Homemade Baked Potato Chips

This recipe for Homemade Baked Potato Chips is so easy. And tasty. But the main reason I love it is, the potato chips come out perfectly flat making them perfect for one of my favorite appetizers to serve at dinner parties, “Fish and Chips“. This extremely easy to make, yet impressive, appetizers absolutely must be made on flat chips.

Fish and chips-an appetizer being served

Sometimes, as in the photo above, I am able to find Kettle chips that are perfectly flat. They must be the baked ones, and they must be the unflavored ones. Not always so easy to find, so many times I need to make my own.

These chips are so easy to make using a, I know, very scary, mandolin. But trust me, it’s a whole lot easier than trying to thinly slice a potato 1/8th inch thick. And if you use the provided safety hand guard, you should be able safely to slice a few potatoes. Should you choose not to mandolin, and if you have a really sharp knife, a steady hand, and good eyes, it can be done. Just not as quickly.

I like to make these Homemade Baked Potato Chips using Yukon Gold potatoes. Yukon Gold potatoes are a medium starchy potato, very versatile. You could use a red potato as well. If you decide to use a russet potato, they will need to be soaked in ice water for at least 30 minutes to remove some of the starch – then pat them thoroughly dry. Otherwise, you won’t get a crispy potato chip. And that’s the goal. A flat, crunchy chip.

So once you have thinly sliced the potatoes, toss them with just enough extra virgin olive oil to cover them, then place in a single layer on a cookie sheet, pop in a hot oven and bake until crisp and brown. Turning not necessary. Baking the chips, and using just enough oil to coat, helps to keep the fat down.

CAUTION: Once the chips start to brown and crisp up, keep a close eye on them. They can go from done to burnt in short-order. And burnt chips are not good eats.

Once they are done, sprinkle them lightly with salt. If you are just going to snack on them and not use them for Fish and Chips, feel free to add whatever other flavorings you want. Smoked Paprika, pepper, chili powder, BBQ seasonings? It’s all good.