By the author of What to Eat When You’re Broke
Whether you make your own from scratch (YUM – learn how here in my go-to, be-all, end-all tortilla-making guide) or buy them at the store, regular flour tortillas are one of the thriftiest foods around. (Don’t forget a cast-iron tortilla press if you are going to make your own. It’s far less work and mess than rolling them out with a rolling pin.)
They can be used in a wide variety of ways that go way beyond the taco, as delicious as that may be. In this article, find out some of the fabulous fare you can create with the humble tortilla.
Burritos
You can fill a burrito with just about anything. When I lived in Mexico, there were “burrito ladies.” They were little old ladies who sat on the roadside frequented by tourists and locals alike, in a lawn chair with a cooler beside them. Within that cooler was gold, my frugal friends. The ladies had anywhere between half a dozen to a dozen types of burritos in combos many don’t think of and I use some of these as jumping-off points for my own burritos.
My absolute favorite was the picadillo burrito. Picadillo is a Mexican stew made with ground beef, potatoes, peppers, onions, corn, green beans, carrots, and spices all simmered together in tomato sauce. A lot of the burrito ladies used canned veggies for it. When it’s simmered down to the point it’s saucy instead of soupy, ladle it into your tortilla, fold, and voila!
That brings me to the fabulously frugal part about Mexican burritos: you can add a lot of inexpensive ingredients to create something delicious. Beans, rice, potatoes, drained canned veggies – as long as you season it well, your burrito will be delicious. Another thing about Mexican burritos – they rarely add cheese unless you specifically ask for it. When making your own thriftrrito, you might consider leaving out the cheese too.
Tacos
I also became an amateur taco connoisseur when in Mexico. Like the burritos, most of the time they didn’t contain cheese either.
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The perfect Mexican taco is a serving of protein (whatever you happen to have on hand, well-seasoned with some chili powder and cumin works!), and some toppings. The toppings were usually diced onion, finely chopped cilantro, and a squeeze of lime. To make this the thrifty way, you can get cilantro in a squeezy tube in your refrigerated herb section at the grocery store and you can grab lime juice in the big lime green bottle. A little of that cilantro goes a loooong way. Dice up your onion, add a teeny bit of cilantro, drizzle in some lime juice, and stir – you’ve got your taco-topping.
Finish it off with your favorite hot sauce, pico de Gallo, or salsa, and you’ve got a delicious treat.
Classic quesadillas
I’ve always likened quesadillas to Mexican grilled cheese sandwiches. You can make them super simple – just cheese and tortillas cooked on your stovetop, or you can go all in, adding veggies and meat to your quesadilla.
I’ve found the trick to getting melty goodness is to put a lid on your skillet and leave it open-faced initially. Then, once your cheese is melted, either fold the tortilla over or top it with a second one. Then squash it down with your spatula, flip, and put the lid back on.
Breakfast quesadillas
This is basically the same as classic quesadillas, but you fill it with delicious breakfast things. I like to use scrambled eggs, veggies, and sausage or bacon as my filling along with the cheese. Dip it in sour cream or salsa.
Wraps
You can wrap just about anything! If you’re Southern, you’ll probably put ranch dressing on it. I like to use a combo of meat, lettuce, tomato, and any other yummy ingredient I have kicking around.
Chilaquiles
This is the be-all and end-all way to use up tortillas that might be going stale. Chilaquiles are generally served for breakfast in Mexico. You slice up your tortillas, fry them until they’re crispy, then smother them in either red or green enchilada sauce. Some folks add meat to the mix and others top it with cheese.
This is a side dish – you’ll often see it on a plate with eggs and beans. Learn more about making chilaquiles in this article.
Bunuelos
Oh my gosh. This is a fast-fried tortilla smothered in cinnamon sugar. You simply throw some butter or cooking oil in your skillet and get it hot. Then drop your tortilla in. It’ll start to puff up and that’s when you know it’s time to flip it. It takes about 30 seconds to 2 minutes per side, depending on your skillet and how high you have the heat. When it’s golden brown on each side, move the tortilla to a plate lined with a paper towel and bury that bad boy in your cinnamon sugar mix. Meanwhile, start working on your next tortilla.
Shake the excess topping off your first tortilla and move it to another plate. Repeat with the rest of your tortillas. You may think you’ll just eat one. It’s more like one-half-dozen, they’re that good. Here’s a recipe for making them.
Soup or salad topping
Mmmm…. you can either bake or fry strips of tortilla then crumble them onto your soup or salad for some southwestern crunch.
Personal pizza
I have used tortillas as the base of personal pizzas for years. This was an awesome way to get my kids pizza without spending a fortune on takeout. You can find directions here in this article on homemade pizza.
Breakfast burritos
This is a lot like the breakfast quesadilla, except you’re simply wrapping your breakfast food in a flour tortilla to make a portable pocket of breakfast for your commute.
Cups
You can make yummy tortilla cups that look fancy enough to dazzle guests on a dime. Always cook your tortilla cups before filling them or the results won’t be great.
Preheat your oven to 350. Then spray a muffin tin with cooking spray. Place a tortilla into the muffin cup and fold it in to form a little bowl. Bake it for about 10-12 minutes or until the whole thing is crisp.
Take the cups out carefully to cool on a baking rack. Then fill ’em to your heart’s content. I like to make mini taco salads in these.
Pinwheels
Pinwheels are just tightly-wound wraps cut into slices. The trick is to use something sort of thick to keep the slices together. Seasoned cream cheese works beautifully for this.
Martha’s moo shu
Are you a fan of Chinese moo shu? You can make those little pancakes – they’re awesome – or you can take a shortcut and use tortillas for this. My beloved Marth Stewart has a recipe for moo shu pork using tortillas that you can find here. Feel free to substitute the shredded pork with shredded-whatever-you-have-on-hand.
How do you use tortillas, that bastion of the frugal kitchen?
Want some MORE ways to use tortillas? Check out this tortilla article by Chloe!
Are any of these ways you commonly eat tortillas? Do you have other tantalizing tortilla treats to add to the list? Let’s talk about tortillas in the comments section.
