Easy 20-Minute Air Fryer Tortilla Chips
How to make chips out of tortillas
Whip up a batch of crispy, crunchy, homemade chips in minutes with this air fryer tortilla chips recipe! This is one of my favorite easy air fryer recipes. The method couldn’t be simpler, and the result is undeniably delicious. Served warm, they’re just as satisfying as a basket of restaurant chips—no deep frying required! I’ll show you to make homemade tortilla chips in the air fryer with just tortillas, cooking spray, and salt.
I’ve made my fair share of baked chips over the years that generally turn out pretty tasty, but these air fryer chips are on a whole other level. After just 6-8 minutes, they turn out perfectly crisp, lightly browned, and with such a satisfying crunch! Somehow, the magic of how heat circulates in the air fryer produces the best homemade tortilla chips I’ve ever had, and now this is my preferred method.
Of course, you’ve also got the option to bake these in the oven if needed! But if you’ve got one at home, I highly recommend making these tortilla chips in the air fryer.
This is also a great option to serve for dipping, I love to dip these in my simple 4-ingredient guacamole recipe.
They’ll also last stored on the counter for about a week. Plus, if they start to lose their crunch at all, you can always freshen them up with a few minutes in the air fryer!
Ingredients
- Small corn or flour tortillas
- Cooking spray or oil of choice
- Seasonings of choice
Can I Make Flour or Corn Tortilla Chips in the Air Fryer?
Personally, I chose to make my chips with small yellow corn tortillas because they’re a good size for cutting into chips, and I think this variety turns out the crispiest. But you’re welcome to try this same method with white corn tortillas or even flour tortillas as well! The cook time will most likely remain the same if you choose to make flour tortilla chips in the air fryer instead, I’d just check on them at 5-6 minutes and continue cooking as needed.
Whatever variety of tortilla you choose, I recommend going with a smaller sized tortilla. That way, it’ll be a bit simpler to cut your tortillas into reasonably sized chips. I used street taco size tortillas, but you could also use small or medium sized as well. Large tortillas will also work, they may just be a bit trickier to cut!
Additional Substitution Notes
- Cooking Spray: Although we’re cooking these tortilla chips in the air fryer, I recommend using just a small amount of cooking spray to help them crisp up and make the seasonings stick. You don’t need to use much at all—just lightly spray them!
- Seasonings: I kept things simple with salt, but you can get creative with any seasonings you like!
How to Air Fry Tortilla Chips
Preheat your air fryer as needed. My machine requires a preheat before getting started, so be sure to preheat yours before adding the chips to cook. I find that 350°F (180°C) works great!
Slice your tortillas into the size of chips you want to eat. These won’t shrink much after cooking! I prefer to use smaller tortillas, then cut them like a pie into somewhat smaller chips for snacking. But you can also cut your tortillas into larger chips if that’s what you like!
Spray and season the chips before putting them into the air fryer. No need to spray the inside of your air fryer—just lightly spray and season your sliced tortillas on a cutting board. You can spray and season on both sides, but I just did all of mine on one side and they turned out delicious!
Cook your chips in batches, putting only a single layer of chips into the air fryer at a time. This is the most important tip—don’t overcrowd or overlap them! You want there to be enough space so your chips will cook evenly and get as crispy as possible.
Can You Reheat Tortilla Chips in the Air Fryer?
Yes, absolutely! This goes for reheating your own homemade chips before serving, as well as restaurant chips. If you notice that they start to lose their crunch, simply lightly spray with oil and reheat your tortilla chips in the air fryer for 2-3 minutes at 350°F (180°C).
To see how this recipe is made—along with the rest of this bento lunch box—check out my Bento Box Breakfast & Lunch video!
Air Fryer Tortilla Chips
Ingredients
- 6 small yellow corn tortillas, I used street taco size
- cooking spray or oil of choice, (I use avocado oil spray)
- seasonings of choice, to taste, (salt, pepper, paprika, lemon pepper, etc.)
- Alternate Seasoning Option: cinnamon + sugar mixture!
Instructions
- Stack and slice tortillas into 4-6 wedges per tortilla—depending on size of tortillas and whatever size chips you’d like to eat.
- Lightly spray and season both sides of each chip as desired. Don’t overdo it with the oil! (Personally, I only sprayed & seasoned my chips on one side, and they turned out great!)
- Preheat air fryer to 350°F (180°C) as needed.
- Transfer chips to air fryer basket in a single layer—don’t overcrowd them, just cook them in multiple batches! Cook for 6-8 minutes.
- 6 minutes yields a lighter colored chip, 8 minutes yields a darker but much crispier chip.
- Allow to cool completely before eating. (They get crunchier as they cool!)
- Store in an airtight container or zip-top bag on the counter for 5-7 days.
- Yields 24-36 chips.
Notes
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Add chips to a wire baking rack on a baking sheet lined with foil. (If you don’t have a wire baking rack, place directly on baking sheet and consider flipping chips halfway through bake time.)
- Spray with oil and season to taste.
- Bake 6-8 minutes, until crispy.
2 Comments on “Easy 20-Minute Air Fryer Tortilla Chips”
Super easy and tastes just like the store bought
Yes!! Truly I think when these air fryer tortilla chips are fresh and warm, they taste like a batch of restaurant chips 🙂 thanks for giving them a try!