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Katie's Cucina » Recipes » Katie Original

How To Make Crunchy Hard Taco Shells

Published: Apr 11, 2016 · Modified: Jul 6, 2020 by Katie · This post may contain affiliate links

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Learn how to make crunchy hard taco shells at home in just minutes!

How To Make Crunchy Hard Taco Shells in just a few easy steps!Have you ever wanted crunchy hard taco’s but no hard taco shells on hand? Yep–this happens to me often. And when this happens and I only have the tortilla’s on hand, I heat up a pan of oil and get to frying up some taco shells. Now this works with both corn tortillas and flour tortillas. It all just depends what you have on hand. For the tutorial today, I used corn tortillas. But I have used corn tortillas in the past. Either way it’s easy to do and takes only a few minutes for a dozen taco shells!

How To Make Crunchy Hard Taco Shells

First, line a plate with paper towels and place a stack of corn tortillas on the plate for frying.

How To Make Crunchy Hard Taco Shells - step 1.2

Place 1 cup of oil in a skillet. Heat until it’s hot and little bubbles start to appear. To test if the oil is hot enough you can take a pinch of corn starch (or flour) and sprinkle in the pan if it starts to bubble then the oil is hot enough. Place the corn tortilla in the pan. Let it cook for 10 seconds.

How To Make Crunchy Hard Taco Shells

Then flip, let it stand for another 5 seconds and then fold with tongs.

How To Make Crunchy Hard Taco Shells

Remove the shells from the skillet and drain excess oil. How To Make Crunchy Hard Taco Shells

Place on the lined paper towel plate. Repeat until all of your crunchy tacos are done.

How To Make Crunchy Hard Taco Shells
And just as easy as that you–you have your very own homemade crunch taco shells!How To Make Crunchy Hard Taco ShellsYou will want to make the crunchy taco shells just before eating. I find that they do not keep well the next day–so only make what you know you’ll consume that night at lunch or dinner.

How To Make Crunchy Hard Taco Shells

How To Make Crunchy Hard Taco Shells

Learn how to make crunchy hard taco shells at home in just minutes!
4.78 from 18 votes
Print Pin Save Saved! Rate
Course: Bread
Cuisine: Mexican
Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 72kcal
Author: Katie

Ingredients

  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 12 corn tortillas

Instructions

  • Preheat a skillet with 1 cup vegetable oil on medium-high heat.
  • While the oil preheats place a plate next to the pan, lined with paper towels and the 12 corn tortillas you will be frying.
  • Once the oil is hot enough, place the corn tortilla in the pan. Let it cook for 10 seconds. Then flip the tortilla, and let it stand for another 5 seconds. Then fold with tongs.
  • Remove the shells from the skillet and drain excess oil over pan. Place on the paper towel lined plate. Repeat until you've cooked all 12.

Notes

I love making my own shells at home. I can fry them to perfection and enjoy them warm. It also means everyone can have what they like from a single package - either soft or crunchy.

Nutrition

Calories: 72kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 12mg | Potassium: 48mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @KatieJasiewicz or tag #katiescucina!
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About Katie

Katie is a busy mom of 2 children who loves to feed her family delicious meals that don't take hours to cook! She started her blog 15 years ago as a way to help others get cooking in the kitchen.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Katie Siepierski

    August 05, 2023 at 1:35 pm

    5 stars
    This was such a lifesaver! I’d been planning on making tacos all week, and when the day final came, my local market was all out of hard taco shells. So I figured I would just make burritos and toast them over a skillet afterwards, but then I came across this recipe and OH my GOODNESS everyone had seconds! i even had to fry up a few more! absolutely delicious and so simple. 10/10, 5 stars, A+

    Thank you for your time, energy, and passion for sharing your recipes! It is such a blessing to have this available for free at my fingertips. I remember when I was a kid, my mom would always check out cookbooks from the library, borrow them from friends and family, and she would hand copy the recipes she liked best and keep them all in binders. Seeing one of the comments here lenda me to believe they never experienced life before the internet, or they assume websites are just free to run and that we should dedicate countless hours to them for no compensation. Mostly I think some people just lack common sense.

    i would gladly have some ads rather than have to pay for every website I go on!

    Anyway, thank you again for this! i am so happy to have found your site and I will definitely be checking out the rest of it!

    Reply
    • Katie

      August 14, 2023 at 9:46 pm

      Katie–your comment made my evening. Thank you for not only taking the time to leave a 5 star review but also understanding that the content I share is for free and it cost money to host and takes time to maintain over 900+ recipes. I’m so happy you found KatiesCucina.com if you are ever looking for a recipe please feel free to email me! -Katie

  2. Todd

    April 29, 2023 at 4:02 pm

    5 stars
    Katie, I have a dream of crunchy taco shells peppered all over with sesame seeds! Wouldn’t that be amazing with asian-inspired fillings? Would your oven method allow for this? Maybe brushed first with a butter mixture, or … ? To messy? … I leave it to the genius … !

