Homemade Tortilla Chips Recipe

By
J. Kenji López-Alt
Kenji Lopez Alt
J. Kenji López-Alt
Culinary Consultant
Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.
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Updated Jan. 29, 2019
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J. Kenji López-Alt

Sure, you can make good nachos by opening up a bag of chips, dumping them in a pan, dousing them with melted cheese, and tossing them in the oven. But if you want perfect nachos, there are a few extra steps you can take to bring them from good-enough-to-get-the-job-done to gets-the-job-done-with-flying-colors-and-maybe-even-does-some-extra-work-on-the-weekend-to-impress-the-boss-(and-the-boss-is-you).

Most national brands of store-bought chips are too thin, turning soggy soon after topping. To solve this problem, we start by frying our own chips from fresh corn tortillas.

Recipe Facts

4.6

(5)

Active: 6 mins
Total: 10 mins
Serves: 7 to 10 servings
Makes: 100 chips

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Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 quarts (1.4L) peanut, vegetable, or canola oil

  • 16 fresh corn tortillas, stacked in groups of 8 and cut into 6 wedges each

  • Kosher salt

Directions

  1. Heat oil in a large wok or Dutch oven to 350°F (177°C). Add 1/3 of tortilla chips and cook, agitating and flipping them constantly with a wire mesh spider, until bubbles slow to a trickle and chips are pale golden brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel–lined bowl, season with salt, and toss. Allow to drain for 30 seconds, then transfer to a second bowl. Repeat with remaining chips in 2 more batches.

Special equipment

Wire mesh spider, digital thermometer

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
234 Calories
16g Fat
21g Carbs
3g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 7 to 10
Amount per serving
Calories 234
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 16g 20%
Saturated Fat 1g 6%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 273mg 12%
Total Carbohydrate 21g 8%
Dietary Fiber 3g 11%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 3g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 39mg 3%
Iron 1mg 3%
Potassium 89mg 2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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