Air Fryer Potato Chips with No Oil

Ready to make your own oil-free air fryer potato chips at home? It’s easy to make these crispy crunchy potato chips without having to use any oil. It’s a crispy snack that you can also get to add your favorite seasoning blends and create your own masterpiece of a snack.

This air fryer potato chips recipe is another in my series of posts sponsored by the Idaho Potato Commission. I love potatoes and they are amazing in the air fryer.

If you want to learn how to make crispy chips in your air fryer you are in the right place.

I love my air fryer

Your air fryer is a perfect tool for whole food plant-based cooking. You can make crispy crunchy food without oil and that is amazing.

You should also try my other air fryer recipes like this pasta chip recipe or Southern Fried Vegan Soy Curls for more crispy goodness. But you can also make carrot cake in a mug, edamame, and even vegan French toast in your air fryer too.

It’s so versatile!

Are air fryer chips healthy?

Clean eating can seem hard, but making your own snacks at home instead of buying them is a great way to cut down on sugar, salt, and other ingredients you might be trying to avoid. This recipe for air fried potato chips will change that for good.

Yum! These crispy potato chips are so easy to make and healthier than the ones you buy in the store.

While you can use a little cooking spray, these do work with no oil at all. The potato starch can adhere to any spice blend you want to use. And you can choose flavors you can’t get at the store or even make them salt-free!

Dressed up for the holidays: Halloween crunchy chips

Yes, you are seeing some super cute cutouts of bats, cats, skulls, and ghosts. You can really make these for any holiday!

Just make a short stack of the slices and cut through with a cookie cutter. Then continue on with the rest of the recipe directions at the bottom of the page.

The dark seasoning mix that I put on the bats and cats is easy to make and it’s edible charcoal that makes the mixture black.

To make the spooky seasoning blend just mix ¼ cup food-grade charcoal, 2 tablespoons smoked paprika, 1 tablespoon ancho chili powder, 1 tablespoon chili powder blend, 2 teaspoons salt or salt substitute, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1 teaspoon onion powder in a bowl.

Toss the chips in the seasoning before you air fry.

Now that you have some edible charcoal on hand, be sure to make my black vegan gnocchi. It looks like the squid ink version – only it’s vegan!

Are homemade chips quick and easy?

It does take a little work and patience to make homemade air fryer potato chips. So they aren’t quick, but they aren’t really hard either. You just need to be present and paying attention throughout the whole process.

It takes a little time to slice the potatoes and peel them if you want to, but cooking them is where it gets more time-consuming. You need to remove smaller chips as they are done so they won’t burn and may need to take tongs to separate any stuck chips so they can crisp up.

You will need to use a mandoline slicer, but an inexpensive hand helped one works great. It ensures the potato chips are thin and uniform which helps them get crisp.

Unless you are super handy with a sharp knife, I would use a mandoline or the slicing blade on my food processor on the thinnest setting.

What’s the best potato to use?

I may be a little biased, but I do love my Idaho Potatoes. But contrary to popular belief that goes far beyond humble russet potatoes and includes the multicolored fingerlings I used in these photos.

Russets are the go-to potato for chips that you buy in the store. Sometimes you’ll see some purple, red, or Yukon gold potatoes used for chips.

Gold and purple potatoes are also floury and a good option. I also had great results with air frying fingerling red potatoes.

Why use an air fryer?

Air fryers are an excellent cooking appliance that helps eliminate or you can use less oil to cook food while maintaining the crispy texture that we love in fried foods.

Cooking with an air fryer is healthier than deep frying food in oil because it cooks by circulating hot air, and if you use little oil or none that’s still a win.

Air Fryers can be used to reheat food, make crispy chickpeas, roast vegetables, even make salsa verde!

What you need to make homemade potato chips in your air fryer

You just need simple ingredients to make these crispy air fryer potato chips. You will need thin slices of potatoes and I suggest slicing them with a mandoline. I used this OXO handheld mandoline slicer because it’s inexpensive and easier to store than a full-sized one.

Note: When using a mandoline ALWAYS use the handle to protect your hands. I go a step farther and use a safety glove made to protect my fingers from getting cut by accident.

For this recipe, I made a big batch so I sliced up enough potatoes to make 8 cups, but you can always make a smaller or larger batch.

So you just need thinly sliced potatoes, seasoning blend, and optionally salt or spray oil if you want.

How to make Air Fryer Potato Chips

Should I make a full recipe?

If you have a small air fryer you may want to start by making a half recipe since you will have to air fry in batches.

But if you have a large one or a countertop model like the Breville Smart Oven Air.

Prepare the potatoes

After you thinly slice the potatoes, place the slices in a large bowl of cold water Let soak for 15 – 30 minutes.

Then can drain potato slices in a colander for another 20 minutes and after place on a layer of paper towels to get the last of the moisture.

Or you can place the potato slices in a single layer on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and place in a 350 degrees oven for about 5 – 8 minutes until mostly dry.

Season them

Coat each chip with your favorite seasoning blend and/or sea salt and mix until coated.

If they are too dry and nothing sticks, try tossing in a little aquafaba, or even spray a tiny bit of oil if you use it – but these are great without vegetable oil of any kind.

Cook them

Add a single layer to your air fryer and cook at 330 degrees for 5 minutes, shake the basket, and use tongs to separate any chips that are stuck on top of each other. Cook for another 5 minutes, shake and separate again.

If the chips still aren’t cooked enough, cook 3 to 5 minutes more or until the chips are 80 percent golden brown and not burned.

Note that the cook time will vary on the size of the chip and the thickness.

What to look for as they are cooking

If you have an air fryer with a basket, check to see if any chips stick together and use tongs to separate them. It’s kind of a pain, but really makes a huge difference in your chips.

At any stage, you can remove chips that are done with tongs and keep cooking the rest. There will still be a few places that look undercooked, but they will crisp up as they cool.

Why do I have to soak the potato slices?

You need to remove most of the excess starch from your chips or they will get blown into a clump in your air fryer.

Your potatoes will be soaked in cold water to remove that excess potato starch. It also helps them be crispier.

I do want to warn you that some of the slices will stick together during cooking even with soaking, so you will have to separate them some in between cooking.

How do I keep my chips from burning

You will need to pay good attention so you can remove any full cooked chips out of the basket. Also, it helps to shake the air fryer basket every few minutes.

Having all the slices the same thickness will also help keep burning to a minimum. If you can divide your batches by size and thickness to make the cooking time more consistent.

The cooking time will depend on the thickness of the potato chips and the more uniform the better.

How do I keep my chips from going stale?

There are a couple of reasons that your chip might lose its crunch. The first is humidity which is the enemy I deal with and soggy chips are the result. It’s a good idea to store any leftover fresh chips in a sealed bag or container.

For best results store them in an airtight container to keep moisture from getting into them. If you live in a very humid climate, like I do, it’s best to make what you think you will use at a time.

If they do lose their crispness, try heating them back up for a minute or two in your air fryer or oven.

More Potato Recipes

• Air Fryer Vegan Stuffed Potatoes
• BBQ Jackfruit Stuffed Potato Rolls
• Thanksgiving Potato Stuffing Balls
• Deviled Purple Potato Eyes
• Potato Chiles Rellenos with an Oil-free Option
• Slow Cooker Whole Wheat Spelt Potato Rolls
• Chile Pepita Idaho® Potato Veggie Burgers