Tortillas are the perfect base or even accompaniment to a lot of dishes, and running out can be a complete disaster.
Or, you may have bought in bulk, and now you don’t know what to do with them. You have simply made too many, and now you don’t fancy having tortillas all week.
The good news is that you can freeze tortillas, no matter if they are flour or corn-based.
While you can keep tortillas at room temperature for several days, this will make them go off quicker. As they are more exposed to more oxygen, the oils within the tortilla break down, and mold starts to appear.
The main benefit of freezing tortillas besides reducing waste and making them last longer is that they retain their original texture once frozen and thawed.
Keep reading to discover how to freeze tortillas correctly.
How Do You Freeze Tortillas?
If you haven’t opened a bag of tortilla shells, you can put the whole thing in the freezer.
However, it’s worth opening them, putting wax paper in between each one to stop them sticking, and placing them into a large container in the freezer.
This will mean that you don’t have to defrost a whole bag at a time, and you’ll only need to defrost what you need.
The wax paper also acts as a barrier to keep the tortillas from getting freezer burn, stopping the texture from changing drastically once they have thawed.
Tortillas will last up to 5 months in a freezer, but the sooner you use them, the better quality they will be.
How Do You Defrost and Then Reheat Frozen Tortillas?
Thawing tortillas and then heating them through is very easy. To defrost tortillas, take out as many as you need, and put them straight into the fridge.
Let them thaw overnight, and pop them into the microwave individually. You’ll need to set the cooking time for about 30 seconds at a time until they’re at the temperature you want.
This can make them have a chewier texture than what you’re after. To prevent this, you can also reheat them in the oven.
Preheat to around 350°F, place the tortillas on a baking pan which is lined with foil, and let them warm for a maximum of 20 minutes.
Conclusion
The best way to extend the shelf-life of tortillas is to freeze them, as it will only very rarely result in a loss of quality or texture, and these can be mitigated.
So long as you freeze them correctly, there won’t be any damage to the structure of the tortillas, and it will take the pressure off trying to find new ways of using them before they go bad.
It also saves on prep time and effort for meals if you like making tortillas from scratch, as you’ll have done most of the hard work for your future-self.
This not only saves you money, but precious time, while you can still eat healthily without having to cut corners or compromise a dish.