    Reply
    • Katie

      April 30, 2023 at 11:21 pm

      Hi Todd, hmm it could work! Just sprinkle the sesame seeds on the minute you pull them from the oil and they should stick. I agree–Asian cuisine in them would be delicious.

  3. Chanel

    October 11, 2022 at 7:21 pm

    5 stars
    How do you make the taco shells shelf stable?

    Reply
    • Katie

      October 14, 2022 at 2:06 pm

      Hi Chanel, Unfortunately, I cannot answer that question. I always make these right before we are ready to eat them!

  4. Beverly

    July 22, 2022 at 12:39 pm

    5 stars
    Excellent results! I sprinkle a little salt while they are still warm while they are draining on the paper towels. I’ve also sprinkled paprika sometimes.. The kids want to try garlic salt next time! Thank you for taking the time to share this!

    Reply
    • Katie

      July 26, 2022 at 10:37 pm

      So happy you enjoy this recipe Beverly! I love all the additional seasonings too! Thanks for leaving a 5 star review.

  5. Cindy

    June 19, 2022 at 11:45 am

    5 stars
    I had been doing this for many years, although I’ve never tried it with flour tortillas, only corn. Thanks for the reminder to do it again!

    Reply
  6. Liz

    November 15, 2021 at 1:00 pm

    5 stars
    Oh , I forgot to hit 5 stars! I know this will be fantastic with just reading the recipe! Sorry about my oversight!

    Reply
  7. Liz

    November 15, 2021 at 12:57 pm

    I’m going to try this, it’s just hubby & I and a box of taco shells do not get used up & I don’t like wasting! So this would be perfect! Thanks for sharing this!

    Reply
    • Katie

      December 17, 2021 at 2:17 pm

      Hi Liz, I completely understand and that’s exactly why I tried my hand at making them!

  8. Renee Titus

    September 07, 2021 at 4:08 am

    5 stars
    Worked out perfectly for a gathering of 12 of my 50-97 yr old family members. They couldn’t believe the difference in freshly made crunchy shells. I shaped some into mini bowls as most like taco salad concoctions. Thank you very much.

    Reply
    • Katie

      September 07, 2021 at 12:51 pm

      Renee, so happy to read that you loved this recipe!

  9. Debbie Prince

    August 03, 2021 at 2:03 am

    5 stars
    Thanks for the easy to follow videos. Will try this for the family!!

    Reply
    • Katie

      August 04, 2021 at 9:14 pm

      Hi Debbie–thanks for watching. Hope you enjoy the recipe!

  10. Andy

    August 27, 2020 at 11:41 am

    1 star
    looks like it might be a good recipe but I gave up after seeing it interrupted a half dozen times by a phone advertisement.

    Reply
    • Katie

      August 29, 2020 at 4:13 pm

      Hi Andy, thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. Sadly, your 1-star review does not reflect the recipe only your opinions on my website. I do not charge any money for my recipes even though I spend HOURS developing, creating, photographing and writing these recipes. Ads are the way that my recipes remain FREE for everyone to enjoy. It costs money to maintain a website, pay for ingredients, and compensate time. So please, think twice before leaving a 1-star review on a blogs website because you don’t like that they have ads. The star review is meant to rate the actually recipe.

  11. Tammy

    June 06, 2020 at 6:19 pm

    5 stars
    I did this with flour tortillas
    I will say I surprised my self didn’t think it was going to be as easy as it looked.
    It was super easy and it was a hit with everyone yay me. lol

    Reply
    • Katie

      June 08, 2020 at 11:30 am

      Hi Tammy, thank you for taking the time to leave a comment! I’m so glad you enjoyed making them and they were easier then they looked!

    • Ella

      July 05, 2021 at 8:57 pm

      5 stars
      Worked out great. Thanks!

    • Katie

      July 05, 2021 at 9:05 pm

      Ella, thank you so much for taking the time to leave a 5-star comment! Glad it worked great for you!

  12. Janis Fletcher

    April 12, 2019 at 6:57 pm

    I’m probably overlooking it, but where is the nutritional information?

    Reply
    • Katie

      April 15, 2019 at 11:16 pm

      Hi Janis, thank you for reaching out. Unfortunately, I do not provide nutritional information for my recipes. I am one person who houses over 1,000 recipes for FREE for the public to enjoy. You are welcome to plug them into a nutrition app like My Fitness Pal to get the nutritional information for my crunch hard taco shells!

  13. Kayle (The Cooking Actress)

    April 25, 2016 at 6:26 pm

    ooooh I didn’t realize it was so simple to make hard taco shells! Must try!

    Reply
    • Katie

      April 27, 2016 at 7:05 am

      Kayle, yes! You can do the frying method or you can bake them in the oven over the rack. I’ll do a post on that too!

4.78 from 18 votes (7 ratings without comment)

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