These easy air fryer tortilla chips are an wonderful semi-homemade snack. Use store bought flour or corn tortillas and just a little bit of oil, and you’ll have them on your plate in a jiffy! Perfect for snacking or any other occasion where chips and salsa is a necessity.
Air Fryer Tortilla Chips Recipe
My love for tortilla chips runs deep! But I don’t love having a big bag of chips in my house because I’ll eat them so fast. So, being able to make a small batch of my own tortilla chips is much more my style.
That’s why these air fryer tortilla chips are in the regular rotation at my house. They’re super easy to make and they’re done so quickly which is perfect for whenever the snack cravings hit. Plus, warm chips always taste so much better in my opinion.
Best of all, they’re made with much less oil than traditionally fried tortilla chips, making them a healthier alternative to store-bought tortilla chips.
Once you’ve got your chips made, serve them with spicy guacamole, mango guacamole, or chipotle copycat corn salsa. I also love to serve these with my Mexican vegetable soup, Ham and White Bean Soup, or sometimes I’ll go all in and make nachos. Before you know it, you’ll have yourself a pretty great fiesta!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This super easy recipe makes the most delicious tortilla chips. Honestly, once you know how to make fresh chips, you won’t want to buy them at the grocery store ever again:
- This is a healthy alternative since they don’t use much oil and are not deep fried. Great if you’re counting those calories or watching your fat intake.
- You can have these ready in just minutes. It won’t add a bunch of time onto your cooking and preparation process for your meal It won’t add a bunch of time onto your cooking and preparation process for your meal, and they’re way better than store-bought chips.
- These restaurant-style tortilla chips can be used for anything from your favorite dips to a plate of nachos. They’re a sturdy enough chip for any and all of your favorite recipes.
Ingredients
This is a super basic tortilla chip recipe, so these simple ingredients are all that you need:
- corn or flour tortillas: You can use corn or flour tortillas interchangeably, depending on what you like or have on hand. Corn tortillas will give you a more traditional-tasting chip and flour tortillas taste more like pita chips. I love both of these soft tortillas, and the instructions are exactly the same no matter what you choose!
- olive oil or avocado oil: I use my oil spritzer or a pastry brush to make sure just a tiny bit of oil is spread evenly across each cut tortilla. A little oil is all you need for crispy chips, trust me!
- sea salt: Add plenty of salt while the chips are still warm for the best final touch.
Substitutions and Variations
For Keto or Low Carb tortilla chips, you can follow the same steps in this recipe and just use low-carb tortillas. There are also tortillas that are perfect for those on Weight Watchers, those who need to watch gluten, and many other preferences and dietary restrictions. The type of tortilla doesn’t matter too much! You could even make your own homemade corn tortillas, flour tortillas, or whole wheat tortillas.
Now if you want to kick things up a notch with your homemade chips, you can add an extra pizazz with these flavor combinations:
- spicy lime tortilla chips: Before cooking, brush or spray the tortilla with oil, and sprinkle about 1/8 teaspoon of taco seasoning per tortilla. After cooking, drizzle with fresh lime juice.
- zesty ranch tortilla chips: Brush or spray the tortilla with oil before cooking them and sprinkle on about 1/8 teaspoon of ranch seasoning per tortilla.
- sweet dessert tortilla chips: Brush the tortillas with oil, about 1/2 teaspoon of maple syrup, and sprinkle with a pinch of cinnamon and serve with cream cheese dip. A cinnamon-sugar mixture would also work!
How to Make Easy Air Fryer Tortilla Chips
This is the easiest way to make fresh chips, and it’s a go-to snack for me. Here’s how to make them:
First things first, pre-heat the air fryer. Set it to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and wait until it gets up to temperature.
Lightly brush or spray a tortilla with olive oil on both sides, then sprinkle lightly with salt. Use a sharp pizza cutter or sharp knife to cut the tortilla into triangle, chip-sized pieces, making about 8 chips per 8 inch tortilla.
Carefully add the triangles to the air fryer basket in a single layer. It’s okay if they overlap a little, but it’s better if not. Do this in batches, depending on how many chips you want to make and the size of your air fryer.
Cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Near the end of cook time, open the air fryer and check in on the chips. Remove any that might be close to overcooking before they burn and continue cooking any that need a little more time until they are crispy and golden brown.
