Here I’ll give you some tips and tricks for making chips in the air fryer that are ACTUALLY crispy!
If you’ve been a victim of soggy air fryer chips before, just know, we’ve all been there. Even me! As such, I made it my mission to find a simple method for making chips in the air fryer that are crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. I’m happy to report – the mission is complete. Follow me…
Air Fryer Chips Ingredients
As you can imagine, you only need a handful of ingredients. The full quantities are in the recipe card below, but let me just quickly provide an explanation for each one:
- Potatoes – You’ll want to use a baking potato like a Maris Piper (UK) or Russet (US). This will result in chips that are fluffy in the centre and crisp on the outside. I recommend avoiding waxy varieties of potato – they don’t come out as fluffy.
- Cornflour – Aka ‘cornstarch’ in the US. A thin coating of this will give the chips a nice crispy exterior.
- Seasoning – I use a simple concoction of salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder.
- Oil – I recommend a neutral like veg or sunflower.
Recipe Tip
Smaller potatoes will result in shorter/smaller chips, which tend to crisp up more easily. As such, I’d avoid large potatoes/chips as the can sometimes come out a little limp.
How to Prepare Air Fryer Chips
I highly recommend keeping the skins on. Not only do the skins add a little flavour, but they also crisp up really nicely too. It’s not a deal-breaker, but you will find the chips with the skin attached tend to be crisper.
When it comes to slicing the chips, do take some care in trying to slice them evenly, just so they cook at an even rate. I also like to dry them with paper towels to remove excess moisture. This will reduce their chance of steaming in the air fryer, which in turn, will help them crisp up.
Process shots: cut potatoes into chips (photo 1), dry (photo 2), toss in cornflour (photo 3), toss in oil (photo 4), add seasoning (photo 5), toss again (photo 6).
Recipe Tip
After you’ve seasoned the chips, don’t let them sit for too long. The longer they sit, the more the salt will draw out moisture and make them ‘sweat’. This will cause the chips to steam and will prevent them from getting crispy.
How to Make Chips in the Air Fryer
When it comes to cooking the chips, I’ve got two tips:
- Space – The number one mistake people make when making chips in the air fryer is packing the basket completely full. This will just cause the chips to steam. Make sure you give the chips space to crisp, or consider working in batches. If you watch the video in the recipe card, you’ll see how much space I recommend.
- Shake – You’ll want to shake the basket a good few times during, just so everything gets an even frying.
Serving Air Fryer Chips
Once they’re golden and crispy, serve up right away with some extra salt! These are perfect as Finger Food with some Dip, or great as a Side to plenty of Hearty Dinners and Quick Dinners. Here are some of my favourite meals with chips:
- Curried Chicken Pie (or Chicken Leek and Mushroom Pie)
- Homemade Pizza
- Smash Burgers
- Hunters Chicken
- Chicken Nuggets
- Quiche Lorraine
Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for these homemade air fryer chips shall we?!
How to make Air Fryer Chips (Full Recipe & Video)
Air Fryer Chips
Equipment
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Paper Towels/Kitchen Roll
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 700g / 1.5lbs Baking Potatoes (see notes)
- 2 tbsp Veg Oil
- 1 tbsp Cornflour/Cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp EACH: Paprika, Salt
- 1/4 tsp EACH: Garlic Powder, Black Pepper
- Flaky Sea Salt, to serve (or more regular salt)
Instructions
- Scrub any dirt off the potatoes if needed, then slice them into chips around 1-1.5cm / 0.4-0.6" thick. Keep the skins on and try and slice them as precisely/evenly as possible, just so they all cook at an even rate.
- Use kitchen roll/paper towels to dry the chips of any excess moisture, then add them to a large mixing bowl with 1 tbsp cornflour. Give them a good toss until they're evenly coated, then toss in the oil until evenly coated. Finish by mixing in the seasoning until evenly coated. Don't let them sit for too long, otherwise the salt will draw out moisture and cause them to steam.
- Add them to the air fryer basket (roughly space them out as best you can) then cook for 10 minutes at 190C/375F. Give them a firm shake a couple of times during this.
- After 10 minutes, turn the heat up to 200C/400F and cook for a further 8-10 minutes, or until nice and crispy. Again, give them a couple of shakes during this.
- Serve with more salt (to taste) then tuck in and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Your Private Notes:
Nutrition
Looking for more?
You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’
