Crispy homemade potato chips tossed in a spicy barbecue seasoning are easier to make at home than you think! Recipes for baked potato chips and fried potato chips provided.
Judging by how many potato recipes I posted this month (answer: 3), you’d think the potato was my favorite vegetable.
I can’t say that it’s my number one favorite, but I certainly do love potatoes (case in point: see all of my potato recipes).
When I buy them, it’s definitely a better deal to buy a 5 pound bag rather than a few loose ones, but as you can imagine when you’re just one person, it takes a lot to use up 5 pounds.
That’s why when I buy a bag, I have plans to make several potato recipes.
I’ve been wanting to make Homemade Barbecue Potato Chips for awhile, so after making my broccoli and cheese mashed potatoes, I went to town and made several batches.
Then I inhaled said batches in half the time it took to make them. Why don’t the snack recipes ever last long enough?
Just like my salt and vinegar chips, I made both fried and baked potato chips then tossed them in barbecue seasoning.
Personally, I prefer baking as it doesn’t require as much oil, but I included both methods in the recipe so you can decide how you want to make them.
Either way, if you haven’t tried making homemade potato chips of any kind, you don’t know what you’re missing.
I wanted my next potato chip making adventure to be barbecue (or is it simply spelled BBQ?).
The seasoning for barbecue chips in general is a little bit tricky because everyone’s definition of spice is different.
The first recipe I tried had too much paprika in it, but reviews said people loved it while a few others also agreed there was too much. I made a few adjustments and tried again.
It also comes down to which spices you buy. The $1.00 chili powder you buy at the discount store may not be as strong as the fresh chili powder you buy from a specialty spice store.
Feel free to adjust the spices in the recipe to your taste.
A handheld mandoline is highly recommended in order to slice the potatoes thin enough; if they are too thick, they will not crisp up like chips.
Here is the handheld mandoline I use.
No matter which one you buy, please promise me you’ll use the hand guard.
Trust me – a mandoline cut hurts worse than a knife (you also don’t realize how much you really use your thumb until it’s all bandaged up).
Homemade Barbecue Potato Chips
Crispy homemade barbecue potato chips tossed in a spicy barbecue seasoning are easier to make at home than you think!
Ingredients
- 1 large russet potato, peeling optional (roughly 6-8 ounces)
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- Frying oil (such as vegetable or peanut), enough to fill a fryer or to brush slices before baking
Instructions
- With a mandoline (or precise knife skills), thinly slice the potato to about 1/10 inch (2.5 mm) thick. You do not want to see through the slices.
- Put the potato slices in a bowl and pour water over top. The potatoes should be submerged - if not, add more liquid. Soak for 30 minutes. Drain and pat completely dry.
- In a large freezer bag or bowl (preferably with a lid so you can shake it for easier coating), combine the paprika, onion powder, brown sugar, garlic powder, salt, and chili powder.
If you're frying the chips:
- Fill a fryer (or a really deep saucepan) with frying oil of choice and heat to 350F. Place a cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet.
- When the oil is ready, ensure the potato slices are completely dry. Fry a few at a time until golden brown, being careful not to overcrowd the fryer. Time will vary depending on the size and thickness of the slices, but the average is 3-5 minutes, flipping each chip over halfway through frying.
- Remove the chips and place on the cooling rack. Let cool for a few minutes to allow them to crisp up then toss in the spice mixture.
- Repeat with the remaining slices, ensuring the oil is 350F when frying. You may need to pause in between batches to let the oil heat up again.
If you're baking the chips:
- Preheat oven to 400F. Line two baking sheets with foil and lightly grease with cooking spray.
- Ensure the potato slices are completely dry then place the slices in a single layer on the two sheets. Brush each slice with oil.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and crisp (but not burnt). If you find that some of the smaller pieces are baking faster after 10 minutes, you can remove those then finish baking the rest. Let cool for a few minutes to finish crisping up then toss in the spice mixture.
Source: Adapted from Taste Of Home
More Snack Recipes
Homemade Salt and Vinegar Potato Chips
Chili Cheese Popcorn
Susan says
I don’t eat potato chips but I have saved this recipe because a) I do like potato chips even if I don’t eat them and b) I really like the sound of the barbecue spice. I would definitely do the baked ones.
Muslimah says
I love this recipe have not eaten chips in ages but I will try this for the children & hubby for sure!… I have to find a royal taster tho… Guess I will volunteer :-)
Stephanie says
Do you have to soak the slices if you are going to bake them? Thanks!
Carla says
Yes. Follow Steps 1-3 then you can skip down to Step 8 for baking.
Desilynn says
What about dehydration? I don’t want to fry them. And I love using my dehydrator.
Carla says
I’ve never used a dehydrator before, so I’m not sure. If it makes the potatoes nice and crunchy, then possibly? I also offer instructions on how to bake the chips if you don’t want to fry them.
Gigi says
I doubt that a dehydrator would produce the results you want. The potatoe chips will taste raw since dehydrators are not hot enough to cook the slices. If you don’t want to fry, then maybe baking in the oven would work instead.
