These air fryer tater tots are just the best! They are super crispy, come together in under 15 minutes, uses very little oil and there is no preheating the oven.
Want more snack options for your parties, try these too – Oven Baked Sweet Potato Wedges, Spring Rolls, BBQ Nation Style Crispy Corn, Chicken Cheese Balls and Bread Rolls.
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About This Recipe
Air fryer tater tots are probably one of the easiest snacks you can make. These come together in 15 minutes and the best part is that there is no preheating the oven and no deep frying. Best for summers because your kitchen will not roast from the oven’s heat and since we are not deep frying these, it’s healthier.
Tater tots are hands down my favorite snack, either for a home game or movie night or even to serve as munchies during parties, Prepared with grated potatoes, they are popularly deep-fried, but here we will give it a healthy twist.
Yes, here instead of deep-frying the frozen tater tots we will air fry them, which uses very little oil. I assure you these tater tots turn out so good that you will never return to the deep fry version ever. These air-fried tater tots are crispy from the outside and soft from the inside.
Also, you do not have to thaw the frozen tater tots, you can directly cook them in the air fryer.
Made with just 3 ingredients, these are perfect when you want something delicious and quick, It just takes 15 minutes to get ready and the result is just irresistible.
These tater tots made in air fryer are,
- Vegan
- Crispy
- Addictive
- Easy & Quick
- Perfect for munchies
Ingredients
Tater Tots – This air fryer recipe is prepared with frozen tater tots, that are directly added to the air fryer basket, no thawing guys! Tater tots are naturally vegan and you can get many varieties catering to different diet restrictions. I went for the classic but you can go for whichever you like.
Oil – You can use either olive oil or vegetable oil to spray. If you like it to be buttery, you can brush them with butter too.
Salt – It is added to season it a little. You can also sprinkle some black pepper for an added flavor.
How to make Air Fryer Tater Tots?
Preheat the air fryer to 400 Degrees F. If your air fryer doesn’t have the preheat option, just run it empty for 3-4 minutes at the mentioned temperature. Once the air fryer is heated, spray the basket lightly with oil.
Transfer the frozen tater tots to the basket of the air fryer. If you are making a bigger batch, then fry it in batches, do not overload the basket. It’s preferable to line the tots in a single layer in the basket for the best result.
Spray the tater tots lightly with oil and sprinkle some salt on top.
Air fry for 15 minutes and keep flipping them after every 5 minutes.
Air fry for another few minutes if you want them crispier. Transfer to the serving plate and serve hot.
Frequently Asked Questions
I prefer to preheat my air fryer at 400 Degrees F. But if you are worried that it might get burnt, you can cook it at 350 Degree F too. But in this case, the cooking time can increase by a few minutes.
You can cook tater tots in both ways,
1. While in the air fryer you can shake the tater tots in the basket to avoid burning, you cannot do the same in the oven.
2. Oven can cook more tater tots as compared to the air fryer, as the air fryer basket is comparatively small.
3. Air fryer cooks tater tots faster.
To prepare tater tots from scratch, we will cook the potatoes first. Peel the potatoes and place them in a saucepan with water. Boil them on medium-high heat for about 8 to 10 minutes.
We need to partially cook the potatoes, which means they should be cooked but have a bit firm. Drain the water and let the potatoes cool down a bit.
Grate the potatoes and mix them with a little salt and pepper. Give it a mix. Now scoop the potato mixture and make small tots out of it. Place these shaped tots on parchment paper. Let it rest for about 5 to 10 minutes.
Add these tater tots to the air fryer basket and now spray or apply a little oil on top and cook the tater tots for about 15 minutes at 400 degrees F. Shake the basket in middle to endure even cooking. Once done, take them out and they are ready to be served.
Pro Tips by Neha
Preheating the air fryer is important to get crispy tots. So do not skip the process.
There are a variety of tater tots available these days. Buy the one that you like the most.
You can season the tater tots with garlic powder, cajun seasoning, peri peri seasoning, taco seasoning, or black pepper.
Serving Suggestions
You can serve these tater tots as an appetiser with your favourite sauce such as Yum Yum Sauce, Bang Bang Sauce, Mayo, Tomato Ketchup or any other sauce that you prefer.
You can also serve it as a side with hamburgers, sandwiches, panini, hot dogs, tacos, etc. It also tastes great as a side with your baked or grilled fish, meat, shrimp, etc.
Top them with topping like guacamole, cheese, cheese sauce, salsa etc.
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Recipe Card
Air Fryer Tater Tots Recipe
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 400 Degrees F. If your air fryer doesn’t have the preheat option, just run it empty for 3-4 minutes at the mentioned temperature. Once the air fryer is heated, spray the basket lightly with oil.
- Transfer the frozen tater tots to the basket of the air fryer. If you are making a bigger batch, then fry it in batches, do not overload the basket. It’s preferable to line the tots in a single layer in the basket for the best result.
- Spray the tater tots lightly with oil and sprinkle some salt on top.
- Air fry for 15 minutes and keep flipping them after every 5 minutes.
- Air fry for another few minutes if you want them crispier. Transfer to the serving plate and serve hot.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!