# Do you warm up tortillas before eating them? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 18, 2025, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-warm-up-tortillas-before-eating-them/1019791 "2025-06-18T05:44:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2025, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-warm-up-tortillas-before-eating-them/1019791/21 "2025-06-18T17:22:24Z")
I only discovered the joy of heating corn tortillas within the past decade. > [@Holy frijole, I've been eating corn tortillas wrong all these years](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-frijole-ive-been-eating-corn-tortillas-wrong-all-these-years/811447/1): > > Well, I haven’t so much been \*eating \*them wrong; I put them into my mouth, chew and swallow like the best of them. Rather, it’s that I’ve not been \*preparing \*them right. My family (wife, kids) hate corn tortillas, however I have always asked for them when my wife goes shopping, with something of a grimace on my face. They seem more authentic than the white flour ones, and they typically have less saturated fat. Plus, I love corn tortillas in restaurants. But at home, they just never tasted as… ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2025, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-warm-up-tortillas-before-eating-them/1019791/22 "2025-06-18T17:54:06Z")
I always heat mine up briefly. They not only taste better, they’re more flexible for wrapping around stuff. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2025, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-warm-up-tortillas-before-eating-them/1019791/23 "2025-06-18T18:07:14Z")
Doesn’t it even say on the packaging to heat them? I remember learning in the 80s to heat them because on the corn tortillas we bought it said to. I should add there are times I don’t warm them: when they’re still warm in their packaging. I’m lucky to live around a number of tortillerias and I typically buy corn tortillas by touch and feeling which packages are still warm. They usually do still need a little lift, but sometimes they’re good enough to sprinkle some salt on them, roll ‘em up, and have a tasty Mexican snack. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2025, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-warm-up-tortillas-before-eating-them/1019791/24 "2025-06-18T18:14:23Z")
They are not done until warmed. I know a few people who eat cold rice too. Why? Rice pudding? Sure! But rice cold out the fridge? I get kinda the same vibe from cold tortillas. ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2025, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-warm-up-tortillas-before-eating-them/1019791/25 "2025-06-18T20:14:57Z")
Yes to the microwave with a damp cloth in between them. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2025, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-warm-up-tortillas-before-eating-them/1019791/26 "2025-06-18T20:15:44Z")
One of the many ways Mrs. Plant has improved my cooking is heating tortillas with a few drops of olive oil in a pan. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2025, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-warm-up-tortillas-before-eating-them/1019791/27 "2025-06-18T21:08:10Z")
We make burritos about once a week, with flour tortillas. Usually, I heat them up in a dry skillet, as described above. But once in a while, I fry up some breakfast sausage to throw into the burritos, and then I heat up the tortillas in the sausage grease, and the burritos become glorious. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2025, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-warm-up-tortillas-before-eating-them/1019791/28 "2025-06-18T21:14:10Z")
Chorizo. Just sayin’ ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2025, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-warm-up-tortillas-before-eating-them/1019791/29 "2025-06-18T21:20:09Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > Small corn we fold in half. Larger flour we fold into quarters. We flip them occasionally. I’m trying this the next time I’m making something with tortillas. I always warm them in the oven or on the stove. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > Chorizo. Just sayin’ And we have chorizo from Spain and tortillas. Hmmm. Or should I say mmmm. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2025, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-warm-up-tortillas-before-eating-them/1019791/30 "2025-06-18T21:24:42Z")
Watch them carefully until you get the hand of the timing. My wife sometime gets distracted and we have semi-scorched tortillas. I still like the flour tortillas like that. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2025, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-warm-up-tortillas-before-eating-them/1019791/31 "2025-06-18T21:30:39Z")
Over the gas burner. Always. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2025, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-warm-up-tortillas-before-eating-them/1019791/32 "2025-06-18T22:45:51Z")
> [@sunacres](#): > > > [@BigT](#): > > > > I discovered warming tortillas from Mexican restaurants. ⁢ > > That’s so weird. I’ve never heard of eating tortillas cold. It wouldn’t cross my mind. ⁢ I don’t generally think of heating things up that are meant to be held in the hand. Sure, there’s toast, but toasting bread is optional. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2025, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-warm-up-tortillas-before-eating-them/1019791/33 "2025-06-18T23:24:36Z")
I toss them into a hot pan, flip them over until they start to blister, let them cool slightly and then use. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2025, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-warm-up-tortillas-before-eating-them/1019791/34 "2025-06-18T23:28:09Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I don’t generally think of heating things up that are meant to be held in the hand. Sure, there’s toast, but toasting bread is optional. ? Lotta people grill hamburger & hotdog buns before assembling the hot sandwich on the hot bread. Lotta people eat French fries with their hands. etc. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2025, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-warm-up-tortillas-before-eating-them/1019791/35 "2025-06-18T23:56:52Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > > [@BigT](#): > > > > I don’t generally think of heating things up that are meant to be held in the hand. Sure, there’s toast, but toasting bread is optional. ⁢ > > ? > Lotta people grill hamburger & hotdog buns before assembling the hot sandwich on the hot bread. Lotta people eat French fries with their hands. etc. ⁢ I was unclear and left out a term. I don’t normally think about heating (not cooking) hand foods _that are already cooked_. It just didn’t occur to me to try that with the tortillas, until I started having to get corn tortillas from Mexican restaurants all the time (instead of just occasionally) and noticed they were always warm. As for toasting (whether buns or bread or bagels) that’s cooking, as you brown them. It is also entirely optional. In my opinion, warming corn tortillas isn’t really optional. ---
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2025, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-warm-up-tortillas-before-eating-them/1019791/36 "2025-06-19T00:26:08Z")
If I microwave tortillas for tacos, they all end up falling apart. In a skillet, they become far more durable. Sometimes I add a little oil to crisp them up around the edges. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2025, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-warm-up-tortillas-before-eating-them/1019791/37 "2025-06-19T00:44:25Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Chorizo. Just sayin’ Chorizo is amazing–but this is how I use up leftover breakfast sausage, not something I go out to buy specifically. Maybe sometime I will. ---
**Author:** ![SurrenderDorothy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/surrenderdorothy/32/1221_2.png) [@SurrenderDorothy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurrenderDorothy)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2025, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-warm-up-tortillas-before-eating-them/1019791/38 "2025-06-19T01:39:40Z")
I only ever get flour ones. I heat them in the microwave for a few seconds or fold them into quarters and put them in the toaster so that the outside is a little crispy and the inside is soft & warm. Most of the things I make that require using a tortilla as a wrap are for work lunches, so there’s not much point in heating it up because it’s going to sit in a fridge for five hours anyway. If I’m making it at home, I usually do heat it up, but I don’t actually make a lot of wraps at home. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2025, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-warm-up-tortillas-before-eating-them/1019791/39 "2025-06-19T02:04:15Z")
Glad to see someone else that uses the toaster for heating flour tortillas. However, I disagree with your second paragraph. We make wraps for our weekly hike lunches and the tortillas are WAY better if you toast them before making the wrap, particularly if you get them just the right amount of almost-burnt. Yes, they are cold when we eat, but 100% better if toasted than just “raw” out of the bag. I posted this up above as well. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2025, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-warm-up-tortillas-before-eating-them/1019791/40 "2025-06-19T02:07:24Z")
Heated is much preferred. I really don’t like gluey unheated wrap sandwiches from the grocery case. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-warm-up-tortillas-before-eating-them/1019791.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-warm-up-tortillas-before-eating-them/1019791.md?page=3)