Comparing the Nutritional Value of Corn and Flour Tortillas

Corn vs. Flour Tortillas

September 30, 2010

Say olé if you like Mexican food! I love food from south of the border, but I'm not always too keen on the heavy calories and saturated fats that tend to go along with it. In an effort to make some heart-healthier meals, I've started using corn tortillas instead of their flour counterparts. They definitely offer a different taste but I'm actually starting to prefer the lighter version. My body certainly appreciates the effort as it doesn't have to work as hard to work it off.

Ready to see how they stack up against each other?
The below nutritional value is based on Mission Tortilla's six-inch yellow corn and flour tortillas.

	One corn tortilla	One flour tortilla
Calories	40	110
Total Fat (g)	0.5	2.5
Carbs (g)	8	18
Fiber (g)	1	1
Sugar (g)	1	1
Protein (g)	1	3
Sodium (mg)	5	320

Sometimes a flour tortilla is just too good to pass up, but when there's an option to go corn, I'd take it. They offer the same amount of fiber with just about half the carbs, fat, and calories. The flour tortillas do win in the protein department, but chances are the fillers — be it chicken, beef, or beans — will more than make up for it. Corn versions are also much lighter in sodium, which makes up for all the salsa that you might want to pile on before sinking your teeth into the saucy meal.

Source: Thinkstock

12 Comments

animatedpunk 2 years

I love corn tortillas :) I have a bag at home so it's easy for me to whip up some black bean tacos for dinner. YUM.

Soniabonya 2 years

I grew up making both corn and flour tortillas. Corn tortillas are more from the South of Mexico while flour is a more northern thing (mi abuelitos) I love them both but I tend to make flour more than corn. Even with my tortilla press for corn ones, they're just to hard for me to make. Though my husband can make a mean corn tortilla by flattening and rounding it in his hands. Mi abuela was so proud that the wetto could make tortillas. Lol. I also try to make my flour tortillas healthy by using whole wheat or spelt flour.

RoaringSilence 2 years

Nooo :( I cannot stand the flavor of corn tortillas!

socalbeachgal 2 years

I like corn tortillas better except for burritos, then have to have flour tortillas.

2 years

Thanks for posting this. I, too have recently switched to corn because I realize how bad flour tortillas are for you (I've never found a single one w/out hydrogenated oils in it! Sigh.) I even tried buying whole wheat flour tortillas but I couldn't get past that unpleasant grainy bite, bleh.

Wild Magelet 2 years

Aren't most corn tortillas only lower in calories because they're much smaller than the flour tortillas? So if you liked the taste of flour and were that worried about the extra 50-60 calories, you could always just cut the flour tortilla in half and have a smaller wrap. Or buy a lower calorie wrap - I love the Light Mountain Bread wraps. Only 72 calories each and they bake up really crispy in the oven.

Diana615 2 years

Never knew this. Thanks for the info. Guess I'll switch to corn...

2 years

Hmm, good to know. But I've tried comparing a corn vs flour tortilla of the same size and brand before and the stats came out almost exactly the same... I'll have to take another look.

2 years

Oh interesting. I've always wondered which are better. I like corn tortillas for tacos but flour for burritos.