Learn the secret to making beautifully crispy chips in the oven! No need to par-boil the potatoes, and even peeling those spuds is optional!
A simple and classic side dish to go with almost anything!!
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I’ll be the first to admit that I have a bag of frozen chips in in my freezer right now. It’s a handy freezer staple that I won’t hesitate to use.
However, I always feel just a little bit more angelic when I make chips at home.
And this recipe makes lovely CRISPY chips – without having to get that deep fat fryer out.
What’s the difference between fries and chips?
From a UK perspective:
- Fries are skinny chips. Fries are around 4-5mm thick
- Chips are your regular-sized version. About 1cm thick.
- Steak chips are fat chips – 1.5cm-2.5cm thick
- Incidentally, for the 3 versions listed above, we’re talking about that potato side dish made up of long rectangular sliced potato with fluffy potato interior and crispy exterior. We’re not talking about crisps in any way shape or form.
From a US perspective – (US friends please let me know if I’m wrong here!):
- What the UK call crisps are known as chips.
- What the UK call fries is the same thing in the US I believe. Although I think fries in the US covers anything from 4mm-1cm thick,
- What the UK call chips are sometimes can be known in the US as fries or sometimes steak fries if they’re on the larger side?
- What the UK call steak chips I believe are called steak fries in the US.
So we’re making UK chips which are also US steak fries.
Right?
Yeah, I’m 91.7% sure that’s right.
📋 What do we need?
- Potatoes – We’re looking for floury potatoes such as Rooster, Maris Piper, King Edward or Russet.
- Cornflour (cornstarch) – for a crispier exterior
- Salt and pepper for seasoning and paprika for a bit of extra golden colour
- Oil – use a neutral oil – such as sunflower or regular olive oil.
🔪 How to make these Homemade Oven Chips
Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Slice the potatoes (it’s up to you whether you want to skin on or if you want to peel them) into 1cm (3/8 inch) thick chips.
- Sprinkle with cornflour, then place on an oiled non-stick baking tray. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, paprika and drizzle on more oil. Toss together.
- Cover the tray in foil, then bake in the oven for 10 minutes – this will steam the potatoes.
- Remove the foil, then cook for a further 15-20 minutes, turning once with a spatula approx halfway through cooking.
👩🍳PRO TIP Be sure to oil the tray and foil that you’re placing on top of the tray – this will help to prevent the chips from sticking.
Serve with a sprinkling of salt (and a good dollop of ketchup if you’re so inclined).
🍽️ What to serve them with
Here are some of my favourite things to serve with these crispy oven fries
- Crispy Chicken Burger
- Cheesy Chickpea Veggie Burgers
- Buttermilk Fried Chicken
- Steak Pie
- BBQ Chicken Wings
- I’ve even been known to serve them with homemade lasagne. shhh don’t tell anyone 😉
Ketchup? mayo? or a mixture of both!
Why are you cooking with the foil on first?
This helps to par-cook the potatoes in their own steam so that the fries are tender in the middle by the time they’re crispy on the outside. It’s easier to steam them in the oven rather than dirty a pan by par-cooking them in boiling water.
Why do I need to use cornflour?
Cornflour is a starch which produces a light crisp coating. We’re only using a small amount – so as not to give the fries a chalky taste. Just enough to help crisp up the fries a little more than they would naturally.
Do I need to soak the potatoes first?
Some people do. I don’t think it’s necessary.
Soaking the potatoes removes some of the starch from the potatoes. Removing this excess starch does two things:
- Starch can make the surface of the potato sticky – which can make the chips stick together on the baking tray. However! We’re coating the chips in a little oil – which will stop them sticking together.
- Starch contains sugar molecules. These sugars cook quickly, causing the potatoes to brown on the outside before the inside is cooked. However! We’re covering the potatoes for the first part of the cooking process – which starts the cooking process whilst protecting them from browning.
📺 Watch how to make it
🍲 More Potato-Based Goodness!
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Homemade Oven Chips
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp olive oil (or other neutral tasting oil – such as sunflower or vegetable)
- 700 g (1.5 lbs) of floury potatoes such as Maris Piper or Rooster – these will ensure a fluffier chip interior and a crispier exterior.
- 1 tbsp cornflour cornstarch
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp paprika
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F (fan).
- Brush a large metal non-stick baking tray with 1 tbsp of vegetable oil. If your tray isn't non-stick, line the tray with non-stick foil instead. (*tip 1)4 tbsp olive oil
- Cut the potatoes into 1 cm (about 3/8 of an inch) thick slices (no need to peel).700 g (1.5 lbs) of floury potatoes
- Sprinkle the sliced potatoes with the cornflour and transfer to the oiled baking tray.1 tbsp cornflour
- Sprinkle with the salt, pepper, and paprika, then drizzle on the rest of the oil (3 tbsp).1 tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper, ½ tsp paprika
- Toss everything together with your hands so the fries are fully coated in the oil and arrange the chips in a single layer. Try to ensure they’re not touching too much.
- Cover the tray in a piece of foil that’s been greased with a little vegetable oil.
- Place in the oven for 10 minutes, then remove the foil and cook for a further 10 minutes.
- Turn the fries over using a spatula and cook for a final 5-10 minutes until golden brown and crisp.
- Transfer to a serving dish and serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.
So easy. They turn out perfectly every Time.
Hi Nikky, Great tasting, nice and easy to follow,
is there anything to stop them from sticking to the tray. I used a non-stick tray and oiled it, however all of them stuck.
Thanks
Dave
Great recipe! One thing though. I had to broil these an additional 10 minutes, flipping every 2 mins. They were still limp and soggy at 30 minutes. But, with the broil at the end, they came out perfect.
This is absolutely the most beautiful French Fry recipe I have made. Although I did not follow the measurements or cooking times (I usually don’t anyhow) it is amazing! I cut up 5 potatoes, and then just added dashes of cornstarch, paprika, season salt, garlic, black pepper and olive oil until they felt and smelled right. I steamed them for 20 mins (my pan was too small for that many potatoes) and did 4 sets of 7 minutes to crisp them, stirring in-between.
Thank you for throwing this recipe out there, it will be a staple in our house as I usually hand fry on the stove and its messy and expensive.
Excellent oven chips far superior to frozen bought chips. Will make again and again.
These were just delicious .. easy to make.. so tasty ! X
They are a huge hit with the family, love them. No more store bought oven chips.
Oh, and par boil them first and rough them up by tossing them in a colander. They cook quicker and are far mores crispy. No corn flour is then needed.
Sorry about the double posting.
Hi Kevin,
Yes, I’ve made fries by parboiling potatoes lots of time, but the point of this recipe was to make it easier – just using the oven, not having to dirty another pan.
My challenge to myself was to make lovely crispy fries without having to parboil them first – therefore using the steam, when the chips are covered in foil, to par-cook the potatoes, and using the cornflour to help with crispness.
Thanks for this article.
We don’t have ‘fries’, we have French fries. If you remember you guy’s in the U.S. dropped the ‘French’ in pique at something the French did. The term is seldom used here though.
In practice they are all called chips. Though ‘Fat Chips’ became fashionable some years back. They are probably what you refer to as steak chips.
I have never heard of steak chips. I don’t think that is a commonly used term.
Hi Kevin, I’m not in the US, I’m British and I live in the UK.
Everybody knows what fries are here 😊
Steak chips is also a pretty common name for fat chips here (in restaurants and also in supermarkets). You can buy them in Sainsburys, Iceland, Tesco etc.