Air Fryer Cheesy Chips

These Air Fryer Cheesy Chips are an incredibly tasty takeaway classic. With a few simple ingredients you can recreate this chip shop classic at home.

Air fryer cheesy chips are as easy as their name suggests

If you’ve lived in the UK, you have more than likely come across cheesy chips in a kebab or chip shop. I don’t wish to insinuate anything, but you may have come across this delicacy on your way home after a few drinks.

Cheesy chips are a British takeaway classic. The piping hot chips are liberally covered with grated cheese. More often than not the cheese isn’t specifically melted before you receive them. Instead the heat from the chips causes the cheese to melt in their box.

I make my air fryer cheesy chips the same as I have got them from any takeaway over the years; chips with cheese on top. Other recipes have chips covered in a cheese sauce which sounds more American to me.

However if that is what you’re looking for, you won’t find that here. This is the classic – and very simple British recipe of melted cheese on chips.

WHY USE AN AIR FRYER AND NOT AN OVEN?

Air fryers cook food quicker than a standard convection oven which is great for saving energy and pennies but also for busy families that want to be able to cook food quickly.

Another advantage is that air fryers are smaller than ovens and grills so you’re not heating up a full-sized oven and instead a smaller air fryer. This means you’re using less energy because you’re heating up a smaller appliance as well as cooking the food faster.

Personally, I think frozen oven chips are better cooked in an air fryer rather than an oven.

do you need to preheat an air fryer?

That depends on your air fryer, some require preheating whilst others don’t. I have a Ninja 7-in-1 multicooker and a Ninja Foodi Flexdrawer and I have never preheated either.

If your air fryer does require preheating, check the chips a few minutes sooner than the recipe states. If your air fryer is warm, food is likely to cook a few minutes faster.

can you use an air fryer liner?

Air fryer liners are a great time saving addition because they are usually easier to wash than the basket of your air fryer.

Most reusable air fryer liners are silicone and although they are handy to have, I wouldn’t recommend using them for all recipes.

Chips would take longer to crisp up if you use a liner but you could use one if you really wanted. As you may see in the photos in the recipe card below, I added a liner to the chips after they were cooked and before I added the cheese.

This was purely to make it easier to remove them from the air fryer and for aesthetic reasons when taking the photos. You definitely don’t need to use a liner.

I’ve written a whole post on whether you should use an air fryer liner, check it out for more information.

Which chips are recommended to use?

Traditionally cheesy chips are made using straight cut chips. To make this recipe even easier, I do tend to use shop bought frozen chips.

You could absolutely make your own chips if you prefer. I would recommend cooking the chips so they are crisp as they tend to get slightly softer when the cheese melts on them.

There is no reason why you can’t make cheesy chips with curly fries, seasoned wedges or any other type of potato. Whatever you think will be delicious covered in melted cheese will work!

which cheese is best to use?

I like to use a combination of grated mozzarella and cheddar for these cheesy chips. I believe that is what the takeaways use too.

The mozzarella provides the cheese pull that everyone wants when they’re eating something cheesy. The cheddar adds the flavour as mozzarella is quite mild.

I would always recommend buying a block of cheddar and grating it yourself, however you can buy pre grated cheddar if you prefer.

When it comes to the mozzarella I think it is important to use the pre grated mozzarella. It isn’t as moist as the balls of mozzarella because it is coated in potato starch. Balls of fresh mozzarella are delicious but they run the risk of making your chips a little soggy.

If you want to use any other blends of cheese you absolutely can. I would just make sure that you use cheese that melts well. For example I wouldn’t recommend using something like wensleydale!

To make these cheesy chips vegan, all you need to do is swap the cheese to dairy free alternatives.

how to serve air fryer cheesy chips

Air fryer cheesy chips can be served with so many different meals, but they are also perfect as a snack in their own right. And they’re very simple to make if you get back from the pub late one night and fancy a snack!

These cheesy chips would be a great accompaniment to chicken wings or nuggets as well as turkey or beef burgers.

I also think it would great loaded with beef, turkey or vegan chilli. Make sure you don’t forget the guacamole and sour cream and you’ve got a delicious meal!

other recipes you might like

• Cheese & Bacon Loaded Fries
• Loaded Tater Tots
• Air Fryer Loaded Potato Skins
• Air Fryer Potato Recipes
• Thyme & Brie Potatoes

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