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Air Fryer Tater Tots are the easiest way to make crispy, delicious tots. Serve them as a simple side dish or load them up with toppings for cheesy, sharable Totchos!
Everyone love tater tots but who wants to wait 25 minutes for them to cook in the oven? Air Fryer Tater Tots are ready to eat in about 10 minutes, and keeps your oven free for BBQ Baked Chicken Thighs or Lemon Garlic Roasted Chicken Drumsticks to serve them with. Add a fresh Garden Salad or Garlic Green Beans for a complete, and easy meal.
Or, you could turn your air fryer tater tots into Totchos! Stack them high with cheese, bacon, sour cream and green onions for a fun and unique twist on the classic nachos. They make a fun snack or appetizer that’s easy to share, even though you’ll want to keep them all to yourself!
Preparing the Tater Tots in an Air Fryer
The simplest way to cook tater tots and other frozen foods is in your air fryer. If you don’t have an air fryer yet, you should really consider adding one to your collection of kitchen appliances. There are a variety of highly rated brands ranging from affordable to jumbo size and extravagant. Make sure you get one that will fill your size needs.
Back to these air fryer tater tots.
How Long do you cook frozen tater tots in an Air Fryer?
- First you’ll want to preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees (usually the highest temperature setting) for a couple of minutes. This step isn’t absolutely necessary, but I feel that it helps to cook the food more evenly.
- Next, arrange the frozen tots in the basket. A single layer is best, but you can add more as long as you give the basket a good shake and toss the tots a couple of time while they cook.
- It takes about 10 minutes total to cook tater tots in the air fryer. Less than half the time it takes in the oven! After 10 minutes they should be nice and crispy and ready to serve or to make Totchos!
What Are Totchos?
Totchos are tater tot nachos! Instead of chips loaded up with cheese and other toppings, the crispy tater tots are covered with cheese, sour cream, onions and bacon. You could use a pan that fits in your air fryer to melt the cheese on your tots, or melt the cheese under a broiler if you want. A nacho cheese sauce would also be extra delicious.
I added cheese after cooking the tater tots and just let it get warm from the tots.
Totchos are like a variation of Irish Nachos, which have potato chips or potato wedges instead or tortilla chips.
I make my tots in the air fryer because it’s super easy, way better than deep frying, but they can also be baked on a sheet pan in the oven. Bake until crispy, then add pile up the cooked tater tots and add toppings.
Totchos Tips and Notes
- When cooking frozen potato products in the air fryer, it is advised to allow air to circulate around each piece of food. However, I find that it is OK to load the basket as long as you are stirring or shaking them around often.
- Check to make sure your unit accepts cooking spray safely. Alternatively, you can line the basket with parchment paper so the tots don’t stick. As long as you are shaking often, it will probably be safe to go without spray or liner.
- Cooking time may vary depending on model of air fryer.
- This recipe will work with air fryer tater tots or crispy crowns.
- If you have shallow cake pan for your air fryer, you can stack the totchos in it and place it in the warm air fryer (don’t turn it on) to melt the cheese.
Recipe Variations
Chili Cheese Totchos: Load up your tater tots with chili, cheese and onions.
Spicy Totchos: Add sliced jalapenos and hot sauce on top.
Cheesy Totchos: Use a variety of your favorite cheeses, like cheddar, jack and mozzarella.
Italian Totchos: Sprinkle Italian seasoning on top, then Marinara sauce, Parmesan and Mozzarella cheese.
More Air Fryer Recipes to Try:
Each of these recipes has been tested and approved (by me!) for your air fryer!
- Apple Hand Pies
- Air Fryer Chicken Wings
- Southwest Air Fryer Egg Rolls
- Air Fryer Chicken Breasts
- Air Fryer Tortilla Chips
Air Fryer Tater Tots
Ingredients
- 16 ounce package frozen tater tots
- nonstick cooking spray (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare your air fryer with nonstick cooking spray or line with parchment. (*Check your manual to make sure cooking spray is ok).
- Place the tater tots in the basket of the air fryer and cook at 400 degrees for 5-10 minutes, flipping/shaking halfway through cooking time. If they aren't crispy enough for you, cook for a few more minutes until the texture is to your liking.
- Remove the tater tots from the air fryer and place on a platter. Serve with ketchup or another dipping sauce.
Notes
- Make sure to give the basket a good shake every few minutes to promote even cooking.Â
- Check to make sure your unit accepts cooking spray safely. Alternatively, you can use parchment paper. As long as you are shaking often, it will probably be safe to go without spray or liner.
- Cooking time may vary depending on model of air fryer.
