Don’t tell my local chip shop but I think I prefer their chips after they’ve had an appointment with the air fryer! That’s no slight on the quality of their chips, they’re delicious but Chippy Chips in the Air Fryer just hit differently – they’re the crispiest, most delectable chips you could hope for – just don’t call them fries!
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This post might sound a bit ridiculous and it is in many ways. But I just want to tell everyone that air frying leftover chips is glorious. It’s good for refreshing leftovers or adding some extra heat to a delivery order that has cooled too much.
I actually purposefully go and buy chips from the chip shop to use in a meal in the next day or two. As I live in an area where the chip shops offer really good value so this is actually quite an economical way for me to have chips on hand, even compared to the price of frozen chips. I also generally have a freezer that is around 120% full and chips often don’t earn their place.
You can of course reheat and crisp up any leftover chips or fries. In fact I highly recommend trying it with McDonald’s fries. But I’ve written this talking largely about proper deep fried fat chips bought from a fish and chip shop. Let’s be honest, any Brit knows, they just hit differently.
How to Serve
Of course if you’re simply reheating a cold takeaway or have other leftovers from your chippy meal, then you can serve your chips with the rest of your meal. But as I’ve mentioned, I often buy chips especially to crisp up as a side. Or I overorder the chips to have with another meal.
- You’ll see from the images on this page that I made my own fish supper at home. This was a light, easy and economical way to have a fishy meal but without the batter. I air fried the chips and haddock fillets at the same time while I opened a tin of mushy peas and microwaved them until boiling. Added some sauces and that was me done. Ready to eat in just over 10 minutes.
- Crispy air fried chips are also amazing served with heartier meals like beef and ale pie. Add some vegetable sides like brussels sprouts or mashed carrots and a rich gravy and you’re good to go. What do you mean chips and gravy is weird?! It’s glorious!
- Make another quick and simple meal with air fried pork chops, a couple of fried eggs and some baked beans. Absolute perfection on a plate.
- Take things in a different direction all together by making fully loaded chips! Cook the chips as instructed then pile on toppings like crumbled crispy bacon and handfuls of melty cheese. Air fry until the cheese is melted then serve up with more cold toppings like sliced avocado, cherry tomatoes and finely sliced spring onion. Don’t forget to drizzle with your favourite sauces – I like BBQ and dollops of sour cream.
Ingredients
The Chips
This is simple – go to a fish and chip shop and ask for a portion of chips. The 400g portion you’ll see in my recipe was a small/cone in my chip shop but of course that’s going to vary from place to place.
Chip shop chips aren’t generally super crispy. They’re kind of soft. Even more so if you order them doused in vinegar. Or more accurately “non-brewed condiment“. It doesn’t matter if you have, you can still thrown them in the air fryer. They just might not crisp up quite as well.
I also included scraps in my order. Scraps are called different things in parts of the country including my second favourite – “batter bits”. Both scraps and batter bits are pretty descriptive of what they are – they’re the scrappy bits of batter that fall off into the fryer as everything is cooking. Most places will throw some onto your meal for free if you ask.
Allergen Information
This recipe is free from egg, dairy, gluten and nuts. In theory at least. Any cross contamination issues etc are something that would need to be checked with the chip shop that is making/cooking the chips.
It is also worth noting that although I have noted this recipe as suitable for vegetarians and vegans, you may wish to check with the chip shop what kind of oil/fat they are using for frying. Some still use traditional beef fat. And cross contamination may also be an issue so consider if this is important to you.
Please note that this recipe may contain other allergens not referred to above and any variations suggested have not been tested unless otherwise stated. For more information regarding any dietary information provided on this website, please refer to my Nutritional Disclaimer.
How Long to Air Fry Chippy Chips
To get a really great crisp result, I suggest cooking for 10 minutes in a pre-heated air fryer. If you like them even crispier, you can go for a bit longer. If you just want them hot and aren’t bothered about them being mega crisp, you’ll likely find they’re piping hot after around 5 minutes. Pick a big one and test it to make sure.
This assumes that like me, you are only air frying a portion or two at a time. The more chips you pile into the air fryer basket, the longer they’ll take to cook and crisp. If you have a lot, you’ll likely find that they’re best air fried in batches. Throw them all in together for a couple of minutes at the end to bring them up to temperature at the same time.
How to Air Fry Leftover Chippy Chips From Frozen
If unlike me you have space in the freezer to throw in some leftover chips, you absolutely can do. In an ideal world you’ll free freeze them. That means spreading them out on a tray and putting them in the freezer until frozen solid. You can move them to a bag or container. This method means that they won’t all stick together in a clump.
