Homemade tortilla chips is yet another recipe that I never realy thought about sharing, because we make them almost every day. I thought everyone made them, but I have been asked several times for the recipe. So, here it is!!
The secret is to buy excellent quality corn tortillas, and then let them go stale. You can store them in the refrigerator while they age a bit, and simply leave them in their packaging. After a week or so, they will be excellent for making homemade tortilla chips.
Factory Made Tortillas Make Great Chips
This is one recipe where factory made is better. With handmade, homemade corn tortillas, there is always some uneveness to the tortilla, with thinner and thicker parts. That is the beauty and curse of homemade. Factory made tortillas have even thickness, and are therefore better for frying. No shame in factory made, because the resulting tortilla chips are way better than those big bags of tortilla chips you buy in the snack aisle.
Homemade Tortilla Chips are Versatile
Once you get the hang of making your own tortilla chips, you can then make a million things with them.
The main dish that uses tortilla chips is nachos. Sprinkle grated cheese on top of your tortilla chips, pop them under a heated broiler for 2-3 minutes and they are ready for the refried beans, jalapeños, chopped tomatoes, onions and guacamole.
You can also make chilaquiles with homemade tortilla chips, which is a excellent weekend breakfast treat. We love chilaquiles for dinner. Or serve them alongside scrambled eggs, or fried eggs for Huevos Rancheros. My fave!
In addition to salt, try topping your tortilla chips with chile powder, or a squeeze of lime juice. Or invent your own blend of tortilla chip spices for a secret recipe.
Homemade tortilla chips are best served with homemade salsa, another opportunity to develop a secret recipe. But the real secret will be the chips. Homemade makes all the difference!
Homemade Tortilla Chips
- Prep Time: 3 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 8 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Snacks
- Method: Frying
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
8 corn tortillas, 6″ dia. (15cm)
2 cups vegetable oil (500ml)
Kosher salt to taste
Instructions
Cut the tortillas into quarters. Line a baking pan with paper towels for draining the chips after they are cooked.
Heat the vegetable oil in a 9″ skillet (22cm) until the temperature reads 350°F (176°C) on a deep fry thermometer. You will have to fry the chips in batches. Carefully add a few of the tortilla quarters to the pan, and fry for approximately 2 minutes on each side. Turn the chips over with tongs only once while frying. Once they are golden brown, remove the tortilla chips to the lined pan. Continue to fry all of the tortilla chips in this fashion.
Once all of the tortilla chips are cooked, season with kosher salt to taste.
Notes
To make tostadas, simply fry the corn tortillas whole without cutting into wedges. Turn often for even frying.
Thank you 😊. Although I have done this many times with the “store bought” corn tortillas but they were usually fresh, therefore the chips were inconsistent when fried 😢. I did not know the trick of aging 👍🏻 (unfortunately the tortillas, flour or corn was not something I could master).
I will leave the tortilla making to more skilled hands. (I can however make a pretty mean buttermilk biscuit). Thanks for sharing 😘
Handmade tortillas make mediocre chips, in my oppinion. But aged machine made ones are terrific, and taste better than when they were just plain tortillas. Thanks for your note Charlene! 🤗