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. ;)
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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 have always brushed the olive oil on and then seasoned after cutting the tortillas.
Thank you for your tip on tossing in a bowl. I will definitely use this method from now on. So much easier.
These chips turned out great! I made some pico de gallo, but found we didn’t have any chips on hand. This recipe came to my rescue!
Had to use 8 whole wheat tortillas, cut into strips, avocado oil. Made the mistake of salting in the bowl, so salt was a little uneven. Baked on 2 pizza trays in convection oven for 8 min. No time to flip them. They came out great! Light and crispy.
Thanks for the great recipe!
Recipe looks amazing.
Fabulous! Just made a few. Crunchy yum!!
I like how easy and good is instruction. I definitely will make it :)
I used a flour carb smart tortilla shells and brushed on olive oil and salted. I cut mine into 10 triangles and baked for 5 minutes flipped and 2 more minutes. I paired my chips with guacamole. This is a great chip alternative for those doing low carb and need a good crunch.
Easy and delicious!
Definitely making this again!!
Can the chips be baked on foil if you don’t have parchment? Sometimes you just can’t control the urge!
Foil reflects heat more than parchment, so you’ll want to watch them closely. They may cook faster or slightly more unevenly than with parchment.
how long do these keep maintaining a crispness and decent flavor?
You’ll want to eat them right away. How fast they get stale is probably just going to depend on how dried out they get when baking, which can really vary on several different factors.
did this with the homemade tortillas i made the other day, so good and a nice way to switch things up!!:)
1/2 tablespoon did not coat all of the chips evenly. Did not have enough oil to cover all of the tips
I make my homemade salsa and homemade tortilla chips will go very nice with it as I use boughten corn tortillas
I followed the recipe exactly but after only 8 minutes my chips were black 😥 I will have to try again
I made my own tortillas for this recipe. This recipe is great! I am definitely going to bookmark it. Here is the link to the tortilla recipe if anybody is interested.
https://thecafesucrefarine.com/best-ever-homemade-flour-tortillas/
Excellent! Made them with the Carb Balance whole wheat tortillas and they were awesome. Didn’t even need to turn them over and bake some more. Love em just baked on one side!
Mine turned out great. I put my seasoning in the olive oil. I brushed mine with olive oil before I cut them. I then cut them in eight pieces instead of six. I followed the rest of the directions for baking and got excellent results. I will do this again. Very good tortilla chips.
Made these with flour tortilla (I think corn tortillas need a higher temp) and served with salsa and with vegan bean/basil pesto mixed with Veganaise and a little hot water for proper consistency. I did not brush oil – pretty much oil-free in our house, and used a light mist of vegetable oil. My husband asked me what magic I had done now. They were so good I had to make another batch. And that was lunch!
I’d love to know what I’m doing wrong. I tried twice to make these and both times they came out with the consistency if a stale chip. First time, I followed the directions, but let them cook for a couple minutes longer. The second time I brushed them with olive oil instead of tossing them in it and followed the exact cooking time, but they were still a little soft in the middle so I ended up putting them back in, twice (thinking maybe they actually needed to cook longer than my first attempt), but still came out with a stale consistency. I almost feel like maybe my tortillas (yellow corn) are too thick? The couple pieces of them that broke apart were exactly right, so that’s the only thing I can think of.
For such a seemingly simple recipe, I can’t figure out why I can’t get it right. 😕
Interesting, I’ve never had that issue, so I’m not sure. I would definitely try a different brand of tortilla to see if that makes a difference
I have tried cooking these several times before seeing this recipe and experimented a lot. Try cutting them into smaller chips try 8 per tortilla not 6 this may help your chips being soft in the middle. But definitely the brand of tortilla makes a difference.
I’m having the same trouble! After flipping them I ended up giving them almost 15 more minutes and they’re still not quite right. I think I’ll try a higher temp next time.
Don’t trust the pictures. Yours will not turn out looking like them. Still tasted good though.
Another tip use fish oil instead of olive oil. Thank me later :)
Mine looked just like them. Maybe difference is flour tortillas.
I love all the meals you have , I am sure I and my husband will like the meals on a small budgut.
I find it easier to lightly brush the tortillas with oil and then cut them. This also works for making pita chips.
Yes…I brush them with a combo of ghee and unflavored coconut oil (like LouAna), then stack them, then cut…lay them out on the baking sheet, then salt. Also, the oils I use are better suited to heat than polyunsaturated seed oils (chemistry).
So excited to try these! If I were to make a big batch, do you know how long they might store for?
Thank you so much!
I find that they get stale faster than store bought chips (probably because they still retain a little bit of moisture compared to fried chips), so I think they’re best made just before eating.
