How to Make Homemade Tortilla Strips

5 from 7 votes
13 Comments

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Homemade Tortilla Strips are fast and easy to make and are a perfect crispy topper to salads, burritos and more. Only THREE ingredients!

Bowl of Tortilla Strips next to a salad topped with Tortilla Strips.
Featured With This Recipe
  1. Crispy Strips in Three Ingredients
  2. Flavored Tortilla Strips
  3. Tips for Making Perfect Corn Strips
  4. Baked Tortilla Strips
  5. Frequently Asked Questions
  6. What to Serve with Crispy Strips
  7. How to Make Homemade Tortilla Strips
  8. Homemade Tortilla Strips Recipe

These Homemade Tortilla Strips are so easy to make and so much cheaper than the ones you can buy at the store. With only three ingredients, you can make several batches at a time and store them for when you want to top your salad with an extra crunch, or toss them in wraps, on soups, or just to snack on when the munchies strike. And because they’re homemade, they taste much fresher than the ones you can get at the store. I promise, it’s worth making your own.

Crispy Strips in Three Ingredients

These crispy tortilla strips come together with just three simple ingredients. Here’s all you need:

  • Corn tortillas (I usually use yellow, but you can use white corn tortillas too)
  • Oil for frying (I like a good vegetable oil or corn oil)
  • Kosher salt (I prefer the larger, coarser salt crystals to regular table salt when making this recipe. You can use sea salt too)
Ingredients to make Tortilla Strips including yellow corn tortillas, oil and salt.


Flavored Tortilla Strips

Want to add a little more flavor variation? Add some extra seasonings to get the flavor profile you are looking for! I love using the flavored chips in tortilla soup or Southwest-style salads. In addition to the salt, you can add any of these spices and ingredient. Just add a sprinkle of each ingredient to taste. The chips are already quite flavorful so you really just need to add a dusting.

  • Cheesy Doritos Style – Parmesan cheese + paprika + chili powder
  • Cool Ranch Dorito Style – Hidden Valley ranch dressing powder + paprika
  • Garlic and Lime – Garlic powder + Lime (we like to use a TrueLime lime juice powder)
  • Fajita seasoning or taco seasoning
  • Onion powder
  • Tomato powder
Salad bowl topped with fresh Tortilla Strips.

Tips for Making Perfect Corn Strips

  • Using a pizza cutter, slice the corn tortillas into strips, usually about a quarter of an inch wide.
  • I found if you stack two or three tortillas together, you can still cut them evenly and it cuts down on the process quite a bit.
  • Make sure your vegetable oil is really hot before adding tortillas.
  • Working in batches, fry the strips in the hot oil. Make sure to not overcrowd the pan.
  • Once they’re crisp and golden, let the strips dry on a paper towel.
  • Sprinkle each warm batch with kosher salt and let them cool.
  • Store in an airtight container or bag for about a week. Any longer than that and they can taste stale.
  • You can also freeze the tortilla strips; they’ll stay nice and fresh in the freezer for up to a month. Pull out a handful when you’re making a salad or a bowl of soup.
  • Try cutting the tortillas into fourths (triangles) to make tortilla chips.
  • You can also use flour tortillas instead of corn, the consistency just won’t be quite the same.
Cutting board with a pizza cutter and sliced corn tortillas for Tortilla Strips.

Baked Tortilla Strips

Love tortilla strips but want to skip the frying? You can easily bake these tortilla strips in the oven. Brush each tortilla with cooking oil and then cut tortillas as directed in the recipe. Place the strips in a single layer on a baking sheet limed with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Bake at 400-degrees F for 9-10 minutes or until golden brown. Keep an eye on the chips so they don’t over bake (some ovens may run hot). Spray cooked strips with a little cooking oil and toss with salt.

Dish of salted Tortilla Strips.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are tortilla strips gluten free?

Yes! As long as you make these tortilla strips with corn tortillas, they are GF.

Are tortilla strips healthy?

Lightly salted or even baked tortilla strips can be considered healthier than other varieties. Also, homemade tortilla strips are also considered to be healthier than store-bought because there are less preservatives.

Are tortilla strips keto?

If you are using regular corn tortillas, they are not considered keto. However, if you use the Mission brand carb balance tortillas in place of the corn tortillas they will be keto.

Read Next: All the Cafe Rio Recipes

What to Serve with Crispy Strips

These homemade tortilla strips are perfect for any salad, wrap, soup, or more. Try them on some of our favorite recipes:

How to Make Homemade Tortilla Strips

Bowl of Tortilla Strips next to a salad and bowl of chili garnished with Tortilla Strips.

Homemade Tortilla Strips

5 from 7 votes
Homemade Tortilla Strips are fast and easy to make and are a perfect crispy topper to salads, burritos and more. Only THREE ingredients!
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Mexican/Spanish
Servings 24

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Cut tortillas into strips using a pizza cutter. You can cut 2-3 at a time pretty easily.
    Cutting board with a pizza cutter and sliced corn tortillas for Tortilla Strips.
  • Heat oil in a deep dryer, large skillet or frying pan. When oil reaches 350-375 degrees F, place strips into hot oil and fry until they become crispy.
    Frying Tortilla Strips in a pan with oil.
  • Remove from oil with tongs or a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel. Sprinkle with salt after each batch.
    Salting fresh hot Tortilla Strips in a dish lined with a paper towel.

Notes

    • Store in an airtight container or bag for about a week. Any longer than that and they can taste stale.
    • You can also freeze the tortilla strips; they’ll stay nice and fresh in the freezer for up to a month. Pull out a handful when you’re making a salad or a bowl of soup.
    • Try cutting the tortillas into fourths (triangles) to make tortilla chips.
    • You can also use flour tortillas instead of corn, the consistency just won’t be quite the same.
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Nutrition Information

Calories: 111kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 1gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 6mgPotassium: 24mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gCalcium: 11mgIron: 1mg

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About the author

Erica Walker

Erica lives in Boise, Idaho with her husband, Jared, an attorney, and her three beautiful girls. Beyond the world of recipes, she loves adventuring with everything from kayaking, to cruising, to snowboarding and taking the family along for the thrill ride.

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I love making taco soup and these tortilla strips are the perfect topping! thanks for the tasty recipe!

  2. 5 stars
    The versatility of these strips is unmatched! I can use them on so many recipes and their crunchy texture will always taste just right!

  3. 5 stars
    Great recipe! I made this last night with left-over shredded carnitas pork that I had made earlier in the slow cooker. I had a lot of meat so I doubled the recipe. I also, dumped the pork into the soup about 30 minutes before serving. I broiled the tortilla stripes too; didn’t want to deal with hot frying oil. Everyone loved the fresh veggies that get added when serving. Definitely keeping this recipe in my stash of easy meals, especially for leftovers. If I ever make it to Utah I’ll keep an eye out for Cafe Rio.

  4. 5 stars
    I prefer to bake mine but watch them…

    Can I make them ahead? How do you keep them and for how long?

    Thank you, Anne

  5. Can someone give me the run down on how to successfully pan fry these? I usually have bad luck trying to pan fry anything.