It’s no secret that potato chips — smooth or ridged, plain or barbecue — are delicious straight out of the bag. Less celebrated, and shamefully so, is their ability to add an unexpected touch of whimsy to just about any dish. Here are 13 different ways to appreciate the salty, crispy, powerful potato chip in everything from snacks to desserts.

Mac and Cheese Carbonara with Potato Chip Crust

Three-cheese pasta with crispy bacon, mushrooms and peas sounds great on its own. Try it baked with a parmesan and potato chip crust, though, and you’ll wonder why you ever made mac and cheese without a bag of Lay’s.

Potato Chip Toffee

Because everything tastes better with butter, sugar and chocolate.

Steak and Gorgonzola Potato Chip Nachos

These salty nachos are topped with far better than plain ol’ shredded cheese. They’re drizzled with a cheese sauce made from steak drippings, white wine, butter, cream and, oh yes, a mixture of blue and Gruyere cheeses. It’s poured carefully over the chips, followed by a generous helping of juicy steak and green onions, until each bite is laden with meaty, cheesy bliss.

Potato Chip Chicken Tenders

Coated with kettle chips and panko breadcrumbs, these quick and easy oven-fried tenders have a guaranteed crunch factor.

Salted Chocolate Tart with Potato Chip Crust

A buttery, salty potato chip crust balances handsomely with a sweet chocolate and coconut cream filling. It’s rich, it’s sleek, it’s magnifique.

“Cracked Out” Hot Chicken Salad

This warm chicken salad goes far beyond the classic mix-ins of celery and mayonnaise. It’s tossed with a flavorful seasoning mix, cheddar cheese and cooked bacon — and topped with potato chips and baked until crispy yet gooey. Eat it on your favorite bread, over a bed of greens or straight from the pan.

Savory Chive Cheesecake with Potato Chip Crust

Inspired by onion dip, this surprisingly delicious appetizer gets creaminess from cream cheese, flavor from chopped chives and softened spring onions, and contrast from crunchy crushed chips. For a simple and elegant look, garnish it with whole chives before baking. To mimic the appearance of dip, spread it with sour cream, chives and extra chips.

Kitchen Sink Brownies

These brownies cover every texture in the book: chewy fudginess from the brownie base, buttery silkiness from the chocolate topping, creaminess from Reese’s cups, and, of course, crunchiness from pretzels, Oreos and potato chips.

Funeral Potatoes

There’s nothing sad about this gloriously Southern combination of cheesy potatoes, cream of chicken, sour cream and crushed potato chips.

Cheesy Bacon Holiday Crack

This addictive appetizer comes together with a bag of kettle chips, tossed on a pan and topped with brown sugar, maple syrup, cheddar cheese, bacon and cayenne, then baked. It’s so simple, I’m not sure if it sounds easier to make or easier to devour in one sitting. 

Potato Chip Cookies

Combine two essential party snacks into one with this sweet and salty bake.

Potato Chip Grilled Cheese

Chips make a great side for sandwiches — until they get knocked off your plate. They serve a far better purpose inside of a sandwich. In this case, their saltiness cuts through the richness of cheese, and their crunchiness adds another dimension of texture to a tried and true treat.

Fried Mac and Cheese Balls

We started with mac and cheese, so let’s end with it, too. These golden brown babies combine the soft creaminess of cheesy mac with the crisp saltiness of potato chips into one (OK, maybe two or three) glorious bite.

Featured image credit: Pixabay

Tags: chips, crunchy, desserts, easy dinner, Potato Chips, recipes, salty

Tags: Bowl, cheese, crunchy, guacamole

The latest new menu items at Taco Bell are here, and they are cheesy to the core — literally.

Coming in both Crunchy and Spicy varieties, the Cheesy Core Burritos look like the marriage between two of our favorite Mexican dishes: burritos and cheesy nachos.

Take a deep breath. Now take a look:

According to Brand Eating, the just-released Crunchy Cheesy Core Burrito is a burrito stuffed with seasoned beef, Latin rice, red sauce, and reduced-fat sour cream — plus the cheesy core, comprised of a three-cheese blend, nacho cheese sauce, and the crunch: corn tortilla strips.

The Spicy Cheesy Core Burrito, on the other hand, has a special core comprised of a three-cheese-blend, nacho cheese sauce, and diced jalapeno, all wrapped up in the same combination as its Crunchy counterpart.

According to Delish, the burritos are now available at Taco Bell establishments across the United States, and will cost you only $1.99.

Sources: Brand Eating, Delish / Photo credit: Regina Wu/Delish

Tags: burrito, cheesy core burritos, crunchy, nachos, spicy, taco bell

The weekend is here, and that means it’s time for a sweet treat. How about adding some excitement to the mix and making something with a little crunch to it?

1. Snickers Cheesecake Bars

Crunchy, chocolaty, creamy, chewy…this dessert has it all. If you love Snickers, cheesecake and Oreo cookies, you’ll be in heaven.

2. Yogurt and Apricot Pie with Crunchy Granola Crust

This fruity pie is creamy and light all at the same time. A real crowd pleaser.

3. No Bake S’mores Chocolate Crackle Cake

This dessert only requires 15 minutes and a few ingredients, and the payoff is sweet.

4. Double Chocolate Copycat Kit Kat Bars

Kit Kat Bars are even better when you make them yourself! Oh, and they’re gluten free.

5. Easy Almond Brittle

Anyone can throw a few ingredients in the microwave. So simple and so delicious!

6. Deep-Fried Cookie Dough with Fleur de Sel

Cookie dough and fried stuff – two of our favorite things. Feel free to substitute the cookie dough for similar sweet fillings and other good stuff like cheesecake balls, Oreos or candy bites.

7. Dessert Nachos

Dessert nachos combine the best of both worlds and are even better than they sound! If you want to really go for it, try subbing the nuts for our fried cookie dough bites, or maybe even some fried mini cheesecake balls. Want to go a little lighter? Sub out some of the ingredients for fresh berries and apples.

8. S’mores Nachos

If, like us, you are jumping on board the dessert nacho train, here’s another great recipe that only takes 10 minutes to make and brings all the goodness of a campfire right into your kitchen.

9. Chocolate Shortbread Hearts with Toffee Popcorn

Honestly we’ll be impressed if you can hold off on devouring the ingredients long enough to combine the shortbread and the toffee popcorn.

10. Easy Peach Crisp

Mix a bunch of ingredients together and dump them into a pan, bake, and devour. Super easy. Feel free to use whatever fruit your heart desires.

11. Homemade Pop Tarts

Because there’s only one way to improve upon perfection — make it yourself.=

Photo Credit: claudiabrick/Instagram

Tags: crunchy, dessert, dessert recipe