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Homemade Tortilla Chips are crispy, salty, and so much better than any bag from the store, made with just corn tortillas, oil, and salt in under 10 minutes. I started frying these up *for taco nights* and now no one will touch the store-bought kind. Once you taste them warm and fresh, you will want them with everything, especially our Mexican street corn dip.
Three simple ingredients and a few minutes in hot oil turn plain corn tortillas into crunchy, restaurant-style chips.
Homemade Tortilla Chips Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 5 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 4 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 9 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: About 90 chips
- ⚡ Calories: 113kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Crispy, salty, and freshly fried with real corn flavor
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, as fun to make as a batch of our game day nachos
Quick Answer
To make homemade tortilla chips, stack corn tortillas and cut them into triangles. Heat about 3 inches of oil to 350 degrees F, then fry the chips in small batches, moving them around, until lightly golden and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain them on paper towels, toss with salt, and let them cool on a wire rack. Serve with salsa, guacamole, or any favorite dip. It makes about 90 crispy chips in under 10 minutes.
Jump to:
- Homemade Tortilla Chips Quick Look
- Quick Answer
- Why This Recipe Works
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to Make Homemade Tortilla Chips
- Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- Homemade Tortilla Chips FAQs
- Other Recommended Mexican Recipes
- Homemade Tortilla Chips
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Just three ingredients. Corn tortillas, oil, and salt are all you need for fresh, crunchy chips with real corn flavor.
- Frying makes them crisp. A quick fry in hot oil gives that classic light, crunchy texture you cannot get from baking alone.
- Cut them into even triangles. Stacking and cutting the tortillas means uniform chips that fry at the same rate.
- Fry in small batches. Adding just a handful at a time keeps the oil hot so the chips crisp up instead of getting greasy.
- Salt them while warm. Tossing the hot chips with salt right out of the oil helps every chip get perfectly seasoned.
- Ready in minutes. From tortilla to chip takes under 10 minutes, so you can make them fresh whenever a craving hits.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- They are crispy, fresh, and so much better than any store-bought bag of chips.
- They take just three simple ingredients and under 10 minutes from start to finish.
- They are the perfect scoop for salsa, guacamole, or our Mexican street corn dip.
Key Ingredients
Here is what makes these homemade tortilla chips so good. You only need three simple ingredients.
- Corn Tortillas: Yellow or white corn tortillas both work beautifully and fry up into classic, crispy chips.
- Peanut Oil: Its high smoke point is perfect for frying. Vegetable, canola, or any neutral oil works too.
- Fine Salt: A sprinkle of salt tossed on while the chips are hot seasons every crispy bite.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
These homemade tortilla chips are easy to flavor your own way.
- Make them spicy: Toss the warm chips with chili powder, cayenne, or Tajin for a little kick.
- Add lime: A squeeze of fresh lime and a pinch of salt gives them a bright, zesty flavor.
- Use flour tortillas: Fry flour tortilla triangles the same way for a softer, puffier chip.
- Bake them instead: Brush with oil and bake at 350 degrees F until crisp for a lighter chip.
- Pile on nachos: Layer them up for a loaded plate like our game day nachos.
How to Make Homemade Tortilla Chips
- Stack 5 corn tortillas at a time and cut them into 6 triangles. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
- Heat about 3 inches of oil to 350 degrees F. Fry the chips about 10 at a time, keeping them moving, until lightly golden and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Drain the chips on a paper-towel-lined plate, then transfer to a bowl, sprinkle with salt, and toss to coat.
- Spread the chips on a wire rack in a single layer to cool and crisp up. Serve with your favorite dips.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Keep the oil at 350 degrees F with a thermometer so the chips fry up crisp and not greasy.
- Fry in small batches so you do not crowd the pot and drop the oil temperature.
- Keep the chips moving in the oil so they brown evenly on both sides.
- Pull them when lightly golden, since they keep cooking and darkening a little as they cool.
- Salt them right away while they are hot so the salt sticks to every chip.
- Drain well on paper towels before salting to soak up any excess oil.
- Let them cool on a wire rack in a single layer so they stay crisp instead of steaming.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
Homemade tortilla chips are the ultimate snack and party staple. Serve them warm in a big basket with bowls of salsa, guacamole, and queso for dipping at any get-together.
They are perfect for taco night, game day, and movie night. Pile them high for our game day nachos, scoop up our Mexican street corn dip, or crumble them over a Doritos taco salad.
They are also great with a bowl of soup. Crush a few over our white chicken chili or pile them next to slow cooker chicken tinga for the perfect crunchy bite.
Homemade Tortilla Chips FAQs
An oil with a high smoke point works best. Peanut oil is great, but vegetable, canola, corn, or sunflower oil all fry up crispy chips. Avoid olive oil, which has a lower smoke point.
Yes. Brush or spray the tortilla triangles with oil, sprinkle with salt, and bake in a single layer at 350 degrees F for about 10 to 15 minutes, flipping once, until crisp and golden.
Usually the oil is not hot enough or the pot is crowded, which makes the chips soak up oil and turn soft. Keep the oil at 350 degrees F and fry in small batches for the crispiest chips.
Let them cool completely, then store in an airtight container or zip-top bag at room temperature for up to 4 days. Re-crisp them in a warm oven for a few minutes if they soften.
Yes. Flour tortillas fry into a softer, puffier chip with a milder flavor. Cut and fry them the same way, just watch them closely since they can brown quickly.
Both work. Slightly drier, day-old tortillas crisp up especially well, but fresh tortillas fry into great chips too. Either way, they turn out crunchy and delicious.
Got chips ready? Whip up a batch of our Mexican street corn dip for the easiest, most crave-worthy snack pairing.
Homemade Tortilla Chips
Equipment
- Deep Fryer optional
Ingredients
- 15 yellow or white corn tortillas
- peanut oil or other oil, for frying
- 3/4 teaspoon fine salt
Instructions
- Heat oil in a deep fryer or in a heavy bottom skillet with deep sides with 3 inches of oil to 350°F.
- Stack 5 tortillas on top of each other and cut them into 6ths making tortilla triangles. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
- Add about 10 chips at a time to the hot oil, keep them moving around to brown evenly on both sides, and they become crispy about 3-4 minutes. They will be lightly golden brown along the edges.
- Add the chips to a plate lined with paper towels to soak up any excess oil, then place them in a large bowl.
- Sprinkle with a little bit of salt and toss the chips around, so they get coated in the salt.
- Place the chips onto a wire rack sitting on a sheet tray in a single layer and repeat with the remaining tortillas. Serve with your favorite dips or in recipes.
Notes
- This makes a large batch, but you can easily double it to feed more or halve the recipe as needed.
- Tons of custom options for seasonings, see my tips above on that.
- I suggest using peanut oil if possible; it is a cleaner oil to fry with.
- This does not freeze well, see my tips above on how to store.
- Use yellow or white corn tortillas.
- Use a fine salt so it sticks to the tortillas.
Nutrition
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