Make These Now: Oven-Baked Tater Tots

We haven’t had tater tots since grade school, but as soon as we saw these golden potato bites from Pennies on a Platter, we started drooling. They looked so good we could practically taste them. Also, a final roll in a special ingredient makes them extra crunchy without deep-frying.

Nikki from Pennies on a Platter makes these tater tots from mashed potatoes. She first tried rolling them in corn flakes to get the proper crunch and then made a second attempt with bread crumbs. Neither of them taste quite right.

The winner turned out to be none other than crushed potato chips. Coated with chips and baked in the oven, these tots turn out crunchy and delicious with just the right deep-fried flavor. The chips she likes using are even an all-natural version that aren’t actually deep-fried at all, so the tater tots end up being a little healthier, too.

A batch of these sound like just what we need this weekend. With some extra ketchup on the side. What about you?

• Get the Recipe! Oven-Baked Tater Tots from Pennies on a Platter

(Image: Pennies on a Platter)

Comments (19)

SHUT UP I WANT THIS RIGHT NOW.

(thank you)

My husband and daughter LOVE tater tots (me too but just choose not to eat them as often as they do as they arent' the healthiest) but it has never occurred to me to make them myself. I will have to try this. They look delicious!

My boyfriend and I absolutely LOVE snacking on tater tots.

In the oven for 15 minutes, and for the last 5 minutes we put cheese on top for amazingly delicious cheesy tots!

OK YUM!!!!!!

Also I love tater tots because they always remind me that my older daughter used to call them "totter tates" when she was little.

Doesn't coating them in (fried) potato chips defeat the point?

jaygarf: I was just wondering the same thing! lol

Of course you have the fried flavour because you're frying the coating and putting it on afterward...

I mean, sure, there isn't fry oil seeping into the potatoes but it's not supposed to work that way anyway.

My feeling is that while coating them in potato chips isn't exactly "health food," making tater tots like these are probably far sight better than any fast food place or even from the frozen food section! Also, you can buy healthier versions of potato chips instead of the standard, so you can control the amount of fat they're made with.

if you click on the link for the recipe, you'll see that she uses popchips which are not fried at all so at least it's a little healthier than deep fried tater tots :)

In the body of the linked blog entry, Nikki mentioned that she used Pop Chips for the coating. Pop Chips are not fried and have just 4 grams of fat per serving compared to 10 grams of fat in regular potato chips. Store bought tater tots are really high in fat, so I think this is a relatively healthy take on what I generally consider to be junk food. Plus they just plain look good, which is reason enough to me to give them a try.

I concur with the sentiments of the first commenter!

Oh. My. Goodness.

WOW. I gotta try making these. Thanks Kitchn for sharing this! Perfect weekend project.

Don't dip your tots in just ketchup... Think bigger: ketchonnaise. 1 part ketchup + 1 part mayo. (Optionally, I recommend a dash--or several--of your favorite hot sauce, too!)

So making these! Not kidding that I was just looking up how to make homemade tatter tots. I have now found my go to recipe. Thank you. Oh and may have to try it with sweet potatoes, just saying...

um lalligood, I believe what you are calling ketchonnaise is actually Fancy Sauce ;)

Think even beyond ketchonnaise/Fancy Sauce/fry sauce! Make "Tot-chos". Tots with your standard favorite nacho fixins on top!

Oh my gosh Nora Rocket I laughed so hard at your comment! It was the same thought that I had!

the last bag of frozen tots I bought said that they had already been fried..(a little?)
I always bake tots thinking I would avoid the calories...I was pissy after reading that. Check the bag! Why stop with potato chips?? funions..fritos...cheetos?

Hmm I made this and it wasn't so great. It just tasted like mashed potatoes covered with potato chips.