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Easy high-protein chickpea flour tortillas are the best grain-free tortillas! They are vegan, gluten-free & grain-free with 8 grams protein and 5 grams fiber per tortilla.
The search for easy, delicious high-protein tortillas is over. I was born and raised in California, and have been living in Texas for a decade, so I know tortillas. These are the real deal.
The secret to making easy and amazing high-protein tortillas? Chickpea flour. Forget about kneading and rolling. And nope, no tortilla press required. Simply whisk together an easy, 2-ingredient batter, ladle it into a pan, and cook on both sides.
The results are flexible, yet sturdy, great-tasting tortillas with 8 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber each!
Table of Contents
- Reasons to Love High-Protein Chickpea Flour Tortillas
- Ingredients for High Protein Tortillas
- How to Make High Protein Chickpea Flour Tortillas
- Texture & Flavor
- How to Serve High-Protein Chickpea Tortillas
- How to Store Chickpea Flour Tortillas
- Ingredient Substitutions
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- Is Chickpea Flour High in Protein?
- More Grain-Free & Vegan Tortillas to Love:
- High Protein Chickpea Flour Tortillas Recipe
Reasons to Love High-Protein Chickpea Flour Tortillas
- High in protein (8 grams per tortilla)
- High in fiber (5 grams per tortilla)
- Easy to make (no rolling, no pressing)
- Vegan (egg-free, dairy-free)
- Grain-free
- Gluten-free
- Delicious, versatile, and flexible
Ingredients for High Protein Tortillas
The exact amounts of each ingredient are indicated in the recipe card at the end of the post. Toggle between US Customary (volume) and Metric (weights) for preferred measurement option.
To make these easy grain-free tortillas, you will need:
- Chickpea flour (also called garbanzo bean flour, or besan)
- Flaxseed meal (ground flax seeds)
You will also need water, to mix the batter. I use filtered tap water. Salt is optional, but I recommend adding it.
Tip: Grind Your Own Chickpea Flour
If you have a high-speed blender, you can grind your own chickpea flour from dried whole chickpeas. Place the dried chickpeas in the blender container. Blend on high until ground into a fine flour. Note: regular blenders and food processors will not work for grinding chickpeas into fine flour. The chickpeas are too hard to break down with the food processor blade, and can overheat a regular blender.
How to Make High Protein Chickpea Flour Tortillas
Note that the complete directions are also in the recipe card below.
Making these tortillas could not be easier. These tortillas do not require rolling or pressing of tortilla dough because they are made with a simple batter (similar to making crepes).
- Step One: Whisk the Dry Ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, flaxseed meal, and (optional) salt until combined.
- Step Two: Add the Water. Next, whisk in the water until the batter is completely smooth.
- Step Three: Let Batter Rest. Let the batter stand for 10 minutes. This is a great time to daydream, check your email, or gaze out the window :).
- Step Four: Heat the Skillet. Heat a large nonstick skillet (a ceramic nonstick pan or a well-seasoned cast iron skillet) over medium-high heat. If desired (or if you do not have a nonstick pan), spray or lightly grease the pan with the oil of your choice (this means, of course, that the tortillas will no longer be 100% oil-free).
- Step Five: Portion and Spread the Batter. A ladle is the best tool for the next step: portioning the batter, 1/3 cup (75 mL) at a time, into the hot skillet. Immediately after adding the batter, tilt the skillet in all directions to cover bottom of pan. Cook for about 45 seconds, until the tortilla is just golden at the edges.
- Step Six: Cook and Flip the Tortilla. With a spatula, carefully lift an edge of the tortilla to test for doneness. The tortilla is ready to turn when it is golden brown on the bottom and can be shaken loose from the pan. Turn the tortilla over and cook for 15 to 30 seconds, until golden brown.
- Step Seven: Cool the Tortilla. Transfer the tortilla to a cooling rack or clean kitchen towel to cool completely.
Repeat with the remaining batter, adjusting the heat as necessary between tortillas.
Texture & Flavor
These high-protein chickpea flour tortillas are flexible yet sturdy, much like traditional flour tortillas made with wheat flour. The taste is much like flour totillas, too. The addition of flaxseed meal makes them taste similar to whole grain tortillas.
With 8 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber per tortilla, they are both filling and satisfying.
