Air Fryer Pasta Chips Are the Genius New Snack from TikTok

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There's definitely no shortage of delicious ways to make pasta, but there's a good chance you've never considered throwing it in the oven or air fryer and enjoying it as a snack. Yep, the latest TikTok food trend is a little something called pasta chips, and when you see how much of a game-changer this tasty viral trend is, you're going to toss that sad bag of store-bought chips for good.

Making the rounds with more than 22 million video views on TikTok alone, pasta chips involve first boiling pasta as you normally would, then dressing it up with seasonings of your choice, adding olive oil and cheese, and popping it into the air fryer or oven until they're crispy. The result: Crunchy, flavorful handheld pasta ready for your snacking pleasure. (Related: 10 TikTok Food Hacks That Actually Work)

The best part about pasta chips (other than how amazing they taste) is that they can be easily adapted to any noodles, sauces, cooking methods, and even time restraints you're working with. It's a seriously versatile snack that can be made in a matter of minutes.

Most TikTok users prefer to make pasta chips in an air fryer. If you have one, follow @bostonfoodgram's lead by adding olive oil, grated parmesan, and seasoning to your boiled pasta. You'll bake it all in the air fryer at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10 minutes, and then voilà — dip your air fryer pasta chips into your favorite pasta sauce and enjoy. (Related: 20 Crunchy Air Fryer Recipes That Are Almost Too Good to Be True)

If you don't have an air fryer, don't fret; commenters note that you can achieve the same effect using a convection or standard oven, keeping the temp at 250 degrees Fahrenheit instead.

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You can even try straight-up frying the pasta using a skillet à la @viviyoung3 — simply pour about 1/2 inch of vegetable or olive oil into a large, deep skillet, adding the cooked pasta when the oil is shimmering. Cook the pasta until it's golden and crispy, which should take around two minutes per side — a solid move when time is of the essence and your guests are on their way over.

Wondering how healthy pasta chips are? Well, if you make air fryer pasta chips or bake them in an oven, you're in good shape: both cooking methods use heat to evaporate moisture and create that crispy texture, meaning they don't require much oil and thus limit the amount of added fat. Frying pasta chips in a skillet with oil, however, will add plenty of fat — so just keep that in mind when deciding how to cook your pasta chips. (Reminder: Fat isn't all bad, but it's important to know the difference between healthy fats and not-so-healthy fats.)

If you don't have marinara or a tomato-based sauce on hand for dipping, get inspired by the pros on TikTok. From buffalo sauce and ranch dip to pesto sauce, the sky's the limit on this creative crunchy snack. Trust, this trend will have you saying baked feta pasta, who?