Glam Up Your Next Taco Night with Naturally Colored Tortillas

Homemade corn tortillas taste fresher than store-bought. But you already know that, right? A packaged product could never taste as fresh as one that's just been made. What you might not know is how easy (and fun) it is to make different-flavored tortillas dressed up in festive colors that will jazz up your table. And you can leave packaged food coloring for your tortillas on the supermarket shelf: Our colored tortillas get their bold and beautiful look from natural ingredients—beets, cilantro, and chipotle peppers. Best of all, you can use colored tortillas in just about any way you would regular corn tortillas; they'll work great in any-night tacos, tostadas, quesadillas, tortilla chips, and more.

Just pick your favorite tortilla color and let's get started!

DIY Pink-Colored Tortillas with Beets

Here's a tortilla color you don't see every day! A can of beets and a colander are all it takes to give these different colored tortillas a stunning ruby-pink hue: Simply substitute the beet liquid for some of the water in the tortilla recipe. For pro results, shape your homemade tortillas with a tortilla press ($30, Williams Sonoma). While you're at it, serve the reserved beets in this gorgeous Beet and Apple Salad; it makes a bright, refreshing serve-along to many great taco recipes.

DIY Green-Colored Tortillas with Cilantro

To color your tortillas green, simply combine cilantro stems and water, then whir them in a blender ($60, Bed Bath & Beyond). Use this magically colored potion in place of plain water in the recipe.

We love the way the bright herb adds not only a pretty green color but great flavor too. What to do with the leaves you've plucked off the cilantro stems? Use them to flavor-charge some Cilantro Rice or Pico de Gallo—two great accompaniments that will build on the flavors of the green-colored tortillas.

DIY Yellow-Colored Tortillas with Chipotle

If you're looking for a tortilla color that hints at the bold flavors of the fillings, these yellow-colored tortillas are just the ticket. Adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers gives them a rich color and deeply spicy flavor too. After you've made the flavored tortillas with the sauce, use the chipotle peppers from the can in tacos or queso dip.

Taco night is always a good time, no matter what color tortillas you use. But with just one extra ingredient (and a few minutes more of your time), you can make flavored tortillas in a variety of colors to kick the fun up a notch. Now, toast your new-found colored-tortilla expertise with one of our Quick Horchata Cocktail.