Air Fryer Tater Tots
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Make the best tots at home with this easy recipe for Air Fryer Tater Tots! Seasoned with my famous fry seasoning, frozen tater tots are transformed into a perfectly crispy, flavorful side dish that’s easy to make in just 15 minutes.
Table of contents
The air fryer has quickly become one of my favorite small appliances in the kitchen. It makes the most crispy food quickly, and without a lot of oil, making it a healthier option for cooking sides like fries and tots.
To add flavor to these crispy tater tots, I used my homemade fry seasoning. While the name may be “fry” seasoning, the flavor of this simple spice blend is just as delicious on tots, as it is on fries!
It only takes 10 minutes to air fry frozen tater tots, so you can have an easy side dish on the table for dinner in no time! Both kids and adults will love the taste of these crunchy seasoned tater tots.
Ingredients
- Frozen tater tots – pick up your favorite brand on the freezer aisle at the grocery store. They might also be labeled as “potato bites” as seen above. Using store-bought tater tots makes this recipe come together quickly and easily!
- Cooking spray – to lightly spray the tots, which will help them brown and crisp up in the air fryer.
- Fry seasoning (or salt) – click the link for my 5 star-rated seasoning mix, made up of 7 simple spices, including salt, pepper and paprika. If you don’t want to mix up the seasoning mix, you can simply season the tots with salt.
Instructions
- Preheat an air fryer to 400°F.
- Add frozen tater tots to the air fryer basket. Spray the tater tots with cooking spray, then sprinkle half of the fry seasoning evenly over the tots. Flip the tots, spray with cooking spray and sprinkle the remaining half of the fry seasoning over the tots.
- Cook the tots in the air fryer at 400°F for 5 minutes, open the air fryer, shake the basket and cook for another 5 minutes. Open the basket and see if the tots are crisped to your liking. If you’d like them extra crispy, add another 2-4 minutes to the cooking time. The tots are done when they’re golden brown and crispy on the outside.
For this recipe I used a 5.8 quart Cosori air fryer, which fit 16 ounces of tater tots in a single layer.
Recipe notes
- Always make sure there’s room around each tater tot inside the air fryer. This allows the air in the air fryer to flow around each of the tater tots, so they’re crispy on all sides.
- If you have a smaller air fryer and need to cook the tater tots in batches, you can toss all of them back in the air fryer at the end for 1-2 minutes to heat them up. This way they’ll all be hot and crispy when served.
- Store leftover cooked tater tots in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. I recommend reheating them in the air fryer for 3-4 minutes at 400°F.
Variations
These tater tots are delicious simply served with your favorite dipping sauce, like ketchup, bbq sauce or honey mustard. Or if you want to take your tots to the next level, try any of these tasty variations!
- Make cheese tots. After the cooking time is complete, open the air fryer and top the tots with four slices of American or cheddar cheese. Close the air fryer and cook for 1 minute. You’ll end up with perfectly cheesy tots! Serve them as a side dish or snack with a side of ketchup for dipping.
- Make Animal-Style tots. Follow the instructions above to make cheese tots, then top them with caramelized onions and burger sauce to make a tot-licious spin on In-N-Out’s famous fries!
- Make loaded tots. Follow the instructions above to make cheese tots, then top the tots with crumbled cooked bacon, diced green onions and a dollop of sour cream.
- Make chili cheese tots. Follow the instructions in this recipe for chili cheese fries, but replace the fries with tater tots.
- Make Cajun tots by seasoning the tater tots with Cajun seasoning, instead of the fry seasoning. Click the link for my homemade seasoning recipe.
- Make garlic parmesan tots by melting 2 tablespoons butter in a small bowl. Combine it with 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese and 1 tablespoon minced garlic, or 1 teaspoon garlic powder. When the tots come out of the air fryer, toss them in the garlic parmesan butter and serve immediately. For this variation, leave off the fry seasoning, as the tots will get seasoned after they cook in the garlic parmesan butter.
- Make buffalo-style tots by tossing them with this chicken wing seasoning, instead of fry seasoning. Serve them with buffalo sauce and ranch dressing for dipping.
What to serve them with
Tater tots are a burgers best friend! But they’re also great with bbq chicken, pulled pork sandwiches, and tons of other main dishes. Try pairing these air fryer tater tots with any of these delicious recipes.
- Animal Style Burger
- Air Fryer Hamburgers – to double up on the power of the air fryer!
- Smash Burgers
- Instant Pot Pulled Pork
- Smoked Tri Tip
- BBQ Chicken
- Mushroom Swiss Burger
- Smoked Pulled Pork
- Cheeseburger Sliders
- Chili Burger
- Air Fryer Chicken Wings
More air fryer recipes
Fire up your air fryer and try all of these delicious recipes!
Air Fryer Tater Tots
Ingredients
- 16 ounces frozen tater tots
- cooking spray
- 2 teaspoons fry seasoning, or 1 teaspoon salt (click link for seasoning recipe)
Instructions
- Preheat an air fryer to 400°F.
- Place the tater tots in an even layer in the air fryer basket.
- Spray the tater tots with cooking spray, then sprinkle half of the fry seasoning evenly over the tots.
- Flip the tots, spray with cooking spray and sprinkle the remaining half of the fry seasoning over the tots.
- Cook for 5 minutes at 400°F, open and shake the basket, then cook for another 5 minutes. Open the basket and see if the tots are crisped to your liking. If you’d like them extra crispy, add another 2-4 minutes to the cooking time.
Notes
- For this recipe I used a 5.8 quart Cosori air fryer, which fit 16 ounces of tater tots in a single layer. If using a smaller air fryer, you might have to cook the tots in two batches. After both batches are cooked, toss all of the tater tots back in the air fryer for 1-2 minutes to heat them up. This way they’ll all be hot and crispy when served.
- Leftover cooked tater tots can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. I recommend reheating them in the air fryer for 3-4 minutes at 400°F.
- To make air fryer cheese tots, open the air fryer after the cook time is complete. Evenly top the tots with four slices of American or cheddar cheese. Close the air fryer and cook for 1 minute.
Nutrition Facts
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