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Is there anything better than flaky flecks of salt clinging to your fingers as you crunch into a perfectly crispy chip? Rosemary Potato Chips will satisfy any snack attack and have you celebrating the mighty spud.

Making homemade potato chips at home is both easy and fun. Using the humble Idaho potato, this is a straight-forward process that requires minimal ingredients. Whether you’re double dipping into Grilled Clam Dip or munching on these on their own, it will be love at first crunch.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

The mighty crispy, crunchy, fried potato practically has its own aisle dedicated to it in the grocery store. Potato chips are a food group unto themselves. Rosemary Potato Chips give you everything you love about the salty fried tater and more.

Cheap – Have you ever opened up that bag of potato chips and felt as deflated as the amount of air escaping? There’s something sad about cracking it open and seeing it only half full. Including salt and pepper, making these homemade potato chips only requires five simple ingredients. It is just as budget friendly to make a lot of them as it is only a couple of potatoes. You will get more bang for your buck with homemade chips than you will with that half empty store-bought bag.
Quality Control – Five simple, staple ingredients. There are zero preservatives and weird chemicals you can’t pronounce. You even have total control over what type of oil you fry your chips in.
Crunch Factor – Homemade chips are slightly thicker and heartier than their fragile mass-produced counter parts. They’re delicious on their own but also hold up well to being dunked, dipped, and double dipped.

Minimal Ingredients – There is no laundry list of ingredients required to make these crispy chips. Skip the shopping cart and grab the basket.

Ingredients

All hail the mighty Idaho potato. Save your Yukon golds for mashed potatoes and red skinned taters for that mustard kissed potato salad. This recipe is as much about simplicity as it is the process.

Russet Potatoes – These have the perfect texture and starch for potato chips. Pick ones that are on the small to medium side for easy slicing and more uniform frying.
Rosemary – Woodsy, aromatic, and herbaceous, this hardy herb holds up well to frying. The process of frying mellows its flavor and gives it a slightly buttery flavor.
Oil – Pick a neutral oil with a high smoke point such as canola, peanut oil, grape seed, or vegetable oil.
Flaky Sea Salt – With minimal ingredients, make your salt count. I like Maldon Sea Salt for these.
Freshly Cracked Pepper – Potatoes, rosemary, and pepper just belong together. These crispy spuds hold up well to the earthy mild spice of pepper. Stick with black pepper or get fancy with a mix. White pepper adds a more mild spice while pink peppercorn gives a slightly floral note. I like using a mix.

How to Make Rosemary Potato Chips

While the actual process of making sea salt potato chips is easy, there are several steps, and they all have a purpose. Once you have the steps down you can have fun experimenting with different spice blends and totally make these your own.

Slice – You can peel your potatoes, but I like leaving the skin on for more rustic potato chip. Using a mandoline will give you thin, consistent slices and save you time if you plan on using more than three or four potatoes.

Soak – This portion is key. Soaking your potato slices in cold water will not only prevent them from oxidizing and turning brown, but it will also remove their excess starch. This is the trick to crispy potato chips. You will change out the water a couple of times before it is clear.

Rinse – After you have changed the water 2-3 times, rinse your potato slices to remove any risidual starch.
Dry – A dry potato is a crispy potato. Line one or two baking sheets with either paper towel or a kitchen towel and spread out your slices in a single layer before laying more paper towel over the top and thoroughly drying them.
Heat – Place a frying pan over medium heat. Fill your frying pan or cast iron pan with about an inch to an inch and a half of oil and heat it to 325 degrees. If you don’t have an instant read thermometer, you can place the handle of a wooden spoon into your hot oil and when bubbles appear around it you’re good.
Fry – Add a couple of rosemary sprigs to your hot oil and let the fry for a minute. Remove them and begin carefully adding your potatoes in batches. You don’t want to over crowd your pan. Use rubber tipped tongs or a spider to keep the potatoes moving around so they fry evenly and don’t stick together. Each batch will take 3-4 minutes. Every few batches toss in another couple of rosemary sprigs.

Drain – Remove your golden potato chips from the hot oil and allow them to drain on a paper towel lined baking rack. This will allow air to circulate around them so they stay crispy.
Season – As soon as the potato chips come out of the oil season them with salt, pepper, and the crumbled fried rosemary.

Variations

Peeled – This recipe is for rustic potato chips with their skin. For a more delicate potato chip you can peel them first before slicing them.
Herbs – Other hardy herbs that hold up well to frying can be used in this recipe. Sage and thyme are both excellent options.

Tools for Rosemary Potato Chips

Grill – When it comes to frying food I always heat up my grill and fry outside. The Aspire by Hestan gas grill gives me even and dependable temperature control.
Grill Safe Fry Pan – When frying on the grill you want a pan with tall sides that can withstand the heat. The Hestan NanoBond series is high heat resistant up to 1050 degrees. This 100% toxin free cookware is made in Italy and is stain, scratch, and stick resistant. You can also use a cast iron skillet when frying on the grill.

Mandoline – Using a mandoline allows you to make thin, consistant slices. If you haven’t used one before or often, it’s always wise to use the guard that comes with it to be safe.
Large Bowl – Make sure that you have a large bowl or container so your potato slices can easily soak without being smashed together.
Spider/Rubber Tipped Tongs – A spider is a classic companion to frying and will allow you to remove multiple slices at a time. Rubber tipped tongs are more delicate than regular metal tongs and will allow you to move the potatoes around. Use what you like or what you have.
Baking Rack – Allowing your rosemary potato chips to drain on a baking or cooling rack allows the air to circulate around them so they remain crispy.

Storage

Homemade potato chips are a fantastic made ahead dish. Once they are fully cooled and drained, you can store them in an airtight container or ziplock bags at room temperature for up to a week. They will remain fresh and crunchy, but I promise they won’t last that long.

Tips From the Beach

There are three keys to super crispy potato chips, soak, rinse, dry. Soak your potatoes to remove the excess starch. Rinse your potatoes to rid them of any remaining starch they might have been sitting in. Thoroughly pat them dry. This will also prevent them from splattering as much when they hit the hot oil.

Always make sure your oil is around 325-350 degrees. If it isn’t hot enough your potatoes will just get soggy and greasy. A soggy potato is a sad potato. If it’s too hot the potatoes will burn instead of getting golden, brown, and delicious. Let your oil come back to temp between each batch of potatoes.