Air Fryer Potato Chips: BBQ, Cheddar and Sour Cream, Chipotle Ranch, and Spicy Sweet Chili

It took plenty of charred potatoes, but I’ve finally nailed down a super fast and simple way to make amazing air fryer potato chips. Even better, I’ve figured out a handful of ways to season them to mimic classic potato chip flavors. Other than the air fryer time, these chips shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes of prep time.

I’ll run through all the seasoning combos below and include the recipe card for plain air fryer potato chips at the end. One thing I learned in my chip trials is that adding seasoning blends before frying rarely works. The basics like salt works fine, but others tend to burn and leave a charred flavor.

So, all the seasoning combos below will go on the air fried potato chips after coming out of the air fryer. Just mix, toss, and devour. And before I forget, all the seasoning recipes are for 200 grams of potato.

BBQ Air Fried Potato Chips

With so many exotic chip flavors these days, I wouldn’t fault anyone for getting adventurous with their snack selections. That said, the classic BBQ potato chip is forever atop my chip flavor rankings. Here’s what I tossed my air fried potato chips with:

• 1 Tbsp Slow Cooker BBQ Seasoning Mix (in spice aisle – I used McCormick)

That’s it, folks.

Air Fryer Cheddar and Sour Cream Potato Chips

If you’re already a member of the #cheddargang then cheddar powder needs no introduction. For those unfamiliar with cheddar powder, it’s simply dehydrated cheddar and that can be reconstituted to form a cheese sauce or used in powder form on popcorn, snacks, or in this case, air fried potato chips.

I’ve made too many recipes with cheddar powder to keep track of at this point. But if you’d like to see a few examples like cauliflower mac and cheese, garlic cheddar mashed potatoes, and more, read this.

Here’s what I used for the cheddar and sour cream chips:

• 1/2 to 1 Tbsp Cheddar Powder
• 1 tsp Ranch Dip Mix or Seasoning (if you have a Sam’s Club near you, they have this in bulk so you don’t have to open a package for 1 tsp)

One thing I’ll add with this combo is that the cheddar powder tends to clump when exposed to heat or moisture. Let the chips cool a bit before tossing in the seasoning and it should be all good in the hood.

Cheese and Dairy-Free “Cheesy” Potato Chips

Want a cheesy potato chip without the actual cheese? You may or may not be familiar with nutritional yeast and its almost parmesan-like flavor profile. Inspired by this not cheese cheesy dust, the blend below is a delicious alternative to cheddar powder.

• 1 tsp Nutritional Yeast
• 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
• 1/4 tsp Paprika
• 1/8 tsp Garlic Powder

The nutritional yeast is a bit flaky, but you can mix it really well and almost grind it into a finer powder before adding to the chips.

Chipotle Ranch Air Fried Chips 

Is it just me or has chipotle as a flavor really burst on the scene over the past few years? It seems like there’s a chipotle edition of nearly every dish or food product out there now. And for good reason—it’s delicious.

• 1 tsp Ground Chipotle Pepper Powder
• 1 tsp Ranch Dip Mix or Seasoning (if you have a Sam’s Club near you, they have this in bulk so you don’t have to open a package for 1 tsp)

I added a bit of cayenne pepper to mine but if you’re sensitive to spice, you may want to pass.

Air Fryer Spicy Sweet Chili Chips

If you had a time machine and could rewind time back to the summer of 2007, you’d find me playing Banjo Kazooie eating family size bags of Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos. It’s a time I’m not proud of, but I like to think it’s part of my origin story.

On a serious note, this simplified version isn’t exactly like the amazing Doritos, but it’s close enough and delicious nonetheless.

• 1 tsp Stevia or Granular Sugar Substitute
• 1/2 tsp Chili Powder
• 1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper

With the stevia in this combo, I like to add the seasoning as the chips come right out of the air fryer.

More Seasoning Options

I’m not sure how traditional you like your potato chips, but you could easily adapt some of my other air fryer potato recipes to work for chips. Check some of these out: 

• chili garlic air fryer sweet potato fries
• Five Guys cajun fries
• garlic parmesan red potatoes

If you try any of these air fryer potato chips, I wanna see them. Tag me on Instagram in your re-creation and I’ll be sure to share it with everyone on the ‘Gram. And if you’re wondering about the air fryer I use, it’s Simple Living’s 5.2L XL Air Fryer which they were nice enough to send me earlier this year. You can find it on Amazon here.

Bone apple tea.

More Recipes You Might Like

If you’re a potato lover like me, I think you’ll dig my chipotle beef sweet potato nachos. They’re super filling and loaded with flavor. You might also like my Mexican air fryer potatoes.