Potato chips are a summer staple: a low-effort substitute for french fries, a handful of chips is a perfect accompaniment to just about any summer meal, whether it’s burgers, barbecued chicken or just a good ol’ potato salad. But potato chips’ usefulness doesn’t stop there, they can also be a sneaky secret ingredient, adding crunch and flavour to a dizzying array of dishes.
When you’re at the grocery store shopping for your favourite crunchies, just be aware that on May 25, 2018, PepsiCo Foods Canada issued a recall for Ruffles brand Regular Potato Chips because they may contain milk, which isn’t declared on the label, making them potentially dangerous to folks with milk allergies.
Here are some of our favourite recipes featuring everyone’s favourite crunchy, salty snack.
Appetizers:
Potato chip cheese ball
This recipe combines creamy cheese (three kinds!), crunchy potato chips and bacon for a mouth-watering flavour and texture combo. Make sure you pull it out of the fridge about a half hour before serving it, or the cheese will be too hard to dip easily. For best dipping, choose a thick, sturdy chip and experiment with flavours!
Smoked salmon on potato chips
If you’ve ever been to an all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant — one where they offer stuff that isn’t exactly traditional sushi — you may have had salmon roe or another type of fish served on a potato chip. This recipe takes that idea and classes it up a bit, using cold-smoked (or lox-style) smoked salmon, creme fraiche and pickled shallots. Although the recipe calls for sturdy ridged chips, you could also try Pringles.
Blue cheese crisps
This super simple recipe is a kettle-chip take on nachos, only with blue cheese instead of cheddar, and bacon instead of ground beef. Make sure to use sturdy chips with this recipe, thin ones will crumble under the toppings. For a little Buffalo wing-inspired extra zing, add some hot sauce to the top once it comes out of the oven, or provide some New York butter (equal parts hot sauce and melted butter) for dipping.
Mains:
Savoury cheesecake with a potato chip crust
This is a neat variation on sweet cheesecake, with lots of variations possible once you master the basic recipe. The recipe suggests smoked salmon with a bagel chip crust, but you could also try bacon with pita chips or go veggie with sundried tomatoes and vegetable chips. This is rich — full-fat cream cheese, sour cream and, of course, a potato chip crust — so a sliver as an appetizer will probably be enough.
Eggs on potato chips
This easy, somewhat odd recipe is great for breakfast or brunch (or, you know, dinner…or whenever). It’s kind of like hash browns and eggs, minus all the pesky grating. The recipe calls for plain potato chips, but go ahead and see what happens when you add tortilla chips or a flavoured chip, you might just find your new favourite crave-worthy food.
Chicken Doritos
Because the only thing that makes crunchy baked chicken better is a crust of cheesy, tangy Doritos, this chicken recipe uses either plain tortilla chips plus Dorito-style seasoning or, if you want to go all out in the flavour department, crumbled Doritos. For Canadian cooks, the “Rotel” in the ingredient list refers to canned, diced, seasoned tomatoes with chilis. It’s not sold in Canada, but here’s a DIY substitute.
Migas
A Tex-Mex classic, migas are a type of breakfast burrito featuring scrambled eggs, cheese, salsa and the indispensable addition of tortilla chips. This particular recipe is spicy, thanks to jalapeno-flavoured chips, but feel free to use plain tortillas (or corn chips) if you want to dial down the burn.
Baked fish with a salt-and-vinegar crust
If you put vinegar on your fish and chips, then this is the perfect recipe for you. (Just be prepared for a little confusion between chips meaning “fries” and chips meaning “potato chips.”) Whiz some salt and vinegar potato chips in the food processor (a lot faster than smushing them by hand), coat your fish in an egg wash, and crust them with chips. Bake and serve with — what else — chips. Er, fries.
Baked goods:
Pear and Pringle muffins
Yes, potato chips even make yummy additions to baked goods. This recipe features Pringle’s limited edition cinnamon sugar flavour, but it is possible to find other brands with the same flavour. (You can also make your own substitute using tortillas — not quite the same, but close.) In this recipe, chips add crunch and flavour to a streusel topping delicious pear muffins.
Potato chip cookies
Salt and sweet are perfect together, so this recipe combines the best of both worlds. These cookies are akin to sandies or shortbread, with a little extra saltiness — because really, salt is delicious. Dip these in chocolate if you have the time, or just enjoy them plain.
Treats:
Cuban lunch candies
No, this doesn’t have anything to do with ham, cheese and pickle grilled sandwiches. Cuban Lunch was actually a chocolate bar that was manufactured in Winnipeg. No one’s entirely sure where the name comes from, but it was a favourite of many western Canadians until it stopped being produced. The original version didn’t have chips in it, but they’re a fun addition to the DIY version.
Salted chocolate tart with kettle chip crust
This is decadent enough that you might not notice the potato chips, but they do add a distinctive crunch and flavour to the tart shell. Salt and chocolate is a classic combination and while you could simply eat a chocolate bar interspersed with bites of potato chips, this is a classier option.
Potato chip pretzel caramel corn
All your salty favourites made sweet and delicious with the addition of rich caramel and two kinds of chocolate. What could be better? Make sure to line your baking sheet well with parchment paper, or you’ll end up with an icky, sticky mess. Here’s the recipe.
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