How to use the online timer
Fifteen minutes covers oven chips and most air fryer baskets, which between them account for the overwhelming majority of chips actually made at home. It is a short enough window that the preparation matters more than the cooking: chips that go in wet, crowded or unseasoned come out pale and limp regardless of what the timer says or how hot the oven was.
Spread them in a single layer with space between them, because a crowded tray steams rather than roasts. Shake or turn them halfway through, and put the tray in only once the oven is fully up to heat. The count runs inside this browser tab, so keep the page open — closing it stops the countdown wherever it had got to.
Chips made from scratch reward a bit more work: cut them evenly, rinse off the surface starch, dry them thoroughly, then toss in oil. Any water left on the surface has to boil off before browning can start, which eats into the fifteen minutes. Salt goes on the moment they come out, while the surface is still hot enough to hold it.
Common questions
Why are mine pale and soft?
Usually crowding. Chips packed onto a tray steam instead of roasting, so spread them in a single layer with space between, and shake or turn them halfway. Any water left on the surface has to boil off first.
Does an air fryer need the same time?
Roughly, though it circulates air harder so it often runs a little faster. The rules are the same: a single layer, a shake partway through, and salt added the moment they come out rather than before.
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