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Oven-fried Potato Chips

Posted by Elise on Dec 10, 2004

Filed under All Seasons, Gluten-Free, Side Dish, Snack, Vegetable, Vegetarian

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I gave my father a subscription to Gourmet as a Christmas present 20 years ago and have been reaping the rewards ever since. This simple oven-fried potatoes recipe came from a 1985 issue. It has been so much part of our family I thought dad had invented it. These crispy thin potato slices are just divine. I call them potato chips because they taste like the best potato chips you will ever have. But I suspect that one might not classify them as a chip given their 1/8 inch thickness. In any case, they are really really good, and like anything really really good probably shouldn't be eaten more than once or twice a month.

Oven-fried Potato Chips Recipe

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Use a mandoline if you have one to help cut the potatoes in thin, even slices.

Ingredients

4 russet (baking) potatoes, peeled and sliced diagonally 1/8 inch thick
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) of butter, melted
Coarse salt to taste

Method

Pat the potatoes dry between paper towels and arrange them in one layer in 2 buttered cookie sheets; if you have a non-stick cooking spray, this works fine for greasing the pans. Brush the potatoes with the butter, bake them in a preheated 500°F oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. Sprinkle them with the salt.

Yield: Serves 4.

Indexed: Potato, Snack

29 Comments

I tried these last night, and they were awesome!

I soaked the 'chips' in water for about 1 hour, then dried them in a salad spinner. I also used olive oil instead of butter, and they turned out great.

Will definatly be making these agin in the future.

Posted by: Eric on December 19, 2004 1:42 PM

Hi Eric - what a great idea - a salad spinner. We'll have to try that next time. Also good to know the recipe works well with olive oil. Sometimes all that butter can be a bit rich.

Posted by: Elise on December 20, 2004 10:39 PM

Hi Elise,

I finally got around to making these. Like Eric, I soaked the sliced potatoes in water, but the water I used was a solution of sugar and water. I have heard somewhere that McDonalds does the same to their fries. I'll have to make some without the soaking step to see if it enhanced the flavor any. I also substituted the butter with E.V.O.O. I used garlic and black peppercorn infused olive oil. I seasoned the chips with crushed Hawaiian Rock Salt.

They came out very well. My friends and I liked them very much. With one of the batches I made I tossed in some finely chopped garlic. That was very very good. I will definitely be making this again.

Posted by: jupiter on January 3, 2005 2:07 PM

These chips have always been my comfort food. I use Yukon Golds and soak the slices in ice water and then dry them. As a variation, I use olive oil instead of butter, and I sprinkle the slices with chopped rosemary.

Posted by: Holly on January 21, 2005 10:11 AM

What's also very tasty is to use olive oil, but the infused olive oil. I use rosemary, garlic or basil infused oil, because I find that the actual spices tend to burn too much in the high heat.
Enjoy!

Posted by: Bill on October 11, 2005 11:33 AM

I tried your chips. I think I sliced them too thick... When I originally read your recipe I had to make it off of memory (no pc at home). Thought that you said 1/4 in. Instead it is 1/8 in. Oh well, just longer cook time. Couple more minutes....

Done! Taste great

Posted by: Ryan G on March 24, 2006 3:36 PM

Hi ya'll Stephanie here from New Orleans...
Everything tastes better with Tony Tchacheries
spice. I am not sure if the spelling is correct, however the potatoe chips were great. My family wants to know what is for dinner tomorrow already.

Posted by: Stephanie Soo on April 29, 2006 4:00 PM

To answer that question, it removes most of the starch in the potato allowing a better cooking, and thus making them more " crispy". It's like when you pour cold water over macaroni it stops the cooking process making a more al dente texture.

Posted by: mr. somebody on January 23, 2007 4:15 PM

I have just cooked these but used olive oil instead. Wonderful, still the same, nice with meals instead of mash, roast potatoes, etc.

Posted by: ALEX on June 13, 2007 9:25 AM

This is a great side idea for ANY meal. I make them all the time with butter, sometimes olive oil, and spice them differently every time. They seem to work well any way! They are always soooo good.

Posted by: Lenzy on November 20, 2007 7:37 AM

I'm not sure what happened, but mine burnt to a crisp and set off the smoke alarm. I used olive oil. Any advice on what could have gone wrong? I baked them on the upper shelf. Could that have done it?

Also, I went in to check at 13 minutes, which is the point when I found they'd already burnt (and when the blasted alarm went off).

Posted by: Anna on February 21, 2008 1:32 PM

I tried baking these again (I'm determined!) with less oil and less heat (450). The chips turned out okay, but not as crisp and gorgeous looking as the ones in the picture. Some were crisp, others weren't. I ended up finishing them off in the microwave, one handful at a time on a paper towel, which helped. Despite the unevenness of the cooking, everyone loved them. I just wish I could get the butter version to work without dealing with smoke.

Posted by: Anna on February 22, 2008 6:11 AM

I just tried the recipe - but used yams instead and they were very good too! I also needed to turn down the temp. a little, otherwise they seemed to burn.

I've been trying to find recipes for yams (other than candied) as they are supposed to help with hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause! And yams/sweet potatoes are much better for you than white potatoes.

Posted by: Shyrlee on May 20, 2008 11:08 AM

Hi there! My friend and I made these chips last night and they were amazing! But we were making them for a cook out for tonight and they became soggy. Any suggestions for storing them?

