How to make tater tots in oven

This easy Homemade Tater Tots recipe has options for frying, baking or an air fryer! Make delicious tots at home with simple, wholesome ingredients!

Growing up, I was not a fan of french fries. Yup, you read that right. Clearly I was a weird kid! I much preferred more homey meals like soups and casseroles. Fast food wasn’t really on my radar. I remember my parents asking if my sister and I wanted to stop at McDonald’s for lunch after Saturday Greek School classes and I would decline, requesting we go home and make soup instead. My sister would shoot me death stares from the backseat of the car, of course.

While not much has changed (I still prefer a homecooked meal to takeout options), I will indeed indulge more these days. But to this day, the French fry is still my least favourite way to prepare potatoes. Mashed takes the prize for sure, but roasted potatoes and hash browns are also loves of mine.

That is probably why I love tater tots since the first time I tried them! To me, they are way better than a French fry, and more like a bite sized hash brown. Delicious!

We try to avoid processed food as much as possible. This is because my food sensitivities prevent me from finding options that I can actually consume and also because we try to avoid preservatives and ingredients we can’t envision in our heads (I mean, the scientific language in an ingredient list is so off-putting!) That is why I set out to make some homemade tater tots we can consume to our hearts content! And that we did!

Tater tots are generally not all that healthy due to deep-frying but they are made far more wholesome when you use simple ingredients at home. I also sought out to make them more health-conscious by testing out other cooking methods. I have baked these and air fried them with great success and so i included those options in the recipe below.

Full disclosure: nothing beats the deep fried option and so if you are okay with a little indulgence, this is definitely the way to go! They’re delicious and come out with the prettiest golden colour. If, however, you want to a lower-calorie, fat-reduced option, baking or air-frying these cute little babies is still a tasty option!

3 Methods to make Homemade Tater Tots!

To make homemade tots, you will need:

• 2 lbs russet potatoes
• 2 tablespoons flour (all purpose)
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon parsley flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• oil, for spritzing or frying

Peel the potatoes, chop them into quarters and place in a stock pot with enough cold water to cover them by 2 inches. Bring to a boil and cook for 8 minutes. Drain the potatoes and lay them out on a baking sheet to cool.

Using a box grater or a food processor with the grater attachment in place, shred the potatoes. Lay them out to dry for 10 minutes.

Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl and stir in the flour and seasonings. Form the potatoes into tots and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Tip: I like to use a cookie scoop (about 1 1/2 tablespoons) to keep them uniform in size. Tip: If the mixture is sticking to your hands, rub a bit of oil on your hands to prevent sticking.

To bake: Spread tots out on the parchment lined baking sheet and spritz with oil or cooking spray. Bake in a preheated oven at 400F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

To fry: Heat vegetable oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook tots in small batches until they are golden and crispy (about 4 minutes). Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel and repeat with remaining batches.

To air fry: Spritz the tots with vegetable oil or cooking spray and cook in a preheated air fryer at 375F for 5 minutes. Shake or flip the tots and cook for an additional 5 minutes or until golden brown.

Can you freeze tater tots?

Those frozen tater tots from the grocery aisle are definetely convenient. But can you freeze homemade tots for a quick dinner option too? Yes! Yes you can!

There are actually 2 ways you can freeze these tots. Tater tots can be frozen before and after cooking.

To freeze unfried tots, place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze them. Once frozen, transfer to a ziploc bag.

To freeze cooked tots, let them cool completely. Transfer them to a freezer safe container and freeze. When ready to consume, bake them at 400F until they are heated through.

I hope you enjoy homemade tots as much as I definitely do!

-Cathy

You may also like:

Baked Potato Wedges

This easy Homemade Tater Tots recipe has options for frying, baking or an air fryer! Make delicious tots at home with simple, wholesome ingredients!

Prep Time 25 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

Total Time 55 mins

Course Dinner, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 6 servings

Calories 129 kcal

• 2 lbs russet potatoes
• 2 tablespoons flour (all purpose)
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon parsley flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• oil, for spritzing or frying

• Peel the potatoes, chop them into quarters and place in a stock pot with enough cold water to cover them by 2 inches. Bring to a boil and cook for 8 minutes. Drain the potatoes and lay them out on a baking sheet to cool.

• Using a box grater or a food processor with the grater attachment in place, shred the potatoes. Lay them out to dry for 10 minutes.

• Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl and stir in the flour and seasonings. Form the potatoes into tots and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. I like to use a cookie scoop (about 1 1/2 tablespoons) to keep them uniform in size. If the mixture is sticking to your hands, rub a bit of oil on your hands to prevent sticking.

• For baking: Spread tots out on the parchment lined baking sheet and spritz with oil or cooking spray. Bake in a preheated oven at 400F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

  For Frying: Heat vegetable oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook tots in small batches until they are golden and crispy (about 4 minutes). Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel and repeat with remaining batches.

  For the air fryer: Spritz the tots with vegetable oil or cooking spray and cook in a preheated air fryer at 375F for 5 minutes. Shake or flip the tots and cook for an additional 5 minutes or until golden brown.

To freeze:

• Tater tots can be frozen before and after cooking. To freeze unfried tots, place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze them. Once frozen, transfer to a ziploc bag.

• To freeze cooked tots, let them cool completely. Transfer them to a freezer safe container and freeze. When ready to consume, bake them at 400F until they are heated through.

The nutritional information is an estimate and does not include the oil if you choose to fry the tater tots.

Calories: 129kcalCarbohydrates: 29gProtein: 4gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 8mgPotassium: 636mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 14IUVitamin C: 9mgCalcium: 21mgIron: 1mg

Keyword hash browns, hashbrowns, potatoes, tater tots