Make your own homemade corn tortilla chips in minutes. These taste just like the chips you would get at your favorite Mexican restaurant and way better than any store bought ones. Perfect for snacks, taco night, or game day!

Dipping a homemade corn tortilla chip in a red dipping sauce. — Dipping corn tortilla chip in sauce.

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Can we take a moment to acknowledge a universal truth?

The universal truth: that the fresh corn tortilla chips are the best part of going out for Mexican food.

I will be accepting no other opinions on this matter.

Because I know I am not the only one that can house several of the baskets of freshly mad corn tortilla chips with fresh homemade salsa.

So good.

Well, my friends, you don’t need to head out to a Mexican restaurant and live in fear of the judgement you may receive when you ask for yet another refill of the bowl of chips.

(Just me? Ok, moving on.)

Because you can make fresh corn tortilla chips at home in your oven or your air fryer.

They are just as delicious as the baskets of chips from the restaurant but in the totally judgement free zone of your own home.

And they are perfect as a side for taco night, to dunk into your favorite dip, or put out as game day snack.

Ingredients and Kitchen Supplies

Ingredients for homemade corn tortilla chips: corn tortillas, coarse sea salt, and cooking spray.

Whether you plan to make air fryer corn tortilla chips or baked corn tortilla chips, you only need three ingredients:

Corn tortillas – You can use your preferred brand with this. They all tend to be on the smaller, about 6 inch size. Each shell yields about 4 to 6 wedges.
Salt – We use coarse salt to give them seasoning. You can skip salt altogether or add in additional spices, like chili powder, lime zest (not juice!), garlic, or others.
Non-stick spray – Spraying the tops and bottoms of the corn chips with oil helps to crisp up the outside of the chip. You could also use your own preferred oil if you have a spritzer.

These helpful gadgets and tools can help you make homemade corn tortilla chips:

Air Fryer – Obviously needed if you plan to make air fryer corn tortilla chips. The only major consideration is the size of your air fryer basket when making air fryer corn chips. Larger capacities means you can make bigger batches of chips.
Spatula
Oil Sprayer – This gadget turns your preferred oil into a fine mist to give you a similar effect to a non-stick spray.
Knife or Kitchen Sheers

How to Make Air Fryer Corn Tortilla Chips

1. Cut the corn tortillas into chips.

Corn tortilla shell cut into 4 roughly equal pieces. — Corn tortilla shell cut into four roughly equal pieces.

You can cut the corn tortillas using a sharp knife.

Put a stack of 3 to 5 tortillas on your cutting board, and use the knife to cut across the middle.

Do not drag the knife but press it straight down, rocking it back and forth to cut through the tortillas.

Repeat again, making a cut across the middle of the two halfs.

This creates 4 corn chips in each tortilla.

2. Prep the corn chips for the air fryer.

Uncooked corn tortilla chips spread on counter with cooking spray and coarse salt on top, ready for the air fryer.

To get the corn chips ready for the air fryer, spray each side of the cut corn tortilla chips with cooking spray or oil and sprinkle on some coarse salt on both sides..

If you are using any additional seasoning, season the chips now.

3. Air fry the corn tortilla chips.

Air fryer homemade corn tortilla chips in air fryer basket. — Corn tortilla chips in air fryer basket.

Set your air fryer to 375 and cook for 6 minutes.

Halfway through cooking or when your air fryer directs you to, give the basket a toss or shake.

When the air fryer turns off, the chips should be a golden brown, though some may have browned more than others.

Don’t over-fry them! They will quickly get over done or burn.

Let them cool and enjoy!

How to Make Baked Corn Tortilla Chips

1. Cut the corn tortillas into chips.

Follow the steps above to cut the corn tortillas into chips.

2. Prep the corn chips for the oven.

Uncooked corn tortilla chips spread on baking sheet with cooking spray and coarse salt on top.

To get the corn chips ready for the oven, spray each side with cooking spray or oil and sprinkle on some coarse salt on both sides.

You can use regular table salt, but coarse salt helps you to better judge how much you already added.

You can also add additional flavors now, such as chili powder.