Once you have your chips, you can serve with your favorite dips, salsas, or you can make my personal favorite– nachos! Top the chips with shredded cheese, beans, salsa, lettuce, and a dollop of guacamole and you’re in business!
How to Store Leftover Air Fryer Tortilla Chips
Now I have literally NEVER had leftover tortilla chips because I eat them all, but if you do, you’re obviously a much better person than I am.
Wait until the chips are completely cool, then transfer to an airtight container or bag. Store at room temperature. They start to become stale after about a day, but they can be safely stored up to 10 days.
What to Serve with Air Fryer Tortilla Chips
I love to use these crunchy chips to make nachos, topped with chipotle barbacoa or Mexican chicken. But it’s also perfect to serve with all of your favorite dips, like Rotel sausage dip or boat dip! Sometimes, I even simply make a batch to eat with my lunch of chicken salad.
And they are a must for taco night, whether you make the a lighter keto ground beef taco or something heartier like quesabirria. A quick snack of butter bean hummus with chips is yummy too. When parties roll around, I love to serve these with choriqueso.
Paired with salsa, they’d be a great side for Instant Pot chicken fajitas! I love to serve them with baked salsa chicken and rice too. Oh, and a hearty bowl of taco soup with a side of crispy hot chips is just to die for.
Tips for Success
Check out my pro tips so that you have the best air-fried tortilla chips:
- You only need to turn the chips or shake the basket halfway if you find your air fryer is blowing the chips into a pile or you’ve filled your basket so that the chips are layered. My air fryer is pretty powerful, so I usually check in and move them around halfway through and adjust.
- If your air fryer doesn’t have a pre-heat setting, that doesn’t mean you don’t need to preheat it! It just means you won’t be alerted when it reaches the cooking temperature. Simply turn your air fryer on and wait about 5 minutes before you begin cooking.
- Don’t overload the tortillas with oil. It really does only take a light layer or spritzing of oil to crisp up the tortillas and make a good chip. The air fryer won’t need a lot of oil!
FAQ
Many air fryers come with a cooling rack or cooking tray that you can lay on top of the tortillas as they cook. This will help ensure that the chips stay laying flat and don’t flip over on top of one another.
I personally prefer olive oil or avocado oil. However, you can use any oil as long as it has high smoke point. This will ensure that it won’t burn when it gets heated to high temperatures.
More Air Fryer Recipes
Air Fryer Tortilla Chips
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 8-inch tortillas corn or flour
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Meanwhile, brush both sides of the tortillas with oil and sprinkle with salt. Cut the tortillas into triangle, chip-sized pieces, making about 8 chips per tortilla. In batches, carefully add the sliced tortillas to the air fryer basket in a single layer.
- Cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Near the end of cook time, open the air fryer and check in on the chips. Tip: If your air fryer is blowing the chips around, set a trivet (I use the one from my Instant Pot) gently on top of the chips. It will allow the air to circulate but keep them mostly in place. Remove any chips that might be close to overcooking before they burn and continue cooking any that need a little more time.
Video
Notes
Helpful Recipe Tips
- Preheat the air fryer. If your unit doesn’t have a preheat setting, that doesn’t mean you can’t preheat! It just means you won’t be alerted when it reaches the cooking temperature. Simply turn your air fryer on and wait about 5 minutes before you begin cooking.
- Avoid overlapping tortilla chips in the air fryer basket. It’s important to keep them in a single layer. Cook in batches as necessary.
- Weigh the pieces down to prevent them from blowing around in the basket. To prevent pieces from blowing around in the basket, lay a metal trivet (like the kind that comes with an Instant Pot) over the top of the unbaked tortilla pieces.
- Avoid using too much oil. It only takes a light layer or spritzing of oil to crisp up the tortillas. Bonus – Using less oil will keep your homemade tortilla chips lower in calories and fat!
- Spicy Lime Tortilla Chips: Before cooking, brush of spray the tortilla with oil, sprinkle about 1/8 teaspoon of taco seasoning per tortilla. After cooking, drizzle with fresh lime juice.
- Zesty Ranch Tortilla Chips: Before cooking, brush or spray the tortilla with oil and sprinkle on about 1/8 teaspoon of ranch seasoning per tortilla.
- Sweet Dessert Tortilla Chips: Before cooking, brush the tortillas with oil, about 1/2 teaspoon of maple syrup, and sprinkle with a pinch of cinnamon.
Nutrition
