Tater tots made in an air fryer? Yep! The easiest, most hassle-free way to get crispy tater tots is in the air fryer, and that’s a fact!
Tater Tots are iconic and part of growing up in North America. I still remember watching Napoleon Dynamite eat tater tots out of his zip cargo pant pockets and wouldn't share. Literally me.
But today I'm going to share with you how to make the best tater tots in an air fryer, so you never end up totless.
How to Make Tater Tots in an Air Fryer
This is a pretty simple recipe. There really aren't to many steps, but the set up is important!
- You can make these air fryer tater tots two ways:
- Open the bag and empty the tater tots into the air fryer basket or;
- Open the bag and mix in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of oil, this way yields crispier tots but adds more clean up.
- An entire bag of tots cooks well in my air fryer because I have the biggest size, but if you have a smaller basket make sure you don't fill the basket all the way or not enough air flow will circulate to cook them.
- Turn the fryer on to 400 degrees. Some people like to pre-heat their air fryers first but in this instance, I don't find it necessary.
- Cook for 16 minutes shaking the basket halfway through.
- Top with some sea salt.
- Voila!
Kitchen Equipment I used for recipe:
- Ninja Foodie 9-1 Air Fryer Unit – Okay I’ll be the first to admit I was an air fryer hater before but now I am the ultimate air fryer truther! This is the unit I use and it’s unreal because it comes with an instant pot, steamer, dehydrator, sautee, and more all in one unit! It comes in a couple of different sizes (I got the 8 quarts and it’s huge but I love it).
- Aesthetically pleasing teal spoon set – a lot of people recently have been asking about my spoon set and I feel like a fraud because everyone thinks it’s some expensive set but it’s super inexpensive and they look amazing!
Air Fryer Tater Tots
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ Pack Tater Tots
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil optional
- 1 teaspoon Sea Salt optiona
Instructions
- *Optional* Start by tossing the frozen tater tots with the olive oil.
- Turn your air fryer on to 400 degrees and add the tots to the basket.
- Cook for 16 minutes shaking the basket half way through to ensure air flow and uniform crispiness.
- Top with sea salt
Pups Notes
- The oil isn't 100% but it does make a difference in how crispy they get.
- My air fryer has a basket big enough to cook an entire bag of tater tots uniformly but most air fryers aren't that big so we recommend only adding half the bag at a time.
If you try this recipe, please leave it a 5-star review in the comments section below! I’d love to hear from you! You can rate it, comment about it, send us pictures about it on Instagram @RescueDogKitchen.
Nutrition Facts for Air Fryer Tater Tots
The nutrition information presented here is for all of the ingredients. I take all of the nutritional information from Cronometer a nutritional tracker website that provides you with a lot of great information, especially regarding micronutrients!
Nutrition Facts
10 servings per container
Serving Size1 g
- Amount Per ServingCalories151
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat
7.2g
12%
- Saturated Fat 1.3g 7%
- Trans Fat 2.8g
- Sodium 366mg 16%
- Potassium 226mg 7%
- Total Carbohydrate
21.6g
8%
- Dietary Fiber 1.6g 7%
- Protein 1.7g 4%
- Vitamin C 3.5%
- Calcium 1%
- Iron 5.7%
- Vitamin E 1.4%
- Vitamin K 2.4%
- Thiamin 4.5%
- Riboflavin 2.2%
- Niacin 7.2%
- Vitamin B6 7.4%
- Folate 4.5%
- Pantothenic Acid 5.1%
- Phosphorus 9.5%
- Magnesium 3.4%
- Zinc 2.2%
- Copper 6.9%
- Manganese 4.4%
* The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Tater tots are processed potatoes. Potatoes on their own can be packed with nutritional benefits but not as much as other foods. Processing them further removes a lot more of their already slim nutrition. Not tio
Commonly Asked Vegan Sourdough Pancake Questions
How do I make my tater tots crispy?
Adding a little bit of oil to the tater tots before cooking really helps make them extra crispy. Higher heats also do the trick but you run the risk of burning them this way. You don't need much oil to make them extra crispy!
How long do you cook Tater Tots in an air fryer?
You only need to cook tater tots in the air fryer for about 16 minutes. The more you add in the longer it will take, but half a bag in most conventional air fryers will make crispy tater tots in 16 minutes at 400 degrees.
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Kathy Zurcher
Best way to cook Tots! Thanks, John. Heading out now to buy some to have with my Impossible burger tonight. Yum!