Homemade Tortilla Chips {Fried, Baked, or Air Fried}

For me, homemade tortilla chips are firmly in the same category as homemade flour tortillas: they are so much better than the packaged variety that they are practically their own thing. Dramatic, yes I know, but that doesn't make it any less true.

It's been at least 25 years since I started making homemade flour tortillas and homemade tortilla chips and since then I think I could easily count the number of times I've bought a package of either on one hand.

The difference is just incomparable. And the real kicker is that making homemade tortilla chips (and homemade tortillas) requires very little effort.

I have a good friend who does not like to cook and gives me a hard time about how often I say something is easy to make. "Easy to make for you or for the rest of us, Rebecca?" But even she agrees that cutting up some tortillas and dropping them into hot oil to fry is not exactly complicated or difficult, and most importantly, 100% worth it.

Just 3 ingredients

You need just 3 ingredients to make homemade tortilla chips: corn tortillas, vegetable oil, and salt.

1. Corn tortillas, made with yellow corn or white corn. Depending on where you are in the country, good quality corn tortillas might be plentiful or hard to come by. Since my husband and I live in an RV and travel full time, when we're somewhere without many options for good corn tortillas, I usually order them. My two favorite brands of corn tortillas are El Milagro and Guerrero.
2. Vegetable oil. Vegetable oil is generally inexpensive, has a neutral flavor, and a high smoke point, making it ideal for frying. Other good options are avocado, peanut, canola, sunflower, and sesame oil, all of which have a high smoke point but can be pricier than vegetable oil.
3. Salt. I like to use a coarse ground salt like kosher salt or coarse ground sea salt but table salt will work as well.

Interesting ways to season tortilla chips

Most of the time I sprinkle tortilla chips with salt the second they are pulled from the hot oil and that's that. But, occasionally I like to add a hit of chili or lime or other seasoning. And really, chips are a blank slate. You can season them in whatever way suits your fancy. Here are a few ideas:

• Tortilla chips with lime. The easiest way to add lime flavor to tortilla chips is to make some lime salt. Mix some lime zest into some salt and then spread it out on a baking sheet. Bake at 250 degrees for about 30 minutes, until the salt is dry. Let it cool, then sprinkle the salt over chips immediately after frying or before baking or air frying.
• Tajin tortilla chips. Tajin seasoning is tangy, salty, a little bit spicy, and an absolutely delicious way to flavor tortilla chips. Simply sprinkle it over freshly fried chips instead of salt. Or, sprinkle it over cut tortillas before baking or air frying. Because tajin is salty, there's no need to use additional salt.
• Spicy tortilla chips. For tortilla chips with a kick, sprinkle them with chili powder. My favorite chili powder to use is Aleppo pepper because it packs a lot of flavor with a relativly mild heat. This means I can use more, giving the chips a bold chili flavor, without burning our faces off. But, use any kind of chili powder you like. Sprinkle chili powder and salt over the chips right after frying or before baking or air frying.
• Za'atar or sumac tortilla chips. If you're serving chips with a Mediterranean spread, perhaps alongside some marinated feta or za'atar labneh, sprinkle the chips with a bit of za'atar or sumac immediately after frying or before baking or air frying. Some brands of za'atar contains some salt so keep that in mind when seasoning your chips. Sumac does not contain salt so you'll also want to sprinkle the chips with salt in addition to sumac.
• Garlic and onion. Sprinkle the chips with a bit of garlic and/or onion powder right after frying or before baking or air frying.

How to fry tortilla chips in oil

This recipe can be adapted to cook as many or as few tortilla chips as you like. The cooking method for making 4 chips or 400 chips is exactly the same. The only difference is the amount of corn tortillas, vegetable oil, and salt you'll need.

Cut the tortillas into 4 equal sections so they form triangles. I usually pile 8 or 10 tortillas in a stack and cut them at once, repeating the process to make as many chips as I like.

Add enough oil to a saucepan or skillet to come at least an inch up the sides of the pan. (See below for a comparison of the different pans you can use to fry chips.)

Heat the oil over high heat until it reaches somewhere between 350 degrees F and 365 degrees F (176 - 185 degrees C). It's extremely helpful to use a thermometer that can tell you the temperature of the oil.

