Homemade Tater Tots
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Say goodbye to those frozen bags of tots! This homemade version is easy, freezer-friendly and better than store-bought!
There’s no shame in the frozen tots game. But after trying these homemade tots from scratch, there’s absolutely no going back to the store-bought version.
And the homemade version is super easy to whip up – special equipment like a potato mill or potato masher are not required here. All you need is a cheese grater to shred those parboiled potatoes and a clean dish towel to squeeze out as much moisture as possible (for maximum crispness, of course).
From there, you can add in your desired seasonings, form them into beautiful little tots, and throw them into some hot oil to let these babies get amazingly crisp and golden brown.
All that’s left to do is serve these with some ketchup and you’re set. And if you manage to have some leftovers, you can freeze them for next time (up to 1 month)!
Homemade Tater Tots
Ingredients
- 2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon dried dill
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 3 cups vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Place potatoes in a Dutch oven and cover with cold salted water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, until parboiled, about 6-7 minutes; drain well and let cool.
- Using a box grater, finely shred potatoes. Using a clean dish towel or cheese cloth, drain potatoes completely, removing as much water as possible.
- Transfer potatoes to a large bowl. Stir in flour, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano and dill; season with salt and pepper, to taste. The mixture should be workable but dry. Form potatoes into tots.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium high heat until it registers 360 degrees F on a deep-fry thermometer.
- Working in batches, add tots to the Dutch oven and cook until evenly golden and crispy, about 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.*
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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Can I bake these?
is there an air fryer version?
im not allowed for safety to deep fry stuff
cant get tator tots in this country now and there my fav
Have you ever tried them in the air fryer? Do you think that is an option? If so, what is your recommendation on temp/time. I really just hate frying things in oil.
I started frying in avocado oil or olive oil any more now. They are much healthier. Avocado oil has a high heat point and no flavor. I just made tortilla chips in it. They taste awesome.
Can you air fry these instead of oil fry them?
Too hot here in AZ at the moment to get things on the stove, lol.
Terry – I had the same question. I scrolled through comments and found this: “I made half a recipe, which was plenty for the two of us, using the air fryer. They were sticky to form, easier with a medium scooper (Pampered Chef). I set them on a plate in a puddle of oil as I formed them and then gave them a lite spray of oil before putting them in preheated 450 degrees for 20 minutes. Taste like Tater tots only better.”
I just want you to know you definitely caught my attention right away the way you presented this. I literally just told my girlfriend that I don’t like the store potatoes cuz she was about to make some tater tots and I said noooo. I was like I need to find out how to make some homemade potatoes and bam here we go!
A little time consuming but worth the effort, in my opinion.
Love knowing exactly what is going into my food. 🙂
Thank you for this recipe!
Amazing! I made a few swaps…. I added pineapple, used purple potatoes instead of russets, added coconut, and fried in coconut oil instead of vegetable oil. Yummy!!
First off, it was totally worth doing this. They were so good, but for cook/prep time, this person cannot math at all. Hopefully someone reads this before they try so they don’t cut themselves short. 2lbs of potatoes gave me roughly 54 tater tots about the size of the kind in the bags. Here is some better math for you. My stove takes ~10 min to boil then the 6 minutes at boil they suggested. You then need like 10 minutes for them to cool after you drain them. Shredding takes about 5 minutes, Mixing and molding takes about 30 if it’s your first time. It took about 10 taters before I found my groove. If you do 6 at a shot like they suggest at 3 minutes, that is 27 minutes alone. You have already blown your cook time. Most of mine took 4 minutes to get that nice crunch. Total time for everything start to end was about 2 hours 15 minutes.
Thanks Chris! Yes, it always takes longer than they say!!
Have you ever tried baking them?
My husband has been on a tater tot binge so I tried your recipe. I had no problems at all even though I am inexperienced at frying food. The tots were perfect, hardly any oil was used, and he wants more! Winner! I added bacon and onions, he was a happy camper.
I tried this tonight and was astounded! I was skeptical so I only used a couple of russet potatoes. I microwaved them because it was easy. Let them cool, peeled and shredded them. I then realized I was out of flour….. Well I had almond flour, I figured since I was only using a little bit of flour it would be ok, and the almond flour worked perfectly!!!! These will be a regular on my menu now. I will try them with various additions as well. I cannot even imagine how these will taste with some bacon and cheddar in them!!!
Great job!!!! Love it
Looked through several tater tot recipes but let face it, when it says damndelicious how could you not make them. Glad I did. A huge hit and easy to make. Made them a day I advance and formed them and put them in the fridge over night. Used a deep fryer and they were the best. Thanks.
Tonight, I made these for the third time ( golden potatoes ) and they were delish. I never ever follow a recipe exactly but I DO with this one bcause it just works. Easy, cheap and guests always curious! They make great finger foods during football games too!
Making this recipe results in the most delicious tater tots ever. My friend and I found ourselves with 100 pounds of potatoes to preserve and although she wasn’t crazy about the idea, I convinced her that we needed to make these, and I am so glad that we did! My family proclaimed that these tater tots are the only ones he’ll ever eat. Thank you for sharing your recipe with us. It’s a keeper and one that I’m about again tonight 🙂
Sounds yummy I always wondered how tater tots was made.
Can I freeze these and cook them when ready? Or do I need to cook them first, then freeze? Thanks!
I want to try to make this but do I have to use russets? Red potatoes are the only thing available where I am right now. Do you know?
Seriously? You can use any potato!
Bill, potato varieties have very different starch structures and respond to cooking methods in different ways. Let’s not shame questions.
https://www.thekitchn.com/know-your-potato-which-variety-is-best-for-mashing-roasting-baking-178265
This recipe looks great. I’m always weighing price versus quality. Is it cheaper to buy already made generic tots or make them from scratch?
You want someone else to run the math for you?
solid tots
Irishman here, looking for something!different to cook and here I am, delicious
Cheers
Love these, thanks so much for putting up this recipe! The one addition I made was a tablespoon of nutritional yeast to bring out the natural umami of the potatoes, but otherwise it’s stellar and my kids love them!