Popping Your Store-Bought Potato Chips In The Oven Makes All The Difference

According to the Smithsonian Magazine, there was a $350 million increase in sales of potato chips from 2019 to 2020, so it's clear that these crispy treats have become a popular go-to snack. You can pop open that potato chip bag, pour those chips into a bowl or onto a tray, and serve the chips with your favorite dipping sauces and toppings, or even pair them with a sandwich. However, this is a blandly traditional way to prepare those potato chips you got from the grocery store. Thankfully, instead of settling for this, you can elevate your store-bought potato chips with a homemade twist.

There are all kinds of creative ways to use potato chips when cooking, but have you tried topping your store-bought potato chips with one of your favorite cheeses, some seasonings and herbs, then warming them in the oven? What results is a unique snack or appetizer that you can serve with a variety of dishes. If you're unsure about what combination of ingredients to add to those chips, look no further than your pantry and your imagination.

This oven twist on your store-bought potato chips will be built entirely from your personal tastes, essentially creating your own original recipe, which is what makes it so fun, exciting, and delicious. Opt for a cheese-seasoning-herb combo of ingredients to layer on your store-bought potato chips before popping them in the oven. When selecting which of the top-rated potato chips to buy from the store, choose thick-cut potato chips whose flavors will complement the flavors of your additions.

Try layering parmesan, garlic, and basil on some tomato-flavored potato chips, which may give you the pizza-flavored potato chips you've been craving. Do you love blue cheese, rosemary, and black pepper, and wonder how they would taste melted onto some sour cream and onion chips? Give it a shot. Pump up the flavor of your plain, salted potato chips with some melted cheddar, paprika, and cilantro. 

Once you've combined your grated cheese and spices in a bowl, just pour your potato chips onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, arrange them evenly, and sprinkle them with the cheese-spice mix. Then pop them in a 425-degree Fahrenheit oven for five minutes until the cheese melts and the chips brown. It's that simple.

If this twist on store-bought potato chips has you wondering how else you can imaginatively use potato chips, thankfully you have lots of options. Put your potato chips between the meat, toppings, and buns in a cheeseburger to give it an extra crunchy bite. Make your favorite macaroni and cheese recipe, but before you bake it, mix some crumbled potato chips into the mac and cheese to upgrade the flavor.  Instead of using corn chips for your nachos, turn your kettle chips into nachos since they have the sturdiness to carry traditional nacho toppings. 

You can even go the sweet route and dunk your chips in ice cream or drizzle your potato chips with chocolate syrup to make "chocolate chips".  Add some crushed potato chips to your favorite cookie recipe, which will give the cookies a crunchy texture that complements the soft, chewiness of the cookies. If you're not the biggest fan of incorporating store-bought potato chips into these dishes, you can make homemade potato chips instead.