This Seasoned Tater Tots recipe is a great way to doctor up a frozen bag of tots. No more soggy bland boring tater tots. These are the perfect side dish for burgers, hot dogs, and more.
I love to cook from scratch, but sometimes I just don’t have the time. So recipes like this, my Air Fryer Frozen Eggs Rolls, or Frozen Burgers made in the air fryer are on standby in a pinch.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Simple pantry ingredients - You likely have all of these ingredients on hand already. These are all items that can be stored for long periods of time which makes this recipe a great standby side dish.
- Flavorful - The spices and oil take these to the next level.
- Crispy - The key is to bake them longer than instructed on the back of the package.
- Easy - While these do take a while in the oven, the recipe is completely hands off.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Olive Oil: Substitute for a neutral oil, like avocado or vegetable oil.
- Salt: Omit if the tots have salt added already. You can always salt them when they come out of the oven if needed.
- Cayenne: These have a mild amount of spice. Increase to ½-3/4 teaspoon to make them spicier.
Complete list of ingredients and amounts is located on the recipe card below.
How to Make Seasoned Tater Tots
Quick Overview
- Toss in oil & spices.
- Bake & serve hot!
Step by Step Instructions
Keep baking them until crispy and browned.
Step 1: Preheat the oven and 1-2 large baking sheets to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the oil and all of the spices.
Step 2: Add the tots and toss until evenly coated in the oil mixture.
Step 3: Place the tots on the preheated pan. (For crispier tots, use two baking sheets.)
Step 4: Bake according to the package instructions. I usually add about 5-10 minutes because I like them extra crispy. Check the tots as they cook and toss a couple of times. Rotate the pan 1-2 times if using two baking sheets.
Expert Tips & Variations
- Preheat the pan. Placing the frozen tots on a hot pan helps the exterior to begin crisping faster.
- Add oil. The additional oil adds flavor, prevents them from drying out, and aids in crisping. It also prevents the spices from burning.
- Do not overcrowd the sheet pan. Depending on the size of your baking sheet you may want to use two. The more air that can circulate between them, the crisper they will get.
- Bake until crispy. Continue baking the tots until they are crispy. I find the instructions on the package are not long enough. Using two baking sheets can speed up the crisping process.
- Serve with your favorite dipping sauces. My favorite is ranch. Ketchup, BBQ, fry sauce, or even mayo are also great options.
Recipe FAQs
Potatoes are a great vessel for a variety of flavors. Dry spices like chili powder, cumin, oregano, parsley, thyme, onion powder, granulated garlic, paprika etc. are great options. You can also load them up with cheese, bacon, and chives.
Overbake them. I find the time suggested on the bag is not long enough to get them crispy.
The typical package instructions recommend baking them at 425 degrees from anywhere from 20-40 minutes depending on the brand and amount being baked.
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Seasoned Tater Tots
Equipment:
Ingredients:
- 1 32 ounce bag frozen tater tots
- 3 Tablespoon olive oil*
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt*
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne*
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven and 1-2 large baking sheets to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the oil and all of the spices.
- Add the tots and toss until evenly coated in the oil mixture.
- Place the tots on the preheated pan. (For crispier tots, use two baking sheets.)
- Bake according to the package instructions. I usually add about 5-10 minutes because I like them extra crispy. Check the tots as they cook and toss a couple of times. Rotate the pan 1-2 times if using two baking sheets.
Notes:
- Olive Oil: Substitute for a neutral oil, like avocado or vegetable oil.
- Salt: Omit if the tots have salt added already. You can always salt them when they come out of the oven if needed.
- Preheat the pan. Placing the frozen tots on a hot pan helps the exterior to begin crisping faster.
- Add oil. The additional oil adds flavor, prevents them from drying out, and aids in crisping. It also prevents the spices from burning.
- Do not overcrowd the sheet pan. Depending on the size of your baking sheet you may want to use two. The more air that can circulate between them, the crisper they will get.
- Bake until crispy. Continue baking the tots until they are crispy. I find the instructions on the package are not long enough. Using two baking sheets can speed up the crisping process.
Tater Tots say cook for 15 min, turn, and cook for 7 minutes. This works perfectly with your recipe. I cut the ingredients and tots in half. One tater tot does not take less time to cook than 50 tater tots!
Awesome!
These tater tots are the best I've ever had! The seasoning is perfect!
I like to get horseradish out of a jar and mix it with organic ketchup and hot sauce so I'm basically dipping tater tots in shrimp sauce.
I was skeptical about the nearly hour cooking time and I was right. I followed the recipe to a tee. I preheated my pan, I use stoneware so it gets extremely hot to begin with. Set the oven to the temperature in the recipe instead of the temp recommended on the package. My pan was not overcrowded by any means there is only 2 of us so I didn't cook the whole bag. I set my timer for only half the time you say so I could check on them and they were already burnt! Even set off my smoke alarm upon opening the oven and i didnt even see any smoke. Don't know if it was the seasoning on them or the fact that I use stoneware but they were unedibble. They were so over cooked there was no potato even left on the inside. These looked so good but such a disappointment.
I am so sorry about this! I have never baked with stoneware so that could be the issue. The recipe was made for a 2 pound bag so if you reduce the amount of tots, the cook time will be shorter. How did you scale the recipe down since you did not use the whole bag? It could be that too little oil was used as well. Every oven cooked differently so it could be your oven as well.