15 Minute Easy Air Fryer Pita Chips With Brown Butter

If you’re like me, you want something snacky without just buying more chips. Potato chips are okay, but sometimes a tasty homemade treat like these fifteen-minute easy air fryer pita chips is better. The tasty combination of whole wheat pita bread with brown butter that’s been air-fried is a delicious snack for any day of the week. The homemade air fryer pita chips are coated in brown butter for extra flavor and crispness. Dip these crispy pita chips in your next con queso or roasted tomato salsa!

What are you waiting for? It takes just fifteen minutes, from browning the butter to having pita triangles ready to dip in your favorite dip. 

The trick to successfully making these great snacks is not overloading your air fryer basket. If you do, achieving that excellent crispness you are looking for will be next to impossible. That said, you don’t have to have a single layer in the basket; instead, fill it halfway with loosely packed pita triangles for best results. 

What will you love most about this easy fifteen-minute air fryer pita chip recipe?

It’s simple. It’s simply a matter of making nutty brown butter and coating the pita triangles. 

It is a cost-effective snack. Because we aren’t using a lot of brown butter for the number of pita triangles, you will be keeping the cost down. 

Pita chips are healthier than regular potato chips. They are lower fat even with the brown butter than the regular potato chips. They also pack a significant crunch when air-fried right. 

They store well. These crispy chips can be kept in an airtight container for up to three days. Just cover it well so that they don’t become soggy from pulling moisture out of the air. 

It’s versatile. You can take the air fryer pita chips recipe one step further by adding a bit of garlic powder or making other spice combinations. 

Let’s get the air fryer pita chips and lovely golden brown!

Start by taking the stack of whole wheat pitas out of the packaging. Using a large knife on your cutting board, slice the pita pockets into eighths. The store-bought pita bread makes excellent homemade chips, so you don’t have to fuss over making your own pita from scratch, making this an easy snack food for any day of the week. 

Set one-quarter of the whole wheat pita triangles into a large bowl, reserving the rest for other batches. And now, you can move on to making the brown butter. We are using salted butter in a fry pan over low-med heat. Let the butter melt down and continue to heat until it reaches a nice golden brown. Don’t overcook the butter, or it will burn. If it burns, you will have to start all over.

The brown butter will have a cinnamon-colored sediment when it sits in the pan. We won’t let it sit there long, though, because we don’t want it to cool too much. As you likely know, it’s not so lovely to work with once-melted butter congeals. 

Instead, drizzle the melted brown butter over half the pita bread triangles in your bowl. Toss the pita around until each triangle is covered nicely. From there, you will fill the air fryer basket loosely to halfway. If you lay the pita chips down flat in the basket, they won’t have enough airspace to crisp correctly, so be sure to leave them willy-nilly in the air fryer basket. 

I used my Ninja Foodi XL Dual Zone air fryer for this recipe. Having just gotten this gift given to me at Christmas, I have to say I am in love. Testing out cooking in this marvelous piece of equipment has been so much fun. I am already a huge Ninja fan, and this air fryer has made me even more of a believer. Since we were air-frying the chips for five minutes and working in batches, I used both baskets for a simple air fry.  

Because the Ninja Foodi allows each basket to cook at the same temperature and time, it speeds up cooking this perfect snack as we do multiple batches. This recipe is designed to make enough pita chips to satisfy your hungry family or game-day friends at your Superbowl party. 

Each package of pita bread has 300 grams, and I divided it into four batches for the air fryer. You can cut the recipe in half to make up only one package of pita bread. Be sure to cut the brown butter in half if you make less. 

After the Ninja Foodi (Or another air fryer if you are using it) does its magic, in just five minutes per batch, you will have lovely crunchy pita chips to dip in your favorite dip. If you want a more even coverage of the brown butter, you can use a pastry brush to brush the brown butter onto each chip. If you do so, you may need to make more brown butter than this recipe makes. Also, adding more brown butter to each chip will reduce its low-fat nature and result in a higher calorie content per serving. 

Ingredients:

Pita bread: The reason we are using pita bread is twofold. One, it’s a low-fat snack, and two, it crisps well. Made with whole wheat, it has a delicious nutty flavor.

Brown Butter: We have used salted butter in this recipe, which means added flavor. If you use unsalted butter, try sprinkling a little salt on the chips when tossing in the butter. Brown butter is melted butter browned in a pan with a naturally nutty flavor that has become popular in many dishes. It’s not to be confused with burnt butter, which no longer tastes appealing. 

Substitutions and Add In’s 

Pita bread: The recipe calls for whole wheat pita pockets. You can use white pita bread if you prefer. We also used store-bought fresh pita bread. However, if you are single and have half a pack of leftover pita bread, this is a great way to use it.

Brown Butter: We used salted butter to make the brown butter for this recipe. However, you can use unsalted; add a sprinkle of salt or sea salt to enhance the overall flavor. If you don’t want to use brown butter, spray the pita chips with a cooking spray like avocado oil.

Add-ins: Not dipping these in anything in particular, but just wanting a crispy snack food to replace potato chips? Add your favorite seasonings, like spicy chili powder or a blend of your favorite herbs. Alternatively, add some cinnamon and sugar for a sweet cinnamon sugar pita chips snack food idea.

Expert Tips and Serving Suggestions. 

Tip #1: Don’t overfill the air fryer basket! Filling the air fryer basket too much will result in poor cooking. I recommend filling the basket only halfway and leaving a lot of air gaps around the chips for more crispness.

Tip #2: Leftover pita chips can be stored in an airtight container or ziplock bag for up to three days. 

Tip #3: Don’t cut the pita pockets into pita wedges that are too small if you intend to dip them. Doing so will not allow people to hold them easily for dipping. Plus, pita pieces that are too small will result in a poor chip-to-dip ratio when eating. 

If eating a hot dip, serve the pita chips right out of the air fryer basket. Or dip them cold into a heated con queso or roasted tomato salsa for an excellent sharing appetizer at your next party or event. 

If you tried these air-fried pita chips, we hope you’ve enjoyed this quick snack as much as we do. Leave a comment below the recipe card if you test this recipe. As always, we love hearing from you, our readers!