How to Serve High-Protein Chickpea Tortillas
Try the tortillas:
- With Tex-Mex favorites, such as tacos, burritos, and enchiladas
- For breakfast, filled with beans, avocado, and Vegan Scrambled Eggs
- As a healthy snack, spread with peanut butter, topped with sliced bananas, and rolled up, or hummus with chopped cucumbers and tomatoes
- For lunch, as sandwich wraps
How to Store Chickpea Flour Tortillas
If you plan to store the tortillas. cool completely and then stack between sheets of waxed paper or parchment paper to prevent sticking.
Ingredient Substitutions
- Can I use a different gluten-free flour instead of chickpea flour? No, I do not recommend substituting the chickpea flour. Other gluten-free flours or blends will alter the texture and structure.
- Can I use something other than flaxseed meal? You can substitute an equal weight of ground chia seeds for the flaxseed meal
- Can I omit the flaxseed altogether? Yes, you can. Add an extra tablespoon or two of chickpea flour to the batter.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- Does chickpea flour taste like chickpeas in all recipes? Not in this recipe. The thin layer of batter, cooked well on each side, results in tortillas with a neutral flavor similar to flour tortillas.
- Can I make these high protein vegan tortillas ahead of time? Yes. The tortillas keep well for several days.
- Are these chickpea flour tortillas flexible? Yes, they are very pliable, as a tortillas should be, yet tender, too. They fold, roll, and stack with ease.
Is Chickpea Flour High in Protein?
Yes—chickpea flour is naturally high in plant-based protein. Made from ground chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans), it contains about 6 grams of protein per ¼ cup, along with fiber, iron, and other important nutrients. Because it’s both protein-rich and gluten-free, chickpea flour is a popular ingredient in plant-based baking and cooking.
Happy cooking!
More Grain-Free & Vegan Tortillas to Love:
- 1-Ingredient Red Lentil Tortillas
- 2-Ingredient Coconut Flour Tortillas
- 3-Ingredient Sweet Potato Tortillas
- 1-Ingredient Black Bean Tortillas
- Grain-Free Spinach Tortillas {2 ingredients}
- 1-Ingredient Split Pea Tortillas
High Protein Chickpea Flour Tortillas
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups chickpea flour, 180 g chickpea flour
- 1/4 cup flaxseed meal
- Optional: 1/4 teaspoon, 1.5 g salt (more or less to taste)
- 1 1/3 cups water
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, flaxseed meal, and salt. Whisk in the water until smooth. Let the batter stand for at least 10 minutes or for up to 1 hour.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet (I prefer ceramic nonstick, or a well-seasoned cast iron skillet) over medium-high heat. Optional: if you do not have a nonstick skillet, lightly spray or grease the skillet with spray/oil of your choice. Whisk the tortilla batter.
- Pour about 1/2 cup (118 mL) batter into the pan, quickly tilting in all directions to cover bottom of pan. Cook for about 45 seconds, until it’s just golden at the edges. With a spatula, carefully lift an edge of the tortilla to test for doneness. The tortilla is ready to turn when it is golden brown on the bottom and can be shaken loose from the pan. Turn the tortilla over and cook for 15 to 30 seconds, until golden brown.
- Transfer the tortilla to a cooling rack or clean kitchen towel to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining batter, greasing the skillet and adjusting the heat as necessary between tortillas, stacking the cooled tortillas between sheets of waxed paper to prevent sticking.
Hi Camilla,
Thank you for your timely response and for all your help in troubleshooting my problem with batter consistency. Actually I do weigh all ingredients, liquid as well as dry. So I read yout remarks and had a thought, maybe if I use the same brands of chickpea flour and flaxseed meal I’d get similar results. Are you able to share the names of the brands you use? Thanks for all your help with this.
Hi Linda,
I always use Bob’s Red Mill Chickpea Flour and Flaxseed Meal for my testing. I hope that is helpful.
Hi Camilla, thanks so much for this site, the recipes for breads and tortillas sans wheat, rice and eggs (all newly diagnosed allergies for me) have been such a wonderful gift!
I’ve had good results with all the tortillas (favorite is coconut and I like red lentil one, too) but this chickpea tortilla has really got me stumped. I only measure with weight, so I’m thinking that if the weights are accurate I should have ended up with a pourable batter-like consistency but after waiting the 10 minutes for the mixture to be ready I had great scoops of thick dough-like consistency. I added more water (about a cup!) til it thinned out to where it would shape into a 6 inch round by moving the pan around and with the heat at medium-high in my well-seasoned iron skillet the first one burned but didn’t stick to the pan. Turned down the heat and tried for the full batch with variations in heat and thicknesses, adding a bit more chickpea flour, a bit more water… not one flexible tortilla, they all broke up in the pan.
