Tater Tots are a favorite side dish for many people, but how do you cook them in the air fryer? The key is knowing how long to cook tater tots in the air fryer. There are several factors that go into this process, including the size of your tater tot, what type of coating they have on them, and if they are frozen or not. We'll walk you through some tips for cooking these delicious potato bites so your family will be happy with any meal!
Tater Tots are the perfect side dish for any meal. They're easy to make and can be enjoyed as an appetizer, main course, or even dessert! One of the most popular ways to cook tater tots is in an air fryer. This blog post aims to answer some of your questions about cooking taters in an air fryer and help you find out how long it will take for them to cook so that they don't burn. Let's get started!
What are Tater Tots?
Tater Tots are bite-sized potato nuggets that Ore-Ida originally created in 1953. Also, Tater Tots became so popular fast, so production of Tater Tots was ramped up! So, Tater Tots are easy to make, and they're even easier to eat! Tater Tots can be served on their own or with ketchup or other dips, for example, sour cream.
Tater Tots are made of cubed potatoes, corn starch, salt, and pepper. Once the ingredients are combined into dough form, it's rolled through a machine that cuts the dough into Tater Tot shapes. Then the Tater Tots drop straight down into boiling oil, where they fry until crispy golden brown. The last step is to blast Tater Tots with cold air so they can firm up and become Tater Tots, not soggy Tater Tots!
Once Tater Tots cool down completely after coming out of the fryer, it's time for packaging. Tater Tots are packaged in a variety of different ways:
Tater Tot bags:
Small paper bags that hold about 2 servings.
Tub:
A big bucket that holds about 40 servings. These buckets usually have resealable lids, which makes grabbing a few Tater Tots easy without getting out of your seat or leaving your place in line at the grocery store! The tubs also come with serving scoops if you don't want to. Just grab Tater Tots out of the bucket.
Family size Tater Tots:
These are basically large Tater Tots that you would find at family restaurants, for example, Applebees. They are made in a huge pressurized fryer, so they're super cheesy inside and crispy outside! Family-sized Tater Tots are usually served with melted butter on top, but people do not always serve them with melted butter on them. Instead, some people will eat them plain!
Tater Tots were created by Ore-Ida, which is now known as The H.J. Heinz Company. Their headquarters are located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. There are about 36 different ingredients that together to make up a bag of Tater Tots and Tater Tots tub. The Tater Tots tub requires about 2.4 pounds of potatoes, while the Tater Tote bag only requires one pound of potatoes!
Tater Tots can be found in grocery stores all over North America, Europe, and Australia. In the United States alone, there are around six billion Tater Tots made every year! It was estimated that in 2008 Americans consumed about 1.7 billion orders of French fries and ate around two million orders of Tater Tots! Of course, they did not account for the number of times people must have ordered both French Fries and Tater Tots because there is no way they ate two million servings! Either way, we know we're Tater Tots are Tater Tots love Tater Tots!
Tater Tots have been put into so many recipes, whether you want to make a Tater Tot casserole, a Tater Tot pizza, or something else with Tater Tots in it. So if you're looking for a crunchy side dish that is easy to make and even easier to eat, then grab yourself some Tater Tots from your local grocery store today!
Health Benefits of Eating Tater Tot:
For many, Tater Tots are a perfect choice for an after-school snack or dinner side item. Aside from their all-star status as a top-selling potato product, Tater Tots actually provide far more than the average person realizes.
Some of Tater Tots' nutritional benefits include vitamin B6, vitamin C, magnesium, iron, and fiber. And while Tater Tots won't be winning any awards for health food of the year anytime soon, they certainly don't deserve to be labeled as bad for you.
Further, into Tater Tots nutrition facts show that one serving provides only 110 calories with no fat or cholesterol content. So what's not to love?
Of course, it is important to note that there are some cons to Tater Tots, including high sodium and carbohydrate levels. Tater Tots also tend to be a little less healthy when purchased from fast-food chains like McDonald's and Burger King.
Tater Tots are an American staple with a history that dates back to 1953, the same year as Disneyland's opening! Surprisingly enough, Tater Tots were invented by Ore-Ida – not McDonald's or another large restaurant chain. Sold initially as “Skipper Tots”, Tater Tots spread throughout America until The Ore-Ida company bought them in 1965.
So next time you're feeling guilty about your choice of side, think again! Tater Tots can provide significant benefits – if consumed in moderation, of course.
Popular Dishes that Use Taters Tot:
The Tater Tots brand of frozen potato products was first introduced in 1953 but didn't become super popular until prepackaged Tater Tots became widely available in supermarkets.
Tater Tots are often included as an ingredient in popular dishes that use potatoes. Tater Tots are made from whole potatoes which have been mashed, processed into dough-like shapes, and then cut up before being fried or baked to create small pieces. These Tater Tots are usually fried in order to give them a crispy outer texture. Tater Tots can be used as a substitute for potatoes in popular dishes that use potatoes. Tater Tots are more dense and compact than potatoes, making Tater Tots a great addition to dishes that use potatoes as an ingredient. Some examples of Tater Tot recipes that also include potatoes are:
- Cheeseburger Casserole
- Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
- Loaded Baked Potatoes
- Shepherd's Pie
- Macaroni and Cheese
- Tater Tots Casserole
- Tater Tot Pie, Tater Tot Hotdish
- Fish Sticks and Tater Tots Burrito
- Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole
Eating Tater Tots has been shown to provide the same nutritional value as eating whole potatoes because they contain many of the nutrients found in their original potato forms. In particular, both taters and Tator Tots are high in carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins C and B6, potassium, iron, and magnesium. Tater Tots also provide a slightly higher amount of protein because Tater Tots are made from real potatoes.
