How To Make Crispy Air Fryer Tortilla Chips At Home

Only a handful of chips are as essential to snacking as tortilla chips!

And while store-bought corn tortilla chips are delicious, they can’t compete with the crispiness and warmness of a fresh batch of homemade air fryer tortilla chips.

They’re easy to make and only require a small amount of avocado oil and water.

overhead view of air fryer tortilla chips on a plate

Olga’s Notes

These are easy to make at home when you have guac or want to make nachos.
These air fryer tortilla chips are so incredibly crispy.

Equipment Needed For This Recipe

Air Fryer
Tongs
Wooden Cutting Board
Paring Knife

Ingredients and Substitutions For The Easiest Recipe

You’ll need these ingredients to make these super crispy corn tortilla chips.

Corn Tortillas – but you can make tortilla chips with flour tortillas.
Avocado Oil
Filtered Water
Maldon Salt – pyramid salt flakes give the tortilla chips beautiful saltiness.

Instructions For The Easiest Air Fryer Tortilla Chips

Step One

If you have a frozen pack of corn tortillas, thaw them before air frying.

Step Two

Mix water with avocado oil in a bowl and coat each tortilla on both sides with a pastry brush.

Step Three

Cut four tortillas at a time into four pieces to make restaurant-size tortilla chips. You can cut them into smaller pieces to yield more chips from one corn tortilla.

Step Four

Place the tortilla chips in the air fryer basket and try to place them there in a single layer or two. Set the air fryer at 390 degrees for 4 minutes, shake the basket halfway through, and flip the chips.

Step Five

Once golden brown, remove them from the air fryer. Sprinkle them with Maldon salt for that beautiful crystallized salt.

Side view of corn tortillas with a pastry brush on it.

side view of cut corn tortillas for corn tortilla chips

Top Tips For Crispy Air Fryer Tortilla Chips

Freeze tortillas before they expire to save them for when you’re ready to make homemade tortilla chips.
Use a high smoke point oil like avocado oil when air frying tortilla chips.
The trick is to avoid overcrowding and flip the chips several times to prevent them from burning.

What To Serve Corn Tortilla Chips?

You can serve chips with your favorite cheese sauce or even aioli. Here are some of my faves, aji picante, ancho aioli, cherry pepper aioli, and chimichurri aioli.

You can turn these crispy chips into birria nachos with this delicious birria and consomé recipe.

How To Store Freshly Made Chips?

Place them on a plate to serve, but if you’re saving them for later in the day, store them in a ziploc bag or reusable food storage bag.

Try These Other Air Fryer Recipes

This air fryer yuca fries recipe is super easy and super delicious. I also love the air fryer chicken boneless thighs recipe for a quick weekday meal prep.

If you’re looking for snacks and side dishes, these plantain recipes are also easy and delicious. Try this air fryer plantain chips recipe and arañitas de platano recipe.

FAQs

How to crisp up tortilla chips in the air fryer?

Make sure the tortilla chips are coated in oil and a pinch of water.