And this was the second time I tried this recipe! The first time it was so thick, exactly like this time, but I thought I must have added too much chickpea flour (weighed it wrong or something) but it was the same in consistency tonight as it was then, and I double checked every weight tonight. I read through all comments and everyone seemed to have good results. I always have with all other recipes on your site as mentioned above I’m so grateful for them! I’m wondering, could the weights for chickpea flour and or water be off? Just not sure what’s going on because I fine tuned everything and still no results.
Not a complete loss though because I’m going to try to make a nice stuffing with all the crumbs. That’s basically how they came out, crumbling on flipping and removing from the pan. I think the stuffing is going to be great! ???? but I’d love to make these tortillas one more time if you have suggestions. Thanks so much!
Hi Linda,
I am so glad to read that you are enjoying many of the recipes on my site–thank you! But I’m also sorry that the chickpea flour tortillas are proving to be an issue. I wish I could figure out what was going on, especially since you are weighing the ingredients. I went to my kitchen and whisked up the recipe again, just to double check. It came out the same as always, thin-ish batter, pourable fr the tortillas.
Since you are weighing the dry ingredients, perhaps you are not adding the full amount of water? That’s the only possibility I can come up with , Linda, so sorry.
I love these tortillas!!! Sometimes I add spices and last time I mixed them in the blendedr with a giant handful of cilantro leaves. Amazing!
Thank you so much for this… I have adhd meaning I have the attention span of a gnat! I was indulged for a whole hour!!! ????????
You are very welcome, Jo!
Outstanding. I snuck in some dried herbs this is such a healthy and delicious item, I also doubled quantities to make Flatbreads. It’s going to be in my rotation. Only request is if all the dry ingredients would have weights. Small thing thank you for this!
Sheridan, I am glad you like the the recipe–how smart to make bigger flatbreads!
Request received, and the weights have been added (sorry they are missing in some of my older recipes–I appreciate the reminders :))
Hi can you confirm how many grams the flaxmeal is instead of 1/4 cup? THANK YOU
hi Sheridan–added! 🙂
not bad–subbed in sourdough starter for the flaxseed and it is kind of like a corn tortilla flavored like chickpeas
How clever, Lexi! Thanks for sharing your adaptation. I really need to make some sourdough starter, I never have!
Hi I am so excited to try this thank you for the recipe!! I’m traveling out of the country and looking to make all of my food to take on the trip. Can I store these in a baggie for about 16 hours safely? Should I freeze them first? Then refreeze or stick them in the fridge when I get to the airbnb?
Yes, absolutely!
I just made these, but used lentil flour instead. It worked! Though I did need to add much more water. And I accidently dumped a teaspoon of Italian seasoning in the flour while it was on the counter next to another project I was working on. It was a good accident. The tortillas are good. No, they do not look like, feel like, or taste like wheat tortillas, but they will definately be a good replacement. Thank you!
I was really hesitant to try these, but because I need to eat low sodium, I decided to give these a shot because I knew I could easily omit the salt. So, that is just what I did, adding in garlic powder instead. Wow! These are sooooooo good and will definitely be a staple for me from now on. I made them on my griddle. I loved how easy it came together, too. I halved the recipe and got 4. I probably could have made 5, but I was overly generous with a couple, lol! Next time, I’ll make sure to spread the batter thinner as well. Anyway, I ate mine with a layer of eggplant hummus, smashed avo, leftover cooked purple cabbage/corn, a handful of spinach, and tomato slices. I could eat this every day. Thank you, thank you, thank you!! 🙂
I am thrilled to pieces, Aimee!!
Thank you! Love these. I can think of lots of uses for them. I’ve recently realized I’ve got to go gluten free and am very happy I found your site.
Tried these !! This recipe is definitely a keeper
Yay! One of my favorites, too 🙂
Has anyone tried with black bean flour? I’m wondering if it would work consistency wise?
Hi Dawn,
Black bean flour should work perfectly as a sub (1:1 sub)
Can I replace flax with almond flour?
HI Vanessa,
I am really not sure how that will turn out. You may want to mix a mini batch of batter (with the almond flour) to test it before committing to an entire batch. Would love to hear how it goes if you try!
