I don’t know what it is about tater tots that are so delectable, but I know that I am completely under their spell. My husband will often get a craving for tater tots and he’ll run to the store and buy the frozen ones in the big red bag. You know the ones I’m talking about. They’re laced with preservatives and full of grease. They also taste like my childhood so I am always jealous when he eats these. I try my best to avoid them because they don’t fit into my lifestyle, so I decided to try to make my own.
I’m pretty happy with how they came out. I may update this recipe at some point, but I’m happy enough with the recipe to share it. To be completely honest with you, this recipe takes some time to complete. It’s not a 30 minute meal by any means. If you’re like me, you don’t mind spending some extra time in the kitchen to make something that is really yummy.
These tater tots have one ingredient. Can you guess what it is?
Potatoes! I had an almost full bag of gold yukons that I used. There were four pounds of potatoes total.
First thing you’ll want to do is peel the potatoes. Normally I would peel them before cooking them, but I decided to try the “boil THEN peel” method today. If you want to do it this way, score a line around the center of the potatoes and then boil for 15 minutes. Next drain the potatoes, wait for them to cool and pull the skins off. The skins are supposed to come off easily, but I struggled a little with mine. As you can see from the picture above, they weren’t completely smooth when I was done with them. Next time I’ll just peel them before I boil them.
Once the potatoes are peeled and boiled, you’ll want to grate them. I used a large double sided cheese grater to complete this. Then I moved the grated potatoes to a large bowl.
Next form the grated potato pieces into tater tot shapes and place on a baking pan lined with a aluminum foil. You can use a non-stick mat for the baking, but make sure it is safe for broiling. I use aย Silpatย that I got from Amazon.com, but I remove it before broiling. If you choose to use parchment paper, remove it before broiling as it will burn from the high heat.
Place the tater tots into an oven heated to 450 F. Bake them for 15 minutes, then flip them [carefully] and bake for another 15 minutes. At this point the tater tots are done, but they won’t be very golden brown because we didn’t use any oil. To make them a little more crispy and golden brown, set your broiler to high and broil for 8 minutes, them carefully flip them and broil for another 8 minutes.ย
The broiling is what gives them the color and the bite that are synonymous with tater tots.
See? I told you it was a lengthy process, but totally worth it in the end. These babies really hit the spot without any of the guilt.
Fat-free Tater Tots
INGREDIENTS
- 4 Pounds of yukon golden potatoes
DIRECTIONS
- Peel potatoes and place into a large pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Allow potatoes to boil for 15 minutes.
- Drain water from potatoes and allow them to cool before handling.
- Once the potatoes are cool, use a cheese grater to grate them. Place the grated potatoes into a large bowl.
- Heat oven to 450 F.
- Form the grated potatoes into tater tot shapes and place onto a baking sheet covered with a non-stick mat or parchment paper.
- Bake the tater tots for 15 minutes, then flip them and bake for another 15 minutes.
- Set the oven to broil on high.
- Broil the tater tots for 8 minutes, then flip them and broil for another 8 minutes.
- Allow to cool for a couple of minuted before eating.
Serve them with ketchup and a large salad.
You can also freeze the pre-baked tater tots after they are formed. Just remove them from the freezer and bake according to the instructions above.
I would love to pin this but I cannot find the Pinterest symbol??
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I’m new to this blogging thing. I’ll go add one. Thanks for letting me know!
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I’ve been using http://www.copymethat.com/ I like it so much better than Pinterest! It knows how to copy just the recipe from the page. You can tag the recipes, add them to a meal plan, get a shopping list. It’s a great program!
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That sounds great! I had never heard of copy me that before. Thanks for sharing!
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Hovering over the picture in the top left gives you a pin button too.
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Would a bag of shredded hash browns work?
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I’m sure them would. Let them defrost a little bit first so they are easier to form into the shapes.
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OMG, I can’t wait to make these!!!
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I hope you like them!
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Important detail . . . how do you form them into tater tots? Personally I’d put them in a big pastry bag and pipe them out of a very large tip (or use a parchment pastry bag and cut a large enough hole in the end of the bag. You can do a search for how to make a parchment pastry bag.) If you use a fluted tip you can easily make them look fancy and they’ll be a little crunchier.
