Crispy Homemade BBQ Chips (Barbecue Chips) tossed in a spicy barbeque 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 post, you’d think the potato was my favorite vegetable.
I can’t say it’s my number one favorite, but I certainly do love potatoes.
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 BBQ Chips for awhile, so after making my mashed potatoes for two, 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 BBQ potato chips then tossed them in barbeque seasoning.
Personally, I prefer baking potato chips 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 barbecue chips, you don’t know what you’re missing.
How To Make BBQ Seasoning For Chips
I wanted my next potato chip making adventure to be barbecue (or is it simply spelled BBQ? Maybe even barbeque?).
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.
How do you thinly slice potatoes?
To thinly slice potatoes to make chips, you need a handheld mandolin. If the potato slices are too thick, they will not crisp up like chips.
Here is the handheld mandoline (affiliate link) 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).
How do you thinly slice potatoes without a mandoline?
If you don’t own a mandoline, slice them carefully and evenly with a knife. The key is making sure they’re the same thickness so they cook evenly.
Why do you soak potatoes before frying?
Soaking your potato slices in cold water before cooking removes excess starch, which prevents them from sticking together in the fryer and helps make your chips as crispy as possible.
How To Make Homemade BBQ Chips
To make homemade BBQ chips, first thinly slice your potatoes. Peeling is optional.
Next, soak your potato slices in water for 30 minutes. Drain then pat completely dry.
While the potatoes are soaking, make your barbecue seasoning. Toss together your paprika, onion powder, brown sugar, garlic powder, salt, and chili powder in a freezer bag or bowl with a lid.
Once you either bake or fry your potato chips, add your chips to your seasoning then shake until coated.
How To Bake BBQ Chips
To make baked BBQ chips, preheat your oven to 400F. Line your baking sheets with greased foil for easy clean up.
Place your potato slices in a single layer on the foil then brush each one with oil. Bake until golden brown and crispy, about 10-15 minutes.
Bake time will heavily depend on how accurate your oven is and how thin the slices are. Smaller pieces may bake faster while bigger pieces may need more time.
Once done, toss with your BBQ seasoning.
How To Fry BBQ Chips
To make fried BBQ chips, fill your deep fryer (or a really deep saucepan) with vegetable oil then heat to 350F. Place a cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet.
When the oil is ready, fry several chips 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.
Once crispy, transfer the chips to the cooling rack for a few minutes to allow them to crisp up then toss in the barbecue seasoning.
How do you keep homemade bbq chips crispy?
To keep your homemade bbq chips crispy, pat off any excess oil after frying or baking. Then store your potato chips in an air-tight container.
What kind of dip goes with homemade bbq chips?
Although barbecue chips are delicious on their own, sometimes you just want to eat chips and dip.
Here are some delicious dips to pair with your barbeque chips:
- Bacon Ranch Dip
- Creamy Onion Dip
- Sour Cream Dip by Spend With Pennies
Items You May Need (Amazon Affiliate Links):
Homemade BBQ Chips
Crispy Homemade BBQ Chips (Barbecue Chips) tossed in a spicy barbeque seasoning are easier to make at home than you think!
Ingredients
- 1 large russet potato, peeling optional (roughly 6-8 ounces)
- 3/4 cup cold 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.
Notes
- Liked this recipe? Check out my Salt and Vinegar Chips!
- Got more potatoes? Check out my other potato recipes.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
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.
Emilee says
The spice mix is great – I added a bit of maple sugar, MSG, and cayenne (those are things we happened to have in the pantry), and it was amazing. The chips still weren’t fully crispy after about 20 minutes, but they were good!
Carla says
Love the addition of maple sugar! As far as crispiness goes, double check your oven temperature and potato thickness. Those would affect the baking time.