Recipes Using Corn Tortillas [7 World-Changing Dishes]

So you've hand-pressed too many corn tortillas, or you found an XXL pack in the store and bought way too many! What do you do with all those corn tortillas? Well, you could just turn them all into tacos, but we like to get a little bit more creative with our tortilla recipes!

There are so many great things to make with tortillas. You can load up those burritos for breakfast, you can stuff your quesadillas with shrimp, or you can cook up homemade tortilla chips and cover them in cheese, guacamole, and spicy salsa. Here are our favorite recipes using corn tortillas! 

What to make with corn tortillas

Okay, so you're wondering what to do with corn tortillas? Don't worry too much, because there are so many fantastic recipes with tortillas.

Corn tortillas are great. You can cook up huge batches of them in your kitchen, or buy them in bulk from most stores (they are sold in huge quantities!). They last for ages if they are unopened, or you can freeze them for months in the freezer.

For that reason, it's always good to have a few recipe ideas on the back-burner, for when you need to whip out a tasty Mexican-inspired recipe using tortillas!

1. Shrimp quesadillas

We're starting our corn tortilla recipe list in style with shrimp quesadillas!

Quesadillas are a timeless Mexican dish, but they are usually just filled with cheese and topped with some salsa. We like to make quesadillas a little bit more exciting by adding shrimp, spicy onions, and peppers too.

Healthy shrimp quesadillas are a great alternative to meat-heavy quesadillas, being low in calories and full of nutrients. Corn tortillas are the perfect way to wrap up the shrimp, salsas, and cheese in a tasty parcel that's easy to toast in the pan, for a golden, crispy finish.

Check out our shrimp quesadillas recipe to find out exactly how to cook this seafood twist on an iconic staple!

2. Breakfast tacos

You don't need to wait until lunch or dinner to enjoy some tasty tacos, because our breakfast tacos recipe is bursting with great ingredients to get your day started right!

We love these breakfast tacos because they are highly customizable. The only standard items on the recipe are the corn tortillas needed to wrap up all the breakfast goodies. You can scramble some eggs, smash some avocados into guacamole, and layer the tacos with salsa.

You could fry some bacon, or chop up a few sausages if you prefer a meaty breakfast taco, while a hefty portion of delicious refried beans should form the base layer of any taco. Start your day with hearty breakfast tacos; we guarantee that you won't regret it!

3. Homemade tortilla chips

If you've got stacks of leftover corn tortillas, then the easiest way to put them all to great use before they go out of date is to turn them all into tortilla chips!

Tortilla chips are super easy to make from corn tortillas; all you need is vegetable oil and a pinch of salt. Simply slice up your corn tortillas into triangles, then you can either fry them in a large pan full of vegetable oil or bake them with a drizzle of oil in the oven.

Once your corn tortilla chips are fried or baked, there are so many great things you can do with them. Cover them in nacho cheese and guacamole, or use them for dipping into spicy salsa. Add them to Mexican soup, or use them as a crunchy topping for enchiladas!

This crispy, delicious, homemade tortilla chips recipe, will leave you wishing you had made/bought even more tortillas!

Learn how to make your own delicious tortillas at home - check out our FREE step-by-step guide:

4. Mexican soup

Mexicans love their food, and one staple of Mexican cuisine that's been around for centuries is Mexican soup. This hearty broth can vary dramatically from one state to the next, in Mexico, but the premise itself is simple enough.

Take a soupy broth, add in your favorite vegetables, and if you like, top it with some shredded meat. The ingredients, the spices, and the broth can be different everywhere you go, but the one constant will be the soggy corn tortilla chips you'll find bulking out the soup!

If you have leftover corn tortillas, turn them into homemade tortilla chips, and then start cooking up a steaming hot bowl of Mexican soup to add them to. It's perfect for those colder, winter days when you just need warming up.

5. Vegan quesadilla

Corn tortillas are perfect for making healthy, vegan quesadillas. The recipe is simple. All you need are black beans, smashed avocado, and your Mexican-style spices of choice!

Fill your corn tortillas with your vegan fillings before crisping them lightly on a hot skillet. If you want to make these vegan quesadillas authentic, then you can even grate some vegan cheese and melt it inside the quesadillas.

Vegan quesadillas are a brilliantly tasty alternative to your standard cheese-filled, or meat-filled quesadillas. They are low in calories, low in fat, and they are great for the planet too!

This vegan quesadilla recipe has a hearty corn, black bean, and avocado filling (and it's absolutely sumptuous!.

6. Chicken burrito

You can't get better than a classic chicken burrito recipe, and corn tortillas are the perfect way to wrap up your delicious burrito fillings. We know, burrito recipes usually call for flour tortillas, but corn tortillas are actually the more authentic, Mexican choice. They are healthier, lower in calories, and higher in nutrients than flour tortillas too!

That makes chicken burritos wrapped up in juicy corn tortillas a tasty, healthy treat for lunch or dinner. Cook up some fragrant red rice, gently fry some chicken breasts, and then fold up your ingredients in a corn wrap. We love to add a touch of greenery too, so chop up some lettuce or cucumber, before wrapping everything up with a dash of mayonnaise.

Chicken burritos are surprisingly healthy and outrageously delicious.

This chicken burrito recipe will easily win a place at the front of your cookbook. The taste is unbeatable and the amount of time it takes to serve up this dish is unbelievable.

7. Cheese quesadilla

You can't get more classic than a classic cheese quesadilla, and this great Mexican recipe is fantastic when made with corn tortillas.

Cheese quesadillas are really easy and really quick to cook up at home. All you need is cheese and corn tortillas. Fold your cheese into your corn tortillas, then gently toast them with a dash of oil in a hot pan.

It's that simple, but to spice things up, you can add in a few extras to your cheese quesadillas too. We love mixing up some spicy salsa, or preparing some fresh guacamole to dip your quesadillas into!

Even the most novice of cooks can master this simple, but flavorful cheese quesadilla recipe!

Can you freeze corn tortillas?

Yes, you can freeze corn tortillas. We often cook them up in big batches, using a cast iron tortilla press to make things easier. You can then freeze them for up to 8 months if you freeze them when they are fresh.

It's a good idea to freeze your corn tortillas in small stacks, so that you can defrost smaller numbers of them as and when you need them. You could also place parchment paper between each tortilla, to help them defrost better.

Try to keep your corn tortillas in a freezer bag to seal in the taste and flavor!

Can corn tortillas go bad?

If you leave your corn tortillas for too long, without freezing them, you could find that a tortilla wrap can end up going bad. Even in the refrigerator, though, corn tortillas can last up to 10 days. They last much longer if they are sealed in packets, or store-bought (store-bought tortillas usually have many more preservatives than homemade tortillas).

Tortillas start to lose their moisture as they age. They will lose their moisture and start to lose their shape, too, often hardening around the edges. When this starts to happen, you don't need to throw them away just yet. They can still be good to use in certain recipes for a few weeks. If they start to harden, turn them into homemade tortilla chips, or use them in Mexican soup!

Corn tortilla recipe ideas takeaway

That's the end of our list for corn tortilla recipes, but that's not all you can make. Corn tortillas are one of our favorite foods because of how universal they are! And they make a great addition to any Mexican-style meal!

After trying a few of these recipes you will likely discover that corn tortillas are your new passion! If you really want to take your tortilla game to the next level, prepare your own corn tortillas with your own tortilla press!