If you don’t live in an ideal world and have just thrown them straight into the freezer and do indeed now have a lump of chips, it is best to let them thaw before air frying. Or at least thawing to the point that you can separate them all.
When cooking from frozen, they only take a couple of extra minutes.
Leftovers – Storage & Reheating
We’re already talking about reheating leftovers or at the very least, previously cooked chips.
I have tried cooking the chips for third time but they just become hard and not that pleasant to eat. For this reason I would not recommend it. Just try to only cook the chips you are realistically going to eat. You can always throw some more in the air fryer if you underestimate.
Common Air Fryer Questions – A Brief Guide to Air Frying
- What exactly is an air fryer?
- What are the benefits of using an air fryer?
- Are all air fryers the same?
- Is an air fryer always better to use than an oven?
- Do air fryers need to be pre-heated?
- What is the best temperature to air fry at?
- What setting is best to use? Air fry, bake, dehydrate, etc…
- Can food be cooked from frozen in an air fryer?
- Can I reheat food in an air fryer?
- Are air fryer liners a good idea?
The Air Fried Feast Community
Come on over to Facebook and join my community discussing all things air fryer. Get involved in sharing your experiences and trials, help out others and find out what wonderful things everyone is cooking in their air fryers!
What Exactly is an Air Fryer?
Very simply, an air fryer is a small convection (fan) oven. The benefit is that the hot air is circulated all around the food being cooked which speeds up the cooking time and cooks the food more evenly.
What are the Benefits of Using an Air Fryer?
Size, time and energy usage. Air fryers are ideal for cooking smaller quantities. Heating up a space that the food just fits into requires less energy and means that the heat source is much closer to the food. Combining these two things can speed up the cooking time.
Are all air fryers the same?
Nope! The term air fryer is now used very broadly. I consider there to be 4 main types:
Basket Air Fryers
These are what I would consider to be the most common, especially in the UK. A boxy type unit has a pull out drawer/basket. Food isn’t usually visible whilst cooking.
Some larger models have two drawers so different items can be cooked at different temperatures or for different times.
This is the type that you’ll see in the images in this recipe. I mostly use a Cosori Lite 3.8L (CAF-LI401S) with a 3.8 litre capacity. The square(ish) shaped basket is 21cm x 21cm and 24cm on the diagonal. It isn’t an overly expensive or fancy model.
I’ve also recommended to several friends and family the model with a slightly larger basket. This is the Cosori 4.7L (CAF-L501) with a 4.7 litre basket. The unit is no larger than the 3.8 litre model on the outside but does have a larger internal basket capacity. I’ve since bought this version to use for some recipes where my smaller model was just too small. I’ll always note this in the recipe.
Rotary Air Fryers
Round air fryers with a paddle in the centre that rotates to move the food. This is the type I used for years – the most common is a Tefal Actifry.
Rotary types are not usually good for recipes where the food is breaded, glazed, likely to break up or in a tray/container. They do however make the best chips and roasted veg.
My 2 in 1 version like the one I’ve linked also has a rotating tray for things that could be broken up by a paddle, but the height clearance with the lid isn’t deep enough to use it to cook some items like sausage rolls. I’ve now actually retired by Actifry in favour of having my two basket type fryers.
Mini Oven Air Fryers
These usually have a glass door, shelves and overall are really quite large. You can cook quite a decent quantity of food in them so are best if regularly cooking for multiple people. They often come with extra features like a rotisserie spit or kebab skewers.
Multicookers with Air Fryer Functions
Some like Ninja 11 in 1 and some of the earlier versions with a few less functions, have an air fryer option. They mostly operate the same as a basket fryer but the basket drops in the top rather than sliding in like a drawer.
Some electric pressure cookers like Instant Pots can also air fry when used with a specific lid.
Is an air fryer always better to use than an oven?
As much as I do love air frying, the honest answer to this is no. And the more detailed answer is that it will always depend on what you’re cooking, how much of it you’re cooking and what type and size of air fryer you have.
Once you need to cook in more than 2 batches, it often makes more sense to use an oven. If you already have the oven on to cook other items, it may make more sense to throw one more item in rather than using an additional appliance.
I don’t think either method is often necessarily better than the other. The important point to note is that there is absolutely no difference in the finished product.
Do Air Fryers Need to Be Pre-Heated?
The answer to this is rather annoying – it depends. It depends entirely on your model and type of air fryer. The best advice I can offer is to check your manual and follow their guidance. My Cosori models have a preheat function. I press a button and it heats at 205c/400f for 4 minutes.
