Air Fryer Potato Chips

September 25, 2025

Air Fryer Potato Chips

These are homemade potato chips made without a deep fryer: raw potato, sliced paper-thin, tossed with a little oil and salt, and cooked in an air fryer until golden and crisp. Three ingredients, no vat of hot oil, and a texture close enough to the fried version that it’s worth the extra step of slicing your own.

The potato is sliced on a mandoline into rounds about 1.5 mm thick — thin and even is what makes the chips cook the same all the way through instead of some pieces burning while others stay soft. The slices go into cold water for a soak, or get rinsed repeatedly, to wash off surface starch, then get patted completely dry before the oil and salt go on. Any water left on the slices steams them in the basket instead of crisping them, so drying is the step that actually decides whether the batch works.

From there it’s a straightforward air fryer job: a single layer of slices with room between them, cooked in batches so nothing overlaps, tossed every few minutes so they colour evenly. The chips go pale gold, then start showing darker edges, and come out with a light, brittle crunch — they firm up further as they cool, so slightly underdone-looking chips at the end of cooking are usually fine.

Deep-fried potato chips are the older, more familiar version of this snack; this is a modern adaptation for anyone who wants the same crunch with a fraction of the oil and no frying mess. Skin-on is the more common, homier way to make them, though peeling is a fine choice too. Salt goes on before cooking so it seasons the chips as they crisp; anything more delicate — smoked paprika, garlic powder, a grind of black pepper — is better added once they’re out of the basket, so it doesn’t scorch. Eat them the same day; they don’t hold their crunch well once stored.

Ingredients

Serves 2

450 g floury baking potatoes (russet, Maris Piper, King Edward or Bintje; about 2 medium), scrubbed, skin on (peel if preferred)
1 tbsp olive oil (or avocado oil)
¾ tsp fine salt
smoked paprika, for finishing (optional)
garlic powder, for finishing (optional)
black pepper, for finishing (optional)

Directions

Scrub the potatoes; there’s no need to peel them unless you prefer skinless chips. Slice them on a mandoline into even rounds about 1.5 mm (1/16 in) thick, discarding the ragged first and last pieces from each potato.

Drop the slices into a bowl of cold water and let them soak for 15-30 minutes. If you’d rather skip the soak, rinse the slices under the tap instead, swirling and draining repeatedly until the water runs clear.

Drain the slices and spread them out on clean kitchen towels or paper towels. Pat them completely dry, then dry out the bowl as well. Skipping this step is the most common reason chips turn out chewy instead of crisp.

Return the dry slices to the bowl, add the oil and salt, and toss until every piece is lightly and evenly coated.

Preheat the air fryer to 325°F (165°C). Arrange the slices in a single layer with no pieces touching or overlapping — you’ll likely need two or three batches, since crowding the basket makes the chips steam rather than crisp.

Air fry for 15-20 minutes, tossing the slices with tongs every 5 minutes so they colour evenly. Watch closely toward the end, as chips can go from golden to burnt quickly, and pull out any that are done early rather than waiting for the whole batch — return paler pieces to the basket to finish.

Let the finished chips rest for a few minutes; they crisp up further as they cool. Taste and add more salt if needed, or finish with smoked paprika, garlic powder, or black pepper, then serve.

Notes

Even, thin slicing matters more than anything else here. A mandoline keeps every round the same thickness, so the whole batch cooks at the same rate; slicing by hand almost always leaves some chips burnt and others soggy.

Drying the potato slices thoroughly before oiling is the second big factor in getting a crisp result — any surface moisture left on the slices will steam instead of crisp in the air fryer.

Don’t crowd the basket. Overlapping or touching slices trap steam between them, so working in smaller batches is worth the extra time.

If your air fryer only adjusts in 10-degree steps, 320°F works fine in place of 325°F. Running the fryer a little hotter, around 350°F, speeds up the batches, but keep an eye on it since the chips go from done to burnt fast at higher heat.