15 Uses For Potato Chips That Transcend Snacking

Potato chips are the perfect snack when you're craving something crispy, salty, and slightly greasy. Not only are they quick and easy to eat, but they're also affordable and come in a vast variety of enticing flavors. Even better, they don't have to be just for snacking. Potato chips can also be used in a wide range of recipes, from tasty breakfast dishes to burgers, soups, salads, and desserts. You can even make potato chips the main star of a meal.

There are several reasons many people love cooking with potato chips. For one, the crunchy texture can elevate dishes that might otherwise be rather bland. In addition, the saltiness of the chips can give foods an extra boost of seasoning. Flavored chips can amp up the taste profiles of certain dishes even more. Then there is the oil that adds richness to recipes. Potato chips are also pretty versatile. You can crush them, layer them, soak them, or blitz them into a fine powder.

Ready to go beyond simply snacking on potato chips? Consider using store-bought or homemade oven-baked potato chips in some of these dishes. You may just find that they take your meal to a whole new level. 

Looking for a dish that's elegant, but quick and easy to whip up with just a few basic ingredients? A Spanish tortilla is a good bet. Also called tortilla de patatas, this comforting dish is essentially an omelet with thinly sliced potatoes and onions. But why waste time slicing potatoes when you can use potato chips? That may be just what Spanish chef Ferran Adrià was thinking when he created his iconic potato chip Spanish tortilla.

To make this genius time-saver tortilla, simply add the chips to the eggs and let the mixture sit for a few minutes. Then cook the omelet as you usually would. The potato chips will absorb some of the moisture from the eggs, creating a soft, tender filling. 

You can also take a cue from the hit television show "The Bear" and simply crumble potato chips on top of your omelet. In one episode from Season 2, sous chef Sydney made a simple, but innovative omelet with eggs and Boursin cheese. She rubbed the finished omelet with butter and sprinkled it with chives and crushed potato chips.

The next time you're planning on making pie crust from scratch, consider reaching for a bag of potato chips to add to the mix. This little-known pie crust hack will give you a crunchy base with a touch of saltiness that can contrast nicely with sweet fillings. It also works well with savory dishes like quiches, meat pies, and vegetable tarts. You can use the potato chip pie crust as a base or make a dough that you can layer on top of the pie.

The easiest way to incorporate potato chips into pie crust is to pulverize the chips in a food processor and mix them with some flour and butter to bind the chip dust together. However, you can also soften the potato chips with wet ingredients like milk, eggs, and butter and layer the softened chips into the base of your pie dish. Plain potato chips work best for most recipes because they won't detract too much from the other flavors in your pie. 

You've probably had chips alongside a burger or sandwich, but have you ever thought about combining them to create a fantastically crunchy and flavorful dish? Simply throw some chips in with your burger or sandwich fillings and you have another layer of crispiness that goes beyond just what lettuce or pickles can bring. Plain chips work fine, but flavors like barbecue, salt and vinegar, and sour cream and onion can bring even more complexity to your handheld meal.

Potato chips work well with so many types of sandwiches and burgers. You can level up PB&J sandwiches and other sandwiches with soft fillings like egg salad and lobster rolls with a crunchy layer of potato chips. You can crush up your chips and incorporate them into your burger mix to add extra texture and richness. Potato chips also taste great with deli meats, fresh veggies, and cheese. Then again, you can just do what Nigella Lawson does and simply layer chips between two pieces of buttered bread for some "carb-on-carb" action that she calls, "just rapturous!"

It's easy to see why meatloaf is such a popular meal. When done right, it's hearty, moist, and full of flavor. Get it wrong though and you could end up with a dry, boring meatloaf. Potato chips may be just the ingredient you need to take your meatloaf from dull to delectable. When mixed into the meat and baked in the oven, the potato chips release starch that smooths out the texture of the meatloaf. The saltiness of the chips also provides extra flavor.

To incorporate potato chips into your meatloaf, just crush them up and add them to your meat mixture along with eggs, spices, and any other ingredients you'll be using. Just remember that potato chips are already salty, so you'll want to dial back the salt or leave it out altogether. Another secret weapon meatloaf trick is to soak the potato chips in milk first to soften them and add even more moisture to the dish. Want to amp up the flavor? Consider using barbecue chips or Flamin' Hot Cheetos.

