Crispy Homemade Tortilla Chips

By
Danilo Alfaro
Danlio Alfaro
Danilo Alfaro
Danilo Alfaro has published more than 800 recipes and tutorials focused on making complicated culinary techniques approachable to home cooks.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 09/14/22
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 30 mins
Total: 40 mins
Servings: 3 to 4 servings

It's a great idea to make your own tortilla chips. Not necessarily all the time because buying them in bags is an incredibly efficient way to get tortilla chips into your life. But making your own is really easy and fun, and besides, nothing you buy in a bag can compare with fresh, warm, crispy tortilla chips that you made with your own hands. All you need are corn tortillas, salt, and oil.

A package of a dozen tortillas will make a very generous basket of tortilla chips, enough for three or four people, and just the right amount to go with this fabulous guacamole recipe. Coincidence? I think not.

You can also use this same technique to make your own tostadas. Simply fry the whole tortillas without cutting them first.

Crispy homemade tortilla chips recipe

The Spruce Eats / Zorica Lakonic

Ingredients

  • 12 medium corn tortillas

  • Vegetable oil, for frying

  • Kosher salt, to taste

  • Homemade or store-bought salsa, for serving

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for crispy homemade tortilla chips recipe gathered

    The Spruce Eats / Zorica Lakonic

  2. Leave the tortillas out in your kitchen, uncovered, overnight.

    Tortillas on a cutting board

    The Spruce Eats / Zorica Lakonic

  3. Cut them into wedges using a knife or pizza cutter. Three cuts will make 6 chips from each tortilla. But you can stack them and do 2 or 3 at a time.

    Tortillas cut into wedges

    The Spruce Eats / Zorica Lakonic

  4. Heat the oil to 360 F. If you don't have a thermometer to check the temperature, another way to know if the oil is hot enough is that it will bubble around the tip of a wooden spoon.

    Pot filled with oil and a thermometer inserted

    The Spruce Eats / Zorica Lakonic

  5. Add enough chips to cover the bottom of the pan in a single layer, without crowding or overlapping.

    Tortillas placed into a pan with oil

    The Spruce Eats / Zorica Lakonic

  6. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until the chips have turned lightly golden brown and are quite crisp and firm. Flip them occasionally with a pair of tongs so that they cook evenly.

    Tortillas frying in a pot full of oil

    The Spruce Eats / Zorica Lakonic

  7. Remove each chip from the oil with your tongs, letting excess oil drain back into the pan, and transfer to paper towels, sprinkle with salt, and then repeat the process until all the chips are cooked.

    Fried tortilla chips placed on a paper towel

    The Spruce Eats / Zorica Lakonic

  8. Serve warm with fresh homemade salsa.

    Person dipping the tortilla chip into salsa

    The Spruce Eats / Zorica Lakonic

Recipe Variation

Once you get the technique down and have perfected making homemade tortilla chips, get that imagination going and try different seasonings. Sprinkle with taco seasoning, gourmet salts, nutritional yeast, or even lime zest.

Tips

  • You're going to fry the chips in a small amount of oil—about 1/4 inch.
  • The key is making sure your oil is between 350 F and 375 F. The optimal is 360 F, but you're fine anywhere in that range. However, because you're using such a small amount of oil, it can be difficult to get an accurate temperature reading with a thermometer.
  • So, here's the trick. Heat up the oil up for a few minutes on medium heat, and then test it by placing the tip of a wooden spoon into the pan. When the oil is at the proper temperature, the oil will bubble around the tip of the spoon. A wooden chopstick will work too.
  • Speaking of oil, be sure to use a refined vegetable oil with a high smoke point, such as sunflower, soybean, or safflower with a high smoke point. How much oil you need will depend on how wide your pan is. A cast-iron skillet is great because it'll maintain its temperature even after you add the chips to the oil.
  • Another trick is using tortillas that are slightly stale. The reason is that staleness happens when bread (or in this case tortillas) loses its moisture, and dry tortillas will fry up crispier than fresh ones. All you need to do is take the tortillas out of the bag and leave them out overnight on something flat, such as the kitchen counter.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
499 Calories
39g Fat
36g Carbs
5g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 3 to 4
Amount per serving
Calories 499
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 39g 50%
Saturated Fat 3g 15%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 572mg 25%
Total Carbohydrate 36g 13%
Dietary Fiber 6g 21%
Total Sugars 3g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 1mg 6%
Calcium 78mg 6%
Iron 1mg 6%
Potassium 312mg 7%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)