Am I the only one who always ends up with leftover corn tortillas hanging out in the back of their fridge? I never seem to use a full package when making tacos. Luckily, it only takes a few minutes to make a small batch of Homemade Baked Tortilla Chips out of my leftover tortillas. These Homemade Baked Tortilla chips are not only super inexpensive and a great way to reduce waste, but since you can make any amount at one time, it’s like automatic portion control. No massive bag of chips staring you down from the pantry. ;)
What Kind of Tortillas Do I Need?
I prefer small (6-inch) corn tortillas for this recipe. You can use either white or yellow corn tortillas. You can bake flour tortillas the same way, although the baking time may differ slightly, so you’ll want to keep a close eye on them.
How Do You Flavor Homemade Tortilla Chips?
I made two small batches today (6 tortillas each), one with just salt, and one with salt and chili powder. You can add just about any seasoning blend you’d like to these chips, but I would definitely suggest making a plain batch first to get a hang for the timing with your oven. Adding seasoning can make it difficult to see the color of the chips and therefor gauge their doneness.
For seasoning blends that contain ingredients other than just spices and herbs (like ranch, which would contain dehydrated buttermilk), you may want to toss the chips in the seasoning after baking, to prevent the seasoning from cooking or burning.
What to Serve With Baked Tortilla Chips
Since you’re already making homemade chips, you might as well make some Hot Corn Dip, Cowboy Caviar, Fire Roasted Salsa, Ever Avocado Dip, 5-Minute Nacho Cheese Sauce, Hummus, or Spicy Chorizo Cheese Dip to go with it!
Baked Tortilla Chips
Servings 2 (18 chips each)Ingredients
- 6 small corn tortillas ($0.32)
- 1/2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.02)
- 1 pinch salt ($0.05)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Stack the tortillas on top of each other, then cut into six equal sized wedges.
- Place the cut tortillas in a large bowl and drizzle the oil over top. Gently toss the tortilla pieces in the oil until they’re all lightly coated. Other herbs and spices can be added at this time, if desired.
- Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper, then spread the tortilla pieces out over the surface so that they’re in a single layer and overlapping as little as possible. Sprinkle lightly with salt.
- Bake the chips for ten minutes, then gently stir and flip the chips. Return the chips to the oven and bake until golden brown (3-5 minutes more). Season with salt once more.
- Allow the chips to cool before serving. They will crisp even further as they cool down.
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Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Homemade Tortilla Chips – Step by Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Work in batches, according to how many pieces of tortilla can fit on your baking sheet in a single layer, without overlapping. For me, that’s about six small corn tortillas.
Place the cut pieces in a large bowl and drizzle with 1/2 Tbsp oil. Gently toss the tortilla pieces in oil until they’re evenly coated. I say “gently” because raw tortillas can rip if they’re man-handled, so just be a little careful. :)
For my second batch, I also added 1/2 tsp chili powder when tossing them in oil.
Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper, then spread the chips out over the surface so that they’re in a single layer and overlapping as little as possible. Season lightly with salt.
Bake the chips in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes, then take them out to stir and flip. Return them to the oven and then bake until they’re golden brown (about 3-5 minutes more). Every oven is a little different and different brands of tortillas may be thicker or thinner. So, be sure to watch the chips closely and adjust the cooking time as needed. Season with salt once more after they come out of the oven and let them cool completely.
The baked tortilla chips will crisp up a little further as they cool.
Homemade Baked Tortilla Chips ON DEMAND! :D Dig in, my friend!
I made these last night and they were delicious! I have celiac and have not found a gluten free cracker that I like. These may just fill that slot!
I bought white corn tortillas today specifically to do this!
Corn tortillas actually freeze well! I always throw my extras into the freezer since they usually come in a pack of 30+. These sound really delicious though!
I have a fine-mist spray bottle used to mist pans with oil (an alternative to using commercial non-stick baking sprays.) I have used it to spray a light misting of oil on tortilla wedges to make baked chips with good results.
I love your website, I love your recipes. BUT recently the ads here have gotten out of control. On this page alone I’m seeing multiple ads and some of them make noise. I can’t even bring to explain how obnoxious this is.
Yikes! Thanks for letting me know. Are you viewing this on mobile? I just started testing a new mobile layout and it changes the ad placement, too. It’s not worth it, though, if it makes the site unusable!
Yep, I was on mobile. I noticed that everything has changed though! I love it! Thanks. :)
I won’t lie, I’m known for taking that last half a bag of corn tortillas, toasting them whole in the toaster oven 2-3 at a time over the course of DAYS and slathering them with salsa, hummus, smashed beans, etc. Way easier (doesn’t require cutting or cleaning ANYTHING) and super tasty. :)
Oooh you could do cinnamon sugar and pair it with a yummy fruit salsa!!
Great post. I always end up tossing leftover corn tortillas. i don’t know why I didn’t think of this myself since I make my own pita chips on occasion. Do you think this method would work with flour tortillas? I have a half eaten package in the fridge now that could use some re-purposing!
A couple of people have mentioned that they do make them with flour tortillas. :)
These look like an awesome way to repurpose stale tortillas. I have some pita bread lying around, and I’m sure this method would also make great pita chips.
It does – I’ve done it a few times. Same process, you just need to separate the two sides of your pita pocket so the pita chip is one layer when baking.
What perfect timing! I literally have one lonely whole wheat tortilla on the counter (I forgot to bring it with my lunch yesterday… whoopsie!) and was thinking about attempting my own tortilla chips but didn’t quite know how. This is just as easy as I’d imagined it would be – totally trying!
Would this work for the flour tortillas?
Yes it does work for flour tortillas. I’ve done it before. Sometimes the cooking time is a bit longer.
A couple other people have mentioned that they’ve done it with flour tortillas. :)
These look great and way healthier than the pan fried version I usually do.
Any idea on how long they keep for? This would save us a bunch of money to just bake chips once a week.
Thanks!
Probably about the same as regular tortilla chips. The key, I’m sure, is to keep them in an air-tight container.
Ahhhhh something to do with all those white corn tortillas. I made the vegetable enchilada casserole as well it was EPIC. I even did a Periscope about it! I love your recipes.
Wow what a great idea! I never thought about doing Tortilla chips on my own! This is great! So simple and delicious!
Love Katie
https://whatskatieupto.wordpress.com
Thank you for putting this recipe up because I just tried the vegetable enchilada casserole last night and now have 10 or so leftover corn tortillas with no plan in mind on what to do with them. The casserole was quite tasty, too! Thanks!