Michelin-trained chef Poppy O’Toole, 31, has taken to TikTok to share her recipe for the perfect air fryer chips – and you only need three ingredients to make them
A Michelin-trained chef with an obsession for all things potato, unsurprisingly has the perfect recipe for homemade chips in the air fryer. Poppy O’Toole, 31, tips and tricks ensure that each chip comes out crispy and delicious every time.
The best-selling cookbook author shared her recipe on TikTok to her 4.8 million fans. She claims this is “one of the easiest recipes to do in an air fryer” and the method only involves three ingredients – potatoes, oil and then salt. Firstly, peel your potatoes and slice them into batons – go thicker for chips and much thinner for fries.
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Then, add them into a bowl as Poppy suggests it’s easier to season them this way. Seasoning is key to transforming your spuds into tasty chips that will pair perfectly as a side with most meals or simply enjoyed on their own as a snack.
In Poppy’s recipe, she uses a tablespoon of vegetable oil and “a good sprinkling of salt” for some classic chips, but you could use anything to create different flavours.
There are dozens of combinations that can bring different flavours to your chips. Add some Chinese Five Spice to create a salt and pepper fakeaway, try Italian herbs for a fresh and aromatic side dish, or combine multiple herbs and spices to create your own signature blend.
Adding a thin layer of oil to chips before seasoning or cooking, particularly when using an air fryer, helps the seasoning stick better and produces a crunchier texture. The oil serves as a carrier, enabling the seasoning to adhere to the chips’ surface, reports the Express.
Moreover, oil can facilitate a more uniform cooking process, resulting in a crisper exterior. Returning to Poppy’s thicker chips, the chef places the entire batch directly into the air fryer at 180C for 15 minutes.
After that, she shakes the basket and puts the chips back in for an additional 15 minutes. She remarks, “It’s half an hour, all in, for golden, crispy, delicious, fresh potato chips or fries.”
What are the benefits of using an air fryer to cook chips? These widely used kitchen appliances employ hot air circulation, requiring little to no oil, which leads to lower fat and calorie consumption compared to deep-fried chips. A 2015 study found that food cooked with an air fryer contained significantly less fat.
According to BBC Good Food, this “healthier approach” is more beneficial for our bodies compared to traditional frying methods, which have been linked to weight gain and heart disease.
Further research also suggests that using an air fryer reduces the presence of acrylamide, a known carcinogenic chemical formed when starchy foods like potatoes are cooked at high temperatures (above 120C).