How to Cook Tater Tots in Air Fryer:
Tater Tots are potato puffs, which are the trademarked version of Ore-Ida. Tater Tots were originally known as Tators Taters (potatoes and onions). Taters tot is a convenient food for school lunch boxes in America. They consist of cubed or diced potatoes that have been formed into a small rounded shape before being deep-fried.
They can be eaten alone or with condiments such as ketchup or ranch dressing.
Tater Tots have been popular in American society since 1953 when Ore-Ida introduced them to supermarkets across the country with their patented '24 Karat Golden' packaging.
In my experience, they taste best if you freeze them for hours before cooking them in an air fryer. Tater Tots can be cooked in an air fryer at home without any special cooking skills to produce crispy Tater Tots.
1. Basic Tater Tots Recipe:
- Time to Prepare: 5 minutes
- Time to Cook: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Servings: 4
Ingredients:
3 ounce bag of frozen tator tots (about 24)
1 tablespoon oil (any kind will do)
Salt and pepper, to season (optional)
Instructions:
Step 1:
You have to adjust the Tater Tots cooking time according to the type of Tater Tots you bought. For example, if they are a thinner version of Tater Tots, you will need to cook them for 8-10 minutes at 350°F, but if they are thicker Tater Tots, then 15 minutes at 350°F would be good enough. If you don't know what thickness Tater Tots you have received as your catering order, just cook them separately as an experiment and try different times for thin and thick Tater Tots until you find the perfect cooking time for them in your air fryer.
Step 2:
Once done with experimenting with cooking times, you need to place Tater Tots into the air fryer basket. You can coat them with oil or not, but if you do decide to give Tater Tots a light dusting of oil before placing them in the fryer basket, use an oil mister so that Tater Tots don't absorb too much oil.
Step 3:
Set your digital timer on your machine for about 4 minutes for thin Tater Tots and 7-8 minutes for thick Tater Tots at 350°F (there is no need to preheat). When done cooking, they will be crispy, crunchy on the outside, and soft on the inside like any other fries or tator tots sold in fast-food restaurants (but these Tater Tots that you cooked at home will be much better since they are not fried in oil).
Step 4:
Tater Tots can be served with ketchup, ranch dressing, or any other condiments that you like best.
The air fryer Tater Tots have to be crispy for this whole recipe to work… so I recommend cooking them separately first before adding them into the casserole…
2. Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole Recipe
- Time to Prepare: 10 minutes
- Time to Cook: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Servings: 6
Ingredients:
- 1 sleeves of tator tots (thawed)
- 1 lb. sausage, crumbled and browned
- 8 eggs
- 2 cups shredded cheese
- Salt and black pepper to season (optional)
Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 375°F.
- Toss tator tots into the casserole dish along with browned sausage and shredded cheese.
- Add salt and black pepper to taste.
- Beat 8 eggs in a separate bowl.
- Pour beaten eggs over casserole ingredients.
- Bake for 25 minutes at 375°F.
3. Tater Tot Barbecue Burger Recipe
- Time to Prepare: 5 minutes
- Time to Cook: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Servings: 3
Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground beef, cooked
- 1 sleeve Tater Tots (thawed)
- 2 cups barbecue sauce
Instructions:
- Mix together Tater Tots and barbecue sauce.
- Place Tater Tots on bottom of pan.
- Spoon barbecue mixture on top of Tater Tot layer.
- Cover another layer of Tater Tots on top.
- Cook Tater Tots in the oven for 30 minutes at 400°F, and they will be crispy and delicious.
Tips: You can cook them with some olive oil and salt and pepper, too, while you're at it. But cooking Tater Tots in the air fryer is so much easier than cooking Tater Tots in the oven that I would recommend everyone get an air fryer if they don't already have one.
4. Tater Tots Made From Scratch Recipe
- Time to Prepare: 10 minutes
- Time to Cook: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Servings: 4
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds potatoes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ cup flour 2 eggs, slightly beaten vegetable oil for frying
Instructions:
- Peel potatoes. Cut into chunks and place in a large saucepan. Cover with water and add salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to medium-low, cover pot tightly, and simmer until potatoes are tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife, about 15 minutes. Drain in a colander set in the sink; return potatoes to the pot. Toss gently over low heat until dry (a few minutes). Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to a large bowl or work surface lined with parchment paper (you may need two sheets stacked together).
- Mash potatoes with a masher or pastry blender (or pass through the fine blade of food mill) till smooth; sprinkle paprika and onion powder over and add flour and egg. Mix to form a stiff dough. Tater Tots should not stick to the surface when forming Tater Tots, so sprinkle more flour if needed if they do stick.
- Divide dough in half; roll out each piece of dough on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 10×4 inch rectangle (diameter will be about 2 inches). Cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch wide strips, then cut across into 1-inch cubes. Toss Tater Tots in a bowl with some olive oil until all sides are lightly coated with oil.
- Heat about two inches deep of vegetable oil in a large skillet or fryer over medium-high heat until temperature 375°F on a candy thermometer.
Tips: Tater Tots can be eaten as a snack or as a side dish. To make seasoned Tater Tots, mix some salt and pepper with melted butter and pour the mixture over the Tater Tots before serving.
Conclusion:
In this blog post, we shared some tips for cooking tater tots in the air fryer so your family will be happy with any meal. With a little bit of preparation and knowledge about how long to cook tater tots in an air fryer, you can have delicious, crispy potatoes that are good for kids and adults alike! Contact us today if you're looking for more information on frying food or need help deciding what type of dish is best suited for your needs. We'll walk you through all steps from prep work finishing touches so that when people come over, they won't say “What's For Dinner?” but rather “Wow!”
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