Carla says
Thank you for your insight on the dehydrator! I’ve never used one, so that’s good to know.
Martine says
I attempted the recipe. My results were less tan I expected and perhaps you can tell me where I went wrong.
I sliced the potatoe on the thinnest level on my manoline. My oven waspreheated at 405 Degrees.
After 15 minutes the potato was stil soft in middle so I flipped them all over. The sliced potatoes were on a cookie sheet single layer. I left them in another 10 minutes still soft others were over done.
Oven is fairly new, cooks evenly normally
Potatoes were dried prior to putting them on baking sheet. And then oiled
Carla says
Hmm it’s hard to say without being with you in the kitchen. When you say 405, is that a typo for 400 or 450? Or can you set your oven for 405? The only thing I can think of is you didn’t preheat your oven long enough, thus not getting hot enough. Did you use an oven thermometer to verify it was set at 400 before putting them in?
Martine says
I can set my oven to 405 degrees. The oven was preheated. Yes, the oven was at 405 degrees.
Oh well
Carla says
I’m not sure why you preheated the oven to 405 instead of 400, but regardless some of the reasons your chips didn’t crisp up are 1. They weren’t thin enough; 2. They weren’t patted dry enough; 3. Your oven wasn’t hot enough or had hot spots. Again without being in the kitchen with you, I’m not sure what went wrong.
GigiGigi says
One question I would ask is: were you using russet potatoes? If you substituted one of the rose type potatoes, (the thin skinned varieties), they don’t dry out and crisp up nearly as well as the drier russet types do. To get them crisp in the oven take considerably longer since they have a lot more moisture in them.
Carla says
Great insight! I didn’t think about other potato varieties. This recipe was tested with russet potatoes only.
Bonniee says
Reducing the amount of oil you use when brushing the potatoes might make a difference as well.
Carla says
Oh good point. Definitely something to keep in mind.
jackie says
Thanks for all your insight. I have made oven baked sweet potato chips a couple times (I am still working on getting the time/temperature exactly right) I did find that sweet potato chips crisp up better if you don’t soak them in water first. I am looking forward to trying BBQ chips using russet potatoes. One thing I will try is to bake them on a rack on a cookie sheet, I find that other things seem to crisp up better & you don’t need to turn them over.
Carla says
A rack helps make wings crispier, so I can definitely see them helping with the chips!
Jamie Smith says
Perhaps an oil mister would be a good idea. It would leave a nice light coating of oil on the potato slices.
Carla says
If you have one, go for it! I don’t own one, but I think it could work.
Keyonda says
Question- are they supposed to be a little soft in the middle before taking them out of the oven? Or should just the edges be crisp? Unfortunately I only have a toaster/convection oven so not quite sure. Do they crisp up after cooling? Thank you!
Carla says
They should be crispy out of the oven. There may be some carry over cooking, but they won’t crisp up too much after pulling.
Sofie Amalie says
Hello, I tried making these but alot of the slices turned out less that succesful. Nearly all of them has soft spots but around the soft spots they were really dark.
I think it’s because the oil gathered in some of the places on the chips. Maybe it’s because I brushed both sides with oil and/or I didn’t pat them dry enough (even though I think I was pretty thorough). What do you think?
My oven was completely preheated.
Some of the chips had more oil that others.
Carla says
Sounds like your chips were too wet with oil. Do you have a hanging oven thermometer? I would also invest in one of those to ensure your oven is at the correct temperature.
Sofie Amalie says
No I don’t have a oven thermometer.
Also just realized that I used baking paper instead of foil and cooking spray. Could that have mattered?
Carla says
I would look into getting an oven thermometer (they’re about $5-$10 depending on which one you get). My oven is 25 degrees hotter than what the dial says, so I always have to adjust for that. If your edges are burning before the middles are done, I’m wondering if your oven temperature is inaccurate.
Sofie Amalie says
My dad actually just found a themometre and we tested the oven and the themometre said exactly what was on the display.
Could it be that it’s because I was on the convection mode and needed to lower the temperature a bit?
Carla says
Possibly! I don’t bake on convection mode so I’m not sure what impact that would have.
Terri says
I made these last week, they were very good. I cooked mine in my deep fryer, I put the spices in a large baggie,let the chips cool a bit then put them in the baggie and gently shake or roll them around. I will be making them again. Tonight I’m going to use the bbq spices to make oven baked pork chops.
Carla says
Love the idea of using the spices for pork chops! Glad you enjoyed the chips recipe.
Terri says
Carla,
The pork chops came out great also. Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
Anabel says
Hi Carla, I just made these chips, oven-baked, sprayed with Pam, and they are (ok, were) PERFECT. Thank you so much! The spice mixture is genius. So simple, yet I never thought to put it together! I’ll be making them for snacks every time I can’t go another day without my salty fried carbs :)
Carla says
Wonderful! Glad you enjoyed the recipe.