Homemade Tortilla Chips

Published October 20, 2019. Updated November 1, 2019

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Homemade Tortilla Chips! Restaurant quality taste enjoyed in the comfort of your own home! They’re perfectly crisp, deliciously crunchy and they’re the perfect vessel for all your favorite dips.

Platter full of homemade tortilla chips with a side of salsa, guacamole and salsa verde.

Homemade Tortilla Chips Recipe

I love making tortilla chips at home! And you wouldn’t believe how quickly they disappear every time I make them.

They taste just like the chips you get from the best Mexican restaurants, especially when you serve them warm. And the great thing about them is that you get to enjoy them in the comfort of your own home, and feel like a pro when you serve them to friends and guests.

They’re so easy to make and use pantry staples so you can make them whenever the chips and salsa cravings strike.

And of course they’ll also make the best taco salad, and they’re the perfect topping to crumble into chicken tortilla soup, you can use in chilaquiles, or use as a bed for your favorite nachos if you want to go that extra mile.

Extra thin corn tortillas, vegetable oil and salt used to make tortilla chips.

Three Ingredients for Tortilla Chips:

  • Extra thin corn tortillas – the extra thin size fry up crispiest. Here in the midwest I find them at Kroger (Smith’s).
  • Vegetable oil – peanut oil or canola oil will work here too. Don’t use an oil with a lower smoking point like extra-virgin olive oil or it will burn and taste bad at this temperature.
  • Salt – the great thing about making chips at home is you can season with salt to taste, some store-bought tortilla chips are too salty for me.

Cutting tortilla stacks into wedges.

How to Make Homemade Tortilla Chips (Fried):

  • Heat vegetable oil: Preheat oil in a large saute pan to 340 degrees. Line a 13 by 9-inch baking sheet with 2 layers of paper towels.
  • Cut tortillas into wedges: Make four stacks of 5 tortillas each and cut through each stack into 6 wedges (like cutting a pizza).
  • Fry in batches: Working quickly add 15 wedges (or just enough to fit) to preheated oil in a single layer. Let cook until chips curl slightly, about 20 seconds then using a spider strainer collect as many chips as possible at once and flip to opposite side, repeat with any chips remaining until all have been flipped.

Frying tortilla chips in vegetable oil.

  • Turn and continue to cook: Let cook on opposite side about 20 seconds, or until they turn just barely a shade darker (not browned!).
  • Remove chips and dry on paper towels: Collect as many chips as possible in spider strainer, carefully shake excess oil from chips back into pan and transfer to paper towels to drain. Repeat, quickly collecting any remaining chips, season with salt.
  • Repeat process: Repeat frying and draining process. Scoot cooled chips on paper towels to one side to make room for more.

Draining tortilla chips through a wire spider.

Whats the Best Temperature to Fry Them at?

I’ve been making these for years and I’ve found 340 – 350 degrees is the perfect temperature to fry tortilla chips at. Much lower and they don’t get crisp and take too long to cook, much higher and they start to cook to quickly and brown (and can taste burnt). I recommend using a deep fry thermometer or candy thermometer to take the temperature of the oil to ensure it reaches the proper heat.

Draining fried tortilla chips on a baking sheet lined with paper towels.

What If I Can’t Find Extra Thin Corn Tortillas?

I’ve also made these with these with the standard corn tortillas, but but sometimes by the time they’re done cooking in oil they aren’t quite fully crisp throughout. Standard tortillas take about 45 – 60 seconds per side to cook since they’re thicker. Then from there drain on paper towels, then let them bake and dry in a preheated 250 degree oven on a baking sheets (without paper towel of course) about 10 minutes to crisp them up fully.

It’s more work so if possible I highly recommend the extra thin tortillas!

How Long do They Keep?

They should keep well for about 3 days stored in an airtight container, after that they can start to taste a bit stale. If desired reheat briefly on a plate in the microwave.

Pan full of homemade tortilla chips.

Tips for the Best Homemade Tortilla Chips:

  • The chips will cook quickly, don’t walk away (plus you shouldn’t leave the hot oil unattended). Be sure you have about 15 minutes to stand by to make it through the batch.
  • Be ready to season. Add salt immediately after you’ve removed chips from oil to paper towels, otherwise the salt won’t stick.
  • For best results use extra thin tortillas.
  • Don’t cook too long or they can brown and taste burnt. The should just barely change in color.
  • Carefully shake excess oil coating chips back into pan when you lift to drain. Excess oil coating the chips can reduce crispness and make them too greasy, transferring to paper towels also helps remove excess oil.

Serving dish full of tortilla chips and dips.

How to Make Baked Tortilla Chips:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 18 by 13-inch baking sheets.
  • Brush both sides of 12 extra thin corn tortillas with 1 1/2 Tbsp oil (total). Stack and cut into 6 wedges.
  • Align in a single layer on prepared baking sheets. Bake in preheated oven on two oven racks near center, 7 minutes.
  • Rotate pans then continue to bake about 7 minutes longer, or just until chips edges turn lightly golden brown. Season with salt and let cool.
  • Standard corn tortillas can be used here as well just increase baking time by a few minutes.

