Homemade crispy tortilla strips are really easy to make and taste so much better than store-bought. You can use them as topping for soups or salads or just eat them as a snack (but be careful, it’s really hard to stop snacking on them!).
The recipe includes instructions for fried and baked tortilla strips.
Ingredients
You need only 3 ingredients for this recipe:
- Tortillas – flour or corn, any size.
- Frying oil – it must be a high smoke point oil that is suitable for frying in high temperatures such as canola oil, lard, or refined coconut oil. If you’d like to make baked tortillas, you can use any vegetable oil or melted butter.
- Salt – to season your tortilla strips after frying.
- If you want your tortilla strips seasoned, you can sprinkle them with your favorite seasoning, for example, Cajun seasoning or Fajita seasoning.
You could also use a grill or candy thermometer to measure the temperature of the oil although this recipe is easy enough to fry tortillas without it.
Frying vs Baking
You can deep-fry or bake your tortilla strips. Here are the differences between both preparation methods:
- Flavor: Fried tortilla strips taste much better than baked strips, but baked strips are also pretty tasty. Fried tortilla chips are also more crunchy.
- Time: they take roughly the same time to prepare. Baking may be less hands-on but if you consider the time it takes for the oven to heat and that you need to bake the strips in batches anyway, it’s pretty similar.
- Oil absorption: this came as a surprise for me, but actually the amount of fat needed for baking tortilla strips is the same amount of fat that is absorbed through tortilla strips while frying! Sure, you can use less fat for baking (1-2 tablespoons instead of 4) but they just don’t taste very good when using a small amount of fat. When frying tortillas you will need 1-2 cups of oil – depending on the size of the pot (you will need at least 3/4-inch or 2 cm of fat in the pot/pan). I used 2 cups of oil for frying 3 large tortillas and had left 1 3/4 cups of oil after frying, so that means the tortillas absorbed 1/4 cup of oil which is the same amount I used for baking. If you want to make sure that your tortillas won’t absorb too much oil while frying, you need to check the temperature of the oil with a termomether, making sure the oil is not too cold.
- Disposing the leftover oil (or the need to use more oil) is the only disadvantage for frying tortilla chips.
How to cut tortillas into strips
Cut large tortillas into 3 parts and small/medium in half then cut them into 1/2-inch (1.5 cm) strips.
You can use a pizza cutter for that but I think the easiest is a just large sharp knife.
How to fry tortilla strips
STEP 1: Add the oil into a medium/large pot (preferably a medium shallow pot or a skillet with high sides). You should have at least 3/4-1inch (2-2.5 cm) of oil in your pan. Heat the oil until very hot (a drop of water sizzles in contact with oil) or until it reaches about 350°F (180°C).
STEP 2: Fry the strips in batches making sure to not add too much to the pot (the temperature of the oil will decrease too much and the strips will soak up oil). Fry the strips until golden, turn them over using a fork, fry just briefly for a couple of seconds until light golden in color (take the strips out of the oil when they are just lightly golden, they will darken a bit after they have been removed from the oil).
STEP 3: Remove the strips from the oil with a slotted spoon or a spider strainer and transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels.
STEP 4: Season immediately with salt (or any other seasoning, if using).
Leave to cool then enjoy!
Top tips
- Fry the strips in batches – don’t add too many at once or the oil will get too cold and the tortilla will absorb too much oil.
- The oil can not be too hot or too cold – if it’s too hot, your tortilla strips will burn, and if it’s too cold, they will absorb too much oil. The temperature of the oil should be about 350°F (180°C).
- Season fried tortilla strips immediately with salt – salt won’t stick to the strips if they’re cold.
- If you want to season your tortilla strips with a seasoning, add it to the oil for baked strips or sprinkle it on hot fried strips.
How to bake tortilla strips
STEP 1: Combine the oil or melted butter with 3/4 teaspoon of fine sea salt (add any seasonings if using) in a large bowl then toss with tortilla strips until evenly coated.
STEP 2: Place the strips apart on a baking tray (you can line it with parchment paper).
STEP 3: Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 6-7 minutes or until golden. Keep an eye on them at the end of the baking time, they can burn really quickly. Baking time will depend on the thickness of tortillas which is different depending on the brand.
STEP 4: Season again lightly with salt and enjoy!
Storage
Fried and baked tortilla chips keep very well! Cool them completely then store them in a closed container or in a paper bag for up to a week. They taste exactly the same the next day.
How to use tortilla strips
Here are some recipes that would be perfect topped with tortilla strips:
- they make a great topping for soups, salads, and tacos
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Turkey Tortilla Soup
- Chicken Fajita Soup
- Kidney Bean Soup
- Pumpkin Turkey Chili
- Southwest Chicken Salad
- Taco Bowls
- Just eat them as a snack!
Did you make this recipe? RATE THE RECIPE or tell me in the COMMENTS how you liked it! You can also add a photo of your dish. It would make me very happy and will help other readers. Thank you!!
Tortilla Strips Recipe (fried or baked)
Ingredients
for fried tortilla strips:
- 3 large tortillas flour or corn
- 1 1/2-2 cups frying oil
- salt to taste
for baked tortilla strips:
- 3 large tortillas
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil or butter
- salt to taste
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Instructions
Cut tortillas into strips:
- Cut large tortillas into 3 parts and small/medium in half then cut them into 1/2-inch (1.5 cm) strips.
Fried tortilla strips:
- Add the oil into a medium/large pot (preferably a medium shallow pot or a skillet with high sides). You should have at least 3/4-1inch (2-2.5 cm) of oil in your pan. Heat the oil until very hot (a drop of water sizzles in contact with oil) or until it reaches about 350°F (175°C).
- Fry the strips in batches making sure to not add too much to the pot (the temperature of the oil will decrease too much and the strips will soak up oil). Fry the strips until golden, turn them over using a fork, fry just briefly for a couple of seconds until light golden in color (take the strips out of the oil when they are just lightly golden, they will darken a bit after they have been removed from the oil).
- Remove the strips from the oil with a slotted spoon or a spider strainer and transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels.
- Season immediately with salt.
- Leave to cool then enjoy!
Baked tortilla strips:
- Combine the oil or melted butter with 3/4 teaspoon of fine sea salt in a large bowl then toss with tortilla strips until evenly coated.
- Place the strips apart on a baking tray (you can line it with parchment paper).
- Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 6-7 minutes or until golden. Keep an eye on them at the end of the baking time, they can burn really quickly. Baking time will depend on the thickness of tortillas which is different depending on the brand.
- Season again lightly with salt and enjoy!
Notes
- Frying oil – it must be a high smoke point oil that is suitable for frying in high temperatures such as canola oil, lard, or refined coconut oil. If you’d like to make baked tortillas, you can use any vegetable oil or melted butter.
- If you want to season your tortilla chips (I like my Fajita seasoning), you need to:
- sprinkle fried tortilla chips right after they have been fried
- for baked tortilla chips – combine the seasoning with oil and salt.
- You can store tortilla chips for up to a week in a closed container or a paper bag.
- Calories = 1 serving (1/4 of the recipe, the whole recipe being strips from 3 large tortillas). This is only an estimate!
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