Wondering what to do with a bag of stale potato chips? Breading is an easy and delicious way to use up leftover chips and create a crispy, flavorful meal. Most breaded dishes call for breadcrumbs, but you can swap those out for potato chips to upgrade fried chicken, create a crispy coating for pork schnitzel, or elevate fish and chips. Just crush the chips up and bread your protein as you normally would. This could include dusting it with flour, dipping it in whisked eggs, and giving it a final dunk in the potato chip breading before frying or baking the dish.

The great thing about using potato chips for breading is that you can get creative with your flavors. Barbecue chips can add a robustness that you just won't get from regular breadcrumbs. Salt and vinegar chips can add a slight tang, while sour cream and onion chips can give you those classic flavors without having to mess around with a ton of spices. You can also experiment with different textures like thin chips for light dishes like fried tofu or rippled chips for heartier dishes like chicken wings.

Salad and potato chips may seem like an unlikely pairing, but some salads can benefit from the extra crunch that chips bring. You can use potato chips in your salad just like you would nuts or seeds. Sprinkle some crushed potato chips on top to add textural contrast to softer ingredients like avocado, lettuce, and tomatoes. Potato chips can also stand in for croutons when you don't have time to crisp up bread or don't have pre-made croutons on hand.

Creamy salads can also get a kick of crunch and flavor from potato chips. You can give your potato salad a double-whammy of potato flavor by adding crushed potato chips. Tuna salad on its own can be a bit plain, but potato chips can take the texture and flavor up a notch. You can also use potato chips to scoop up softer salads or stray salad bits. If you're going the scooping route, aim for something hefty like ridged chips or Doritos.

Think back to the best mac and cheese you ever had. You're probably bringing to mind luscious, creamy cheese mixed with al dente pasta that had just the right amount of bite. Possibly that mac and cheese had a lovely breadcrumb crust that added a bit of buttery crunch. Now imagine introducing potato chips with all their crunchy, oily, and salty components. It's the marriage of two indulgent comfort foods in one spectacular dish.

There are a few different ways you can upgrade your mac and cheese with potato chips. You can mix potato chips into the pasta and cheese sauce so that they take on a tender consistency and infuse the sauce with flavor. Here's where fun flavors work well like jalapeño, ranch, and cheddar and sour cream. You can also create a potato chip crust for the top of your mac and cheese. This helps the chips retain their crunchy texture and provides a nice contrast to the creaminess of the sauce.

Potato chip cookies may not sound very appetizing, but many people say you shouldn't knock them until you've tried them. Potato chips can add a savory element to cookies that blends beautifully with the richness of butter and the sweetness of sugar. Some say the texture is also beyond what you get from a regular cookie batter. The chips soften just a bit but also retain a chewiness that works well in many cookie recipes.

The internet is rife with recipes for potato chip cookies. Some versions include little more than butter, flour, sugar, vanilla, and crushed potato chips, giving you a cookie that resembles something like shortbread. Others include ingredients like cocoa powder or chocolate chips. Then there are garbage cookies (also called compost cookies), which can include any snack items you can think of like potato chips, pretzels, M&M's, Skittles, raisins, or caramel chips. Don't be afraid to get innovative with your sweet and salty pairings.

Creamy soups can be ultra-comforting, but also a bit monotone on the palate. This is especially true with smooth soups that don't have any textural contrast like chunks of potato or veggies. The solution? Sprinkle some crushed potato chips on top of your soup. Flavored chips will add some pizazz, but even plain chips can add a pinch of seasoning and crunch to every bite. Keep in mind that thin chips can get soggy quickly, so you probably want to go with something thicker like kettle chips or ridged chips.

While creamy soups have the most to gain from crunchy potato chips, you can also use chips to jazz up pretty much any type of soup. Basically, the chips fulfill the same role as crackers, but with an extra richness from the oil. You don't have to stick to just regular potato chips either. Corn chips can be an excellent addition to tortilla soup if you don't happen to have crispy tortilla strips. Crumbled Cheetos could work well with broccoli and cheddar soup. For a chip-like twist, you can also use fried potato skins as a topping for your potato soup.

If you're looking to impress guests at your next dinner party, tartare is a good way to go. It's not uncommon to see steak tartare and tuna tartare on menus at fine-dining restaurants, which may make it rather intimidating to make at home. However, both steak and tuna tartare are deceptively simple to make. You can also put a low-key twist on this otherwise "fancy" dish by serving it with potato chips.

All you need for a basic beef tartare is raw beef, minced shallots, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and a raw egg. You can add ingredients like chopped cornichons, capers, and fresh parsley, but you don't need to go overboard. Tuna tartare can be just as simple with just raw tuna, soy sauce, and sesame oil. 

