Tater Tots are one of the easiest recipes you can try in an air fryer. It’s one of the famous kid-friendly frozen foods. Air-fried tater-tots always taste wonderful, whether you serve them as it is or with additional seasonings and side sauces.
Tater tots is another name for crispy golden potato bites. They’re simple to make and quick to serve alongside burgers. It’s a simple and fine recipe, including a few steps.
The first step includes grating potatoes with the skin on into tiny pieces. Then, you need to combine them with flour, salt, and seasonings. The mixture is put into a machine that shapes it into little barrel-shaped pieces.
You can either air fry or deep fry the tater tots. But air frying would get you a crispier and more healthy snack. Tater tots are excellent when topped with bacon. You can also pair them with a cheeseburger and use them to make Totchos.
In this blog, we’ll be discussing multiple recipes for making tater tots in an air fryer. Let’s start!
What Is The Ideal Method For Making Tater Tots in An Air Fryer?
There are slight variations in the procedure of making tater tots in different air fryers.
For oven-type air fryers, you’ll need:
Grate potatoes and add your seasonings. Then make the cylinder form of potatoes mixture. You can also use frozen tater tots when you are short on time.
To carry out the recipe, follow the instructions below:
- Preheat your air fryer for one minute at 400°F temperature.
- Spray the air fryer racks with a little mist of nonstick cooking spray.
- By gently shaking the rack, distribute the frozen tater tots in a single layer to cook them evenly.
- To ensure that air can flow between the Tater Tots, leave adequate space between them.
- In the air fryer, cook the tater tots for 13 minutes.
- Give them roughly two minutes to cool down before serving.
Tater Tots in An Air Fryer With Basket
You can use the air fryer basket to air fry the tater tots.
First of all, preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees F for 1 minute. If you’re using frozen tater tots, cook them for 7 minutes. However, if you like to make the potato mixture from scratch, then it will take 10 minutes to air fry.
In 7 to 10 minutes, you’ll achieve the desired level of crispiness Give them roughly two minutes to cool down before serving. Serve them with your chosen dipping sauce.
I enjoy ketchup, ranch, and barbecue sauce as the dipping sauce. Ketchup has a rather mild flavor, so tater tots go well with just about any sauce you prefer. If you enjoy the spicy sauce, try some Sriracha!
What Different Seasonings Can You Use For Tater Tots?
Tater tots made in an air fryer are delicious on their own, but it’s wonderful to mix things up! Try out these mouthwatering potato seasoning ideas if you want to make tater tots at home instead of buying frozen ones.
Adjust the seasoning to your preferences by adding more or less. If the seasoning you’re using contains salt, you can reduce or omit the amount of salt specified in the recipe.
- Old Bay Seasoning: 1.5 teaspoons (perfect when served with seafood)
- Montreal steak seasoning: 1–1 1/2 teaspoons (great with steaks or burgers)
- Paprika smoked: 1 teaspoon.
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of taco seasoning.
- 1-tsp. Aleppo pepper
- 1-2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning (dip in marinara)
- 1 teaspoon of seasoned salt
Adding a little garlic powder can give any of these seasonings a flavor boost.
How Can I Air Fry Tater Tots Without Having Them Cling Together?
I would advise you to consider the following steps while cooking tater tots in an air fryer. It’d prevent them from sticking together.
- Before placing them in the air fryer, ensure that they are not frozen together.
- After adding a bit of the oil over the tater tots, place them in the basket and give them a nice shake. The oil prevents them from sticking together.
- After that wait for a short period. Then, use a metal spoon to separate any that are clumped together. It’s crucial to do this at the beginning of the frying process.
- Check halfway through the cooking; if the tater tots are sticking together, take a tong and separate them.
- Additional oil is not required for cooking. A small coating of cooking spray will give tater tots a texture akin to deep-frying.
Time & Temperature For Cooking Tater Tots In Air Fryer
Keep the tater tots frozen for the best results until the air fryer is ready for air frying. Preheating the air fryer boosts the crispy texture. The ideal temperature to get nice crispiness is 400 F.
You should shake the tater tots twice while cooking to produce an evenly crisp texture. 5 minutes is the perfect time to do so.
Once you are trying to make tater tots, keep these quick tips in your mind, That’ll help to get the best results.
Nutrients In A Single Piece Of Tater Tot
| Nutrients | Gram Count |
| Calories | 18g |
| Fat | 1.06g |
| Carbs | 1.89g |
| Protein | 0.19g |
What Can You Serve With Tater Tots?
Tater Tots are a traditional side dish or snack. These can be served as a potato side dish with a main beef course. As a party starter, preferred sauces can be served alongside the tots.
You can also top your cooked tots with various toppings, such as cheddar, siracha, salsa, and guacamole. For the crunchiest potato tots, preheat your air fryer.
Don’t omit the salt or cooking spray because they both contribute to the crispiness of tater tots. During cooking, flip the tots in the basket to ensure even cooking.
For the healthiest version, avoid frozen tater tots and make your own at home.
Why Make Tater Tots In An Air Fryer?
There are several reasons why an air fryer is best for making tater tots.
- Does not heat the entire house as the oven does.
- No more microwaved tater tots that are mushy.
- You can always make perfect, crispy, and tasty tater tots without using oil.
These are just a few reasons, but you’ll think of more as soon as you make them in the air fryer.
How Can We Make Bacon Wrapped Tater Tots?
You need the following ingredients to make Bacon wrapped tater tots:
Ingredients
- 16 bacon pieces, cut lengthwise in half.
- 50 ml of maple syrup.
- 1/8 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, crushed
- 32 frozen Tater Tots, defrosted
Directions
Set the air fryer to 400 degrees. Cook bacon in batches for 4-5 minutes, or until partially cooked but not crisp. Remove and dry on paper towels.
Combine pepper flakes and maple syrup. Wrap each piece of bacon around a Tater Tot after dipping it in the syrup mixture. Secure it with toothpicks.
Place it on a greased surface in the basket. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the bacon is crisp.
In An Air Fryer, How Long Do You Cook Tater Tots?
In your air fryer, cook tater tots for 6-8 minutes.
Preheat an air fryer to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 4 minutes, according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Place the needed number of potato nuggets in a single layer in the air fryer basket, working in batches if necessary.
How Long Should Frozen Tater Tots Be Cooked In An Air Fryer?
Preheat your air fryer for exactly one minute at 400°. Then add frozen Tater Tots to the basket and cook for 7 minutes.
Continue air-frying the Tater Tots for another 5-7 minutes, or wait until they’ve crisped up to your preference. Allow for roughly 2 minutes of cooling before serving.
Final Thoughts
To conclude, I’d like to say that;
- Tater tots are better to be air fried than fried in oil.
- Before I put them in, I like to sprinkle a little olive oil on them using a spray can. I finish by adding some sea salt. The tots get more crispy, and the salt sticks to them.
- Use water spray if you don’t want to add even a little extra oil.
- They won’t become as crispy as you want if you over-wet them.