So just tried these about 3 weeks ago and they have now become a permanent feature in our home. Have made at least 20 times. We are trying to eat better, my wife stopped buying the crap she had been eating, and wanted to start snacking on humus and guacamole. These chips are perfect for that!
At first, was using canola oil. But ran low so tried some extra virgin olive oil, and OMG, the olive oil so much better!! So now pleased a way to slip a little more olive oil in us each day.
Thank you Beth!! Another awesome addition you have taught me.
I’ll have to try o.o., thanks!!
They look can’t wait to try them.
These look easy and yummy. Can’t wait to try them.
Hi! Can’t wait to try these baked chips! Do you know how many calories/fat per serving? Thanks!
No, I’m sorry, I don’t have the nutritional info.
Love this recipe! I was surprised how crispy they turned out–I really had no clue how easy it was to make tortilla chips without a fryer. We made one batch with sea salt, one with Trader Joe’s chili lime seasoning (my favorite batch), and then one batch with cinnamon sugar to mix it up.
I made this with whole wheat tortillas and brushed with olive oil and sea salt on top. Turned out awesome. Thank you.
Yeah I tried this recipe and it didn’t work for shit. After over an hour in the oven they were still raw and soggy so I just gave up and threw them out. Typical mommy blog post. A half baked (pun intended) idea that hasn’t ever actually been tried but is touted as tried and tested fact. Take this post down
It sounds like your oven wasn’t turned on. I’m not a mom and I’ve made these more times than I can count.
I aagree, Beth! Would suggest an oven thermometer that is made to hang off the front of the rack. Hang it off upper rack. Heat oven to 350F. Wouldn’t be surprised if actual temp was close to 275F. That leaves a choice of fixing the thermostat OR raising the heat and marking where you and tally reach 350. Maybe 425 is 350. Give it shot before running off rudely.
Just made these and they turned out perfect. Go troll somewhere else.
Wow, Sam. There is NO WAY that you could have tortillas in an actual 350 degree oven for an hour and have them come out “raw and sogg!” Did you put them in the dishwasher by mistake???
I tried this recipe for the first time last week and they were a HUGE hit to both my parents! We all try to eat healthy but occasionally we want chips and salsa or chips and homemade guacamole. I decided to try to make a healthier version of chips than store bought one’s, so when I found this recipe I gave it a try and was extremely pleased with the result!! I made another larger batch today because the last batch was gone in a few days. I will try different seasonings in future batches, thanks for the recipe!!
Yummy! I used a pastry brush to brush olive oil and some seasoning on both sides and then followed the timing for the oven. Came out very tasty. Used them to accompany a tortilla chicken soup that I made.
Thanks for the recipe!
I made these chips and they were wonderful, the second time I tried to spice it up a bit with different kinds of spices. I’m never buying anymore from the store.
I just made these and they are delicious! Much better than store bought chips. I used my local store’ ”made daily” corn tortillas. Do watch them very carefully as they bake because I found that there is a stage where they seem ‘very nearly’ done and then just seconds later, they are ‘quite done’ and time to remove them, especially if you don’t want them very dark. So don’t go far! I made these to go with a batch of ‘Cowboy Caviar’ and am quite pleased that they are thicker and firmer than store bought chips so they will hold up under the weight of the beans.
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I’m glad to read this recipe and will have to try it soon. I love crackers and chips so much that I really don’t have much self restraint when I buy them. I eat them steadily til they’re gone and gain a lot of weight. It’s much less dangerous to keep corn tortillas around and make just a few chips at a times. You could dab a pastry brush in your seasonings and oil and avoid ripping the tortillas, as you could with spraying them.
I made chips in the oven but put cinnamon sugar on them and made a fruit salsa, very tasty.
Yum these look delicious! My favourite Mexican restuarant near me makes chips that have a lime-y flavour..do you think I could just add a little lime juice after baking? They’re so addictive!
A small squeeze of lime might do the trick. Just be careful not to squeeze too much or they’ll get soggy. :) I think I’ve seen some sort of lime juice powder in the Hispanic section of my grocery store before… forgot what it’s called, but I think it starts with a T. That might work too.
A year late, but it’s called Tajin!
Maybe try Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime for a seasoning!
Yummy this is my favorite recipe. Thanks.
Simon
I did a light mist of olive oil to both sides to avoid manhandling the soft tortilla triangles.
Do you have to use parchment paper, or would aluminum foil work?
You can, although the reflective nature of foil means that they may brown faster on the bottom, so you’ll want to keep a closer eye on them. :)
Yum! Just made these with Old Bay Seasoning instead of plain old salt. Fantastic!
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!