Skip the store-bought bag and make homemade tortilla chips instead! Here’s how we make traditional tortilla chips as well as baked tortilla chips in our own kitchen.
A few really good store-bought tortilla chip brands are available, but we haven’t found anything that beats homemade chips! Homemade tortilla chips are easy to make and perfect for homemade nachos or serving alongside your favorite dips and salsas.
For some inspiration, I love serving these crispy tortilla chips with our fresh pico de gallo, my family’s favorite guacamole, this incredible 7 layer dip, creamy queso dip, and our roasted tomatillo salsa. I also use them for my favorite taco salad!
Key Ingredients
- Tortillas: Use corn tortillas, preferably stale or slightly dried out. I love using leftover Homemade Corn Tortillas or good-quality store-bought tortillas. For the best flavor, look for tortillas made using nixtamalized corn (look for the words “nixtamal” or “nixtamalized” on the package). You can also look at the ingredients list (it should be short and have the words “lime” or “cal”).
- Oil: If frying, use a light-flavored oil with a high smoke point like avocado, safflower, or peanut oil. If baking, lightly brush the tortillas with a little oil to help them crisp up.
- Salt: I like to sprinkle fine sea salt over the chips as soon as they come out of the oil or oven. For lime-flavored chips, mix the salt with a bit of lime zest before sprinkling.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Tortilla Chips at Home
I have two simple methods for making homemade tortilla chips: frying or baking. While both are easy and delicious, they produce different results.
For that classic, light, and airy texture you get at a restaurant, frying is the way to go. Baked chips are a great, healthier alternative, but they’ll never quite achieve the same delicate crispness. I prefer frying for that light and crispy experience, but I’ve included tips for both methods in our recipe below so you can choose what works for you.
Even though baked tortilla chips will not be as light and crispy as fried ones, they will still be delicious and better than the baked store-bought bags of chips sold at the store!
How to Fry Tortilla Chips: For perfectly crispy, light, and airy fried chips, you’ll need a wide pan with 1 to 2 inches of oil. Heat the oil to about 350°F. Cut your tortillas into wedges and carefully drop them into the hot oil.
You can see in our photos that the wedges can be close together, but you’ll likely need to fry them in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan and lowering the oil temperature. They only take a minute or two to become crisp and golden brown.
How to Bake Tortilla Chips: To bake your chips, preheat your oven to 375°F. Cut your tortillas into wedges, brush both sides lightly with oil, and arrange them in a single layer on a large baking sheet.
Make sure the chips aren’t overlapping, then bake them until they are crisp and golden brown. (Check the full recipe for tips on using a convection oven or air fryer.)
Homemade Tortilla Chips (Fried or Baked)
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
For the best homemade tortilla chips, fry them. The recipe includes details for fried and baked tortilla chips. The baked chips are excellent, but they will not be as light or crispy as the traditionally fried chips. The recipe calls for 10 corn tortillas, but you can increase or decrease this amount based on how many chips you would like to make.
For the best flavor, look for tortillas made using nixtamalized corn. Nixtamal is dried corn cooked and soaked in water with calcium hydroxide (slaked lime or cal). Not all store-bought tortillas use this method, which is why the flavor of corn tortillas can vary. Look for “nixtamal” or “nixtamalized” on the package. You can also look at the list of ingredients (it should be short and have the words “lime” or “cal.”)
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
10 corn tortillas or use more for more chips, stale or dried out tortillas are best
¾ to 1 cup neutral, high-heat cooking oil like avocado oil, safflower oil, peanut oil, or vegetable oil
Sea salt to taste
Directions
- Fried Tortilla Chips
1Prepare plate: Line a large plate (or small baking sheet) with paper towels or a clean dishcloth, and set aside. You will drain the fried chips here later on.
2Heat the oil: Add the oil to a wide, high-sided pot or cast-iron pan until it’s about ½ inch deep. Heat it over medium-high heat until it reaches 350°F (177°C).
3Cut the tortillas: Cut each tortilla into 6 triangles.
4Fry the chips: Add the tortilla triangles in a single layer to the hot oil. Use a slotted spoon or tongs to press them down gently. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until they are golden brown and crispy.
5Drain and season: Transfer the chips to your prepared plate to drain, and immediately sprinkle them lightly with salt. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
- Baked Tortilla Chips
1Prepare the oven and baking sheets: Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or use a silicone baking mat.
2Cut the tortillas: Spray or lightly brush the tortillas on both sides with oil. Cut each tortilla into six triangles.
3Bake the chips: Arrange the chips in one layer on the baking sheets. Bake until the chips are crisp and golden brown, 10 to 20 minutes. Check the chips often, and if some are browning quicker than others, rotate the baking sheets to encourage even baking. As they come out of the oven, lightly season each chip with salt and then serve.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: Homemade tortilla chips are best eaten the same day, but if you need to store them longer, allow them to cool completely and then place them into a resealable plastic bag or airtight container. They should keep this way for an extra day or two.
- If you don’t have a thermometer: Test the oil by dropping in a small tortilla piece. It should sizzle gently. If it browns too quickly, the oil is too hot, so remove the pan from the heat to cool slightly before continuing.
- Convection oven: When using the convection setting, reduce the cooking temperature by 25°F and check the chips a few minutes before the recipe suggests. Some ovens already so this, so we recommend checking your oven manual.
