Tater Tots Kicked Up a Notch

Tater tots have a far crispier crust than other potato products. Which means they can stand up to a lot of other ingredients or toppings.

In fact, a tater tot’s versatility is something that should be celebrated. If you’re simply serving your tots plain, you’re not helping the small spuds reach their full potential. Spice up your tater tots (and your next occasion).

A Thought up front…I always cook my tots until golden brown before making any tot dish.

1. Use Them in a Casserole

Tater tots are excellent for all kinds of casseroles and an excellent shortcut for feeding a crowd. Bulk up your next casserole with a bag of tots.

2. Turn Them Into Buns

What’s better than a burger and tots? A burger that incorporates tater tots into the sandwich itself. Use tater tots for buns in teeny tiny sliders, or get out the waffle iron and craft your own “bread” for the crispiest sandwich of your life.

3. Make Totchos

As fried potato chunks, tater tots are practically begging for an accouterments. Loading up a pile of tater tots just like you would tortilla chips to make nachos is pretty revelatory, especially when there’s queso involved. Combine your usual roster of nacho toppings with a pile of tots for an extra delicious twist.

4. Get Creative With Toppings

Use your tots as a vehicle to experiment with all kinds of sauces and toppings. If a food works with fries, then it will very likely work with tater tots, so look through your condiment inventory and start tasting. Tots also work as a crunchier, more flavorful rice substitute for dishes like beef tips.

Tater Tot Taco Casserole

Ingredients

1 Pound Ground Beef

1 Small Onion, Diced

1 Clove Garlic, Minced

1 (1 Ounce) Packet Taco Seasoning Mix

1 (16 Ounce) Bag Frozen Mexican-Style Corn

1 (12 Ounce) Can Black Beans, Rinsed And Drained

1 (12 Ounce) Bag Shredded Mexican Cheese Blend

1 (16 Ounce) Package Frozen Tater Tots

1 (12 Fluid Ounce) Can Enchilada Sauce

Directions

Step 1 Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Prepare a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Step 2 Cook the ground beef in a skillet over medium heat until completely browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, taco seasoning mix, frozen Mexican-style corn, and black beans to the ground beef; cook and stir another 10 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.

Step 3 Combine the ground beef mixture in a large bowl with about 3/4 of the Mexican cheese blend and the tater tots; stir to combine.

Step 4 Pour about 1/3 of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Add the tater tot mixture to the baking dish; lightly pat the mixture down into a solid, even layer. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the tater tot layer.

Step 5 Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining Mexican cheese over the casserole and return to oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 5 minutes more.

Tater Tot Beef Casserole

Ingredients

1 Pound Ground Beef

1 Pinch Garlic Powder

Salt And Pepper To Taste

1 (32 Ounce) Package Tater Tots, Thawed

1 (10.75 Ounce) Can Condensed Cream Of Mushroom Soup

1 (10.75 Ounce) Can Condensed Cream Of Celery Soup

1 (10.75 Ounce) Can Milk

1 Pinch Garlic Powder

Directions

Step 1 Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Step 2 Crumble hamburger into a 9×13 inch baking pan. Sprinkle meat with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Cover the hamburger with tater tots.

Step 3 In a bowl, stir together mushroom soup, celery soup and milk. Pour the soup mixture over the potatoes and hamburger and sprinkle with additional garlic powder.

Step 4 Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes.

Buffalo Totkitos

Ingredients

1 (32 Ounce) Package Frozen Bite-Size Potato Nuggets (Such As Tater Tots®)

2 Pounds Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, Cubed

1 ½ Teaspoons Celery Seed

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

⅔ Cup Buffalo Wing Sauce

1 Cup Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

½ Cup Ranch Dressing

Directions

Step 1 Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).

Step 2 Spread potato nuggets in a single layer on a baking sheet.

Step 3 Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 25 minutes.

Step 4Meanwhile, place chicken in a large bowl. Add celery seed and olive oil. Stir to coat.

Step 5 Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until golden brown on all sides, about 15 minutes. Turn heat off and add wing sauce. Stir to coat.

Step 6 Remove potatoes from oven. Set an oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven’s broiler to low.

Step 7 Spoon chicken mixture evenly over potatoes and top with Monterey Jack cheese.

Step 8 Broil on low until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and drizzle ranch dressing over the top. Serve immediately.

Bacon Cheese Tots

Ingredients

6 Slices Bacon

1 (32 Ounce) Package Frozen Bite-Size Potato Nuggets (Such As Tater Tots®)

½ Teaspoon Garlic Salt

2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese, Divided

¼ Cup Sour Cream

2 Tablespoons Chopped Green Onions

Directions

Step 1 Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).

Step 2 Cook bacon in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until crispy on both sides, about 10 minutes. Place on a paper towel-lined plate and set aside, keeping the bacon grease in the skillet.

Step 3 Reduce the heat to medium and add potato nuggets to the skillet. Season with garlic salt and toss until evenly coated. Cook until the outsides are crisp, about 10 minutes, turning carefully with a spatula once or twice. Remove the skillet from heat.

Step 4 Carefully remove 1/2 of the potato nuggets from the skillet and spread out remaining nuggets in a single layer. Top with 1/2 of the Cheddar cheese. Place remaining nuggets on top of the cheese and top with remaining cheese.

Step 5 Transfer the skillet to the preheated oven and bake until nuggets are warmed through and the cheese is melted and starts to turn golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Step 6 While the nuggets are baking, crumble the cooked bacon. Remove the skillet from the oven and top with crumbled bacon, sour cream, and green onions.