Add a few tortilla triangles to the hot oil. Don't overcrowd the pan; add only as many as will fit in one layer.

When the chips are beginning to brown on the bottom, use metal tongs to turn them over.

Let the chips cook until they are a deep golden brown on both sides. Watch them carefully; they can go from golden brown to burned quite quickly.

Either use the tongs to remove the chips or a large slotted spoon.

Lay the chips on a paper towel lined tray and immediately sprinkle them with some salt. Repeat until all the tortilla triangles have been cooked.

Tips for working with hot oil

The most important thing about deep frying anything is temperature. 

It's nearly impossible to know the temperature of the oil without using a deep fry/candy thermometer. The thermometer I have and LOVE is the Thermapen One from Thermoworks. I use this thermometer almost daily.

The easiest way to dispose of hot oil! I recently discovered FryAway and it's one of my new favorite things. It turns used frying oil into solid waste so you can just scrape it into the trash. Here's how it works:

When you're done frying tortilla chips, sprinkle in a scoop or two of Fry Away when the oil is still hot.

As the oil cools, it will turn into something similar to the consistency of gelatin. At that point you can just use a spoon to scrape it from the pan directly into the trash.

FryAway is plant-based, so you can discard the solidified oil with other organic waste, and it will break down in as little as 30 days. I think it's brilliant.

How to bake tortilla chips in the oven

Baking tortilla chips instead of frying uses considerably less oil but the chips won't be quite as crispy as fried chips. To clarify - baked tortilla chips will be crispy, just not as crispy as chips that are fried.

• Heat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (Lining the baking sheet is optional but will make for easy clean-up).
• Cut corn tortillas into triangles just as in the photos above. Lay them out on the baking sheet in one layer without any of their corners or edges overlapping.
• Spray the tortillas with oil using nonstick cooking spray like this extra virgin olive oil spray, or by filling an oil sprayer with canola, vegetable, or olive oil. Spray the chips with enough oil to where they appear moist.
• Sprinkle them with salt and put the tray in the oven to bake. Bake for 6-7 minutes then remove the tray from the oven and turn them over. Spray them with oil on the other side and place them back in the oven. Bake until the chips are golden brown, another 5-8 minutes.

How to cook tortilla chips in an air fryer

I have a Ninja Foodi 14-in-1 with air frying capabilities. I've had good success frying chips in the air fryer but once again, the chips will not be quite as crispy as those cooked in oil. Still, we liked air fried chips almost just as well as those fried in oil and the process used significantly less oil and created much less mess.

You can cook the chips two layers at a time in the basket with good results. Any more and the chips will not crisp up well. Test a few chips for temperature and if they are not getting crispy enough, raise the temperature a bit.

• Just as with frying or baking tortilla chips, begin by cutting corn tortillas into triangles.
• Spray the inside of the fry basket with oil using a nonstick cooking spray like this extra virgin olive oil spray, or by filling an oil sprayer with canola, vegetable, or olive oil.
• Lay some tortilla triangles in the bottom of the basket adding only as many as will fit in a single layer. Spray the tortillas generously with oil. The chips should appear oily. Sprinkle with some salt.
• Add another layer of tortilla triangles over the first layer, spray the tops with oil, and sprinkle with salt.
• Set your air fryer to cook at 350 degrees F (176 degrees C). Cook for 4 minutes then flip the chips over and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes until golden and crisp.

The best pans for frying tortilla chips

I like to use my 8-quart stockpot to fry tortilla chips because it's deep sides help prevent oil from spattering around my kitchen. If I'm only frying a few chips, my 3-quart saucepan is sufficient.

I also like to use my cast iron dutch oven and cast iron skillet. Cast iron is a fantastic heat conductor and I've found that it's easier to maintain a consistent oil temperature with cast iron than with my stainless steel stock pot or sauce pan.

Two other great options for frying chips is my Hexclad stainless steel frying pan and 12-inch skillet.

The most important consideration when choosing what kind of pan to use to fry tortilla chips is how many chips you want to make. If you're making a lot, use the largest pan you have so you can fry quite a few chips at a time.

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