Pasta Chips are one of the TikTok trends made with pasta cooked al dente, drained, tossed with olive oil and spices, and then either baked in the oven or fried in the air fryer. Our recipe is gluten-free and vegan, making the perfect appetizer for any occasion!
Table of Contents
Ingredients and Substitutions
In order to make this easy recipe, you’ll need these 5-6 simple ingredients:
- Pasta: I used gluten-free fusilli but you can use any bowtie or short, tubular pasta of choice (e.g. penne, rigatoni, and ziti) that is big enough to eat with your hands as an appetizer. It can be whole wheat, regular, or even a low-carb pasta.
- Olive oil: It’ll help to brown the pasta and make it crispy under heat either in the oven or in the air fryer. You may replace it with avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil which has a smoking point similar to olive oil. Vegetable oil works too although it has more of a neutral flavor!
- Seasonings: We used garlic powder, salt, and Italian seasoning. But you can use onion powder, black pepper, and any seasoning blend of choices such as Ranch or Chili Lime Salt.
- Nutritional yeast: It’s used as a seasoning, offering a savory or umami flavor. But if you don’t have it at home, you may use grated Parmesan cheese instead although it lacks umami flavor!
How to Make Pasta Chips
You can make this viral TikTok recipe 2 different ways:
Oven
- To make baked pasta chips in the oven, boil the pasta in a large pot of salted water according to the instructions on the package, or until al dente. Do NOT overcook it; otherwise, it will be too soft to crisp up in the oven. Drain the pasta but do NOT rinse it!
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400° F (200° C). Then spray a sheet pan with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, toss the cooked pasta with olive oil, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, sea salt, and nutritional yeast until evenly coated. SEE PICS. 1 & 2
- Spread the pasta out on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer. Do not overlap them! SEE PIC. 3
- Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the pasta is crispy! SEE PIC. 4
- Serve these viral pasta chips with your favorite dipping sauce or salsa.
Air Fryer
- To make air fryer pasta chips, boil the pasta until al dente and drain (but do NOT rise it)! Make sure to salt the boiling water well!
- Preheat an air fryer to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for at least 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl, toss the cooked, drained pasta with olive oil, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, sea salt, and nutritional yeast until evenly coated.
- Place the seasoned pasta in the air fryer basket (in batches) and cook for 5 minutes.
- Then flip it with a spatula and cook for 3 to 5 minutes more. Pasta must be golden brown and crispy!
- Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Break apart any pasta chips that have stuck together. Repeat the process with the remaining pasta.
- Let the pasta cool completely for final crisping! Serve right away with your favorite dipping sauce or salsa.
Tips for Making this Pasta Chips Recipe
- Cook the pasta al dente: This means, cook the pasta 1 or 2 minutes short than the package stated. Remember the pasta will continue to cook either in the oven or air fryer. If you overcook it, it won’t crisp up!
- Don’t use too much oil: Use only enough oil to toss the pasta with the seasoning until coated. Both the oven and air fryer offer cooking methods than are much healthier than deep-frying in oil!
- Cook the pasta in batches: Depending on the size of the air fryer basket or your baking sheet, you may need to cook the pasta in two batches to avoid overcrowding, which can affect the results.
- Shake the air fryer basket a few times or flip the pasta with a spatula: While cooking the pasta chips, make sure to shake the basket or flip it to allow all the surface areas to get crispy.
- Use the same temperature to preheat the oven and air fryer (400 degrees F or 200 degrees C), but it will take more time to crisp the pasta in the oven (30-40 minutes) than in the air fryer (8-10 minutes per batch).
- Serve the crispy pasta chips with a Greek yogurt dip, a salsa, spicy marinara sauce, spinach artichoke dip, or any other dipping sauce of choice. They make a great snack or appetizer!
- You can use whatever pasta you want (the best pasta shapes are tubular and bowtie pasta)
- Are they as crunchy as raw pasta? No, they’re not!
- Adapt this versatile recipe according to your favorite cuisine. You may use favorite seasonings such as a Greek spice blend, Middle-Eastern (Zaatar spice mix), Mexican (taco seasoning), etc.
FAQ’s
Can I make pasta chips in an air fryer instead of baking them in the oven?
If you turn on your convection oven, you can bake the pasta chips at 400°F for 30-40 minutes. The air fryer makes them crispier but the oven can cook all the pasta at once instead of in batches, depending on the size of your baking sheet.
Are they hard to bite into like raw pasta?
No! Raw pasta is uncooked and inedible! Pasta chips are boiled and then crisped in the air fryer or oven, making them firm yet edible. They are also flavorful!
Can I use any type of pasta?
Bowtie or short, tubular pasta work best because they have a long or thick surface area that is easy to grab like potato chips. Some options are fusilli, rigatoni, penne, and bowtie or farfalle pasta!
Can I use gluten-free pasta?
Yes! In fact, we used gluten-free fusilli to make our pasta chips recipe. But as with any other pasta, make sure to cook it al dente so that it doesn’t get too soft to crisp up!
