We Made Dozens of Fresh Tortillas to Find The Best Tortilla Presses

A freshly made tortilla is a revelation; plush, toothsome, and intensely corny (literally), it is one of the purest embodiments of this staple grain. I had my first bite of one when I was a cook at a Providence restaurant where we nixtamalized flint corn and made our own masa before pressing the dough into tortillas. We’d then either serve them with sopa negra (roll the tortilla up like a flauta, then swipe it through the soup like an edible spoon) or fry them in a little oil to create crispy tostadas for scooping up fish crudo. But my favorite preparation was one my fellow cook, Angél, made as a snack before service: he’d spoon some queso fresco in the center of the tortilla, fold it over on itself and pinch it shut, then deep fry it. Served straight from the fryer with a little avocado and some hot sauce, it was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. 

An integral part of making fresh tortillas (which you can then griddle, fry, or make into said little empanadas) is the tortilla press; often made of cast iron, it’s composed of two flat pieces of metal and a handle you use to compress them together. You place the ball of masa between the two metal plates (lined with a plastic bag or parchment paper) before closing and pressing, then open it up and peel off the tortilla. 

To find the best tortilla presses, I put eight to the test,* making tortillas with store-bought masa harina as well as masa I nixtamalized at home following this recipe. I examined the presses for their ease of use, consistency, and durability (you don’t want the handle falling off mid-press! It’s a thing!). Jorge Gaviria, the author of the Masa cookbook and founder of Masienda, noted that weight is important, too. “The weight is important to keep it balanced and in place during pressing,” he says. “Most we have used are highly unstable.” 

^{*A note: From my time working with masa in the restaurant, I went into tortilla press testing knowing that while a good, weighty press is important, so too is the preparation of the masa—if it wasn’t in good shape (e.g. too wet or too dry), then no tortilla press would seem to perform well. I learned a little tip from my fellow cook, Angél, to find out if your masa is properly hydrated: Form a bit into a ball and squish it; if it squished out between your knuckles without breaking, it was adequately hydrated. If it broke into pieces or frayed at the edges, it was too dry. And if you’ve gotten that far, rolled a ball, and pressed it only to find the tortilla is too moist and sticking to your liner, don’t fret‚ masa is very forgiving. Simply scrape it off as best you can, return it to the rest of the masa, add more dried masa harina, knead, and try again.} 

The Winners, at a Glance

Everything about this tortilla press’s design was thoughtful; the heavyweight, powder-coated cast iron ensured even, thin tortillas, while the square shape allowed for a variety of sizes.

While it required a little more muscle to get thinner results, this gorgeous wooden press churned out even, flat tortillas every time.

The handle on this press was a little wobbly, but it was surprisingly good at making even, perfectly pressed tortillas. 

The Tests

• Storebought Masa Harina Tortillas Test: We made tortilla dough (a.k.a masa) with King Arthur Flour masa harina, rolled the dough into 36-gram balls, and pressed five tortillas on each press. 
• Homemade Masa Tortillas Test (Winners-Only): We took flint corn, nixtamalized it, and ground it to make homemade masa, adding masa harina as needed to get the perfect texture. We then rolled the dough into 36-gram balls and pressed five tortillas on each winning press. 
• Durability Tests (Winners Only): We pressed down on each winning tortilla press’s handle 10 times to examine their durability. 
• Ease of Use and Cleaning Tests: Throughout testing, we noted how easy the presses were to use and clean. 

What We Learned 

Larger, Square Presses Offered More Versatility 

While round tortilla presses might seem like a natural fit for making, well, round tortillas, I found the round shape was limiting. This was especially true of smaller round presses, like the Verve Culture, which had a mere 6.25-inch diameter; if you want to make an 8-inch whopper of a corn tortilla, you’re plum out of luck. Instead, I preferred larger, square tortillas like the Doña Rosa Masienda Tortilla Press and the Central Coast Woodworks Hardwood Tortilla Press, which were eight-and-a-half by eight-and-a-half inches and eight-by-eight inches, respectively. The larger surface area allowed me to vary the size of the tortillas more easily than a smaller, round press. 

A Comfortable Handle Made a Difference

I didn’t love when a press’s handle was wobbly (like on the IMUSA), too tight (like on the Navaris), or ground up against the top of the press (like the Victoria)—these flaws made it a challenge to press down evenly and firmly. Instead, I really liked the powder-coated cast iron handle on the Masienda press because it folded smoothly and didn’t grind into the top plate when pressing. The same went for the Central Coast press, which was made of smooth, buffed hardwood. 

Hefty, Evenly Weighted Presses Were the Best

There’s a reason most tortilla presses are made of cast iron—it’s heavy. When you’re squishing a round ball of masa in one fell motion, you want a tortilla press that is evenly and heavily weighted so you don’t end up with a really thick or uneven tortilla. When I made tortillas as a prep cook, we aimed for the thickness to hover around 1/16 inch for most applications, though Gaviria notes that the average thickness he aims for is a little less than 1/8 inch (of course, if you’re looking to make Arepas or Papusas, you should press down more lightly to get a slightly thicker result). While most of the presses I tested brought the heft and could press tortillas to the perfect thickness, the exception was the cast aluminum version from Norpro. At a mere one pound, 11.4 ounces, it was too light to press the masa into a thinner tortilla. In contrast, my favorite tortilla press from Masienda was also the heaviest, weighing in at 10 pounds, 7.9 ounces. That said, some presses, while hefty, struggled at pressing evenly across the masa’s surface. For example, the Uno Casa Cast Iron Tortilla Press’s top plate was attached slightly off-center, resulting in uneven tortillas. 

