Homemade Tortilla Chips

By Becky Hardin

Updated Jun 12, 2025

Homemade Tortilla Chips are SO easy to make with just three ingredients! You only need corn tortillas, canola oil, and salt to make your very own tortilla chips from scratch. They’re so much better when they’re fresh, and they’re perfect for game day!

Close up of homemade tortilla chips. - 5

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Corn Tortilla Chips

You only need 10 minutes and three inexpensive ingredients to make your very own homemade Tortilla Chips! Let me tell you, they will bring a crazy good crunch and subtle toasted flavor to whatever you serve them with. I like to serve them on game day, taco Tuesday, or any day I’m craving a salty snack. They are so great for snacking, and they go with every dip you can imagine.

Tips for Beginners

Try to cut the tortillas into evenly-sized pieces so they cook at the same rate.
Fry the chips in batches of 10 or fewer. This helps them cook evenly and prevents them from sticking together.
To keep the oil at a consistent temperature, use a thermometer. Cooking at too high of a temperature will burn the chips, and cooking at too low of a temperature leads to greasy, chewy chips.
Season right after removing the chips from the oil. This will help the seasoning stick.
Move quickly (the chips cook fast) and don’t burn yourself with the hot oil! If you can master those two easy rules, you’ll have party-ready fried tortilla chips in no time.

Ingredients1x2x3x

▢ 14 corn tortillas Use any corn tortillas you like, flour tortillas also work
▢ 1¼ cups canola oil vegetable oil, corn oil, or peanut oil are also options
▢ Kosher salt to taste

Instructions

Slice each tortilla to make 6 wedges. 14 corn tortillas
Heat the canola oil in a large cast-iron skillet set over medium-high heat. 1¼ cups canola oil
Test the oil by dipping a tortilla wedge in the oil. If it sizzles, the tortillas are ready for frying.
Place about 10 tortilla wedges at a time into the hot oil, fry the tortillas, flipping once, until golden brown on both sides and crispy. This will go fast!
Transfer the chips to a plate or sheet pan lined with paper towel and immediately sprinkle with salt. Kosher salt

Equipment

Cast Iron Skillet

Becky’s Tips

To bake , lay them in a single layer on a lined baking sheet, brush with oil, and bake at 375°F for 10-15 minutes , or until crisp and golden brown.
To air fry , toss the chips with a bit of salt and oil, lay in a single layer in the basket of an air fryer , and air fry at 350°F for 5-8 minutes , or until crisp and golden brown.

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

How to Make Tortilla Chips Step by Step

Tortillas cut into wedges on a cutting board. - 6

Cut the tortillas : Slice each of the 14 corn tortillas to make 6 wedges.

Heat the oil: Heat 1 1/4 cups of canola oil in a large cast-iron skillet set over medium-high heat.

Test the oil : Test the oil by dipping a tortilla wedge in the oil. If it sizzles, the tortillas are ready for frying.

Tortilla wedges being fried in a cast iron pan. - 7

Fry the tortillas: Place about 10 tortilla wedges at a time into the hot oil and fry, flipping once, until golden brown on both sides and crispy. This will go fast!

Homemade tortilla chips on a paper towel-lined baking sheet with a white bowl of salt. - 8

Transfer: Transfer the chips to a plate or sheet pan lined with paper towels and immediately sprinkle with salt.

Overhead view of tortilla chips on a white tray with salsa and lime wedges. - 9

Serve: Serve with your favorite salsa, dipping sauce or guacamole.

Variations

You can adjust your seasonings for these chips. Here are some of my favorite options:

Seasoned salt
Lime zest
Chili lime seasoning
Taco seasoning
Nutritional yeast
Ranch seasoning
Za’atar seasoning
Creole seasoning

How to Store

While these chips are best enjoyed on the day they are made, you can store them in an airtight container or Ziplock bag at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Serving Suggestions

So many recipes call for tortilla chips, and if you make your own, they’ll take every recipe to the next level. And of course they’re a great side to all your favorite Mexican dishes. Use these chips for dunking in your dip of choice! Some of our favorites include:

Salsa
Rotel
Guacamole
Mango salsa
Queso
Corn dip
Avocado corn salsa
Taco dip
Mexican layered dip
Cowboy caviar
Pico de gallo

Homemade Tortilla Chips Recipe

Equipment

Cast Iron Skillet

Ingredients

14 corn tortillas Use any corn tortillas you like, flour tortillas also work
1¼ cups canola oil vegetable oil, corn oil, or peanut oil are also options
Kosher salt to taste

Instructions

Slice each tortilla to make 6 wedges. 14 corn tortillas
Heat the canola oil in a large cast-iron skillet set over medium-high heat. 1¼ cups canola oil
Test the oil by dipping a tortilla wedge in the oil. If it sizzles, the tortillas are ready for frying.
Place about 10 tortilla wedges at a time into the hot oil, fry the tortillas, flipping once, until golden brown on both sides and crispy. This will go fast!
Transfer the chips to a plate or sheet pan lined with paper towel and immediately sprinkle with salt. Kosher salt

Notes

To bake , lay them in a single layer on a lined baking sheet, brush with oil, and bake at 375°F for 10-15 minutes , or until crisp and golden brown.
To air fry , toss the chips with a bit of salt and oil, lay in a single layer in the basket of an air fryer , and air fry at 350°F for 5-8 minutes , or until crisp and golden brown.

Nutrition

By Becky Hardin

Published Jul 12, 2017

This Essential Grocery List is an absolute life saver for my family on the busy weeks. When I started this journey to learn how to cook, I quickly realized that the first step in cooking is having staple ingredients on hand. I want to avoid having to run out to the grocery store every single time I prepare a new recipe. Having a well-stocked pantry has made my life in the kitchen so much simpler, because when it’s time to cook, I have what I need.

Essential Grocery List

It’s so helpful to have a basic grocery list to help me remember which foods to buy at the store. This food shopping list is my go-to!

It’s better to stock up on things like grains, seasonings and spices, baking essentials, oils, condiments, canned and frozen foods, etc. so I can just grab them when I need them. These things have a long shelf life , so I keep them in my kitchen for convenience.

However, I do have to go to the supermarket sometimes, and there’s a way to make that trip easy and hassle-free: I keep a grocery list! If I go in blindly, I’ll leave with things I don’t need, and nothing that actually helps me prepare a good meal.

In the list below, I’ve compiled everything I always have on my stock-up grocery list.

I’ve got you covered! I created an easy grocery list filled with all of the essentials. Plus there’s a free printable version that you can take with you to the grocery store. It has everything you need to stock your pantry, your freezer, and your refrigerator.

Click to get my Free Printable Grocery List

What to Buy at the Grocery Store

This is the perfect grocery list filled with all the basics and essentials. It should help get you going if you’re new to cooking, or if you’re just left staring helplessly at an empty pantry and don’t know how to fill it.

When I first started cooking, things could seem overwhelming. I quickly realized that they more prepared I could be, the more confident I felt. If you already have the basics in your kitchen, then you can shop stress-free.

So print out our easy grocery list, stock up your pantry and fridge, and you’ll be cooking in no time!