Skip the freezer aisle and the added preservatives. Instead, with just a few easy ingredients and simple steps, you can make your own homemade Crispy Tater Tots From Scratch!
I have a confession to make: I. Love. Tater Tots. They're my ultimate bar food guilty pleasure. While we're not heading out to many bars these days, we learned to make our own, Crispy Tater Tots From Scratch!
While opening a freezer bag is super easy, these homemade tater tots require just a minimal amount of additional work, but without all of the added junk found in those ultra-processed foods. Whole foods, made at home - even your favorite bar food!
Ingredients Needed
- Russet Potatoes - Also known as Idaho Potatoes, these are the best for this recipe because they have a lower moisture content and are a high starch potato.
- Flour - To help bind your tots.
- Seasonings - Salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika are our favorites!
- Oil - To fry. Vegetable oil is our go to, but you could use another high smoke point oil, too, like canola oil. Peanut oil is also great, but it will impart a bit of a peanut flavor.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Par-boil potatoes.
This helps soften them a bit so that they're a bit softer and cook / crisp up faster.
Step 2: Once cool, peel and grate the potatoes. We love to use the larger size on a box grater like this one.
Once your potatoes are grated, it's important to try to squeeze as much of the moisture out of the potatoes as possible. To do this, you can gently press the grated potatoes with some paper towels.
Step 3: Add the flour and the rest of the seasoning and give a good mix.
Step 4: Shape your tots!
The best size we've found is about 3 - 4 inches, and to use your hands. While this will mean that your hands will get messy. The tots'll shape best with clean hands, but you will need to clean your hands a few times while you shape.
Step 5: Fry until Crispy Tater Tots perfection!
They'll take just a couple of minutes, so you're just waiting for them to get a nice golden brown.
Homemade Tater Tots for the win!
Even better, serve them with some 5 Minute Homemade Ketchup! Orrr...
My Tater Tot love has finally been justified with a From Scratch version! These homemade Crispy Tater Tots are a family favorite. Perfect for game night, as an appetizer, or even just a fun after-school snack.
Freeze For Later
One of my favorite parts of this recipe? You can totally make a big batch and then freeze them for later! That means that you can have homemade Tater Tots that are just as easy as opening a freezer aisle bag!
To Freeze: Once cooked, be sure to let tater tots cool completely. Then transfer to an airtight container. Store in the freezer for up to 1 month.
To Reheat: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F, add tots to a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until tots are fully heated through.
Enjoy! As always, if you make this recipe or any of my others, I love to hear what you think! Leave a comment below, email me, or you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Tater Tots from Scratch
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 lbs russet potatoes peeled
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- Vegetable or Canola Oil for frying
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add peeled potatoes. Parboil for 6 minutes. Remove and let cool, completely.
- Fill a small sauce pan with oil halfway. Heat oil on medium to 375°.
- Once potatoes are cooled, use a box grater (with the large size) to grate potatoes into a large bowl.
- With paper towels, gently press down on potatoes to squeeze out excess moisture. You can also use a cheese cloth for this.
- Add flour and other spices to bowl and mix until everything is evenly incorporated.
- Use your hands to form potatoes into 3-4 inch small tot shapes and line on a plate or baking sheet.
- Once the oil has reached about 375° Fry in oil until crispy and then drain on papertowel lined plate.
- Cool on a paper towel lined plate and serve with your favorite condiment!
These tater tots are so yummy and crispy! SO much better than store bought and my family just loves these tasty little things! Such a hit here and we'll definitely be making these again!
These look wonderful, can't wait to try them.
Oh my kids would love this. I am definitely going to have to try this.
These are SO much tastier than the frozen store bought tots! We all loved these and I loved the spices in them that really set off the flavor. The kids are already requesting more!
My younger son LOVES tater tots (though he will tell you he doesn't like potatoes) and these were a hit! I used the shred attachment for my food processor to make easy work of shredding the potatoes.
Loving these! My kids love tater tots and those yucky fast food hashbrowns. These would also be great for my totchos!!
Oooh great option for the kiddos then! And omg your tatchos.... definitely making!!
LOVE! I love tater tots too, and I'm not even ashamed to admit it. But I am ashamed that I have never made them at home! Pinning!
This is really good to know exspecially if you have a kiddo like me, pinning and sharing!
Yum! yum! yum! I love tater tots! And I am huge fan of making things from scratch! Congrats on doing these. They look fantastic! 🙂
These look so crunchy! It was actually the fiery sauce that caught my eye. 😀
I love tater tots! We call them croquettes here in the UK, but tater tots is way more fun! There's a bar we go to when I visit Atlanta that do tater tot nachos, and I could honestly eat nothing but those for the rest of my life!
Gotta try these!
Thanks, Michelle!! Croquettes sound so much fancier! Anndd ooohh the Tatchos! They're the BEST! Next on my list! 😉 xo
Crispy delicious treats☺
Indeed! 😀
I have seen tots from time to time but haven't been inspired to make them at home until now. They look fabulous!
Aw, thank you! They were so much easier than I'd expected and super fun to make, too 🙂
Oh dear - we might be the tot twins - never saw one that ! could pass up! So I'll just take that tray off your hands and ahem, pass them round the Fiesta Friday party goers. Not. Thanks so much for this - how fabulously easy to make these at home!
Thanks, Selma my tot twin! 😉 I hope you have a fabulous week!
Your tater tots look delicious! And, I love how you made them from scratch. We make a lot of side dishes like this from scratch so we have control over what allergens end up in the dish. After reading your recipe, I love how much creativity you can have with this recipe from the spices you use, etc. Happy FF, and have a wonderful weekend!
Thanks, Kaila! Being able to control exactly what's in something is one of the main reasons to cook from scratch! You can totally do sooo much with the spices and flavors for these guys. Happy FF!! 😀
Mouth watering so much right now! What have you done to me, Tracy!? 😀
Hahaha! I'm always happy to induce mouth watering! 😉
I just love this idea! You make any ole flavor you want! Bacon and onion or cheese? Oh my!
YES Julie, totally! I was actually thinking after I made them that some nutritional yeast would have been fun to add a little 'cheesyness' 😀
Those look absolutely beautiful Tracy! I can't wait to try to make these... I LOVE tater tots!!
Thank you, Dini! Me tooo 😉
Fresh tater tots straight from the frying pan? It doesn't get any better than that! These look delicious!!
Sooo true Thao!! Thanks so much for stopping by! 😀
YUUUM!! These look wonderful! I loooove tots too!
Tot date soon, please!!! 😉
Just wanted to drop a note to let you know that I've chosen this fantastic post to be featured on this week's Friday Favorites at 9pm (EST)! 🙂
Awwwwww!!! Thank you so much! That's so exciting! 😀
Tracy, you. are. awesome!! Those tater tots look SO good 😀 Pinning 🙂 Thanks for sharing this recipe with Friday Favorites, we love having you join us each week 🙂
Thanks so much, Amanda!! Thanks so much for having me! 😀
Hey, Tracy! You got some cute treats here. I just saw Tater Tots from Bryan Talbot and I think they are just amazing. Super easy to make, too. I thought Tater Tots need this special cylindrical something to shape them, but yours are just gorgeous. Thanks for sharing! 😉
Aw thanks, Jhuls!! Oh man a cylindrical shaper would have made these guys even easier!! Happy FF! 🙂