Recipes, Savoury
I’m about to change your life forever. Because these are THE BEST oven chips you will ever eat. For real. No kidding.
(maybe even better than deep-fried. whaaaaa?)
Obviously, oven chips are super important. And life is too short to eat a soggy, kind of burnt, waterlogged, and chewy chip – which is how so many oven baked chips turn out.
I have spent countless hours researching different methods, and testing to see what works best. Do you soak the chips in ice water? Do you douse the chips in boiling water? Do you grease the chips, or grease the tray? What kind of oil do you use? What kind of potato do you use? Is some kind of coating the secret? WHAT IS THE SECRET?
Friends, it was in front of me all along. Because the best oven chips ever, are actually roast potatoes. Proper, British, old school roast potatoes – in chip shape.
Are you familiar with how those beautiful Brits make their roasties? There’s basically two tricks to it: 1) par-boil the potatoes and 2) pre-heat the oil you’re cooking the potatoes in.
It’s super simple! Chop up your potatoes, however many you like, into your preferred chip size (around 1/2 inch or 1cm thick works well). Then you simply chuck them in a pan with cold water, bring them up to the boil, and boil them for 2 minutes.
After only two minutes they’ll still be basically raw, but just beginning to fuzz at the edges. This par-cooking guarantees that you’ll end up with beautifully soft and fluffy insides, and it goes a long way to helping the outsides crisp up too.
But the real secret to crispy outsides, is pre-heating the oil. All you need to do is pour a thin layer of oil into the bottom of your pan, just enough to coat it, and then put that in the oven for at least 15 minutes while your chips are boiling. Be sure to choose an oil that has a high smoke point (like vegetable or peanut oil).
Once the chips go into that hot layer of oil, they begin to sizzle immediately. Which means you get chips which are crispy crispy crispy on the outside, and fluffy fluffy fluffy on the inside. It’s basically heaven. No need to thank me. I do this for love.
THE BEST Oven Chips
The Best Oven Chips. Ever.
Author: Sarah Coates
Ingredients
- Potatoes, as many as you like
- Oil, with a high smoke point
- Salt, good quality
Instructions
- Chop your potatoes into chips (around ½ an inch or 1 cm thickness is ideal)
- Choose a baking dish, making sure it's big enough to take all your chips in one layer (use more than one if necessary)
- Pour a thin layer of oil into your dish, just enough to thinly coat the bottom of the dish
- Preheat the oven to 400F/200C, and place the oiled dish in to preheat for at least 15 minutes.
- Place the chopped chips into a pan, and cover with cold water.
- Add a pinch of salt, and bring up to the boil. Boil for exactly two minutes and then drain and set aside to steam and dry (the drier the chips, the crispier they'll be).
- Once the oil has had it's 15 minutes heating, carefully add the chips to the pan, shaking gently, to ensure they are in one layer.
- Place the pan back in the oven for 15 minutes, then take them out and flip the chips over using a metal spatula.
- Place back in the oven for a further 20 minutes, at which point they should be golden, very crisp, and ready to be drained slightly, doused with salt, and devoured!
Tags from the story
chips, fries, oven chips, Potatoes, the best
Written By
Sarah Coates
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32 Comments
I’ve been seriously loving potatoes recently and I’m am sooo gonna try these out!!! Love anything roasted :)
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Oven chips make me so happy. Love this recipe!
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They look fab. I’ve tried par-boiling and hot oil before and they stuck to the tray like demons… but I shall try again because you said it works and I believe you x
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Make sure the oil is really hot!
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Nice to read some brit loving. Dang those do look good!
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Girl, I consider my life changed! These babies look so ridiculously good. We are potato addicts in my house and my husband has perfect his fry method. I am so excited that we can use this baked version now!
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This will satisfy any fried chips addict, for sure!
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They do look very crisp!
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You are an amazing chips goddess. Cannot WAIT to try this!!!
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These really do look like THE BEST chips! What kind of potatoes did you use?
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Good question – I used desiree potatoes, but I think any floury potato would do.
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Those look, um, worth marrying . . . or at least eating – YUM! Thanks for doing the ground work – can’t wait to try them!
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ooh better than fried! I like the sound of that? I find it hard to stop at one chip so oven baked is a smarter option :P
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Me too! But these are so good, it doesn’t feel like missing out.
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holy balls! i have the biggest bag of potatoes at home and they are desperate to fulfill their chip destiny… guess what i am making tonight!
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Oh! These are gorgeous as always! This par-boiling business is new to me… which means I HAVE to try it!
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They look absolutely amazing!! I love potatoes out of the oven and can really imagine them being much crispier when you do it like you said. :)
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Girrrrrl I thought the chips recipe you posted with your hangover ham sandwich were the best chips! But obviously. I must taste-test these! Immediately. Gorgeous, crisp outsides……… I can see the crisp-ness!!
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OH MY WORD!
I waaaaaant these “chips” (you know as Yankees call em Fries lol :P) WHATEVER THEY’RE CALLED THEY’RE EFFING DELICIOUS!
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YES! I am so excited to try this.
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Ooh, fabulous chip-making tips! Thanks!
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You’re a genius! I would have never thought to use hot oil, but it makes perfect sense. My taste buds, my husband, and my five extra pounds I will soon have all thank you!
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I’ve juste tried this for the sunday family diner and, Yes, It works soooo Good. Thank You From France !
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YAAAY! Thanks Stephanie!
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My English mister thanks you from across the sea!
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My husband and I had these for supper tonight… and we’ll definitely make them again! They were really delicious – thanks for the recipe :)
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That’s fantastic! Thank you for the brilliant feedback Julie, I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
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You are quite right Sarah, this is the best way to make oven chips. Great minds think alike!
I’m really enjoying reading your blog, love your style.
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Hmmm. Ok, well, I put them in the water and it took 2 minutes to get the water back up to boiling. Did you mean boil them for 2 minutes after the water is back up to temp or 2 minutes from the time you put the potatoes in the water, regardless of refractory?
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Hey Lucy – they need to boil for two minutes, so yes bring them back up to the boil, and time for two minutes. Thanks for your comment, I will update the instructions to reflect this.
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Absolutely divine; even better than the deep fried variety!
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Thank you so much, they turned out better than deep fried, like proper Brit chip shop chips!
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