You won’t believe how different homemade nacho chips taste from the store bought kind! There’s truly nothing like them.
In this easy recipe, I’ll show you how to make crispy, salty, golden brown tortilla chips with only a few ingredients.
Once you’ve made your own nacho chips at home, it’s tough to go back to grocery store chips. Get ready to change your chip game forever!
Ingredients
There are two ways to make your own tortilla chips.
One way is from scratch – meaning, you’ve made homemade tortillas using masa harina, pressed them in a tortilla press, cooked them and then turned them into chips.
The other way – the easier way – is to start with pre-made corn tortillas. And that’s what we’re doing here. So you’ll only need four simple ingredients:
- Corn tortillas
- Vegetable oil
- Sea salt
- Lime zest
How to Make Homemade Chips
First, cut the tortillas into triangles. You can do this using a large knife or pizza cutter.
Then, drop them into a pan of hot oil and let them get golden and crispy. Remove them onto paper towels to absorb the excess oil.
Finally, sprinkle them with the sea salt and lime zest while they’re still hot.
Alternative Cooking Methods
Oven Baked Tortilla Chips
Baking these chips will save you some fat and calories. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the tortillas with a little oil on both sides.
Then, cut them into triangles and arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Bake them at 450 degrees for 3 minutes, then flip them and bake for 4 more minutes. Cooking time will vary depending on your oven, so watch them closely.
Air Fried Tortilla Chips
Making tortilla chips in your air fryer is a great way to reduce fat and calories and still get a crispy result!
Start by cutting your tortillas into triangles and arranging them in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Coat them with nonstick cooking spray and sprinkle them with salt.
Air fry your cut tortillas for 4 minutes. Flip them over, spray them again with nonstick cooking spray and place them back into the air fryer for another 3-4 minutes.
Substitutions and Variations
- Flour tortillas for corn tortillas. Flour tortilla chips are less common than corn chips, but I absolutely love them. You can definitely use flour tortillas in place of the corn tortillas in this recipe. The one downside to using flour tortillas is that, although they are amazing the same day you make them, they will lose their crisp by the next day.
- Other oils for vegetable oil. For fried tortilla chips, using an oil with a high smoke point and neutral flavor is key. If you’re not going to use vegetable oil, go for canola oil, sunflower oil or even peanut oil.
- Lime juice for lime zest. Sometimes you may not have fresh limes on hand but you may have one of those bottles of lime juice in the fridge. Happens to me all the time! If you want to give your homemade tortilla chips the essence of lime without the zest, grab an empty spray bottle and fill it with lime juice. Give the hot chips a spritz of lime juice and follow with a sprinkle of salt.
- Other spices and flavors. While the chips are still hot, try lightly sprinkling a little chili powder, garlic powder or even cumin over them for a fun flavor twist.
Serving Suggestions
Besides standing at the kitchen counter eating these fresh tortilla chips hot out of the pan, here are some of my favorite ways to enjoy them:
- Serve them with your favorite dips like salsa, guacamole or queso dip
- Use them as a delicious base for homemade nachos
- Make chilaquiles with scrambled eggs and salsa
- Serve them on the side of Southwestern and Mexican salads
How long will homemade tortilla chips stay fresh?
Corn tortilla chips will keep at room temperature in a sealed plastic bag or airtight container for several days. So go ahead and make extra!
If you love enjoying them warm, simply pop them into the microwave for 20 seconds.
When you make your own chips, I’d love to hear about it! Drop a rating or leave a comment below. Enjoy!
For more easy snack recipes, try these:
Homemade Tortilla Chips
Ingredients
- 12 corn or flour tortillas
- 2 cups vegetable oil
- 2 Tbsp. flaky sea salt
- 1 lime zested
Instructions
- Zest the lime. Combine sea salt and lime zest in a small bowl.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. There should be 1/2 inch of oil.
- Cut each tortilla into 6 triangles. Drop the tortilla wedges into the hot oil. When they start to turn golden around the edges (about 2 minutes), flip them over. Cook another 1 minute.
- Remove onto a paper towel-lined plate. Sprinkle immediately with the lime salt.
Baking Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Brush tortillas on both sides with oil. Cut into wedges. Arrange the wedges in a single layer on an ungreased baking sheet. Sprinkle with lime salt.
- Bake 3 minutes. Flip. Bake 4 more minutes.
Air Fryer Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 350 degrees. Cut tortillas into triangles.
- Arrange tortilla triangles in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Coat with nonstick cooking spray and sprinkle with lime salt.
- Air fry 4 minutes. Flip, coat with nonstick cooking spray again and air fry for an additional 3-4 minutes.
I lived in Mexico 4 years while young when my parents were Missionaries there. My sister & I took a daily walk to a woman on a sidewalk making & selling homemade corn tortillas outside each morning. I have never had any like those here in the U.S. They were soft & delicious! I cannot master making tortillas, but a simple way to make tortilla chips is just to buy corn tortillas, cut in quarters & deep fry. Amazing how much better they taste than ANY tortilla chips I have bought here in the US. Cheap & easy to make too.
I totally agree, Marianne!