Recipe
🍳 BREAKFAST
Tortas Fritas
Simple fried dough discs, crisp-edged and dusted with sugar, that Argentines make on rainy mornings to eat with mate.
Argentine · easy · serves 6
prep 20 min · cook 15 min
~431 cal · 6g protein · 57g carbs · 20g fat · 2g fiber · 9g sugars · 3g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Tortas fritas are Argentina's rainy-day treat, fried dough discs so tied to wet weather that there is a widely held belief they are made precisely when it rains. The moment the sky turns grey, kitchens fill with the smell of them frying.
The dough could hardly be simpler: flour, water, fat, and leavening, rolled thin, cut into rounds with a slit in the centre (once said to let the frying fat escape), and dropped into hot fat where they puff and blister. A dusting of sugar finishes them.
Crisp at the edges and soft in the middle, they are eaten warm with a shared round of mate, the definition of cozy afternoon comfort. Humble and nostalgic, tortas fritas turn a grey day into something to look forward to.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup warm salted water
2 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp melted fat or oil
4 cups , for frying
1/4 cup sugar, for dusting
Instructions
1
Mix the flour, baking powder, and a pinch of salt, then work in the melted fat and warm water to a soft dough.
2
Knead briefly until smooth, cover, and rest 15 minutes so the dough relaxes.
3
Roll out to about a quarter-inch, cut into discs, and slit each one in the center with a knife.
4
Fry in hot oil until golden and puffed, about 1 minute a side; drain and toss in sugar while warm.
Argentine rainy-day home tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Mendoza. Mendoza is Argentina's wine country, cooking asado grills to pair with Malbec and empanadas baked in clay ovens. Andean foothills and vineyards define its meat-and-wine table.
🗺️
Argentina. Dulce de leche's origin is disputed between Argentina and Uruguay, with a French confiture de lait documented earlier than either national legend, so it is best described as a shared and argued-over sweet. Mate is shared too, drunk across Uruguay, Paraguay and southern Brazil, and passed round one gourd and one metal straw at a time.
🌍
South America. Migration reworked the plate within living memory. Japanese arrivals in Peru and Brazil produced Nikkei cooking, Italians made pasta and pizza entirely ordinary in Argentina, Uruguay and Sao Paulo, and West African cooking carried into Bahia by the slave trade gave Brazil dende palm oil, okra and a whole ritual repertoire.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Argentina
Empanadas MendocinasBaked empanadas the Mendoza way: a juicy beef and olive filling heavy on onion, sealed with a braided edge.
LocroThe thick national stew of white hominy, beans, and squash slow simmered with beef, pork, and chorizo, finished with a spicy paprika oil.
ChoripánA grilled fresh chorizo split and tucked into crusty bread with a generous spoon of garlicky chimichurri, the opening act of every asado.
Browse all Argentina recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Rolling pin.
Storing it: Fried food is best eaten fresh while crisp. Re-crisp leftovers in a hot oven or air fryer; the microwave makes them soft.
Make it a Argentina meal
Yerba MateDrink
Alfajores de MaicenaDessert
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Frequently asked questions
What is Tortas Fritas?
Simple fried dough discs, crisp-edged and dusted with sugar, that Argentines make on rainy mornings to eat with mate.
Where does Tortas Fritas come from?
Tortas Fritas is a Argentine dish from Mendoza, Argentina.
Can Tortas Fritas be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Tortas Fritas recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Tortas Fritas safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Tortas Fritas take to make?
About 35 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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