Crispy Fried Pita Chips

These homemade fried pita chips are crispy, easy, and delicious! Pita chips are like the Middle Eastern equivalent of potato chips. And if you've got some pita bread on hand, you can whip up some in no time with just three ingredients- pita, oil, and salt.

Making your own pita chips has never been easier! This recipe takes 10 minutes and uses three ingredients: pita bread, frying oil, and salt.

Use homemade chips for your favorite dips like labneh, baba ganoush, hummus, or black olive tapenade. Pita chips are used in Middle Eastern dishes like fattoush salad, eggplant fatteh, and fattet hummus.

Ingredient Notes

Pita bread: I like to use Lebanese pita bread because it's thin. Thin pita bread makes crispy chips. Thick pita bread makes crunchy chips. Most of the pita bread chips you buy in the supermarket are made from thicker pita bread. Sometimes fresh pita bread is hard to find. I recommend buying several loaves and storing them in the freezer. That way, you have fresh pita bread on hand whenever needed. Here are some more pita bread recipes to try with that extra bread!

Frying oil and salt: Use any frying oil like vegetable oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, etc. I prefer flaked salt or sea salt for my chips.

How to Make Fried Pita Chips

Split the pita bread. The pita bread when baked has an air pocket that creates a top and bottom part of the pita bread. Split the pita bread so the top and bottom separate.

Cut the pita bread into squares. Using kitchen scissors, cut the pita bread into 2" squares.

Heat the oil to medium heat. If the oil is too hot, the pita bread will cook faster than you can remove it from the oil, leaving you with burned pita chips. The oil is the proper temperature if you dip the bread, and some bubble action starts to happen.

Once the pita bread turns golden, remove it with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel-lined plate. Salt the chips immediately after removing them from the oil.

Tips and Tricks

• Fry the pita bread in a high-rimmed pot. As a young adult, I had a bad experience frying french fries once (I set my stove on fire), so I take hot oil seriously. Although pita bread is dry and will likely not boil over, I don't take any chances. Use a high-rimmed pot.
• Salt the chips after removing them from the oil.
• Make sure the oil isn't too hot. Pita bread fries quickly, so adjust the temperature appropriately.

Substitutions and Variations

• Use any type of pita bread. There are different versions of pita bread, some thicker and some thinner. Use whatever you have on hand.
• Substitute whole wheat pitas made from whole wheat flour.
• Bake the pita bread chips instead of frying.
• Add some different dry seasonings like za'atar are sumac spice to flavor the chips. Zaatar pita chips go great with garlic labneh!
• If you don't have kitchen scissors, you can tear the pita bread into sections.

📋 Recipe

Crispy Fried Pita Chips

Author: Lily Guidry

Course: Appetizers

Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Prep: 5 minutes mins

Cook: 10 minutes mins

Total: 15 minutes mins

5 from 6 votes

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Servings 4

These homemade fried pita bread chips are ultra crispy and can be made in 10 minutes using three ingredients: pita bread, oil, and salt.

Ingredients

 

US Customary - Metric

• 2 large pita bread or 4 small pita bread, see note 3
• oil for frying
• salt to taste

Instructions

• Split the pita bread. Cut the pita bread into 2" squares using kitchen scissors. 
• In a high-rimmed pot, fill with oil. Heat oil on medium heat.
• Add 1 pita worth of pita pieces into the hot oil. Once the pita chips have turned golden brown, remove them from the oil using a slotted spoon. Place the pita chips on a paper towel-lined plate.
• Sprinkle with sea salt.

Notes

1. Once the pita chips have cooled, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
2. I prefer to use sunflower oil or vegetable oil when frying the pita chips.
3. Large pita bread is about 10" to 14" in diameter. Small pita bread is about 8" in diameter.
4. Storage: Allow the chips to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

Nutrition

Serving: 10 pita chips | Calories: 132 kcal | Carbohydrates: 15 g | Protein: 3 g | Fat: 7 g | Saturated Fat: 1 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6 g | Trans Fat: 0 g | Cholesterol: 0 mg | Sodium: 165 mg | Fiber: 1 g | Sugar: 0 g