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These Air Fryer Tater Tots are the perfect, crisp, bite-sized snack or versatile side dish that will be popular with everyone! This is the best and easiest way to make frozen tater tots. Serve them with homemade dips, burgers, or just lightly dusted with salt.
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Easy Air Fryer Tater Tots
Air fryer tater tots are sure to be a crowd-pleaser! Kids love them and adults do too, with good reason — they are the easiest side for burgers, hot dogs, salad, or grilled meat. On nights when you’re running late or don’t feel like spending a lot of time cooking, use the air fryer to quickly whip up a batch of tater tots. You don’t even have to defrost them.
Another reason I love to use the air fryer to make tater tots is because it cooks them so well. The tots end up with a nicely crisp exterior that’s never greasy. And inside? Well, that’s where the magic happens. The potatoes remain nice and fluffy on the inside, creating a lovely texture contrast.
You can use any brand of tater tots you prefer to make this recipe, but if you’re keeping gluten-free, make sure that whatever bag of tater tots you bring home is certified gluten-free. Then pile on the sauce! From ketchup to mayo to some of my homemade dips and sauces linked below, you’re sure to find something to please everyone. And if you want to keep it ultra-simple, just sprinkle on a little extra sea salt when they come out of the air fryer.
Why You’ll Love Making Tater Tots In The Air Fryer
First things first: this recipe is so easy and creates perfect tater tots every time! And who doesn’t love tater tots? Here are a few reasons why you’re sure to love this air fryer method:
- Easy. Using the air fryer is one of my favorite ways to cook – it really does make everything so much easier! For this frozen tater tots in air fryer method, you hardly have to do much. Just pop the tater tots in the air fryer and turn them once during the cooking process.
- Quick to cook. These air fryer tater tots need at the very most 12 minutes to cook in the air fryer, and often less.
- No need to defrost. You can cook the tater tots directly from the freezer, with no need to thaw them first. This means your prep time will be cut down even more.
- A perfect snack or side dish. I love air fryer tater tots as a simple snack or I’ll add them as a side to hamburgers, hot dogs, or salads. My kids absolutely love these however I serve them.
What You’ll Need
You need just 3 simple ingredients to make this recipe! Here’s the list of what you’ll need to pick up. Make sure to check the recipe card at the end of this post for the full ingredient amounts.
- Frozen Tater Tots: You’ll need half of a 32-ounce bag. Read Are Tater Tots Gluten Free? to find safely gluten free brands if needed.
- Oil in a spray bottle: Use real oil, like vegetable oil and not a non-stick cooking spray, like Pam.
- Salt: Fine table or sea salt is great in this recipe.
Seasoning Ideas
You can season air fryer tater tots simply with salt, pepper, garlic salt, or garlic powder, or a sprinkling of red pepper flakes for heat. You can use other seasonings, like my spicy Blackened Seasoning or store-bought Old Bay seasoning for even more flavor.
How To Make Frozen Tater Tots In The Air Fryer
Here’s my very simple, do-able method for making air fryer tater tots:
- Prepare. Preheat the air fryer to 400°F.
- Season the tater tots. Pour half of a 32-ounce bag of tater tots into the air fryer basket. Spray them with a light coating of oil and sprinkle with salt. Toss to coat.
- Air fry. Cook at 400°F for 5 minutes. Shake the basket and cook for another 5 minutes. They may be done at this point, but if you still want them more golden and crispy, shake and cook for another 2-3 minutes, as desired.
- Enjoy. Serve immediately with ketchup or your favorite dip.
How Long Do You Air Fry Tater Tots?
To make half a bag of tater tots in the air fryer, plan on about 12 minutes to ensure that they’re fully heated through and crisp. If you wish to cook the entire bag, you can definitely do so but note that you’ll have to cook them longer and toss the tater tots frequently to ensure that they all cook evenly.
How To Store Leftovers
Store leftover air fryer tater tots in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, use the air fryer to crisp them up again.
Make It A Meal
Round out this simple snack with dips and some main dishes like burgers or a salad. Here are some suggestions for what to serve with air fryer tater tots:
- Dips. Try tater tots with homemade dips for dipping! My Homemade Ketchup, Balsamic Ketchup, Healthy Big Mac Sauce, or Bang Bang Sauce are wonderful choices for air fryer tater tots.
- Hot dogs. Air fryer tater tots are a perfect side to my Air Fryer Hot Dogs! Or pair them with my Gluten-Free Korean Corn Dogs.
- Hamburgers. Since we’re on the subject of the air fryer, my Air Fryer Hamburgers are a great choice for air fryer tater tots. You can also make one of my other burger recipes, which include Stuffed Blue Cheese Burgers and French Onion Stuffed Burgers.
- Chicken nuggets. For a meal your kids are sure to love, serve air fryer tater tots with Gluten-Free Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets (this is grownup-approved as well!).
What Air Fryer Should I Use?
I always have my Cosori 5.8 Qt air fryer on my counter because I use it at least several times a week. It’s great for making everything from Broccoli to Grilled Cheese to an entire Air Fryer Chicken, or just reheating pizza.
Air Fryer Tater Tots
Ingredients
- 16 ounces frozen tater tots (half of a 32 ounce bag)
- Oil in a spray bottle, not non-stick cooking spray, like Pam
- salt
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 400°F.
- Pour half of a 32 ounce bag of tater tots in the air fryer basket. Spray them with a light coating of oil and sprinkle with salt. Toss to coat.
- Cook at 400°F for 5 minutes. Shake the basket and cook for another 5 minutes. They may be done at this point, but if you still want them more golden and crispy, shake and cook for another 2-3 minutes, as desired.
- Serve immediately with ketchup or your favorite dip.
Notes
- Feel free to use other seasonings
- You can cook the entire bag, but you will have to cook longer and toss frequently to ensure they all cook evenly.
Did you make this?
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