
Hey! I just found this recipe and I was wondering if it’s possible to reduce the amount of eggs or use egg whites instead. Will be waiting so much for your answer!!! Thanks a lot!
Tracy Ariza
Hi Mary,
Well, yes, in a way, you can.
Did you see my other recipe for flaxseed tortillas without eggs?
Obviously if you use less eggs, you will need to increase the amount of flaxseed or you will end up with a lot less tortillas.
This recipe is one extreme (uses quite a few eggs) – and the other recipe is on the other extreme (uses no eggs). You can try to do something somewhat in between according to what you are trying to achieve.
I’d suggest reading the other recipe because the method of making the tortillas is a little bit different, and if you use few eggs, you may have to adapt the way you make them.
I hope that helps!