Making homemade tortilla chips make you feel unreasonably accomplished for something so simple. You cut up a stack of corn tortillas, fry them until they go golden and crisp, hit them with salt, and somehow end up with a snack that tastes fresher, crunchier and much better than anything that came off a grocery shelf.
Why These Are The Best Tortilla Chips
A three ingredient snack that takes less than 30 minutes to make- what’s not to love!
- Great for using leftover tortillas – So you made soft tacos… or some other type of Mexican food or Air Fryer Cheese Dip. If you are anything like us, we always end up over purchasing tortillas. They don’t freeze well, so instead of wasting them, I make Homemade Tortilla Chips.
- Add different flavors – Of course, they’re great just the way they are with a little fine sea salt. But you can add a spritz of lime, spritz of lemon, or even add seasonings like cumin or chili powder to take them up a notch.
- Just like a Mexican restaurant – There is nothing better than going out to your favorite Mexican joint and receiving a warm basket of chips with homemade salsa, is there? And now you can make them right at home.
Ingredients for Homemade Tortilla Chips
You only need three simple ingredients to make the best homemade tortilla chips you’ve ever had.
- Corn tortillas – The traditional tortilla chips that you think of are made from white corn tortillas. You can also use yellow corn tortillas for a more traditional color. Flour tortillas will not produce the chips you are looking for.
- Neutral oil – Any neutral oil with a high smoke point will work here. Think vegetable oil, canola oil, peanut oil or avocado oil.
- Sea salt – For salting homemade tortilla chips, use a fine sea salt, but not an iodized table salt, which can sometimes taste metallic.
There aren’t too many variations on this recipe, but you can give your chips varying flavors. Spritz fresh lemon or lime juice on fresh chips. After draining excess oil on a paper towel lined baking sheet, toss tortilla pieces with chili powder or seasoned salt.
How to Make Homemade Tortilla Chips (Step-by-Step)
You are going to be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to make your own tortilla chips at home.
- Prepare tortillas and oil. Cut tortillas into quarters. Heat oil over high heat in a large frying pan for a few minutes.
- Add tortillas to oil. Working in small batches, add tortilla wedges to hot oil. Using a metal slotted spoon gently turn around the tortilla chips until they are evenly browned.
- Remove to lined plate. Once browned, using tongs or a slotted spoon, remove to a paper towel lined baking sheet or plate.
- Add salt and seasonings. Sprinkle with fine sea salt and any other seasonings you’d like to add.
- Cool and store. Allow to cool completely and then store in an airtight container for up to a week.
What to Serve with Homemade Tortilla Chips
Of course, the most obvious things to serve these chips with would be homemade salsa or guacamole. But you can also serve with other dips like queso, hummus or spinach dip. I love serving mine with my famous Cowboy Caviar!
Going beyond dips, you can use them as a base for any nachos recipe you can think of. You can also cut them into thin strips and add them to things like white chicken chili or chicken tortilla soup.
Chef Tips
I’ve tested this tortilla chips recipe in my test kitchen to be able to bring you the best tips and tricks.
- Use corn tortillas, not flour tortillas. Corn tortillas fry up crisp, sturdy and restaurant-style. Flour tortillas get more puffy and flaky.
- Slightly stale tortillas are your friend. If the tortillas are a day or two old, even better. Less moisture means crispier chips. Fresh tortillas can still work, but they may need a little extra fry time.
- Cut evenly. Quarter the tortillas or cut them into sixths if they are larger. Even pieces cook evenly, which means fewer burnt edges and chewy centers.
- Keep the oil temperature steady. The sweet spot is 350°F to 365°F. Too cool and the chips soak up oil. Too hot and they brown before they fully crisp.
- Fry in small batches. Crowding the pan drops the oil temperature fast. Give the chips room to bubble and move around.
- Listen to the bubbles. When the chips first hit the oil, they will bubble a lot. As the moisture cooks out, the bubbling slows down. That is your cue that they are getting crisp.
- Salt while hot. Season the chips right after they come out of the oil so the salt sticks. Fine sea salt works best because it clings better than coarse salt.
- Drain well. Transfer chips to a paper towel-lined plate or baking sheet. For extra crispiness, use a wire rack set over a baking sheet so air can circulate underneath.
- Cool completely before storing. Warm chips in a container create steam, and steam is the enemy of crunch. Let them cool fully before sealing.
- Refresh leftovers gently. If they soften, bake in a single layer at 200°F for about 5 minutes to bring back the crunch.
Storage and Freezing
Storage: They are best fresh, but since they aren’t loaded down with preservatives or other stuff, they are only good for about 5 days. They won’t last that long, I promise.
You can also reheat them. Arrange them in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and bake them for 5 minutes at 200°F. Don’t go much hotter or for longer or else you risk burning them.
Freezing: You can freeze anything you want, but whether it stills tastes good after is debatable. I am going to put tortilla chips in the “don’t freeze these” category, but you may disagree.
Frequently Asked Questions
I loathe this question every time I get it. If you want my personal answer, NO! Yes, they are made with corn tortillas and corn is a vegetable, but it is also a carb and these are fried. Rarely are fried foods considered to be healthy.
This particular recipe is for fried tortilla chips and I have not experimented with baking them, so I won’t pretend to say yes. You can find a recipe for homemade baked tortilla chips HERE.
They are made with corn, but usually mixed with some sort of flour. Whether yours are gluten free or not will depend on the type of corn tortilla you use. Check the package.
This really depends on the type of tortilla you use. Make sure you used CORN tortillas and not flour tortillas. Tortillas vary greatly in color, size and thickness too. All of this will play a part in your chip appearance.
More Snack and Dips You’ll Love
Chips and dips are some of my most favorite snacks. Here are some that we reach for over and over again.
Homemade Tortilla Chip Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 corn tortillas
- 3-4 cups vegetable/canola/peanut oil
- fine sea salt
Instructions
- Cut the 12 corn tortillas into quarters.
- Heat the 3-4 cups vegetable/canola/peanut oil over high heat in a large frying pan for 3-4 minutes. I highly recommend using a deep frying thermometer and aim for between 350°F to 365°F.
- Working in small batches, add some of the corn tortillas to the hot oil. Using a metal slotted spoon gently turn around the tortilla chips until they are evenly browned.
- Remove to a paper towel lined baking sheet or plate. The first batch will take the longest- 1-3 minutes, by the time you get to the last it could only take one minute.
- Sprinkle while hot and tacky with fine sea salt.
- Allow to cool completely and then store in an airtight container for up to a week.
- Serve with your favorite salsa, hummus, dip or eat them plain!
- Tried this recipe out? Come back and leave us a comment or a star rating.
Notes
Nutrition
Made these and they were super easy, a little darker than I would like but that’s on me. Will definitely make again.
We did 350° for a deep fryer.
Thin corn tortilla shells.
2 min…. PERFECTION!