There is something to be said about crispy, warm, restaurant-style tortilla chips. That delectable crunch & freshness that could never be paralleled or replicated by something (anything) that came out of a bag, really. The truth is; homemade chips are at a different level in the foodie stratosphere. I dig them. I crave them. I can’t have enough of them or just one. My brain associates them with the (rare) girls night out at a lively Mexican restaurant uptown; also known as “happiness”.
The problem with the restaurant style tortilla chips you eat your guac with and dip your salsa in is that, for the most part, you can’t control the type or amount of oil they were fried in or the amount of salt that goes into them. Chances are they are fried in vegetable, corn or canola oil. The nachos I am about to introduce you to are baked, not fried and they have the same crunch factor! They are brushed with virgin coconut oil & sprinkled with your choice of sea salt or pink himalayan salt for a healthier twist. Who’s with me?
This post is going to walk you through how to make you own in a series of 4 easy steps: brush thin corn tortillas with deodorized coconut oil on both sides, stack them up, slice them 4 ways & place them in a single layer in a baking sheet and in only 7-8 mins at 350F- you’ll have your first batch! It’s really that easy. And they’re THAT good. Oh yes, THESE are not your average nachos.
Nutritionally, corn is naturally gluten-free, although there are some concerns over the fact that corn (a crop which is heavily genetically modified) may be highly inflammatory. If you share this concern, a quick tip is to look for organic, sprouted corn tortillas. They are all-natural and don’t have any GMO’s. Canola or corn oil are also considered “inflammatory” among most health circles and I always try to use either coconut oil, olive oil, or grass-fed butter.
For these nachos, I fully recommend deodorized coconut oil, if you rather not have a hint of coconut on your chips. Deodorized oil does NOT smell like coconut; the smell & taste are virtually vanished. You just reap the benefits of this wonderful, natural oil packed with healthy fats to nourish you & your body.
P.S. It’s past midnight on a week night here in Toronto & writing this post + seeing THESE pictures is making me seriously hungry. I have a simple weekday rule: no more food past 8:00 pm… but it’s soooooo hard. At least right now it is. Thank you tortilla chips. I will go to bed “Hangry”.
Baked, Crispy Homemade Corn Tortilla Chips
Ingredients
- 10-12 thin corn tortillas
- 2-3 tbsp of good quality coconut oil (deodorized variety, preferably)
- sea salt or pink himalayan salt to taste (I use 1/4-1/2 tsp, not a lot)
Utensils: sharp utility knife, cutting board, & a barbecue brush to brush on the oil
Instructions
- Turn your oven on to 350F
- Using the brush, brush coconut oil on both sides of each tortilla; ensuring to evenly coat all the surface. Enough to coat- but not to soak them. Go easy on them!
- Stack all the oil brushed tortillas and place them on a cutting board. Slice them in the sign of a cross or plus sign (first) & then in the form of an “X” (second).
- Use a non-stick cookie baking sheet to place the triangle shape cut-outs in a single layer (so they crisp up evenly and faster).
- Bake for 7-8 minutes (I put two trays in for this amount of time & they crisped up nicely). *If you cut less than 10-12 tortillas & only put in one tray, I would check them at the 5 minute mark.
Serving Ideas:
- fresh pico de gallo salsa
- Delicious guacamole
- Chili
*Hint: recipes for all of the above are already in the blog archives, just go to the right hand “search bar” and type them in. 🙂
Crujientes Tortilla Chips Horneadas
Ingredientes
- 10-12 tortillas de elote delgadas (para tacos)
- 2-3 cucharadas de aceite de coco (se puede comprar sin olor/sabor para que no agarren sabor a coco)
- sal de mar al gusto (yo uso poca la verdad, tal vez 1/2 cucharadita o menos)
Una brocha para marinar carnes es muy util para untar el aceite de coco en ambos lados de cada tortilla. También recomiendo una tabla para cortar y un buen cuchillo.
Instrucciones
- Encender el horno a 350F
- Untar ambos lados de cada tortilla con suficiente aceite de coco de manera uniforme pero recuerden- el objetivo no es “empaparla” de aceite.
- Alinearlas en forma de torre, una encima de otra sobre una tabla de cortar. Usar un buen cuchillo y cortarlas primero en forma de cruz, y luego en forma de “X”. Vean la imagen que aparece arriba para guiarse. 🙂
- Colocar las piezas ya en forma triangular sobre un bandeja para hornear galletas (non-stick), para esta cantidad de tortillas se usan 2 bandejas. No pongan una capa de tortillas ya cortadas encima de la otra, ver la foto de cuando van al horno que aparece arriba.
- Para hornear dos bandejas se toma de 7-8 minutos. Si solo tienen una bandeja y van de una en una, chequeen la bandeja de tortillas a los 5 mins.
Estos nacho chips hechos en casa me encantan porque puedo controlar la fuente y cantidad de aceite y también la cantidad de sal que se utiliza. Son crujientes y buenísimas, como las que encontrarían en un restaurante. También son horneadas, en vez de ir fritas a temperaturas super altas y donde adquieren/absorben mucho mas aceite.
Que las disfruten!
