Parmesan Crisps Recipe: How to Make Parmesan Crisps

Parmesan crisps are lacy snacks made by grating and then baking Parmesan cheese into a chip-like bite. The crisps are thin, crunchy, brittle, and packed with cheesy flavor. Also known as frico, Parmesan crisps originated in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of Northern Italy, where home cooks commonly serve them as an appetizer, garnish, or cheese plate addition. You can buy Parmesan crisps at the grocery store, but it’s easy to make them at home with the right ingredients.

While the names “Parmesan crisp” and “frico” sometimes get used interchangeably, it’s important to note that there are two types of frico in Italy: the lacy, thin Parmesan crisp and a rich, potato-based, savory dish featuring a cheese called Montasio. To avoid confusion, you can use “Parmesan crisp” when referring to the cheesy snack. Alternatively, you can call the snack “frico” to respect the dish’s Italian origins.

Here’s how to make light, savory Parmesan chips at home:

1. 1. Grate or zest the cheese. While both work, there is a subtle difference between baked Parmesan crisps made with cheese grated using a zester (light, fluffy, snow-like) vs. finely grated cheese produced by a box grater or the shredding disc of a food processor. While you can use store-bought grated cheese, it may contain additives, preservatives, or anti-clumping ingredients that can affect the result of the crisp itself, both in texture and flavor.
2. 2. Preheat the oven. The oven should be hot enough that the cheese melts and crisps, but not too hot that it burns before melting. For a happy medium, set the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. 3. Build the crisps. Build little piles of grated or zested cheese on a baking sheet or sheet tray lined with silicone or parchment. They shouldn’t be too tall or wide, but feel free to experiment with different crisp sizes.
4. 4. Remove the crisps from the oven. After cooking for 12–15 minutes, the crisps should be relatively flat, fully melted, and beginning to crisp and turn golden brown on the edges. The centers of your crisps should be quite soft and colorless.
5. 5. Cool the crisps. As the crisps cool and chill, they’ll flatten, adhere to the silicone or parchment, and become a shade darker. After about 10 minutes of cooling, carefully remove the crisps with a fish spatula.

These crisps are endlessly customizable. While the cheese is fantastic on its own—and traditional frico only contains cheese—feel free to experiment. Add onion powder, paprika, everything bagel seasoning, or garlic powder for a deeply savory bite. For heat, incorporate ground cayenne pepper or top each Parm crisp with a thin slice of jalapeño.

1. 1. Use a silicone mat or parchment paper. Parmesan crisps are notorious for sticking to sheet trays. To avoid this issue, use a silicone baking mat or parchment paper to ensure that you can remove the crisps once they’re cooked and slightly hardened.
2. 2. Adjust the cooking time. Be careful not to burn the snack, but taking the Parmesan cheese crisps to a darker hue can result in a crispy, more brittle experience vs. a slightly chewy, more malleable consistency.
3. 3. Experiment with different shapes. Make circular, flat crisps, or drape them over molds so that they dry in novel shapes. Shape the crisps immediately after baking, before the crackers harden. Drape your hot cracker over a wine bottle or rolling pin for a curved shape. Roll it around the handle of a wooden spoon for a tuile-shaped crisp, or press it over an inverted muffin pan to create a miniature Parmesan bowl.
4. 4. Incorporate different ingredients. Swap the Parmesan for Grana Padano, pecorino, asiago, or Montasio cheese. Add black pepper for cacio e pepe–style crisps, or sprinkle on additional dried herbs and seasonings for freshness.
5. 5. Store in an airtight container. Parmesan crisps keep in an airtight container for three to four days at room temperature, making it convenient to use them in place of croutons in a Caesar salad or atop thick, creamy soups.