Crispy, restaurant style tortilla chips in just 5 minutes! These air fryer tortilla chips can be totally customized into any flavor you’d like- 2 flavor options included!
Why This Recipe Works
99.9% of the time we have either taco or taco salad night in my house. It’s a super easy and fast dinner that never fails. And each night I like to make a fresh batch of these air fryer tortilla chips to have with it. YEP! Homemade tortilla chips on a weeknight!
It takes all of 5 minutes and virtually no prep to make tortilla chips in the air fryer so why the heck not make a fresh batch?! My husband ALWAYS compliments me when I serve up a side of these and some 2 minute avocado lime crema which, I don’t hate!
You can make traditional plain tortilla chips with a touch of salt or go “fancy” and make hint of lime air fryer tortilla chips, salt and vinegar or even cinnamon sugar. I’ll give you recipe instructions for all options below!
What You’ll Need For This Recipe
- Tortillas. You can use whatever tortillas you want or have on hand, but I preferred using corn tortillas. The flour tortillas just gave me too thick of a chips, more of a pita chip. Gluten free and low carb tortillas might give you a slightly different result, since obviously they’re made of different ingredients. Like I said, I liked corn the best, it was the crispiest!
Side note: I’ve found that the quality of the tortilla really matters. If you’re using corn tortillas that break easily when making a taco they likely won’t give you the best tortilla chips.
How To Make This Recipe
How To Make Plain Tortilla Chips In An Air Fryer
Preheat your air fryer to 375. My 6 qt Instant Pot Vortex air fryer has a preheat function but if yours doesn’t you can just set it to the temp you want and then let it run for ~5 minutes to get it up to the right temp.
Cut your tortillas into small triangles. I used taco sized tortillas and cut them into 6 sections.
Lightly spray the basket of your tortillas with non-stick spray and spinkle with salt. You want to spray VS drizzle oil on. Why? You want it evenly distributed and if there is too much the air fryer won’t really work well and your chips will be kinda soggy. No bueno.
Air fry at 375 degrees for a total of 5 minutes, stopping 1/2 way to shake the basket.
Note: The total time will depend on the specific tortilla you’re using. If they are thicker you may need to add 1-2 minutes.
Enjoy the crispy, crunchy goodness!
How To Make Flavored Tortilla Chips In Air Fryers
You’re going to follow all of the same directions as above, however after you spray your tortillas with non-stick spray you can add one of the following flavor options before cooking. You’ll want to do this on both sides for maximum flavor!
Hint Of Lime Tortilla Chips
Squeeze the juice of 1 lime into a small bowl. Using either a brush or your fingers spread the lime juice over your tortillas. Follow with a pinch of salt.
Salt & Vinegar Tortilla Chips
Place 1 tbsp of vinegar into a small bowl. Using either a brush or your fingers spread the lime juice over your tortillas. Follow with a pinch of salt.
Cinnamon Sugar
Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a small bowl (microwave for ~30 seconds). Using either a brush or your fingers spread the melted butter over your tortillas.
Next, in a small bowl combine 1 tbsp of sugar with 1 tsp of cinnamon. Sprinkle this over your tortilla chips on both sides.
Recipe FAQs
The secret to super crispy crunchy tortilla chips is to NOT use a ton of oil. You want to get just a light coating on there. If you use too much your tortilla chips will be soggy and not crispy.
It takes just 5 minutes at 375 degrees to make air fryer tortilla chips. Be sure to shake the basket once halfway through to make sure your homemade tortilla chips cook evenly.
A couple things could have happened: either you put too much oil/liquid on or your tortillas are on the thicker side and just need a few more minutes.
After you make tortilla chips in an air fryer you can store them in a container or a plastic ziplock bag for 5-7 days. They’re great to have on hand for snacking!
Totally! I find that the air fryer does do the best job at making them super light and crispy, because the air circulates. If you don’t have an air fryer though, don’t worry. You can simply bake the prepared chips in the oven at 370 degrees for ~10 minutes, flipping once halfway through. Ideally, if you’re baking them, use the convection setting on your oven if you have one. This will help to circulate the air and make them light and crispy.
Expert Tips
- I like to use smaller tortillas to make air fryer tortilla chips. I find that they fit better into the air fryer and the larger ones are just too large of a chip. However if that’s all you have go for it, the recipe will still work.
- You may need to make two batches in order to have enough tortilla chips if you have more than 2-3 people. It’s important not to overcrowd the air fryer. This will prevent the air from circulating, which is essentially how the air fryer works and gets everything crispy.
- You can totally make these into air fryer nachos! Once you’ve made your tortilla chips in the air fryer remove them, place a sheet of aluminum foil in the air fryer basket then add your chips back in and load them up! Cook for an additional 1-2 minutes with toppings to get them nice, hot and melty!
- I like to serve these, like I said, with a side of 2 minute avocado lime crema but you could also do a side of butternut squash cheese sauce which honestly tastes just like queso but it’s dairy free and can be made vegan!
Other Recipes You Might Like:
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Don’t forget to pin it on your Pinterest board for later, or tag me on IG @no.food.rules if you try the recipe and love it!
XOXO
-Colleen
Air Fryer Tortilla Chips
Ingredients
- 2-3 corn tortillas can use whatever type of tortilla you have, though!
- non-stick spray
- dash of salt
Instructions
- Cut your tortillas into small triangles. I used taco sized tortillas and cut them into 6 sections.
- Lightly spray the basket of your tortillas with non-stick spray and sprinle with salt. You want to spray VS drizzle oil on. Why? You want it evenly distributed and if there is too much the air fryer won’t really work well and your chips will be kinda soggy. No bueno.
- Air fryer at 375 degrees for 5 minutes, stopping once halfway to shake the basket and add more salt if desired.
- Allow to cool slightly before enjoying!
Notes
- I like to use corn tortillas for my air fryer tortilla chips, however you can use whatever you have on hand. Flour tortillas will result in a thicker chip. Gluten free or low-carb tortillas may be drier and need adjusted cooking time, keep an eye on them.
- Hint Of Lime Tortilla Chips: Squeeze the juice of 1 lime into a small bowl. Using either a brush or your fingers spread the lime juice over your tortillas. Follow with a pinch of salt.
- Salt & Vinegar Tortilla Chips: Place 1 tbsp of vinegar into a small bowl. Using either a brush or your fingers spread the lime juice over your tortillas. Follow with a pinch of salt.
- Cinnamon Sugar: Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a small bowl (microwave for ~30 seconds). Using either a brush or your fingers spread the melted butter over your tortillas. Next, in a small bowl combine 1 tbsp of sugar with 1 tsp of cinnamon. Sprinkle this over your tortilla chips on both sides.
malina says
I used cinnamon suger and would highly recommend!!!
Megan says
Who knew you could make tortilla chips with corn tortillas?! They tasted like the chips you get at a restaurant! Cooked them in the oven and they turned out great.
Leon says
Surprise! Cooking spray is made from… oil. Do not trust a site that claims a recipe does not use oil when cooking spray is obviously used. What a joke.