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Those sound like good ideas. I don’t think there is a right or a wrong way to shape them. Just what works best for you. I just used my hands to shape them. I rolled them until they were cylindrical in shape and then pressed the top and bottoms to make them flat. ๐
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Would love a link to a printable version of it as well! ๐
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I’m working on adding a print button. I’m learning my way around this blog so it’s taking me longer than I’d like. I am working on it. ๐
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What do you mean by broiling?
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The oven has a setting called “Broil” that basically puts an open flame at the top of the oven. Turn that on and put the tots under it to crisp them up. ๐
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Did you add any seasonings? I bet my kids would eat these. Thanks for taking the time to take pics and type it all out!
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I did not add seasonings. You certainly could though. I’ve seen a few people make them with garlic and onion powder. I enjoy them plain. Feel free to make the recipe your own by adding your favorite spices. ๐
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Sounds delicious!! Just a thought-do you think you could broil them first for the color and then cool and freeze them? Then when you want some to eat you can cook for the time necessary and they already have that nice color. Seems that would be more like getting them from the store and a little quicker for when you want to eat them. Thanks for sharing.
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You could try it. I lean more towards freezing them after they’re formed, but before they’re baked/broiled. I would think they may dry out if you bake/broil them twice. You can try it though. No harm in testing it out. ๐
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Just came across your blog and read your recipes. Girl you are so awesome, you should etite a book!!! I am also from New Orleans. Would ove to follow you, do you have a Facebook page?
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Hi there! You’re so sweet. Thank you! I don’t have a Facebook, but I do have an instragram that I post to regularly. My name on there is @nola_vegan_girl. ๐
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You might also consider a print button. I’m trying to put together a book of great, healthy, mostly-vegan recipes gathered from many places for my daughters when they leave home so they don’t gain the “freshman 15.” Thanks!
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That’s so sweet of you. ๐ I’m working on trying to figure out how to add a print button. I’m not completely familiar with blogging just yet and am not sure how to add one. I think I may need to upgrade the type of blog I am using. I will try to add one soon!
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These look amazing! We have recently become plant based and have food allergies so the red bagged tater tots are occasionally served in my house when I need a quick side dish. I will definitely try these.
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Great! If you have time one day you can make a bunch and freeze them once they’re formed. That way they’ll be a quick meal when you need one. ๐
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Aren’t you NOT supposed to use a Silpat under the broiler?
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I honestly did not know this until your comment. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I’ll change the recipe to note it.
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How about rolling them into a long log, then cutting to size? Also, the potato is already cooked – why not just broil to turn crispy? And perhaps a ricer might be easier than grating them. Hmmm.
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I’m not sure about rolling it into a log. Seems a little messy to me. But then again, it may save time. Let me know if you try it. You could try to just broil them. I baked first to dry them out slightly after having been boiled. A ricer sounds like a good idea. Let me know if you try these things and how they worked out for you. ๐
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Thanks. We’re trying these today. I think I will add 1 teaspoon of onion powder and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder to the grated potatoes before I form them just to give them a bit more flavor.
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That sounds good. I’ve seen a few people make these with seasoning and they enjoyed them. Hopefully you will, too.
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Please let me know when you add the Pinterest symbol so I can pin this.m thanks..
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I will, I’m still working on it. I think I may need to upgrade the type of blog I’m using to make it happen. I’m trying to figure it all out. Hopefully it will be up soon.
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I made this tonight, it was amazing! Thanks! ๐
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Yay! I’m glad to hear it!
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Thanks for sharing this wonderful receipe. I would love to add some spices and herbs to see how it turns out. This looks delicious.
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I’m sure it would be great with spices and herbs. I hope you like them!
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mmmmmmmmmmmmmm thanks for posting
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๐
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Yum! I’m thinking of trying this with sweet potato!
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Good idea! I think that would come out nicely.
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What a great idea! My husband loves tater tots and I like cooking healthy, so this is the best of both worlds.
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๐ Thank you! Hopefully they receive the husband’s stamp of approval.
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really excited to try these… in the oven now. I sprinkled some salt. My husband is interested enough in the picture that we are getting a potato ricer from amazon ๐ Thank you for sharing!!
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Awesome! I hope you guys like them! ๐
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thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!
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Love this! Have you ever tried making these without peeling the potatoes? I never peel potatoes, it’s a chore I do not like. ๐
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I have not done this without peeling the potatoes only because I don’t like the skins. You can definitely leave the skins on. It’s simply about preference.
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