Can You Freeze Corn Tortillas?

3 minutes

Corn tortillas aren’t a complicated thing but do take time to make. They’re so often the backbone of a beautiful meal, so is there a way to batch-prepare plenty of corn tortillas and have them ready to go?

How to Freeze Corn Tortillas

Freezing corn tortillas might be as simple as throwing an unopened store-bought pack into the freezer, but things can be a little more complicated if you’ve made your own or if the packet is open.

If that’s the case for you, then follow this method:

1. Cool: If you’ve made the tortillas, they may be warm by the time you’re coming to store them. In this case, we suggest ensuring that they are as cool as possible. If they’re not cool, they will form condensation, leading to mushy tortillas and a greater risk of freezer burn.
2. Bag Up: Transferring the tortillas to a freezer bag will allow you to protect them from direct contact with ice. Be sure to buy freezer bags big enough to store whole tortillas flat. You don’t want them scrunched up.
3. Remove Air and Seal: Removing excess air from the bag is easy. Seal the bag most of the way along the top, and physically press the air out. Finish by completing the seal.
4. Freeze: Placing the tortillas flat in the freezer means they will freeze evenly and defrost quickly in future. It’s a good idea to write a clear label on the bag at this point too.

3 Tips for Freezing Corn Tortillas

Now you know how to freeze them, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing corn tortillas to have the best results:

Layer with Baking Paper
Layering the tortillas in your freezer with wax paper or baking paper will allow you to make sure that the tortillas themselves don’t stick together during freezing. This is most relevant when you’d like to separate two frozen tortillas.

Freeze in Batches
Tortillas can be refrozen, but it is very likely to damage the texture of the tortillas themselves over time. To avoid this from happening, freeze the tortillas in batches that you’d be likely to use – this will allow you to only thaw what you need. 

Corn is More Forgiving Than Wheat
When freezing tortillas, those made with corn flour tend to be much more forgiving than those made with wheat flour. This is likely due to the gluten content, making wheat tortillas sticky when moist. 

How Long Can You Freeze Corn Tortillas?

You can freeze corn tortillas for around 3 months before they degrade noticeably.

To ensure the tortillas store well for all 3 months, keep the bag you’re using completely sealed at all times. It is air and moisture that will cause issues with the tortillas.

How Do You Defrost Corn Tortillas?

The best way to defrost corn tortillas is to remove them from the bag and place them on the counter, on a wire rack, for a few hours.

This method will allow good air ventilation (enabling speedy thawing) while also allowing space for water to drip through, rather than having the tortillas sit in a pool of water.

Can You Refreeze Corn Tortillas?

Technically, yes, you can refreeze corn tortillas as they contain no dairy, meat, or fish.

However, we would still advise against refreezing corn tortillas, since the added moisture of a freezer environment will lead to tortillas losing texture upon repeated freezing.

Do Corn Tortillas Freeze Well?

Yes, corn tortillas do freeze well. Generally speaking, well-sealed corn tortillas will freeze such that they don’t degrade in texture or quality, leading to a tasty meal after a while.

The enemy of good freezing, here, is moisture. Therefore, we would always reiterate that you should seal the freezer bag to prevent moisture from getting in.

Related FAQs

If you’ve still got questions about freezing corn tortillas or tortillas in general, then these may help: