Air fryer 'pasta chips' are the latest food trend taking over TikTok

• A new way of cooking pasta so it crisps up like a chip for a light snack is going viral on TikTok.
• The rapidly-growing #pastachips tag has over 300 million views on TikTok.
• This comes after feta pasta recipes took over TikTok earlier this year.

Pasta has once again taken over TikTok, as a new recipe by the TikToker behind the feta pasta trend has gone viral. Feta pasta originally exploded in popularity in February this year. TikTokers were so entranced by the simple recipe - which involved mixing pasta with roasted cherry tomatoes and feta cheese - that stores around the US experienced a national feta cheese shortage. Today, the #fetapasta tag on TikTok has 1 billion views.

Five months after her feta pasta video led to the recipe going viral, popular food TikToker @feelgoodfoodie is again making waves on the platform, as she showed her 1.2 million followers how she makes pasta chips in an air fryer.

Pasta chips are flavoured pasta shapes that are crisped up so that they become crunchy, allowing them to be eaten as a snack, sometimes with dip. Since the end of June, the recipe has become so popular that the tag #pastachips has amassed over 250 million views on TikTok, with hundreds of users sharing their own variations of the recipe.

Pasta chips exploded in popularity on the app after Yumna Jawad, the person behind the @feelgoodfoodie TikTok account, posted a video showing viewers how to make them. She suggests that users mix their cooked pasta with parmesan cheese and olive oil before cooking it in an air fryer at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes.

Feta cheese once again made an appearance in her iteration of the recipe, as she served her pasta chips with a mixed feta and Greek yoghurt dip. Since the TikTok was posted on June 30, it has been viewed over 19 million times.

Although some TikTokers used the air fryer method to make their own pasta chips, others also made the dish using a normal oven. Ayeh Far, who runs popular the TikTok account @cookingwithayeh, suggests spreading out cooked pasta on an oven tray before baking the pasta shapes for 17-20 minutes.

In this version of the recipe, she mixes the pasta with olive oil, paprika, garlic powder, and yeast before baking until it is "golden."

Other TikTokers have been creative with the flavors and styles of their own pasta chips. Some examples of pasta chips that have been created by TikTok users include "Desi-style," inspired by Indian cuisine, and Buffalo flavor.

A number of TikTok users have also adapted the recipe to make pesto pasta chips by mixing in a spoonful of pesto alongside olive oil, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper before air frying.

With everyone spending more time inside during the pandemic, 'FoodTok' has been the hub of several TikTok trends over the past year. Previous recipes and foods that have gone viral include mini pancakes, homemade cookie crisp cereal, and vegan 'bacon'.

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