By using an air fryer, you can make delicious and perfectly crispy chips without having to heat up the oven or use a lot of oil, meaning healthier chips! Follow our foolproof tips for making the BEST Air Fryer Chips, along with some suggestions of different ways to season them, so you can have different flavoured chips every time.
If you have an air fryer and you have never made chips in it, then you are seriously missing out. Air fried chips are the best way to eat chips and with our top tip of stacking them in the air fryer, you will have perfectly cooked chips in the air fryer every time.
We have all the tips to get crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside chips in the air fryer every time.
Ingredients and variations
- Potatoes – Technically, any potatoes will work for cooking chips in an air fryer, but some definitely work better than others. We try to use a floury potato like a King Edward or Maris Piper, as they have produced the best results for us.
- Olive oil – You could swap this for vegetable or sunflower oil.
- Garlic granules – We added garlic granules to add lots of flavour, however there are lots of flavour options with air fryer fries. Add some smoke and spice with paprika and cayenne or a Fajita or Cajun blend.
How to cook chips in an air fryer – Step by step
One: Chop the potatoes into fries (about 1cm/0.5 inch), leaving the skin on.
Two: Put the chips into a large bowl and cover with cold water. Mix around and leave to stand for a few minutes.
Three: Put onto a clean towel and pat dry.
Four: Transfer the chips to a large bowl. Add the oil, salt, pepper and garlic and mix well.
Five: Find any chips with skin along the length and put a layer of these chips, skin side down, at the bottom of the air fryer basket.
Six: Put the next layer of chips at right angles to the first layer, ensuring there is space between the chips. Continue building up the layers in alternate directions.
Seven: Carefully put the basket into the air fryer. Cook the chips for 18 minutes at 200°C. Shake the chips after 10 minutes and then shake a few more times before the time is up.
Top tips for crispy air fryer chips
To get the best crispy fries possible, you are better off cutting them into thinner chips, rather than thicker potato wedges.
We leave the skins on our potatoes when chopping them. This is partly due to the fact that we are lazy and like to save time any way we can, but also because the skin gets nice and crispy and helps to give an overall crispy chip. It is also where most of the fibre is, so keep them on! Keeping the skin on also prevents the chips sticking to the bottom of the air fryer during cooking.
If you open up your air fryer and they are still not as crispy as you would like them, then put them back on for 3-4 minutes more. For maximum crispiness, serve them immediately. If you let them sit for a while, or reheat them, they can go soggy.
How long do chips take in the air fryer?
It really depends on the type of chips you are using and the size of them as well.
Air fryer chips will take on average between 15 and 20 minutes and the difference in cooking time comes mainly from how big you have cut the chips. The chunkier they are, the longer they will take. Remember, all air fryers cook things differently too, so keep an eye on them.
For example, if you are using frozen thick cut chips then they will take about 13-15 minutes, however thin cut frozen fries will be quicker and closer to 12 minutes in the air fryer. See the next section for details how to cook frozen chips in an air fryer.
PrintThe Best Air Fryer Chips
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Total Time: 23 minutes
- Yield: 2
- Category: Side Dish
- Cuisine: British
Ingredients
- 500 g (1.1 lb) Potato
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 1 pinch Sea salt
- 1 pinch Black pepper
- 0.5 tablespoon Garlic granules
Instructions
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Chop 500 g Potato into thin fries, leaving the skin on.
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Put the chips into a large bowl and cover with cold water. Mix around and leave to stand for a few minutes.
-
Put onto a clean towel and pat dry.
-
Transfer the chips to a large bowl. Add 1 tablespoon Olive oil, 1 pinch Sea salt1 pinch Black pepper and 0.5 tablespoon Garlic granules and mix well.
-
Find any chips with skin along the length and put a layer of these chips, skin side down, at the bottom of the air fryer basket.
-
Put the next layer of chips at right angles to the first layer, ensuring there is space between the chips. Continue building up the layers in alternate directions.
-
Carefully put the basket into the air fryer. Cook the chips for 18 minutes at 200°C. Shake the chips after 10 minutes and then shake a few more times before the time is up.
Notes
- Please note that this recipe is made using a Power Air Fryer XL. Using a different model of air fryer will change the cooking method needed. If you have a rotating air fryer, then there is no need to stack them or shake them.
- If you want to change the amount this makes, we recommend a ratio of 1 tablespoon of oil to every medium sized potato.
- Make sure that the chips are all cut to the same size so you get evenly cooked air fryer chips. If you want to get a little fancy, why not use a crinkle cutter.
- Always rinse/soak them before cooking them (making sure you pat them dry), as this removes the excess starch and makes for fluffier insides.
- Stacking the chips in the air fryer for the first part of cooking is key to ensuring that they cook evenly and also don’t get stuck to the bottom of the air fryer.
- Get creative with the seasoning. You can add a Mexican or Italian seasoning, or keep it simple like we have.
- For some extra indulgent chips, sprinkle some Parmesan on top a few minutes before they are fully cooked.
- Make sure to check your chips twice during cooking and shake them to ensure they are cooking evenly.
- Make sure your air fryer is preheated before the chips go in for best results.
- If you are making air fryer chunky chips, then add on about 4 minutes to the cooking time.