Your Tortilla Press Is Only as Good as Your Masa

In other words, even if you have the best tortilla press in the world, if your masa is too dry or wet, you will struggle to make a perfectly round tortilla that comes off the liner easily. The good news is, it’s super easy to fix masa. Just add more masa harina if the dough is too wet, or add a teaspoon of water at a time if the masa is too dry. And if you mess up and end up with a ragged, sticky tortilla, don’t panic—just scrape it off and try again! 

Also—Use a Liner!

Most tortilleras use some sort of nonstick liner when pressing masa into tortillas, which prevents the masa from sticking to the press, as it’s wont to do. The Masienda tortilla press came with a plastic liner in the shape of a bag (handles and all), a nod to the method of using a plastic grocery bag as a liner (as I learned from my restaurant colleague Angél). You can also use parchment paper, just make sure to trim in so it doesn’t fold or crimp when you press since this can mar the surface of the tortillas.

The Criteria: What to Look for In a Tortilla Press

A good tortilla press should be hefty, feature a wide pressing area (ideally square-shaped), and press even, round tortillas in one smooth, fluid motion. 

What we liked: This tortilla press had a nice, wide surface area—great for making tortillas of various sizes. It also brought the heft and applied it evenly, resulting in perfect results every time. Finally, the food-safe powder coating made pressing smooth and easy, without any grinding or grating. 

What we didn’t like: It’s an expensive tortilla press, there’s no getting around it. 

Price at time of publish: $95.

Key Specs

• Press style: Square
• Press dimensions: 8.5 x 8.5 inches
• Handle length: 10.5 inches
• Weight: 10 lbs, 7.9 ounces
• Materials: Finished in food-safe powder coating, cast iron 
• Care: Hand-wash and dry 

What we liked: This gorgeous hardwood tortilla press brought me back to when I was a kid and would play with wooden toys and Play Dough—and I mean this in the best way. It was super easy to use and provided enough heft to make round, even tortillas, doing so in one fluid, smooth motion. 

What we didn’t like: This press was a little bit on the lighter side, and since the handle is a block of wood, it’s a little more difficult to leverage your weight on it and press down harder. It also requires more maintenance and oiling. 

Price at time of publish: $79.

Key Specs

• Press style: Square
• Press dimensions: 8 x 8 inches
• Handle length: 13.25 inches
• Weight: 4 lbs 13.7 ounces
• Materials: Walnut and oak
• Care: Hand-wash and dry; rub with food-safe mineral oil

What we liked: This no-frills press was heavy and pressed even, round tortillas. It was also a decent size even though it’s circular, and is sold in a 10-inch option if you want an even bigger workspace. 

What we didn’t like: The handle was secured rather loosely, and I questioned its longevity. 

Price at time of publish: $34.

Key Specs

• Press style: Circular
• Press dimensions: 7.75-inch diameter
• Handle length: 10 inches
• Weight: 6 lbs, 13.3 ounces
• Materials: Cast iron
• Care: Hand-wash and dry

The Competition 

• Uno Casa Cast Iron Tortilla Press: While I liked using this tortilla press, the plates were misaligned, resulting in uneven tortillas. 
• Victoria 8 Inch Cast Iron Tortilla Press: I liked the spaciousness and heft of this press, but the handle ground and grated when pressing, and it didn’t have the nice spring and give to it that other presses had. 
• Verve Culture Tortilla Press: While this was a nice little press, it was just that—little. At 6.5 inches in diameter, it was just too small to get a perfect press (and tortilla) every time. However, if you’re a very seasoned hand at making tortillas and don’t mind limiting yourself to making smaller ones, then it might be alright. 
• Navaris Wooden Tortilla Press: This wasn’t a bad tortilla press, but the handle was difficult to attach and, once it was, it was hard to move up and down. 
• Norpro Tortilla Press, 8 inch: Made of cast aluminum, this tortilla press was too light to get a good press on the masa. 

FAQs

Can you use a tortilla press to make flour tortillas?

While you *technically* can use a tortilla press to make flour tortillas, they may yield smaller, thicker results. This is because the gluten formation in flour tortillas makes the dough springy and it’s difficult to spread it out just by pressing it; we recommend using a rolling pin for best results. Corn tortillas don’t have gluten, so they just smush out nicely. 

What’s the best way to clean a tortilla press?

Since most tortilla presses are made of cast iron, they should be hand-washed and dried to prevent rusting. If you have a wooden tortilla press, this should also be hand-washed and dried, as well as oiled to prevent splitting or cracking. 

What size is best for a tortilla press?

We preferred larger tortilla presses—around eight inches or larger—because they open up the possibility of making tortillas of various sizes.