Fried Tortilla
This Fried Tortilla recipe creates crispy and versatile tortillas used as a snack or meal base, made by frying flour tortillas until they are golden and crunchy! Use them as the foundation for dishes like tostadas, nachos, or crispy tacos for a satisfying texture and deliciously savory flavor!
Why We Love This Fried Tortilla Recipe
Tortillas. The blank slate of Mexican cuisine used to hold and wrap all sorts of spicy goodies.
But why do tortillas have to be so boring?
Seriously, just because the filling inside the tortillas has bold flavors and lots of texture, doesn’t mean the tortillas shouldn’t get a moment to shine.
Fried Tortillas are the answer…
Once you learn how to fry tortillas, you will never go back! Simply flash-frying tortillas in hot oil brings out their wheaty flavor and creates a mind-blowing light, crispy, yet flexible texture with airy bubbles throughout.
When frying, the tortillas puff up like balloons, then deflate a little, creating bubbles and flaky layers.
Ingredients You Need
To make easy fried tortillas, you only need two ingredients:
- Vegetable Oil – or another neutral, high smoke point oil like peanut oil, canola oil, or avocado oil. I would avoid olive oil since it burns quickly!
- Flour Tortillas
How to Make A Fried Tortilla
Heat a skillet or pan over medium-high heat and add 2-3 tablespoons of oil.
Once the oil is smoking hot, use tongs to carefully add a tortilla to the hot oil. Cook for 5-10 seconds until golden brown, then flip and fry another 5-10 seconds.
The tortilla will puff up like a balloon once flipped!
Carefully pull the tortilla out of the hot oil and place on a paper towel-lined plate to drain the oil. Lightly sprinkle with salt and repeat, repeat, repeat, in batches until they are all done!
Serving Suggestions
You can serve fried tortillas with all of your favorite taco fillings! When you fill puffy tortillas with chicken, beef, or veggies, the flaky texture complements the fillings without getting lost! I like to serve these like a tostada, piled high with all of my favorite toppings.
For breakfast, try serving these with avocado, egg, and fresh cilantro! Or, serve for lunch or dinner with all your favorite Mexican-inspired dishes. Here are some of my favorite sides and proteins to pair with fried tortilla:
- Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
- Best Refried Beans
- Guacamole
- Homemade Salsa
- Slow Cooker Carnitas
- Shredded Beef
Frequently Asked Questions
Definitely! They won’t be exactly the same, and they might not puff up as much. However, I think it is a good idea to try this with corn tortillas to take them up a notch!
Absolutely! If you prefer fried tortilla chips over a whole fried tortilla, slice up the flour tortillas into triangles first. Then, using a slotted spoon you can try the homemade tortilla chips in the same way!
Fried tortilla is best eaten on the day it is made. But you can store them for later at room temperature in an airtight container. To reheat, bake them in the oven on a baking sheet until hot, or pop them into an air fryer or toaster oven! Don’t warm them up in the microwave, as they will come out soggy!
Looking for More Easy Recipes to Try? Make Sure to Also Try:
- Homemade Flour Tortillas
- Bubbly Taco Salad Bowls
- Mexican Sopes
- Navajo Fry Bread
- Mexican Breakfast Casserole
Fried Flour Tortillas Recipe
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil
- 10 flour tortillas 1 package
Instructions
- Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add 2-3 tablespoons of oil.
- Once the oil is smoking hot, use tongs to carefully add a tortilla to the hot oil. Cook for 5-10 seconds until golden brown, then flip and fry another 5-10 seconds. The tortilla with puff up like a balloon once flipped.
- Carefully pull the tortilla out of the hot oil and place on a paper towel lined plate. Lightly sprinkle with salt and repeat, repeat, repeat!
Fry the tortillas a little bit longer. When you take it out of the pan sprinkle salt AND cheddar cheese. A little Mexican restaurant in Pacific Beach used to make them and they called them Crispas
After puffing the taco shell, cut it at the seam partially and fill with taco meat, cheese, lettuce and sour cream….
We make deep fried a lot. Our question is: how do you keep the tortilla crispy? They seem to get soggy. Is immersing them in the oil the problem? How long do they stay crisp after frying?
Hi Jody,
The puffy tortillas are not meant to be fully crispy. They are meant to be puffed, but still bendable. If you want hard crispy tortillas you will need to fry them a bit longer.
If you want to add a little something to your tortillas. I make you an ( oli, garlic salt, Italian seasoning, Lil crushed pepper, whatever your favorite seasonings into a Bottle by the stove) I pull it out and in my pan I put about a teaspoon of butter and teaspoon of that oil mixture in the skillet stir it together flip/coat both sides and heat on med heat for about 30 stop 45 seconds on each side YUMMY perfect for a snack or for tacos! ENJOY
I make flour tortillas from scratch. Would I need to make the tortillas first and then fry them or could I just fry the raw tortilla dough to make the puffy taco shells?
Hi Sabine,
You should be able to fry them once, from the raw state! :)
Sabine, did you ever try this? I am
wondering the same thing. Thank you!
Trying this recipe recommended by a friend with the “best slow cooker carnitas!” Has anyone tried it with corn tortillas? Wondering if it will work the same?
Hi Christine,
When you fry corn tortillas they don’t really puff up. Instead they turn into tortilla chips… or Tostadas! :)
I know this is an old post, but I thought I’d share the way we puff our tortillas, and its so much more healthy. We get whole wheat tortillas, rub olive oil on one side of the tortilla, add some of our favourite spices and bake in the oven on 350 – 400 until they’re puffed & toasty in colour. They are YUM!! We love to dip it in Hummus!
Also works well with corn tortillas. Just made them.
Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Tastes amazing. Melts in your mouth. Yummmmm
Oh I am totally trying this!!! How fun!
I’ve never had a puffy tortilla but now I desperately want one or seven.
There is nothing better than a fluffy puffy tortilla!