You may be wondering if you can heat corn tortillas in air fryer. The answer? Totally! To do so, you only need your tortillas and a bit of oil on hand. Want to learn more about this easy way to heat corn tortillas on a busy weekday night? If so, then keep reading!
Table of Contents
- Can You Warm Up Tortillas in the Air Fryer?
- Warming Tortillas in Air Fryer
- Air Fryer Taco Shells Without Mold
- Air Fry Corn Tortillas For Tostadas
- How Long to Cook Taco Shells in Air Fryer
- Toppings For Corn Tortilla Tacos
- How to Heat Corn Tortillas in Air Fryer? It’s Simple!
- FAQ
Can You Warm Up Tortillas in the Air Fryer?
Yes, it is absolutely possible to heat corn tortilla taco shells in air fryer. Not only is it doable, but it’s also one of the easiest and less messy ways to go about the task. You won’t have to dirty up any pots or pans, and you also won’t have to fire up the oven. You simply need your corn tortillas, a bit of oil (optional) and your air fryer.
What could be easier than that?
Warming Tortillas in Air Fryer
If you are simply looking to warm your tortillas in the air fryer (rather than crisp them), know that the process is quite easy.
To warm your corn tortillas in the air fryer, try the following:
- Preheat your air fryer to 350 degrees F.
- Once warmed, add your tortillas to the basket. Make sure that you aren’t overcrowding the tortillas and that they aren’t overlapping.
- Warm the corn tortillas only 10-15 seconds on each side. Flip and repeat.
- The result should be warm and delicious corn tortillas in virtually no time at all. Awesome!
Air Fryer Taco Shells Without Mold
If you’re really craving some deliciously crunchy hard-shelled tacos, but don’t have a mold to make them, never fear! We’ve got you covered. You can still make hard shells in your air fryer by just using corn tortillas, oil, and some aluminum foil.
To do this, follow these steps:
- Brush corn tortillas lightly with oil using a pastry brush (love or avocado oil work great).
- Create a “tent” out of aluminum foil to drape your corn shells over. These will substitute for a taco mold.
- Air fry your corn tortillas at 400 degrees F. Cook them for about 5 minutes. Be sure to check your tortillas a few minutes in to make sure they haven’t shifted or fallen over.
- Once crisp, carefully remove the shells with tongs and set them on a paper towel to cool.
- Fill with meat, cheese, beans, veggies, and whatever else your heart desires.
- Enjoy!
Air Fry Corn Tortillas For Tostadas
Like what you’re hearing so far? It gets better. Try an air fried tostada and you’ll love the results – I promise!
Here’s how to make a wonderfully crisp air fried tostada:
- Preheat your air fryer to 390 degrees F.
- Put one corn tortilla in your air fryer.
- Weigh your single tortilla down with a trivet or something else that can be used as a weight so that your tortilla doesn’t blow around because of the air-drying fan.
- Air fry your tortillas for 4-5 minutes making sure to flip halfway through.
- If using, add ¼ cup each of beans and cheese to get them warmed and melted. Continue frying for another minute or two.
- Remove the tostada very carefully. Top with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, onions, and whatever else you’re craving.
- Enjoy!
How Long to Cook Taco Shells in Air Fryer
How long you will cook your taco shells in an air fryer will really depend on the type.
As we’ve already explored, soft corn tortillas will take about 10-15 seconds to warm in an air fryer. Having said that, your corn tortillas may take up to 5 minutes or slightly longer to turn into hard and crunchy shells. Lastly, a corn tortilla used to cook up tostadas may take around 6-7 minutes total to cook, particularly if you are melting it with beans and cheese.
You may be wondering how long you should cook corn shells that are already fried. This is a good question. Because they are already “cooked” but still need to be warmed, you shouldn’t have to keep hard shells in an air fryer for very long.
Your best bet? Put your air fryer on 300 degrees F and cook your hard shells for about 5 minutes. This will get them crisp and crunchy without being overdone.
Toppings For Corn Tortilla Tacos
Looking to jazz up taco night a bit? I’ve already made quite a few suggestions about what you could consider topping your taco with. But believe it or not, there are countless non-traditional toppings that you probably haven’t yet tried that make for wonderfully tasty air fried corn tortilla tacos.
Check out a few of these traditional and non-traditional faves for topping tacos:
- Pickled Onions
- Mangoes
- Beans
- Cheddar Cheese
- Potatoes (such as this Buffalo Wild Wings Wedges recipe)
- Kimchi
- Lettuce
- Tomatoes
- Sour Cream
- Eggs
- Olives
- Grilled or Roasted Vegetables
- Eggs
- Yogurt (an awesome healthier alternative for sour cream!)
Note: Some people claim seasoned popcorn to be a wonderful addition to tacos. I’ve never tried it, but if you happen to, let me know what you think!
For for side dishes for taco salad, check out the blog!
How to Heat Corn Tortillas in Air Fryer? It’s Simple!
How to heat corn tortillas in air fryer isn’t hard. It can be done very quickly and can yield pretty awesome results! Whether you’re looking to simply warm your corn tortillas, fry them, or make them into tostadas, there’s a variety of methods you can choose to achieve the results you desire.
So, go ahead, whip out those corn tortilla shells and get cooking. There are endless ways you can heat corn tortillas in air fryer to satisfy your hunger quickly on busy weekday nights!
FAQ
Can you heat flour tortillas in an air fryer?
Yes, you can. You’ll follow much of the same process that you do when heating corn tortillas in the air fryer when you do so. It saves time and doesn’t dirty up any dishes. Score!
How many corn tortillas can you fit in your air fryer at once?
How many tortillas you can fit will depend on the size of your air frying basket. However, the best practice is that you never overcrowd your air fryer basket. This allows the air to better circulate and thus yield better results.
Remember, when air frying shells for tostadas, the rule is that you only cook one at a time. Doing more than this won’t allow your tortillas to get crisp enough.
