Easy kitchen tips to save you money and time – this simple tip and video shows you how to keep bulk chips fresh longer so you actually save money.
You know those huge bags of tortilla chips they sell at warehouse stores?
Well, I use to avoid those large bags because when I did buy them, almost a third of the bag went stale before we could eat them all. Wasting food is no savings.
And yes, I know you can re-crisp chips by heating them in the oven for a bit, but I was not going to do that every time we ate chips.
Plus, I didn’t think the savings was that great – tortilla chips are often on sale.
Ah, but then GMO corn came along, and as a gardener I began to avoid all GMO products that I could, making organic tortilla chips my only choice.
Ahh, now those large bags were a big savings, so I came up with a easy kitchen tip to keep bulk chips fresh for a lot longer.
It’s still one of my favorite kitchen hacks that I use monthly when we get our organic tortilla chips from Costco (to eat with our favorite salsa or pico de gallo, of course).
So you can guess I’d want to share the tip to make sure everyone who buys big bags of chips knows about how to keep them fresh longer:
How to Keep Bulk Chips Fresh
When you are ready to use some of the chips, open the bag and immediately and:
- Transfer 1/3 of the chips into a gallon zipper baggie (a thick freezer one works best- less chance of the corners poking holes in them).
- Repeat with another 1/3 of the large bag.
- The last third stays in the original bag and becomes your first “bag” of chips.
Remove as much air as you can from the two zipper baggies (you’re not surprised I use my trusty straw here again, are you?) and place in your pantry. Use them as you would smaller bags of chips.
We’ve had these bags in our pantry for weeks and they’ve never been stale when we’ve opened them up- they are just as crisp as the day I bagged them up (which actually shocked me at first- I thought the last bag would maybe be a bit stale).
Is this only for tortilla chips?
Nope. This works with any chip, not just tortilla chips. So feel free to buy the huge bags of potato chips, too.
We just don’t regularly buy other chips – organic tortilla chips make a great snack with salsa, lunch as nachos, and dinner as a base for haystack-type dinners. Even though we do like homemade tortilla chips, which don’t take a lot of time, it’s still nice to have this one convenience food around.
And if they’re well-made, inexpensive, and there’s no waste involved, I feel good about it!
I’m pretty sure lots of other people do this – and it works with other bulk foods, too – so tell me, have you ever done this? Or do you have any other kitchen tips you use and love?
Subscribe to Organize, Plan, Cook & Beautify Your Home with Free Printables
Subscribe to AOC's popular weekly Newsletter full of useful information, behind-the-scenes updates, and occasional offers AND get access to this printable in the VIP Subscriber Library that also includes eBooks, checklists, organizing helps, and recipes - with more added regularly. We'll never send spam - read our Privacy Policy here.
Lee Hernandez says
What fun to see you on a video for the first time! Great tip. I use it when I buy big packages of meat, like chicken breasts, to then make smaller packages for freezer storage.
Jami says
Thanks, Lee! I should’ve put the duck teapot on the stove just for you. 😉
I’ve always done that with meat, too, an in fact it’s what gave me the idea to try this with chips even though I wasn’t freezing them.
Dee says
Good idea. What brand ziplock bags do you think have the best seal? Not all keep a tight seal over time.
Jami says
I use Ziplock, mainly because I can get them for a good price at Costco and the package lasts for a year, so I don’t have to think about buying them, ha! They seem to hold okay, though the seal isn’t as tight as at first when we use them – it’s enough to keep the chips fresh, so I’m good with it. 🙂
Jackie says
This is a great idea, However I will probably choose to divide mine up AFTER opening bag to use in a meal or whatever the case may be. Might as well take advantage of the mfg packaging and expiration date as long as possible. Thanks for the video!
Jami says
Oh, I don’t open the bag until we’re planning to use some, Jackie, either. I just meant in the video that you needed to separate the bags as soon as you did open the bag – meaning don’t open it and then let it sit for days before dividing the chips up, cause they’ll already be a little stale. 🙂
Jen says
That’s great. My grandma taught me to do that with foods I’m freezing in ziplock bags.
Something I started doing since my husband got me a vacuum sealer in the last couple of years is saving pretzel bags and using those (they aren’t greasy so they don’t get rancid like other snack bags do). Then I divide up the tortilla chips like you did and vacuum seal them with my food saver.
Jami says
So you can use other bags with a vacuum sealer? I thought you could only use the bags manufactured for the machine! That is a good idea, Jen. 🙂
Jen says
Yes, my vacuum sealer mentioned in the instructions that you can reseal chip bags, so we were doing that after each use for a while. But that got old. 🙂 it can also be used on Mylar bags, which I found on Amazon. I plan to try using those to save some of my garden seeds in.
Jami says
I had no idea, Jen. That sounds like a good idea for the garden seeds, too!