- Air fryer tortilla chips: Air fry lightly oiled tortilla triangles at 350°F (177°C) in a single layer until golden brown and crispy, 5 to 7 minutes. Check on them as they cook so that they do not over-brown.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. Values below are for fried chips.
Truly amazing and very easy to make
Not truly from scratch, store bought corn tortillas are awful and it is super easy to make them from “scratch” I have dont this both ways and there is absolutely no comparison between a base of store bought tortillas and base of homemade tortillas. And they are easier to make than the chips themselves. Truly elevates the whole experience for authenticity and flavor.
Hi Greg, We have linked to our homemade tortilla recipes in the article above. You can also find them here: corn tortillas and flour tortillas.
loved them. added salt and smoked paprika.
Works without oiling the tortillas as well, keep them for 10-15 mins.
I just made these (fried) and they are delicious but when I took them out they still were soaked in oil; what’s a good way to fix that? I used a slotted spatula since I don’t have a spoon and I let them cool on a paper towel but they still have a lot of oil. Any tips?
You might be draining them too short a time. Make sure to drain them for a good 15-30 seconds directly over the hot oil before dumping them.
Dabbing with a paper towel should do the trick.
I’m a ok cook! , but a little weak when it comes to the tortilla chips. .I have to practice a little more.
Great recipe, but definitely fool around with it! I found 350F to be way too hot, my chips burnt in a manner of seconds, but when I turned it down they were amazing!! Amazing way to use corn tortillas, and way cheaper!!
did you use yellow or white? the recipe doesnt specify
Can I use wheat tortillas? I want to make them for my nephew who is allergic to anything made with corn😬
Absolutely delicious…Will not buy store bought chips again! Will make always
Same basic recipe to fry or bake… Except roll them in a sugar cinnamon mixture when still warm and when cool, dip into melted chocolate or??? Easy Yummy Dessert! Maybe add some ice cream??
Omg, these chips are so amazing and it was so simple!! I use to buy chips from a Mexican restaurant that tasted exactly like these. However, lately when I got them they were always stale and way too expensive to be paying for stale chips. This recipe is absolutely the best!!
Absolutely awesome. Just have to make sure you are paying attention or the chips will burn. I am a Celiac patient (gluten allergy) and these are now my favorite way to have chips. Thank you.
Where on earth can I find nuxtamalized tortillas? None I look at has nixtamal or lime as an ingredient.
Many of the most common tortillas do not have this (which is a shame, given how much more delicious they would be if they did!). I look in Mexican markets and usually find them there.
I made the baked version to go with chili, we use tortilla chips in place of crackers. They were so easy, even got crispy. Next time I will dust with chilli powder and add some fresh lime juice. Not sure I’ll every buy a bag from the store again
I don’t think I’ll ever buy bagged chips again. These were absolutely amazing!!!!
Did you make scoop chips or reg scoops like tostitoas?
This recipe inspired me to make a very fast version, it’s too hot for the oven and I don’t deep fry anything for health reasons. So I cut up 3 small corn tortillas as in recipe, used maybe a teaspoon of olive to grease them up a bit. Then I laid them out on a large non-stick griddle and turned heat in high. Took a couple of minutes to cook first side and a minute to do the other side. While they were cooking I mashed an avocado with some salsa and juice from a lime. Of course I ate the whole thing. Thanks for inspiring me!
These were AMAZING! I did 14 minutes in oven @ 375 for mine and they turned out perfect. Added in some garlic salt blend and it was so tasty.
These are the perfect corn tortilla chips! The baked version is perfect. I also appreciate the way you laid out the instructions. No guess work!
Yay! We always try to throughly test our recipes to remove any guesswork. We are thrilled all of the info is useful! 🙂
I made these today half deep fried half baked. Very tasty, but why did mine puff up. I could have stuffed them with something? Great recipe.
Hi Dan, you likely used great tortillas! A really good tortilla has layers, which when heated creates pockets. This happened when you fried them.
These look absolutely delicious! I want to make them but I only have flour tortillas not corn tortillas will it work with these as well? Please let me know as I want to make this tomorrow thanks so much!
I made theses today and tried both baking and frying technique. The baked ones were not as good as the fried ones. I also made the seven layer Mexican dip and In taking my items to a church potluck I think they’ll like everything.
I never knew that nixtamilized corn is what creates the taste difference. Isn’t that the same process used to make Hominy? I love Hominy in Texas caviar salsa. Yum. Thank you for the recipe.
Great recipe, thank you for sharing! I have really enjoyed using this. Have seen both sides of the importance of the oil temperature and the amount of time you fry the tortillas. So, I’d invest in a thermometer and expect a couple batches to fail before you figure out the timing. I use Guerrero corn de maiz blanco tortillas, which I buy at BJ’s, but have seen them in other stores as well. While the ingredients in English don’t list it, the ingredients on the package in Spanish say nixtamalizado.
Wonderful recipe! I never knew it was so easy to make homemade fried tortilla chips! They came out delicious.(And I did look for the specific kind of corn tortilla with the ingredient you suggested in it, but couldn’t find it so I just used normal corn tortillas and it still came out yummy!)
I’ve tried making baked tortilla chips but no luck, they are never crunchy. I will try this recipe, maybe it will work.