This Homemade Tortilla Chips recipe is a delicious way to use your leftover tortillas, turning them into crispy restaurant-style tortilla chips! This recipe is sponsored by the United Soybean Board through Kitchen PLAY. Thoughts and opinions, as always, are my own.
I’ve got a confession. Even though I’m a food blogger who should theoretically have a higher expectation for what constitutes “lunch”, my favorite midday meal is by far…. chips and salsa. So, with Cinco de Mayo just days away, it’s about time we learn to make fresh tortilla chips!
Making your own tortilla chips is a great way to not only save money and reduce food waste, but you can decide exactly what goes into your chips.
Because when the ingredients list is just corn tortillas, oil, and salt, the quality of ingredients matters. Which is why today we’re using U.S.-grown soybean oil to fry up our chips!
Why soybean oil?
There are two features you want to look out for when choosing a frying oil: smoke point and heart health. The smoke point of soybean oil is approximately 450°F, meaning you can pump the heat up pretty high before it starts to deteriorate. For reference, olive oil has a smoke point of about 410°F and canola is 435°F.
But perhaps more important than the smoke point is the fat composition of the oil, which is really where soybean oil shines. Soybean oil is higher in polyunsaturated fats (including omega-3 fatty acids) than some other frying oils, making it a heart healthy option when it comes to frying!
Most soybean oil is locally grown in the U.S. (meaning a lower carbon footprint getting to your table) and is a sustainable way of getting polyunsaturated fats into your diet. What are your thoughts on soybean oil? I’d love to hear what you think about it in the comments!
Ingredients
To make homemade tortilla chips, you’ll just need 3 ingredients:
- Corn Tortillas: Small corn tortillas are perfect here. You can use either fresh or stale tortillas.
- Soybean Oil: A heart-healthy option, especially for frying! Soybean oil is often labelled as “vegetable oil”, so be sure to check the ingredients to ensure it’s soybean oil.
- Salt: It’s not a tortilla chip without a pinch of salt.
How to make fried tortilla chips
Frying is my favorite way to make tortilla chips, giving them a delicate crunch that cooks up in just minutes. To make fried tortilla chips:
- Prep: Stack tortillas to make cutting quicker, cutting into 6 or 8 wedges. Heat soybean oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet (like a cast iron) over medium/high heat. Aim to keep the temperature around 360°F (182°C).
- Fry: Working in batches, gently drop tortilla triangles into the hot oil. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes, flipping as needed, until chips are golden and crispy.
- Eat: Use a metal slotted spoon to remove tortilla chips, placing them on a few layers of paper towels to soak up excess oil. Immediately sprinkle with salt and let cool slightly before eating.
How to make baked tortilla chips
For a lower fat option, you can also bake your tortilla chips! This results in a slightly crunchier chip, similar to a pita chip.
- Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C). Lightly brush each tortilla with soybean oil. Stack tortillas and cut into 6 or 8 wedges.
- Bake: Arrange triangles in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 6 minutes, flip each chip over, then continue baking for another 6 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy.
- Eat: Sprinkle warm tortilla chips with salt and enjoy!
How to make air fried tortilla chips
Have an air fryer? Use it to make tortilla chips!
- Prep: Preheat the air fryer to 350°F (176°C). Lightly brush each tortilla with soybean oil. Stack tortillas and cut into 6 or 8 wedges.
- Bake: Arrange triangles in a single layer in your air fryer basket or rack (you may need to work in batches). Air fry for 8 minutes, either shaking the basket or flipping the chips halfway through cooking, until golden brown and crispy.
- Eat: Sprinkle warm tortilla chips with salt and enjoy!
Looking for more fun homemade chips? Try our Oven Baked Apple Chips or Crispy Kale Chips!
Ingredients
- Corn tortillas each tortilla makes 6 to 8 chips
- Soybean oil
- Salt
Instructions
Fried Tortilla Chips
- Prep: Stack tortillas to make cutting quicker, cutting into 6 or 8 wedges. Pour oil to fill a heavy-bottomed skillet (like a cast iron) ¼ to ½ inch deep, then heat over medium/high heat. Aim to keep the temperature around 360°F (182°C).
- Fry: Working in batches, gently drop tortilla triangles into the hot oil. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes, flipping as needed, until chips are golden and crispy. Use a metal slotted spoon to remove tortilla chips, placing them on a few layers of paper towels to soak up excess oil. Immediately sprinkle with salt and let cool slightly before eating.
Baked Tortilla Chips
- Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C). Lightly brush each tortilla with soybean oil. Stack tortillas and cut into 6 or 8 wedges.
- Bake: Arrange triangles in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 6 minutes, flip each chip over, then continue baking for another 6 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy. Sprinkle warm tortilla chips with salt and enjoy!
Air Fried Tortilla Chips
- Prep: Preheat the air fryer to 350°F (176°C). Lightly brush each tortilla with soybean oil. Stack tortillas and cut into 6 or 8 wedges.
- Bake: Arrange triangles in a single layer in your air fryer basket or rack (you may need to work in batches). Air fry for 8 minutes, either shaking the basket or flipping the chips halfway through cooking, until golden brown and crispy. Sprinkle warm tortilla chips with salt and enjoy!
Tips & Tricks
Nutrition Information
Thanks again to the United Soybean Board for sponsoring this post! Do you have questions about soybean oil? Drop a comment below!
Sources: Soy Connection Health Professionals, Soy Connection Consumer Insights, USDA
Lou says
Hi Sarah! Great recipes!
You asked our thoughts on soybean oil….my personal opinion….absolutely no way will I use soybean or canola oil. They are both GMO products, which is totally not good, but being a breast cancer survivor, eliminating estrogen creating foods is very important; ie. soybean oil. I have farmed my whole life and I dare say if you saw the amount of herbicides that soybeans are sprayed with your opinion would change.
Just my personal thoughts….
Sarah says
Thanks SO much for your feedback, Lou, truly! To be honest, our goal here was simply to understand people’s perceptions of soybean oil, and I get the feeling that many people have similar thoughts as you.
Lisa Smith says
I’m really surprised you’re using soybean oil. Pretty much all soy is GMO nowadays. And unfermented soy has been shown through lot of good research that I’ve read to be bad for the human body. Also, it can be disruptive to women’s hormones because of high estrogen levels. And as a woman with the BRACA-2 gene, I am staying away from soy as much as possible, because of the known issues between the two. Plus, when you heat oils, you destroy the good fats in them.
My recommendation is to do air frying vs. oil frying.
Sarah says
Thanks so much for your input, Lisa! We were curious what our readers perceptions of soybean oil were, so your input is truly so helpful. Thank you!
Janelle says
I try to stay as far away from soybean oil as I can! Not only is it almost certainly gmo, but heavily sprayed. No thank you!
Sarah says
Thanks so much for the input, Janelle! I’m curious – do you read the ingredients to see if it’s soybean oil? I didn’t realize it, but so many vegetable oils are actually soy (though you have to check the ingredient to actually realize it).
Patrick says
Fantastic. Best recipe I’ve found so far and I’ve been doing this for about a year. I dried the corn tortillas at 350 for about 10 mins, flipped and then another 5. I used canola oil. Definitely keep it slightly above 180C fried for 90-100 seconds was perfection. Thank you so much.
Sarah says
So happy to hear it, Patrick! Thanks for letting us know how it went! 😀