Baked tortilla chips before and after cooking.

What Dips go with Homemade Tortilla Chips?

16 Quick & Easy 30 Minute Recipes! (plus weekly recipe updates)

Tortilla Chips
5 from 1 vote

Homemade Tortilla Chips

Restaurant quality taste enjoyed in the comfort of your own home! They're perfectly crisp, deliciously crunchy and their the perfect vessel for all your favorite dips.
Servings: 6
Prep10 minutes
Cook15 minutes
Ready in: 25 minutes

Ingredients

  • 20 5 1/2 to 6-inch extra thin corn tortillas
  • Vegetable oil for frying (about 4 cups)
  • Salt, to taste

Instructions

  • Preheat oil in a large saute pan to 340 degrees (don't let it rise above 350 or chips will cook too quickly and burn). Line a 13 by 9-inch baking sheet with 2 layers of paper towels.
  • Make four stacks of 5 tortillas each and cut through each stack into 6 wedges (like cutting a pizza).
  • Working quickly add 15 wedges (or just enough to fit) to preheated oil in a single layer. Let cook until chips curl slightly, about 20 seconds then using a spider strainer collect as many chips as possible at once and flip to opposite side, repeat with any chips remaining until all have been flipped.
  • Let cook on opposite side about 20 seconds, or just until they turn just barely a shade darker (not browned!). Collect as many chips as possible in spider strainer, carefully shake excess oil from chips back into pan and transfer to paper towels to drain. Repeat, quickly collecting any remaining chips, season with salt.
  • Repeat frying and draining process. Scoot cooled chips on paper towels to one side to make room for more chips to drain.

Notes

To Make Baked Tortilla Chips
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 18 by 13-inch baking sheets.
  • Brush both sides of 12 extra thin corn tortillas with 1 1/2 Tbsp oil (total). Stack and cut into 6 wedges.
  • Align in a single layer on prepared baking sheets. Bake in preheated oven on two oven racks near center, 7 minutes.
  • Rotate pans then continue to bake about 7 minutes longer, or just until chips edges turn lightly golden brown. Season with salt and let cool.
  • Standard corn tortillas can be used here as well just increase baking time by a few minutes.
Nutrition Facts
Homemade Tortilla Chips
Amount Per Serving
Calories 211 Calories from Fat 99
% Daily Value*
Fat 11g17%
Saturated Fat 7g44%
Sodium 39mg2%
Potassium 110mg3%
Carbohydrates 28g9%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 2g2%
Protein 2g4%
Calcium 20mg2%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition values are estimates only. See full disclaimer here.

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14 Comments

  • nuraman00

    Following up on this. I tried many different versions of baked homemade chips.

    They never tasted close to the Chevys or Chilis chips that I was aiming for.

    So I gave up on this.

  • Mike

    Smoke point of avocado oil is huge and has a natural flavor. Some non virgin refined olive oils have a high enough smoke point.

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      Good idea, thanks for the tip! I just wish it were a little less pricey :)

  • nuraman00

    Ok, this time I tried using extra thin chips.

    I think this is closer.

    But they still look too dark.

    I did 7 minutes, rotated, and did 7 minutes again.

    Am I putting too much oil? Also, I forgot to use peanut oil and used olive oil again.

    This was 4 tortillas worth.

    1.5 tbsp of oil still seems too little, I needed a little more so that the tortillas could have enough oil.

    https://i.imgur.com/y43f2u4.jpg

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      Did you use a dark baking sheet? That can burn the tortilla chips, stick with a light non-coated baking sheet. You could try turning the oven temp down and that should help.

      • nuraman00

        Hmm, good idea.

        My options are a black tray (what I’ve used), or a small square aluminum pan, or a small glass pan.

        What do you think is best?

        If I’m making a large batch, I have other options, but for now, I’m trying to get a small batch the way I like it, before trying larger quantities.

        • Jaclyn

          Jaclyn Bell

          A heavy duty aluminum pan is the best option to prevent burning. Or like I say cut back the temp and also the time. Hope this helps!

  • Dawn Crooms

    This is the easiest recipe to follow. I did exactly as it says and they turned out perfect. Love making homemade chips. Thank you for the recipe!!

  • Matthew

    Contrary to the last poster, i found this to be extremely helpful. My wife had been trying to make tortilla chips and they were always either very hard or quite soggy. I hate to say it but ……they werent very good. Now that we are all confined to home these days i have really been craving my chips and salsa. ive never made these before but by following your directions – i must say they turned out PERFECT. Thank you for taking the time to put this together! Great post!

  • JM

    Come on now…This is not a recipe, but a technique. Opening bag, heating oil and cut store bought tortillas. Yikes

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      That is correct, it’s not really a recipe but rather just teaching the basic method. At some point we are taught the basic how-to’s of certain things like so wether viewing a “recipe” or learning by someone showing us how. I just find it helpful to look things like this up rather then just guessing. Plus sometimes tips are helpful like someone may not know that thin tortillas will yield the best results.

  • Nana Quiroz

    Sounds good I’m giving it a go see how they turn out, I’m addicted to restaurant chops and Salsa, so thank you. ??