3. Bake the corn tortilla chips.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place the prepared chips on th sheet, leaving a little room between each chip so they do not over-lap.

Set your oven to 400 and bake for 8 minutes.

After 8 minutes, use a spatula or tongs to flip each chip.

Spray them with nonstick spray again before putting them back into the oven for another 8 minutes.

Flipped homemade corn tortilla chips half way through, added more cooking spray and coarse salt.

The corn chips are ready when they turn a golden brown.

If they bake for too long, they will start to dry out, brown, and burn.

Golden brown corn tortilla chips coming out of the oven. — Corn chips should have a golden brown look with slight browning on edges.

Serving

Homemade corn tortilla chip with coarse salt and a dipping sauce. — Ready to eat homemade corn tortilla chip with a dipping sauce.

Homemade baked tortilla chips make for a low-calorie snack.

You can dip them in anything you would dip store bought chips, like:

You can also make them in a plate of nachos using pretty much all of the above as toppings. You also might want to add jalapenos, baked beans, or chicken or ground beef.

Storing

To store corn tortilla chips, you can place cooled chips into an air tight container.

They should stay fresh for about a week.

The longer they sit, the dryer and generally crispier they get.

Corn Tortilla Chips in the Air Fryer vs Baked Corn Tortilla Chips in the Oven

Hand holding a baked corn tortilla chip above tray of chips. — Homemade baked corn tortilla chip ready to eat.

Either method yields crunchy, perfectly salted corn tortilla chips without oil and the added hassle and calories of deep frying.

The main difference between air frying corn tortilla chips and baking corn tortilla chips in the oven is how many you can make at a time and how long it takes.

If you are making a single serving of corn tortilla chips, make them in the air fryer! They will be done in a fraction of the time as baked chips.

But!

If you are making chips for the family or for a party, make them in the oven!

You can do so many more at once even though the cook time is longer.

Why aren’t my tortilla chips crispy?

Homemade corn tortilla chips baked in the oven ready to serve. — Ready to serve baked corn tortilla chips.

Hey you!

I see you eating them as soon as they came out of the oven and they’re nice and warm.

Chances are if your corn tortilla chips aren’t nice and crispy, it’s because you didn’t let them cool.

The chips will be slightly chewy when they first come out of the oven but will crisp up nicely as they cool.

Are Corn Tortilla Chips Healthy?

We wouldn’t classify corn tortilla chips as a healthy, but when you bake corn tortilla chips or use an air fryer you will cut out of a lot calories.

Most store bought corn chips are deep-fried, which adds a lot of calories in the process.

Also, when you make your own corn tortilla chips, you will cut out a lot of additives and preservatives.

You can also better control how much – if any – salt you use.

Can I use flour tortillas instead of corn tortillas to make chips?

Yes, but not in this recipe.

Flour tortillas have a different cooking time than corn tortillas and are generally less delicate.

If you want to make flour tortillas in the oven or the air fryer, check out this homemade tortilla chip recipe for all the details including how to cut the flour tortillas with kitchen shears.

Tips and Tricks When Making Homemade Corn Tortilla Chips

Plate of homemade corn tortilla chips with a dipping sauce and lime wedges. — Ready to serve baked corn tortilla chips.

These instructions are for homamde baked corn tortilla chips or air fried corn tortilla chips. If you have flour tortillas, please follow our homemade tortilla chips post here.
Homemade corn tortilla chips will go through stages as they “age.” When you first bake or air fry them, you will notice they are a bit chewy. As they cool and continue to dry, they become crispier. Avoid over-baking or frying to prevent them from become super hard and unappetizing.
If you plan to make a lot of corn tortilla chips, then plan to have several batches when using your air fryer. You do not want to over-lap or over-crowd the basket. Give them all enough space to fully get cooked.
Bake or air fry until the chips reach a golden brown color. Since there are slight differences in how air fryers and ovens cook, you may want to check your chips a bit before the set time to make sure they do not over-cook.
If the air fryer finishes and your chips are not quite golden brown, give it another minute. Only add a small amount of time each time to avoid over-cooking.

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