Potato chips are the perfect vessel for tartare because they add crunch and a rich mouthfeel to the softness of the raw meat. The best chips to use for tartare are thick chips that can handle weight like kettle chips. Opt for plain chips because the neutral flavor will let the flavors of the tartare really shine.

Anime fans may be familiar with the fried rice hack from "Weathering With You," which involves adding crushed potato chips to fried rice. It's not very common in many places in the world, which may be why it blew so many people away. However, in several Southeast Asian countries, eating chips with fried rice is a pretty common practice. For example, in Indonesia, fried rice is often served with prawn crackers on the side. The chip-like crackers add crunch and serve as a tool for scooping up the rice.

Crispy potato chips can also elevate fried noodles. Simply sprinkle crushed potato chips on top and you have a crunchy garnish that complements the chewiness of the noodles. You can play around with different chip flavors to add an extra hit of heat or more depth to the dish. Potato chips can also bulk up ramen noodles if you're lacking other ingredients or just want a fast, carb-heavy meal. 

Potato chips have long been a favorite topping for casseroles in the Midwest. A case in point is funeral potatoes, which are typically made with a mix of hash browns, cream of chicken soup, and cheese topped with a crunchy layer of potato chips or sometimes Corn Flakes. The potato chips create a golden crust on top that contrasts beautifully with the tender, creamy potatoes below.

Funeral potatoes aren't the only type of casserole that can benefit from potato chips. Many people top tuna noodle casseroles with chips to add some crunch to the softness of the tuna and cooked pasta. It's also a common topping for chicken casseroles, green bean casseroles, and root vegetable casseroles. You can also use potato chips to top casserole-like dishes such as shepherd's pie and scalloped potatoes. As with any dish that you're planning to add potato chips to though, it's important to keep in mind that potato chips pack a wallop of salt, so you'll need to adjust your recipe accordingly.

America may have its fair share of innovative hot dog toppings like chili, spicy brown mustard, and pickles, but many Colombians will tell you they just can't compare to the brilliant mix that graces the Colombian hot dog. A traditional Colombian hot dog features a combination of sweet, salty, tangy, creamy, and crunchy toppings. You can slather your dog with pineapple sauce, ketchup, mustard, or a zingy pink sauce featuring mayonnaise and tomato sauce. The final touch is a layer of salty crushed potato chips.

Many Colombians will tell you that the authentic way to cook a Colombian hot dog is to boil it. When it's done, pop it in the bun and add your favorite sauces. Optional ingredients could include coleslaw, quail eggs, and bacon. But one thing that many say is not non-negotiable is those crunchy potato chips. The chips add essential crispness and salt that helps cut through the richness of the sweet and creamy sauces. Plain potato chips are the norm, but there's nothing to say you can't branch out with other flavors.

Just like potato chips, onion rings are crunchy, greasy, and ultra-crave-worthy. Some might say they're even more appealing than chips thanks to the sweet, juicy onion inside the crispy batter. Onion rings are typically made with a coating of breadcrumbs or panko. You can also opt for a beer batter made with beer, flour, and seasoning. One method that's less common but just as effective for getting that crispy exterior is a potato chip coating.

Crushed potato chips can create additional levels of crunch and flavor to your onion rings that go beyond a light and airy beer batter or fine panko coating. The first thing you'll need to do is dunk your onion rings in wet ingredients to give the potato chips something to adhere to. Many people dredge the sliced onions in flour, then dip them in eggs and milk or buttermilk before coating them in crushed potato chips. After that, you can bake the onion rings, deep-fry them, or throw them in the air fryer until they're golden and crispy.

Cacio e pepe is a classic Roman pasta with an interesting origin story. It dates back to ancient times when shepherds would herd livestock in the mountains and needed to carry simple ingredients with them that would provide sustenance and not spoil easily. They came up with a simple dish of dried pasta noodles boiled and tossed with hard Pecorino cheese and black pepper. If you're looking for something just as satisfying but even easier to make, cacio e pepe potato chips reimagine this beloved pasta dish.

The beauty of this tasty snack is how simplistic it is. Just layer some kettle chips on a baking sheet, cover them in a hefty amount of Pecorino or Parmesan cheese, and dust them with freshly cracked black pepper. Pop them in the oven and in just a few minutes you have an elevated snack that transcends plain old potato chips. The key is to use strong chips that will hold up under all that melted cheese. Plain ridged chips or kettle chips work well because they're thick and won't overpower the taste of the cheese and pepper.