Hi there
I know u mention some options regarding the flax seed ( which I like ) but could I use part hemp flour and flax seed – could that still work ?
Thanks
Hi Jo,
I’m really not sure about the hemp flour as I have not used it (unless it is the same as hemp protein powder? But I have only used that in limited fashion, too). I definitely think hemp seeds, plain or ground to a meal, could work in some recipes, but it will need to take some trial and (not as fun) error to find out 🙂 I would love to hear about any experimentations you do!
HI Camilla,
thanks for this recipe!
I am making them right now, but it seems the batter takes a long time to dry. If I make them too thin, they will break and I can not turn them around easily and the tortilla breaks. And a little thicker takes like 5-6 minutes on one side to be ready, otherwise it breaks.. Do you use high flame or lower? I am trying now on a low flame. I use a natural steel pan that has been burned in for a few years now.
Thanks!
Christina
Hi Camilla, it worked out in the end. I baked them on a high flame and waited until the tortilla came loose from the pan. I eat them as a pancake, with date sirup, which is delicious too! Thanks again! Christina
Great, so glad you are enjoying them, Christina!
These turned out well! I made 3 larger wraps to load up on hummus and veggies and they held up to a ton of fillings! Will be making these regularly for sure!
That, great, Christine! Yum, I love a good hummus and veggie wrap. Greta idea to make extra-large tortillas. Thank you so much for taking the time to write a comment, Christine!
This is Awesome! My husband even liked it. I didn’t have flax meal (but I did have chickpea flour- go figure!) so I sprinkled in a little corn meal. I also added some kosher salt and roughly ground pepper and 1/4 tsp of ground cumin. We even experimented with some Montreal seasoning that is pretty coarse and adds s bit of bite. I used this as the “taco” wrap for fish tacos made with orange roughy fillets. It was a hits. Yum! Thank you for all your chickpea recipes. I was trying to use it up and now instead I need to buy more!! Flour free fan! JS
Oh wow, I am so happy to hear that you are loving the tortillas so much, and chickpea flour more generally, too. It’s so versatile and I love that it is so affordable, too. Thanks for letting me know the recipe was a success, Jill, I appreciate it!
This is basically besan roti — which makes sense since roti and flour tortillas are basically the same thing.
Great idea, am going to give it a shot!
Thanks Joel, hope you like it!
Delicious, but did not look like the picture. Mine looked like a pancake, or a crepe. Makes for a great crepe, tasty, but not a tortilla.. Can be used as such though, but should be eaten with knife and fork. Fairly fragile.
Hi Eva,
It needs to be poured thicker (more batter) for a tortilla. The end result is very sturdy, not fragile at all.
Can’t wait to try these, my kids and and I are grain free, I like the idea of using the Garbanzo flour.. do you have a recommendation to replace the flax? I can’t do flax. Maybe just skip it all together?
Hi Lori,
Sure–replace the flax with half the amount of chickpea flour (in addition to the other chickpea flour in the recipe). You will also want to add about 2 to 3 teaspoons of oil (of your choice) to make up for the missing oil from the flax (it helps keep the tortillas pliable when you want to roll or fold them). Alternatively, replace the flax with an half the amount of ground chia seeds 🙂
Thanks so much! That sounds great with the chia seeds 🙂
@Camilla,
Hi, just attempted to make these. Did half the recipe but the mixture was too thick so was unable to spread the mixture over the pan. Added more water which helped. Loved the combination of the chickpea flour and flaxseed. The flaxseed definitely gave the tortilla/pancake a good taste.
Hi, this recipe looks great–I’m going to try it very soon. I’m wondering if you’ve found these tortillas to work baked with filling? I have an old burrito recipe I love. I wrap the filling in the tortillas, then bake them to toast the tops and melt the cheese in the filling. Can I do that with these tortillas, or would they not hold up to an extra round of heat? If not, I can just wrap the filling in the tortilla straight out of the pan and sprinkle the cheese on the top, then put them under the broiler for a minute to melt, and just go without the bit of texture I used to get with the toasting of the flour tortilla. Anyway, just wondering if these tortillas can be used in this way. Thanks for a new grain-free recipe to try!
Sorry for the delay, Claire. Yes, by all means, these tortillas definitely hold up like a regular tortilla in traditional recipes. If you plan to fill them, I would advise adding a touch more liquid to the batter so that you make the tortillas thinner and therefore easier to roll. I think you will really enjoy these!