This Homemade Potato Chip Seasoning turns plain chips into irresistible spicy chips in minutes. Easy, customizable, and perfect for parties.

Oval metal plate topped with spicy chips.

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If You Love Spicy Potato Chips, You Need This Seasoning

How do you feel about barbecue potato chips? We’re fans of them in theory, but the store-bought ones never taste as good as we want them to.

Usually, the flavor isn’t balanced enough, and they are either too sweet or too smoky, with very little nuance.

So a few years ago, we started seasoning our own chips for snacks. We start with store-bought potato chips, heat them up in the oven, and then toss them with a custom spice blend that we whip up with things we already have on hand.

Not only does it ensure that the balance of flavor is just right, but with this recipe, you get to eat warm chips right out of the oven.

Why You Will Love This Potato Chip Seasoning

  • This recipe is customizable, so you can use whatever spices your taste buds like for these spicy potato chips, in whatever amounts you like.
  • Uses pantry spices you likely already have.
  • You get to eat WARM potato chips right out of the oven, which are perfect for a party.
Bag of kettle crisps alongside small ramekins of various ground spices.

Ingredients For Spicy Chips

A full recipe card, including exact ingredient amounts, appears at the bottom of this post.

  • chili powder – the backbone of any chili recipe, this is also a crucial spice for bbq potato chips.
  • cayenne – this is where most of the spice in this spicy chip seasoning comes from!
  • garlic powder – a spice almost everybody seems to have in their cupboard, for good reason. This adds lots of savory flavor to these spicy potato chips.
  • mustard powder – this one might surprise you, but it’s one of the “spicy” elements in these spicy chips! We recommend Colman’s brand mustard powder if you can find it.
  • onion powder – adds another layer of savory to this bbq seasoning for chips.
  • smoked paprika – regular Hungarian paprika is fine here, but we love smoked paprika for the depth of smoky flavor it adds to any recipe.
  • cumin – this might not be traditional for barbecue chips, but it adds a bit of earthiness that’s really yummy.
Shallow teal bowl filled with ground spices.

How To Make Seasoned Chips

  1. STIR. Stir together all of the spices – the chili powder, cayenne, garlic powder, mustard powder, onion powder, paprika, and cumin.
  2. BAKE + TOSS. Spread your chips on a baking sheet and bake 5 minutes or until they’re warm. Immediately sprinkle the chips with the spice mixture and toss until all the chips are coated in the spices. Serve warm.

Homemade Potato Chip Seasoning Home Chef Tips

  • If you’re not a fan of spicy chips at all, you can make these mild by omitting or greatly reducing the cayenne to just a small pinch.
  • If you love hot hot hot things, you can add an extra dash of cayenne.
  • If you don’t have both garlic powder AND onion powder on hand, that’s fine. Just double the amount of the one that you do have, and you can still make a good seasoning for chips.
  • We’ve used kettle chips here, but you could use classic potato chips or wavy/ripple cut chips. Lowfat or baked chips don’t work that well here, as the spice mix needs some oil to stick to!
Stainless steel sheet pan of hot potato chips covered in homemade potato chip seasoning.

Potato Chip Seasoning Powder Storage

  • Seasoned Potato Chips: best enjoyed fresh and warm, but leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
  • Seasoning Powder: You can make a double or triple batch and store the extra quantity in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 months.
Closeup image of spicy potato chips.
Closeup photo of spicy potato chips.

Potato Chip Seasoning

These Spicy Potato Chips are a fun way to jazz up a bag of plain potato chips with homemade potato chip seasoning. Customize the spice level to your taste, and enjoy warm chips from the oven!
4.5 from 45 ratings

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Ingredients

  • 1 ¼ teaspoons chili powder
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon mustard powder
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ¼ teaspoon cumin
  • 1 bag plain potato chips 8 ounces

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In small bowl, stir together chili powder, cayenne, garlic powder, mustard powder, onion powder, paprika, and cumin.
  • Spread chips on baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes or until warm. Immediately sprinkle and toss with spice mixture. Serve warm.
Calories: 309kcal, Carbohydrates: 32g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 20g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Monounsaturated Fat: 11g, Trans Fat: 0.03g, Sodium: 310mg, Potassium: 715mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 0.3g, Vitamin A: 414IU, Vitamin C: 13mg, Calcium: 18mg, Iron: 1mg
This website provides estimated nutrition information as a courtesy only. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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