It’s easy to make fresh, baked corn tortilla chips right at home.  Store-bought and restaurant tortilla chips are more than likely deep-fried.  To make them at home simply slice up your favorite corn tortillas, add spray oil, salt, and spices.  Healthier chips will be at your fingertips and ready for salsa, guacamole, or chip strips to top tortilla soup.

Why are home-baked corn tortilla chips healthier?

• no frying – minimal oil using spray oil and baking in the oven
• corn flour is relatively better for you than white flour
• control over how much sodium and spices are on the chips

This was originally shared here almost 3 years ago and it continues to be one of our top-ranking posts on Pinterest!  The popularity of this post used to surprise me – now I see how a quick fix, easy to prepare, salty, crunchy snack is just the thing.

Start to finish, making your own tortilla chips takes just 10 minutes!  

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. Grab a bag of small yellow corn tortillas (estimate about 2 tortillas per person)
3. Stack up 3-5 tortillas at a time and slice into 8ths using a sharp knife (cut in half and then into 8ths to create 8 small, chip-sized triangles per tortilla)
4. Arrange the triangles on a parchment or foil-lined baking sheet (5 small corn tortillas cut into 8ths will fill a large-sized baking sheet making 40 chips per pan)
5. Spray with cooking oil
6. Add salt and spices
7. Bake 8 to 10 minutes checking often as oven temperatures vary

How can you tell when baked corn tortilla chips are cooked long enough in the oven?

• slightly browned edges
• bumpy and bubbly surface
• perfect crunch!

I’ve used many brands of corn tortillas.  Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s have their own brands.  Some are thicker than others.  What I like about Mission brand extra thin yellow corn tortillas is that they produce chips that are crunchier and crispier – they keep their crunch longer.  I normally can find a pack at Safeway or Target.

In terms of spices, we keep it simple with salt and garlic powder.  For spicy chips add cumin, paprika or taco seasonings.

Use home-made baked corn tortilla chips to make healthy nachos – sprinkle low-fat or non-fat shredded cheese on top and heat in a conventional or toaster oven until the cheese is just melted.  Serve them with some crockpot refried beans and a simple mixed green salad for a nutritious well-rounded snack or light lunch.  For a healthy, delicious breakfast or weekend brunch, make bake tortilla chips for our light version of Baked Chilaquiles Breakfast Casserole.

These baked corn tortilla chips are also perfect to serve with Christmas Enchiladas. 

Try baking simple homemade tortilla chips yourself and please give the recipe a star rating.  Pin your favorite images from this post to your Pinterest boards!

Here’s the recipe:

Yield: 4

Baked Corn Tortilla Chips

Print

It's easy to make fresh, baked corn tortilla chips right at home.  Store-bought and restaurant tortilla chips are more than likely deep-fried.  To make them at home simply slice up your favorite corn tortillas, add spray oil, salt, and spices.  Healthier chips will be at your fingertips and ready for salsa, guacamole, and even toppings for tortilla soup.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 8 minutes

Total Time 13 minutes

Ingredients

• 10 small Corn tortillas
• Canola Spray oil
• Salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. Grab a bag of small yellow corn tortillas (estimate about 2 tortillas per person)
3. Stack up 3-5 tortillas at a time and slice into 8ths using a sharp knife (cut in half and then into 8ths to create 8 small, chip-sized triangles per tortilla)
4. Arrange the triangles on a parchment or foil-lined baking sheet (5 small corn tortillas cut into 8ths will fill a large-sized baking sheet making 40 chips per pan)
5. Spray with cooking oil
6. Add salt and spices
7. Bake 8 to 10 minutes checking often as oven temperatures vary

Notes

5 tortillas create 40 small triangles when cut into 8ths. I am able to fit about 40 tortilla triangle chips on a large parchment-lined baking sheet. For roughly 4 servings use 10 small corn tortillas on a baking sheet. It will take two rounds of baking.

Work best with stale tortillas. Tip: leaving out on a paper towel overnight will get them stale enough to make for good chips!

This is a versatile recipe. We like to keep it simple and season with salt and garlic powder. If you prefer it spicy, try adding cumin, paprika, or taco seasonings.

Oven temperatures vary. The thickness of tortillas also varies according to the brand. Some are thicker than others. Set the oven timer to about 7 minutes and check every minute so until desired crunchiness is achieved. In our oven, it takes 8 to 10 minutes for standard corn tortillas in a 400-degree oven.

Store up to 4 days in an airtight container or zip lock bag.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 45Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 148mgCarbohydrates: 3gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g

Enjoy!

Bita