Air Fryer Tater Tots

Nothing says comfort food more than a big batch of crispy air fryer tater tots. You will love how easy it is to get perfectly crisped tots without oil or extra time. Serve up a small batch for one or two people or make multiple batches to feed a crowd.

🍽️ Why This Works

Actually crispy tater tots. If you’ve ever left your sheet pan full of tater tots in the oven for forever and still had limp, wet tater tots with little redeeming value, you are going to love making these using the air fryer. They crisp up so beautifully without a lot of oil, like you get when deep frying. It’s the best of both worlds.

Fast method. So baking tater tots in the oven takes forever. Deep frying tater tots is faster but bad for you. Using the air fryer to make tater tots is perfect because it’s faster than the oven and better for you than deep frying. Each batch takes ten to fifteen minutes.

🥔 Ingredients

📝 Ingredient Notes

Frozen Tater Tots – This is one of those times that brand name doesn’t matter. Use generic if you like. You’ll probably find Ore Ida to be the most common variety found in the freezer aisle at the supermarket.

Cooking Spray – This keeps everything from sticking to your air fryer. Alternatively, you can use some silicone air fryer liners.

Salt – We recommend coarse Kosher salt to keep it simple and delicious. Be careful of the fine-ground salt as it is too easy to sprinkle on too much.

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⏲️ Equipment and Tools

Air Fryer | We use the Ninja Foodi Air Fryer or our Instant Vortex Plus. Any basket air fryer will work perfectly, and if you use a tray air fryer such as the Vortex, please remember that the top tray cooks faster. In any case, you will have to adjust the cooking times for each machine, so keep that in mind and keep a close eye on your food. The good thing about an air fryer is that you can open and shut it without really losing any cooking time.

Ramekins | This is optional but is perfect for plating when you are offering multiple dipping sauces.

🔥 Instructions

Step One: Spread tater tots evenly on the bottom of the basket in a single layer. Try not to have them overlap, as it will impact their crispiness.

Step Two: Cook at 400ºF for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Times will vary depending on your air fryer. I like to spritz the tots with a little bit of spray olive oil or non stick spray for a deep-fried texture.

Step Three: Remove tater tots and place them on the serving plate. Add salt.

Step Four: Repeat with remaining tater tots if you are cooking more than one batch.

Step Five: Serve immediately with ketchup, cheese, bacon, or other condiments that you like.

All your burning questions: Can You Put Parchment Paper in Air Fryer? Can You Put Foil in the Air Fryer?

❗ Recipe Tips and Tricks

Do not add salt until after you remove the hot tater tots from the air fryer. Heating the tater tots activates the oil in most frozen potatoes and brings it to the surface. When you salt them hot, the salt will actually stick.

Use a parchment paper air fryer liner to reduce mess and make clean-up easier. You can skip the cooking spray if you use liners, or you can still go ahead and use it if you prefer.

If you have trouble with the tater tots not crisping up, you can shake the basket every few minutes. You can also try spritzing them lightly with vegetable oil in a spray bottle.

🧑‍🍳 Storage and Reheating

Keep leftover tater tots in the refrigerator in an airtight container until you are ready to use them.

Freeze cooked leftover tater tots in an airtight container if you won’t use them from the refrigerator within five days.

Reheat leftover tater tots in the microwave, in a skillet, or in your air fryer until hot throughout. Times will vary.

Meal Prep

I always like to make extras (if that is even possible) so that the next day we can make something cool with the leftovers.

Use your leftovers to make any of the suggestions in the next section, simply by reheating them in the air fryer, oven, or in a non-stick skillet without grease.

Use your leftovers to make cheesy tots by placing them in a baking pan and adding a classic cheese sauce. Make a rue, add milk and broth in equal parts, cook until thick, and add cheese to melt. Pour over the tots and bake.

Make a tater tot casserole with the cheesy tots recipe by adding your favorite mix-ins such as bacon, ham, shredded pork, onions, and green peppers.

Additions and Substitutions

You can add so many different things to dress them up. Here are my favorite ideas.

Add flavored salt. My favorite flavors are Garlic, beer, lime, black truffle, mango chili, and dill pickle salts.

Add a seasoning blend. Pick your favorite dry rub or seasoning blend and use that to make seasoned tots. You can try Old Bay, any of the Dizzy Pig seasonings, or the simple Kinders blend of garlic, salt, and pepper.

Add toppings. While they are still hot, add shredded cheddar, bacon bits, diced green onions, jalapeños, salt, and pepper. Serve with sour cream.

Add nacho toppings. Once they are crispy and hot, spread them out on a platter and add cheddar or Colby Jack cheese, drained black beans, shredded Barbacoa or chicken, diced green onions, jalapeños, salt, pepper, and Pico de Gallo. You can also add barbecue sauce or any of your favorite nacho toppings.

Add chili. Chili tots from a popular restaurant are a big hit, but you can make them better at home. While you are heating up them up, heat up a can of chili or some leftover homemade chili on the cooktop. Spread the hot tater tots out on a platter, top with hot chili, and add shredded cheddar cheese. Optional toppings include raw diced onions, diced green onion, or diced spicy peppers that have been sautéed. Serve with sour cream.

Serving Suggestions

Serve tater tots with dipping sauces. Nacho cheese, ketchup, sour cream, ranch dip, blue cheese dressing, or salsa are all good options. I really like our Slow Cooker Mexican Dip – It’s easy to make and delicious! Use tater tots as a side dish for your favorite fast meal, such as sloppy joes, grilled meats, burgers, or sandwiches. You have so many options!

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