Are these TikTok pasta chips healthy?
Yes! They contain a small amount of foil compared with deep-fried chips and also nutritional yeast (it contains vitamins, minerals, and all 9 essential amino acids, making it a complete protein). To make them healthier, use whole wheat or chickpea pasta which contains fiber, and avoid insulin spikes!
Storage
Store leftover pasta chips in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freezing after crisping up the pasta is not recommended because it’ll alter its texture!
MAKE AHEAD: But you can boil the pasta until almost al dente, drain, and freeze for up to one month. Then thaw in the fridge overnight, pat dry, toss with olive oil and seasonings, and cook either in the air fryer or bake in the oven.
More Appetizer Recipes
- Homemade Purple Potato Chips
- Air Fryer Potato Wedges
- Air Fryer Zucchini Fries
- Yuca Fries
- Avocado Hummus Recipe
- Keto Cauliflower Hummus
Other TikTok Recipes
- Crème Brûlée Yogurt Toast (Viral TikTok Recipe)
- Baked Oats Recipe (TikTok Viral)
- Tik Tok Mini Pancake Cereal Recipe (Oven/Baked)
- Gigi Hadid Pasta (Spicy Vodka Pasta)
- Baked Feta Recipe
PIN & ENJOY!
Pasta Chips
Equipment
- oven
- Air fryer OR
- 1 bowl
- 1 baking sheet
- 1 pot
- 1 Colander
Ingredients
- 12 ounces pasta we used gluten-free fusilli, cooked according to package directions, or until al dente (do NOT overcook the pasta!)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil or extra-virgin olive oil, or avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast or grated Parmesan cheese although it won’t have an umami flavor!
Instructions
Oven
- To make baked pasta chips in the oven, boil the pasta in a large pot of salted water according to the instructions on the package, or until al dente. Do NOT overcook it; otherwise, it will be too soft to crisp up in the oven. Drain the pasta but do NOT rinse it!
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400° F. Then spray a sheet pan with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, toss the cooked pasta with olive oil, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, sea salt, and nutritional yeast until evenly coated.
- Spread the pasta out on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer. Do not overlap them!
- Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the pasta is crispy!
- Serve these viral pasta chips with your favorite dipping sauce or salsa.
Air Fryer
- To make air fryer pasta chips, boil the pasta until al dente and drain (but do NOT rise it)! Make sure to salt the boiling water well!
- Preheat an air fryer to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for at least 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl, toss the cooked, drained pasta with olive oil, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, sea salt, and nutritional yeast until evenly coated.
- Place the seasoned pasta in the air fryer basket (in batches) and cook for 5 minutes.
- Then flip it with a spatula and cook for 3 to 5 minutes more. Pasta must be golden brown and crispy!
- Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Break apart any pasta chips that have stuck together. Repeat the process with the remaining pasta.
- Let the pasta cool completely for final crisping! Serve right away with your favorite dipping sauce or salsa.
Recipe Notes
- Cook the pasta al dente: This means, cook the pasta 1 or 2 minutes short than the package stated. Remember the pasta will continue to cook either in the oven or air fryer. If you overcook it, it won’t crisp up!
- Don’t use too much oil: Use only enough oil to toss the pasta with the seasoning until coated. Both the oven and air fryer offer cooking methods than are much healthier than deep-frying in oil!
- Cook the pasta in batches: Depending on the size of the air fryer basket or your baking sheet, you may need to cook the pasta in two batches to avoid overcrowding, which can affect the results.
- Shake the air fryer basket a few times or flip the pasta with a spatula: While cooking the pasta chips, make sure to shake the basket or flip it to allow all the surface areas to get crispy.
- Use the same temperature to preheat the oven and air fryer (400 degrees F or 200 degrees C), but it will take more time to crisp the pasta in the oven (30-40 minutes) than in the air fryer (8-10 minutes per batch).
- Serve the crispy pasta chips with a Greek yogurt dip, a salsa, spicy marinara sauce, spinach artichoke dip, or any other dipping sauce of choice. They make a great snack or appetizer!
- You can use whatever pasta you want (the best pasta shapes are tubular and bowtie pasta)
- Are they as crunchy as raw pasta? No, they’re not!
- Adapt this versatile recipe according to your favorite cuisine. You may use favorite seasonings such as a Greek spice blend, Middle-Eastern (Zaatar spice mix), Mexican (taco seasoning, etc.
Nutrition
** Nutrition labels on easyanddelish.com are for educational purposes only. This info is provided as a courtesy and is only an estimate, since the nutrition content of recipes can vary based on ingredient brand or source, portion sizes, recipe changes/variations, and other factors. We suggest making your own calculations using your preferred calculator, based on which ingredients you use, or consulting with a registered dietitian to determine nutritional values more precisely.
Please note that health-focused and diet information provided on easyanddelish.com is for educational purposes and does not constitute medical advice, nor is it intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease. Consult with your doctor or other qualified health professional prior to initiating any significant change in your diet or exercise regimen, or for any other issue necessitating medical advice.
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