5 from 1 vote

Testing the viral TikTok air fryer pasta chips recipe that I've seen all over the internet! According to the TikTok community, these are supposed to be crispy, seasoned alternatives to potato chips using simple ingredients and an air fryer. Find out how they turned out for me and if they live up to the hype!

Baked pasta in a cream colored bowl with one piece dipped in a red marinara sauce

I've resisted making any of the food trends that I've seen go viral on TikTok over the last couple years since I joined the app, but I finally caved when I heard about these air fryer pasta chips.

It sounded like a relatively easy way to make an alternative snack to potato chips, and… well, I want to be cool like the cool kids on the interwebs.

So let's dig into the ingredients, the process, and whether I feel this viral sensation is worth the hype it's gotten!

Air Fryer Pasta Chip Ingredients

Pasta: I used a combination of farfalle and rigatoni for testing purposes
Olive oil: To coat the pasta after cooking
Parmesan cheese: Freshly grated, to coat the cooked pasta
Italian seasoning: To coat the cooked pasta. Don't have Italian seasoning on hand? Check out the recipe to make your own below!
Garlic powder: More flavor for the cooked pasta
Salt: Salt in the pasta water, salt on the cooked pasta

What's the best shape pasta for pasta chips?

The type of pasta should be one that's hearty and large enough that you can grab and dip it like a potato chip.

I used rigatoni and farfalle (bowtie pasta) for my testing, but I'd imagine you could also use ziti, rotini or penne as well.

Whole wheat and gluten free pasta would likely work as well.

How to make your own Italian seasoning

If you don't have Italian seasoning on hand, just combine the below ingredients in a small bowl and measure out 1 teaspoon for the purpose of this recipe. Store the rest in an airtight container.

1/2 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 tablespoon dried thyme
1/2 tablespoon dried rosemary
1/2 tablespoon dried marjoram
1/2 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Boiled pasta being drained in a silver colander in a sink

How to make air fryer pasta chips

Cook pasta according to the package instructions, until al dente or a little bit past al dente. Drain. No need to rinse with cold water or coat in oil, because we're going to take care of that in the next step.
In a large bowl, combine cooked pasta to a large bowl with olive oil, parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and salt. Toss mixture with wooden spoons until coated.

Seasoned pasta in a clear bowl with two wooden spoons

Preheat air fryer to 400°F. Spray air fryer basket with nonstick spray to prevent pasta from sticking. Place seasoned pasta in the air fryer basket in a single layer, spray the tops of the pasta again.
Air fry for 10-15 minutes (tossing halfway through), or until the pasta is golden brown and crisp. Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to do this in batches.
Carefully remove from the air fryer and transfer to serving dish with your favorite dipping sauce. Serve and enjoy!

Serving options

From what I saw in my research, most people used a marinara sauce as their dip. And admittedly, that's a solid choice – as you may have seen in my mozzarella sticks recipe.

Here are some other dipping sauce ideas:

Beer cheese dip
Ranch dip
Hummus
Sour cream and onion dip

Can you make pasta chips without an air fryer?

Sure can! You can bake the pasta chips on a parchment-lined baking sheet at 400°F for 15-20 minutes until they're golden brown and crispy.

The oven-baked version won't be as crisp as the ones made in the air fryer.

Observations and tips

I found that spraying my air fryer basket before and after adding the seasoned pasta resulted in zero sticking when I tossed them halfway through, as well as a more golden brown color in the end.
I added another sprinkle of Italian seasoning and grated Parmesan cheese after I added the pasta to the air fryer basket for a little more flavor.
The addition of onion powder, cayenne powder and paprika kicked up the spice and flavor.
I found it a bit difficult to get consistent results if you combine different kinds of pasta in the same batch, so I'd recommend separating them during the air frying process.

Baked pasta in a cream colored bowl with one piece dipped in a creamy sauce

Rating This Viral TikTok Recipe

FLAVOR: 7/10. The combination of herbs, spices, and cheese are good, and adding a few others like onion powder, paprika, and cayenne pepper helped up the flavor.
TEXTURE: 3/10. I… did not enjoy the texture of these. I made a few different batches with different kinds of pasta, in different degrees of crispiness to test if I was doing something wrong. It felt like they were always either not crispy enough and awkward to chew but had good flavor, or they were crispy but tasted like slightly burnt pasta.
PROS: Not terribly difficult to make, can be tweaked for whatever flavor profile you want. I saw some people made them sweet with things like cinnamon and sugar, but I didn't try this myself.
CONS: If you have a smaller air fryer basket, you'll have to do these in several batches which will take a while. Also – for me, personally – this didn't feel like a good use of ingredients.
OVERALL RATING: 5/10
WOULD I MAKE THIS AGAIN? Very doubtful. That's not to say other people wouldn't enjoy this one, but I'd personally rather just eat the cooked pasta coated with the marinara sauce and skip the final frying step. Or just grab a bag of veggie chips. But as it is with all food – to each their own! I'm not here to yuck anyone's yum.

Air Fryer Pasta Chips (Viral TikTok Recipe)

5 from 1 vote

Testing the viral TikTok air fryer pasta chips recipe that I've seen all over the internet! According to the TikTok community, these are supposed to be crispy, seasoned alternatives to potato chips using simple ingredients and an air fryer. Read the post to find out how they turned out for me and if they live up to the hype!

Found via TikTok trends – original creator unknown

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 25

Total Time: 35

Servings: servings (makes 8 ounces)

Read the recipe beginning to end

Check oven calibration

Check expiration dates

Properly measure ingredients

Check butter temperature

Equipment

Air fryer

Ingredients

8 ounces pasta, I used a combination of farfalle and rigatoni for testing purposes
1 ½ teaspoons olive oil
½ cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Cook pasta according to the package instructions, until al dente or a little bit past al dente. Drain.
In a large bowl, combine cooked pasta to a large bowl with olive oil, parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and salt. Toss mixture with wooden spoons until coated.
Preheat air fryer to 400°F. Spray air fryer basket with nonstick spray to prevent pasta from sticking. Place coated pasta in the air fryer basket in a single layer, spray the tops of the pasta again, and then air fry for 10-15 minutes (tossing halfway through), or until the pasta is golden brown and crisp.
Note: Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to do this in batches.
Carefully remove from the air fryer and transfer to serving dish with your favorite dipping sauce. Serve and enjoy!

Video

Nutrition Facts

Nutrition Disclaimer

The provided nutrition information is generated by an automatic API and does not take variations across specific brands into account. This information is provided as a general guideline and should not be treated as official calculations. Learn more here.

Recipe created by Leslie Kiszka