How To: Make Homemade Potato Chips

Ingredients and Equipment Needed

This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.

Ingredients

• Potatoes – For best taste and texture use Russet potatoes. You can use other varieties, you’ll just find the finished chip changes in flavor and texture a bit with different varieties. Feel free to play around and see what you like! Note that sweet potatoes will cook more quickly than white potatoes. I also have a great recipe for Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Chips as well!
• Frying oil – You can use whatever type of frying oil you like- I use canola because it’s what I always have around. Peanut oil works well too.
• Seasonings of choice – Salt is a must. Beyond that, experiment with your favorites! Herbs like rosemary, seasoning blends, and even Parmesan cheese are all delicious. If you are going to use Parmesan, this actually isn’t the place for the nice stuff. The powdery kind in the plastic canister that they sell on the pasta aisle is perfect for sticking to hot chips!

Helpful Equipment

• Mandoline – You’ll want uniform, paper thin slices, so unless you have the knife skills of a ninja, I recommend using either a mandoline or a food processor.  If the whole potato doesn’t fit through your food processor opening, just slice off a side until it does. That’s why my chips are sort of half moon shaped. Doesn’t matter one bit.
• Thermometer – Monitoring your oil temperature while deep frying is really important. The heat from the stove will increase the temperature quickly and adding food to the oil can drop it fast. If your oil is not hot enough, your food will come out floppy and greasy. If it’s too hot, it will burn before it cooks all the way through, or in this case you’ll get some really crispy potato chips! A frying thermometer or a candy thermometer will help you make sure you’re in the perfect temperature window.
• Wire mesh skimmer – This is a super useful kitchen tool and worth having around, even if you don’t fry a lot. It’s basically a flat mesh strainer with a long handle. It’s the easiest and fastest way to remove fried foods from hot oil, but it’s also great for removing tings like fragile ravioli or tortellini from boiling water. I even use mine to get all of the chicken out of a crock pot full of sauce for shredding!
• Pot or pan for frying – You can use whatever you’d like here, as long as it can hold a couple of inches of oil. You can fry in larger batches without using a ton of oil if you use a large skillet with high sides. If you’re just making a few, a smaller pot will do.

How to Make Homemade Potato Chips

1. You’ll start by slicing those potatoes super thin and letting them take a soak in some cold water to remove some of the starch. Remember that water and hot oil are not friends, so you’ll want to lay those wet slices out on some paper towels to soak up any excess water before frying!
2. While your potatoes are soaking you’ll heat up some oil. The potato slices are thin, so you don’t need super deep oil. 2-3 inches is plenty.
3. When the oil is hot and your potatoes have been patted dry, gently lower them into the hot oil. You’ll do this in batches so you don’t overcrowd the pan. After a couple of minutes, they’ll be golden brown and ready to remove.
4. Transfer the finished chips to a plate or rack covered with a few layers of paper towel and season. You will definitely want salt but after that, the sky is the limit! You can pulse kosher salt and fresh herbs in the food processor for awesome flavors. We love rosemary-salt and black pepper together. Or you can do some cayenne for a kick. Get creative!

Frequently Asked Questions