What do you do with all those leftover tortillas you have from your taco Tuesday feast? Instead of tossing them into the trash, turn them into crispy, crunchy tortilla strips?

Tortilla strips are the best way to use up those tortillas (corn or flour) that you spend so much time lovingly preparing with your tortilla press. You just need tortillas and oil. It’s that easy!

You can use tortilla chip strips for dipping in your favorite sauces, or you can add corn tortilla strips to soup or salads for a crunchy finish. Keep reading, and find out the best way to prepare homemade tortilla strips. Learn how to make baked tortilla strips and how to fry tortilla strips too!  

Tortilla Strips: Homemade Tortilla Chips

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Servings

8

Prep Time

5 minutes

Cook Time

15 minutes

Ingredients

Ingredients for baking tortilla strips

• 4 tortillas

• 4 tsp of cooking oil

Ingredients for frying tortilla strips

• 4 tortillas

• 4 cups of frying oil

Directions

Instructions for baking tortilla strips

1. Lightly grease a baking tray and preheat your oven to 350°F.

2. While your oven is preheating, slice your tortillas into long, thin strips.*

3. Once you have your tortilla strips, place them onto your lightly greased baking tray.**

4. Lightly coat your tortillas strips in cooking oil, then place the baking trays into the oven once it’s preheated. Your tortilla strips will take at least 10 min to cook but leave them for a few minutes longer if you prefer crispy tortilla strips.

5. Flip the tortilla strips at the 5 min mark to ensure both sides crisp up nicely.

6. Once cooked, allow to cool, then store away for later or use immediately!

Instructions for frying tortilla strips

1. Start by stacking your tortillas into a pile and using a sharp knife to slice them into long, thin strips.

2. Place a large skillet or wok onto the stovetop, then pour in 2 cups of frying oil (or enough to cover your tortilla strips). Heat the oil until it’s just starting to bubble.

3. Place your tortilla strips into the oil in small batches, so they have room to fry. Cook your tortilla strips in the oil for 5 min (or until golden brown,) turning regularly.

4. Once your crispy tortilla strips are golden brown, remove them from the pan and allow them to cool on paper towels.

5. Keep making tortilla strips until you run out of tortillas, then serve up fresh or store for later!

Recipe Note

*Slice the tortilla strips in bulk by stacking your tortillas and cutting through all of them at once.

** Try to keep only one layer, so use multiple baking trays if you have too many tortilla strips.

How to make tortilla strips: FAQ and recipe tips

What can I use my tortilla strips for?

Tortilla strips have an astounding number of uses, and there are plenty of dishes that are well suited to tortilla strips. Mexican-style tortilla soup is the most obvious dish, but you can also top off other soups with these bite-sized pieces.

As well as baking tortilla strips for soup, you can bake tortilla strips for salads too. Instead of croutons, add tortilla strips to your caesar salad, for instance.

Turn your strips into a nacho-stye dish with melted cheese and salsa, or use them to dip into sour cream, spicy sauce, or any other dips you have. 

Can I season my tortilla strips?

When you’re preparing tortilla strips, season your tortilla strips for an added burst of taste and flavor. We haven’t added any season in the recipe above, but it’s easy to add your seasoning of choice!

The simplest seasoning is salt, which you can simply sprinkle over the tortilla strips after cooking them. If you’re baking tortillas, then you can bake them with a light layer of seasoning, such as paprika or chili powder. Try garlic powder, cumin, or even curry powder (don’t be afraid to get creative!)

What tortillas do I need to use?

This recipe is great for using leftover tortillas, and it doesn’t really matter what type of tortilla you have left to use.

Use the same methods above to bake and fry flour or corn tortillas. You can also use large (burrito-sized) tortillas or smaller (taco-sized) tortillas. 

Use store-bought tortillas, or you can use your fresh, homemade tortillas straight off the tortilla press. We prefer using homemade tortillas, but that’s up to you!

What oil do I need to use?

If you want crispy tortilla strips, then you need to use oil, but you can choose the oil you prefer for this recipe. We recommend using a natural ‘healthier’ oil, such as olive oil or avocado oil, for baking. Using these types of oils cuts down on saturated fats.

For frying, you need to use a lot more oil than baking. For this reason, we recommend using vegetable oil or canola oil, which are more cost-effective. Peanut oil is a great and tasty option for frying. However, peanut oil is also slightly more expensive than other types.  

How to make crispy tortilla strips?

If you follow the method in our recipe, you will have golden brown tortilla strips with wonderfully crisp edges. Of course, we all like our tortilla chips slightly differently, so you might be wondering how to make them extra crispy fried tortilla strips.

If you’re baking, simply leave the tortilla strips in the oven for a few extra minutes and give them an additional coating of oil. If you’re frying, then you can fry them for longer. You could also dip your tortilla strips in cornstarch, which will give them a super crispy outer layer once cooked. 

How to store tortilla strips? 

Once cooked, leave your tortilla strips to cool if you aren’t serving straight away. Once cooled, place them into a resealable container to keep them airtight. 

You can leave them at room temperature for up to one week, giving you plenty of time to snack on homemade tortilla strip chips!

Now you know how to make tortilla strips!

That’s it for our simple, quick tortilla strips recipe. You can bake your tortilla strips for a healthy snack or fry them for a crispier finish.

Tortilla strips are great for topping off soups or salads or perfect for dipping into sour cream and spicy salsa. Why not save our tortilla strips recipe for your next batch of leftover tortillas?