Air Fryer Tortilla Chips
Air Fryer Tortilla Chips
Air fryer tortilla chips are corn tortillas cut into wedges, coated in a thin layer of oil, salted, and air-fried until golden and crisp. Three ingredients, no deep-frying, and a fraction of the oil a bag of store-bought chips is cooked in.
The method comes down to a handful of details. Oil goes on thin — a light brush or spray crisps the chips, while a heavy coat leaves them greasy and soft. The wedges go into the basket in a single layer with no overlap, cooked in batches so nothing steams. A shake or flip halfway through browns both sides evenly, and the chips keep crisping for a few minutes after they come out, so a limp-looking batch straight from the basket is nothing to worry about.
Fried tortilla chips — totopos — are a Mexican staple, traditionally made by frying fresh or day-old tortillas in oil. The air fryer version is a modern, lower-oil take on the same idea. Corn is the traditional base and the better choice here: it crisps harder and has more flavor than flour, which is a workable substitute but a real departure from the original.
Serve them with guacamole, salsa, salsa verde, or a black bean dip, or set them out alongside tacos. A lime-and-salt finish is a genuine Tex-Mex pairing rather than an invented one, so it’s worth trying if you want something beyond plain and salted.
Ingredients
Serves 4
- 8 yellow corn tortillas (12-15 cm)
- 1½ tbsp olive oil (or avocado oil)
- ½ tsp fine sea salt, plus more to taste
- 1 tbsp lime juice (about ½ lime), for finishing (optional)
- ½ tsp chipotle powder, for the spice blend (optional)
- ½ tsp garlic powder, for the spice blend (optional)
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika, for the spice blend (optional)
Directions
Brush or lightly spray both sides of each whole tortilla with the oil before cutting anything — it’s easier to coat them evenly while they’re still whole. For a spiced batch, stir the chipotle powder, garlic powder, and smoked paprika into the oil first, then brush that seasoned oil over the tortillas instead of plain oil.
Stack the tortillas and cut straight through the whole stack at once into six wedges, or quarters if you want larger chips. Cutting them together keeps the pieces uniform and saves time over cutting one at a time.
Preheat the air fryer to 350°F (175°C) if your model calls for it. Arrange the wedges in a single layer in the basket with no overlap, working in batches — a crowded basket steams the chips rather than crisping them.
Air fry at 350°F (175°C) for 5 to 7 minutes, shaking the basket or flipping the chips once halfway through, until golden and crisp. Yellow corn tortillas take about 6 minutes; white corn runs closer to 7-8 minutes; flour tortillas crisp fastest, in about 5 minutes, and need watching so they don’t scorch.
Tip the finished chips onto a wire rack and sprinkle with salt while they’re still warm, then let them cool completely — they keep crisping as they cool, so don’t judge them straight out of the basket. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
For a lime finish, drizzle the cooled chips with the lime juice, sprinkle with a little more salt, and return them to the air fryer at 300°F (150°C) for 2 to 3 minutes to re-crisp before serving.
Notes
Thin oil is the whole point of this recipe — a light coat crisps, a heavy coat turns the chips greasy and soft.
Salt is genuinely to taste. Start with ½ tsp for 8 tortillas and adjust from there; some batches want more, some less.
Keeps in an airtight container at room temperature for 5 days to a week. Re-crisp in the air fryer at 300°F (150°C) for 1-2 minutes if the chips soften.
No air fryer? Bake at 350°F (175°C) for about 7-8 minutes per side; the chips come out a bit chewier than the air-fried version.
See Also
Corn Tortillas
Pico de Gallo
