Air Fryer Flour Tortilla Bowls

Air Fryer Flour Tortilla Bowls are a must for your next taco night! So crispy and easy to make, these tortilla bowls will take your taco salad to the next level! Method included for both taco size and burrito size tortillas!

Air fryers are magical. They are one of the bright spots of 2020. Simple things like reheating leftover fries or making a grilled cheese are just easier, crispier, and more delicious.

I already knew my air fryer could create crispy tortillas like in these air fryer taquitos or chimichangas, and I’ve even made tortilla chips from leftover tortillas. So this idea just made sense! 

Air Fryer Flour Tortilla Bowls are here to change up your taco nights. I had previously only ever had a crispy taco salad bowl at a restaurant. But now my friends, you can have them at home too!

Watch how to make these Air Fryer Flour Tortilla Bowls (1 min 51 sec):

What equipment do you need to make tortilla bowls in an air fryer?

Here’s what you need to make tortilla bowls in your air fryer and why!

• Air Fryer – I have a Cosori XL 5.8 qt Air Fryer (affiliate link!) which is large enough to make tortilla bowls with taco size burritos or burrito size tortillas. I also have a smaller Philips 2.75 qt Viva Air Fryer (affiliate link!), but this size of air fryer is too small to make tortilla bowls with burrito size tortillas (the bowls would not fit inside).
• Oven Safe Bowls – To make taco size tortillas into bowls, I used a 6-inch diameter stainless steel metal bowl as the outer bowl, and a 3.5-inch diameter glass bowl as the inner bowl (see photos above for this setup). For a burrito size flour tortilla, I used an 8-inch stainless steel metal bowl as the outer bowl, and a 6-inch stainless steel metal bowl as the inner bowl. The two smallest bowls of this 6-Piece Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls (affiliate link!) set are what I used, as well as one of these Libbey Small 6.25 ounce Glass Bowls (affiliate link!), but a small glass Pyrex bowl or oven safe bowl would work. 
• Avocado Oil Spray – If you own an air fryer, you need to own some spray oil. It makes everything easier. This is vital for applying to both sides of the tortilla to give it a nice flaky crisp. My favorite brand is Chosen Foods Avocado Oil Spray (affiliate link!).
• Flour Tortillas – You can use either 8- or 10-inch flour tortillas for these tortilla bowls. If you have a small air fryer, you may need to stick with 8-inch tortillas (taco size). I do not particularly enjoy corn tortillas so I’ve chosen to stick with flour here.

How do you make flour tortilla bowls in an air fryer?

To make flour tortillas into tortilla bowls in your air fryer, you’ll need to create a ‘mold’ in the shape of a bowl to form the tortilla while it cooks. 

The best way to achieve this (in my opinion) is by using actual bowls to shape the tortilla. Smart, huh? 😉 This method allows you to use either taco size or burrito size flour tortillas.

The most important part of this process is finding bowls that are the proper size for your tortillas. You don’t want much extra tortilla hanging over the edges of the bowls because they’ll go whatever direction they want and make your tortilla bowl look a lot less like a bowl!

Taco size tortillas will need smaller bowls than burrito size tortillas to make tortilla bowls in the air fryer. You can see in the photos below how the tortilla fits in between the inner and outer bowls.

After 5 minutes of cooking, the tortilla has started to form its shape. However, you can see the center and outside are not quite browned.

Remove the outer bowl so that the tortilla can brown all around the outside. But leave the inner bowl so air bubbles don’t form in the tortilla. Air fry for 3-4 more minutes.

If you want any additional browning, remove the inner bowl and air fry for just another minute to add a hint of brown to the inside of the bowl. Flip it over to avoid it flying around in the air fryer (not sure why this worked for me but it did!).

What size tortillas work best for tortilla bowls?

If you have a small air fryer, you will need to use 8-inch taco size tortillas. Based on my testing, the larger bowls needed to form a burrito size tortilla bowl will not fit into smaller air fryers.

If you have a larger air fryer (like my Cosori XL 5.8 qt Air Fryer), you can use either 8-inch or 10-inch flour tortillas.

What size bowls do I need to make tortilla bowls in my air fryer?

For taco size tortillas, I used a 6-inch bowl and a 3.5-inch bowl. For burrito size tortillas, I used a 6-inch bowl and an 8-inch bowl. 

Make sure the bowls are oven safe. You may need to experiment with your bowls in the air fryer to see which ones work best at making tortilla bowls for you.

I really like the two smallest bowls in this 6-Piece Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls (affiliate link!) set for this purpose. These lightweight bowls are easy to clean and useful for a variety of cooking applications (just not food storage, because they don’t have lids). I definitely recommend for more than just making tortilla bowls.

A glass Pyrex bowl will work for the smallest bowl as well. 

Do I need to use a mold to make a tortilla bowl in the air fryer?

Yes, you need to use a ‘mold’ or some kind of shape to make your flat tortilla into a bowl shape. This mold can be made from aluminum foil, made with real bowls, or could just be the shape of your air fryer basket. 

For my recipe and in my photos, I have used two oven safe bowls to mold my tortilla in a bowl shape.

What should I fill my tortilla bowl with?

Fill your tortilla bowls will all of your favorite taco salad ingredients! My favorites are romaine greens mix, avocado or guac, ground taco seasoned meat, salsa, cilantro, and sour cream. 

One of my favorite ideas to make dinner quicker is to grab a southwest style salad kit. This will have your greens, cilantro, some extra veggies and your dressing! Just add a protein and you’ve got dinner in a very restaurant style way!

What kind of air fryer do you recommend?

I have only tried two different air fryers in my life, and I upgraded purely to have a bigger capacity basket so I can air fry more foods at once. This bigger basket is why burrito size tortillas fit!

The air fryer I use now, and the one that is pictured in this post is the Cosori XL 5.8 qt Air Fryer (affiliate link!). If you’re going to invest in an air fryer to cook things for 2 or more people, you should opt for a larger size in my opinion.  

How do you store these tortilla bowls after they’re made?

I would try to use these tortilla bowls on the same day you make them, but if you’ve got leftover, try to cover completely and leave on the counter for 1-2 days.