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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So I microwaved the potatoes till soft, scooped out the filling and added the flour, s&p, onion and garlic powder, and some dried oregano, chives, and parsley. Rolled a couple of long logs out, cut them into tots, and placed them on a tray. Refrigerated for half an hour and then deep fried in hot oil – they were immense and a hit with the family. I think refrigerating helps them keep their shape and prevents them from exploding!
Family loved them… Definitely a keeper!
My God!! You should’ve seen my face when I tried them… This is soooooo good! Thank you so much for the recipe, it’s really amazing!
Help! I made these and the mix was delicious but i absolutely could not get them to hold together. I finally give up and cooked them like potato pancakes. Do you know what could have gone wrong? Followed the recipe exactly, even weighing the potatoes. Maybe i boiled too long? Any advice is welcome
Has anyone baked these?? I know she has the reheating from frozen info below but just curious if anyone baked them instead of frying.
I baked them, because I hate fried food. It turned out great! I’d recommend turning them or putting it on broil for a little bit, though. They don’t come out as pretty as if they’d been fried, but they taste great!
It’s very delicious! We used our homemade ketchup and chilly sauce.
We made these yesterday! They were absolutely amazing! Great job on the recipe.
Not made these yet – they look delicious. I don’t like frying – can you make in the oven instead?
question – how would you go about doing the potatoes in the instant pot first? I have a huge harvest of potatoes and wanted to cut down on time by doing the potatoes in the IP.
I made potato patties rather than tot shape! They were delicious. I did put the extra uncooked patties in the freezer, will they hold? I saw the freezing instructions were for cooked, but I read that after the fact ♀️
Um, you seem to have forgotten something… Forming the shredded potatoes into a tater tot shape.
Your recipe is simply a “hash brown” recipe.
Jim, please refer to step #3.
3. 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.
I was wondering if there’s any difference between tater tots and hash browns besides the shape. I guess not.
This was a hit! I used homegrown russets and a slicer/grater that my MIL gave me 40 years ago. It produced a nice, fine shred. My potatoes were dry after cooling – I put them in a glass bowl just to see if moisture would collect and none did – so shredded away. I did use an ice cube tray to form them (in that had rectangular slots). Pressed them down a bit and refrigerated before releasing onto a cutting board. In the last batch I added som shredded parm, but it made them a bit less firm. It was fun and delicious! Thanks for the recipe
Omg. I made them this morning.. 5 star recipe. I added 1 tablespoon panko.
I was so excited to try these! They are delicious, everyone raved. But, my tots do not look like regular tots! Here is what I did – I bought a 5 lb bag of Russet potatoes, they were mostly about 1/2 smaller than the ones pictured. So I peeled them brought them to a boil and timed them after the boiling point for 4 minutes. All 5 lbs. Then I cooled them slightly, then shredded them while pretty hot in my food processor. I realized at that point that they were supposed to be cool, so I put the shredded potatoes into a bowl of cold water and stirred them around. After they were cool, I drained and dried them with tea towels and paper towels. Then tripled the flour and spices because of the 5 lbs. and mixed them all up. I used Canola oil in a deep pot, 2/3 of the bottle or about 2 inches at the bottom of the pot. I feel that the video is not the best because deep fat frying in hot oil is a safety issue if there is spattering. I made sure the oil was at 360 degrees before I dropped the tots in. I had a hard time shaping them because they did not like to stick together. I ended up making lots and lots of potato strings, but at one point, they seemed to stick together and I think it was because I floured the outsides, and because I didn’t put more than 4 (!) at a time into the pot. This is a labor of love. They are delicious, but I’m probably going to buy my tots, especially for grandchildren. I think maybe my method of shredding was to blame. But if I had to use a box shredder, I might shred myself soon afterwards!
Reply to Jennifer Anderson, 5 pounds of potatoes is 2 1/2 times recipe amount but you tripled the flour. This is why they fell apart.
Mine came out perfect, great recipe.
My local Aldi is now selling kid varieties of tater tots shaped like dinos and teddy bears. They add broccoli bits and other veg. I would do a carrot or other vegetable that can shred easily, would be interesting for kids.
I’d always read that homemade tater tots were an impossibility, because they were too wet to cook properly. My husband just harvested a ton of fresh red potatoes from the garden, so I thought I would try tots, anyway. Red potatoes are perfect for making tots, it turns out — not wet and I didn’t have to dry them at all. Just boiled them in water for 7 minutes and then turned the heat off and let them sit in the hot water until knife inserted easily.
The seasoning combination in this recipe is INCREDIBLE!! I am going to season more potato dishes with it. The only odd thing was that the fried tots tasted under-seasoned. I don’t understand how it went from perfect to under-seasoned just by frying — but hubby wants me to double the seasoning next time. Thank you for a fabulous recipe!!
I made these today and they were a hit. 5 empty plates. I have to admit the prep was a little bit of hassle but worth it, very tasty and added a little ‘something different for dinner time
WOW! My family couldn’t get enough of these! I just used garlic powder and onion powder and I used my own gluten free flour blend instead of regular flour. They held together easily. I dampened my hands with a little water and shaped a log, then squeezed the log thinner by wrapping it in waxed paper. After that I just sliced them and smooshed down the tops a little bit to give them more of a tater tot shape. I’ll never buy tots again! Can’t wait to make some more and try some fresh, finely chopped garlic tops and onion tops in them.
Thanks for a really great recipe!
I have left over mashed potatoes. Would they work?
Do you freeze after frying or raw??
This recipe was likely amazing with russet potatoes — I used red skinned potatoes (as russets and other dry/fluffy flesh potatoes are not available where I live), and they turned out a gluey, fall-apart-in-the-oil mess. Still, the seasonings were great and I’m sure that the right potato would have yielded a perfect result.
super delicious and easy. Used a cookie scoop just like the video. I did omit the oregano, parsley and dill as I wanted grocery store flavor. Everything else the same. I am going to be aunt of the century! Thanks Damn Delicious! (Going to fry that second batch right now)
We made these two days ago, freeze it and we friend them today. It’s super tasty. Way better than store bought! Thanks for the recipe. I’m thinking of making another batch this week.