Why You’ll Love this Recipe
This recipe gives you guidelines on how to fry tortilla chips in oil or bake them in the oven with minimal oil. It’ll help you figure out how to maintain the best temperature and conditions for frying the corn tortillas so that you don’t end up with soggy or over-fried chips. Homemade tortilla chips are better than store-bought tortilla chips because they aren’t as dry or break as easily from mass production that may lead to funky shapes or poor packaging. Corn tortilla chips are gluten-free and vegan since they are made with nixtamalized corn to produce masa which makes corn tortillas. The only other ingredients are salt and oil for frying.
Ingredients - Notes and Substitutions
Corn Tortillas - Use white or yellow corn tortillas that are 4-6 inches in diameter. They usually don’t get larger than that since there is no gluten development, so they would crumble otherwise. I’ve tried both homemade corn tortillas and store-bought standard corn tortillas, and have only had issues with the oil spluttering if the tortillas that were too moist. It’s best to use tortillas that are dry and stale. Oil - Use a neutral oil that has a smoke point over 375°F. I recommend vegetable oil, canola oil, avocado oil, etc. Salt - Be sure to salt your chips immediately out of the oven! I absolutely love Maldon flakey sea salt.
How to make Homemade Corn Tortilla Chips
1. Frying Instructions
While the chips are still hot and fresh out of the fryer, sprinkle a healthy amount of flaky sea salt. Did you know you can make Mexican restaurant-style corn tortilla chips at home? You can make homemade corn tortilla chips by cutting corn tortillas into triangles, frying them in hot oil or baking in the oven, and seasoning with flaky salt while they’re still hot. It’s that simple. This recipe is perfect for taking hosting a party to the next level or if you want to repurpose old or leftover corn tortillas that are dry or stale. Serve them up with guacamole, salsa, pico de gallo, or queso. You can also use them to make Nachos Chaat! Carefully drop 6-8 triangles into the hot oil, being sure to give them plenty of space. Use your slotted spoon to gently push the chips underneath the oil and flip them after 30 seconds to get an even fry. Transfer the chips to a baking sheet lined with a cooling rack or paper towels to continue draining excess oil.
2. Baking Instructions
Baking corn tortillas may result in less crispy chips but will still be absolutely delicious! At the end of the day, this method uses significantly less oil.
What to Eat with Tortilla Chips
Use these homemade tortilla chips for the best nachos ever! Or they’re great as a side for taco night at home. Toss them in chili powder or your favorite seasoning blend for a little extra flavor. You can also serve homemade chips at a party with pico de gallo, salsa, and guacamole for dipping. I promise your guests will notice the difference.
More Snacks to try
Recipe
Use dry corn tortillas instead of flour tortillas, which are too moist to crisp up as well as corn tortillas. Stale tortillas have the best results - so use old tortillas or let the tortillas sit uncovered at room temperature for a couple of hours. Don’t crowd the pan. Only add as many chips as you’ll be able to remove with the slotted spoon within seconds. A few seconds too long in the oil and you’ll have overcooked tortilla chips. Heat the oil to between 325°F and 350°F. The chips only need 1-2 minutes in the oil. Once the oil temperature is at 375°F, they can burn within seconds. Remove the chips from the oil when they’re a little less done than you want. They’ll continue to cook after you take them out. The chips may look perfectly golden when you remove them from the oil, but by the time it stops cooking they’ll be dark brown as pictured on the left below. The browned chips are a bit harder and nutty. You can still use them for nachos!
Season with flakey salt immediately after removing the chips from the oil so that the salt adheres to the chip. Let the chips cool to room temperature before serving.
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