Every try storing already cooked french fries? Doesn't work. They get limp. ~Elise

Posted by: Allyson on May 26, 2008 7:26 PM

I've been making these for years but usually make them twice the thickness you have in the photo. In the UK they are known as 'scallops' and have been popular in the north of England for as long as I can remember.

@ Anna - you need to experiment a bit to find the optimal temperature and time as the 'chips' will burn faster on the edges, a nice even heat is needed, perhaps if you pre-heated the oven first? I don't use a brush to apply any oils or spices, I use a spray. Just go down your local gardening shop to get a water sprayer, give it a good clean and use it to apply oil evenly and neatly.

I also keep homemade oils, adding various spices to an oil can make a great difference - mustard seeds and oil, garlic and oil, herbs and oil, rosemary and oil, etc - you have to let the oil sit in a warm place (direct sunlight) once you've added the various ingredients and the longer you leave it the stronger the flavour but it is well worth it.

As you said once or twice a month is fine as these treats are rather unhealthy, but, man, it's worth it.

Posted by: Milander on July 2, 2008 2:31 AM

I have made these multiple times. A mandolin is ideal for cutting the potatoes, as cutting with a knife can be very difficult. Using various spices help the taste as well.

Posted by: RPO on August 4, 2008 2:31 PM

What not to do:
While making salt and vinegar chips, DO NOT soak the potato slices in vinegar, then drown in olive oil, place on a tray smothered in salt and then add more vinegar. Then DO NOT randomly guess a temerature to put the oven at therefore shoving the potatos in an incorrect environment. It will not taste good.

Posted by: retards on September 22, 2008 4:29 PM

Just made these as directed but turned down electric oven temp to 450. Came out great. Not all were as crispy as I would have liked but I think that's due to not slicing thin enough. Am making a sencond batch right now. BONUS: my picky 2yr old ate at least 7-8 chips. That makes it a definite keeper!

Posted by: can'tboilwater on September 24, 2008 11:02 AM

Hello,
I would really like to do this recipe, but I cannot find how long do you soak them in water? when soaking do you already slice the potatoes or the potatoes should not be sliced until they are completely soaked? I don't cook that often and neither am a pro; therefore, I want to learn.

You do not soak the potatoes in water in this recipe. Potatoes have a lot of natural moisture in them, which is why you pat the slices dry before baking them. ~Elise

Posted by: FV on January 9, 2009 8:18 AM

These chips were delicious! I made them at home with a bunch of friends and they were amazing! I suggest that you try them. The more butter the sweeter the chips are.

Tips- Do not hold the chips in too long. (taste sweeter)

If you add a pinch of flour to the butter it will inhance the sudden amount of matter to the chips which will suddenly tase more crispier and buttery. (Tastes even better)

Posted by: Anonymous on March 23, 2009 11:23 AM

I put the sliced potatoes in zip lock bags with some EVOO mixed with season salt, herbs and parm cheese, and mix it up and let it soak for about 30 minutes, then bake them! :P

Posted by: Daniel on January 30, 2010 8:43 PM

This recipe was absolutely amazingg!

Posted by: Lyssa on May 28, 2010 6:17 PM

Would it work to use sweet potatoes for this recipe?

I don't see why not. ~Elise

Posted by: Cindy on August 6, 2010 12:23 PM

I just tried making these and they were all over brown almost burnt on the edges and limp in the middle. I dried them well, any ideas what I did wrong? Could I have made them to thin? I really wanted to make some chips :( Willing to try again but not sure what to do differently.

Every oven is different. I would suppose that in your oven, you shouldn't be cooking them quite so long as directed. ~Elise

Posted by: Carrie on January 21, 2011 1:45 PM

I did this last night and i will never do it again 500degrees is a lil high

Posted by: Lizz on February 23, 2011 2:03 PM

great recipe but I'll have to try it again. Chips were too soft so I'm going to spray oil and maybe lower the heat as advised in previous comments. I wonder if high altitude effects this recipe. If anyone knows of any altitude adjustments for this type of recipe, I'd love to hear it.

Trick for making chips crispier: After the oven has been off for a while and some of the oil or butter has soaked into a paper towel, place chips back on the pan and put back in the oven. The oven should still be warm and will slowly dry out the chips. Chips can also burn this way so when you start to smell them, check the oven and remove the chips which have dried all the way. If you wish to leave them without monitoring, crack the oven open so the heat escapes and is not as intense.

Posted by: Jenna on June 7, 2011 4:26 AM

Modern ovens are much more efficient than they were in 1985! Reduce the temperature... use vegetable oil (butter burns to easily)... Stand and watch them! (It´s only 10 minutes out of your life).

Posted by: Paul UK on July 9, 2011 12:16 PM

My only issue is that without a mandoline, i had different thickness of slices. The super thin ones got burned, while the thick ones didnt cook all the way through. Other than that, these turned out great!

Posted by: Justin on October 19, 2011 4:20 PM

Any reason I can't slice the potatoes (with a mandolin) earlier in the day and keep the slices in ice water? Then prior to prepping and baking them dry them well? Would help in terms of juggling my time!

Sounds like an idea. If you try it that way, please let us know how it works for you. ~Elise

Posted by: Karen on December 15, 2011 7:04 PM

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Oven-fried Potato Chips

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Oven-fried Potato Chips Recipe