It’s also worth noting that regardless of whether you are supposed to pre-heat or not, if you are cooking in batches, it is quite likely that anything after the first batch will cook a little quicker because of the retained heat. It is best to check on them before the cooking time is completed.
What is the best temperature to Air Fry at?
It will always depend on what you are cooking and from what state. All of my air fryer recipes don’t use temperatures above 200c/390f because many of the most common fryers in the UK don’t go above this. Mine goes to 230c/450f and I use this temperature a lot but it is no help for me to share recipes which many people can’t use.
What setting is best to use? Air fry, bake, dehydrate, etc…
Not all air fryers have different settings like this. When they do it usually relates to the fan speed. The default setting to use will always be “air fry” so unless something else is specifically stated in the recipe, always use the air fry option.
There are other air fryers that have an additional heating element which cooks from underneath rather than just the top. Just as with the other settings, unless you are using a recipe which states to use a second heating element, stick with just using the top down air fry option.
Of course if and when you become more confident with air frying, using recipes and the settings of your air fryer, you can start adapting them to suit.
Can Food Be Cooked From Frozen In An Air Fryer?
Absolutely! To cook from frozen you usually will need to reduce the cooking temperature and increase the time to make sure your food is cooked right through to the middle.
It is best to check my individual recipes for cooking from frozen advice as some items are a little different. And there are occasionally exceptions to the rule.
Can I Reheat Food In An Air Fryer?
Yes. As a general rule I reheat food for roughly 1/3 of the original cooking time at the same temperature. Or at 10 degrees lower for half the time for larger items.
Are Air Fryer Liners a Good Idea?
Unless otherwise stated, I do not use liners when air frying. Basket and rotary type air fryers are designed to be used without liners. Mini oven types will generally require some kind of tray like with a regular large oven although most come with crisper racks to use.
There are many air fryer liners available including quite thick silicone ones. These will affect the cooking times and possibly temperatures of your cooking/baking. I also don’t like how cooking juices are prevented from dripping through the basket rack. This can stop food from crisping all the way around.
When I do want to collect the juices, I mostly use some foil, or occasionally a foil tray which can be washed and reused.
If you do prefer to use them, once you have got a feel for how they affect your cooking and baking, you may need to make adjustments to the recipe accordingly.
More Air Fryer Recipes
All my recipes with instructions for how to cook or bake them in the air fryer can be found in my Air Fryer Recipe Index.
Don’t forget to let me know in the comments if you try making this recipe – I want to know what you think and if you made any substitutions, how did it turn out?
Still Have Questions?
Simple! Just contact me and I will do my best to help as quickly as I am able. Head over to my Contact Me page, any of my social media channels or post a comment at the bottom of this page and I’ll see what I can do.
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The Recipe
How to Reheat Chippy Chips in the Air Fryer
Equipment
Ingredients
- 400 g Chip Shop Chips
Instructions
- If your air fryer requires pre-heating, start this setting now.
- Unwrap your 400g of Chip Shop Chips, It doesn't matter if there are scraps etc mixed in the chips, they'll reheat and crisp up too.
- Tip the chips into the air fryer basket.
- Cook for 10 minutes at 200c/390f.
- Give the basket a shake after 5 minutes, especially if the chips are in more than one or two layers.
To Cook From Frozen
- Cook for 12 minutes at 200c/390f.
Notes
- The air fryer version of this recipe is tested in a Cosori Lite (CAF-LI401S) with a 3.8 litre capacity. The square(ish) shaped basket is 21cm x 21cm and 24cm on the diagonal.
- Not all models advise preheating is required. Please follow the recommended instructions for your model. Mine has a specific preheat setting which is 4 minutes at 205c.
- For this recipe, I can just fit 400g leftover chips in the basket at a time. This gives just enough room to allow air to circulate.
- As all air fryer models are a little different, you may find that you can fit more or less in at a time. Some models include stacking shelves which will increase capacity.
- Required cooking times and temperatures can also vary between models and brands. If you know that your air fryer runs a little hotter than most recipes suggest, use a lower temperature. And vice versa. Equally if you find that food cooks more quickly in your machine than instructions usually state, reduce the cooking time (or check it earlier) and vice versa.
Cat says
I’ve got relatives that have been telling me to reheat chippy chips for ages and I finally did it! They were great and I hate waste so it’s win-win!
Karen says
Didn’t think you could improve on chippy chips – but I was wrong! Tried this at the weekend and they were so crispy, a great tip to share.