Homemade Tater Tots
Make your own Homemade Tater Tots by following this easy recipe using a leftover baked potato—healthy comfort food straight from your childhood.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Do you love spuds? This homemade tater tots recipe is a healthier, homemade twist on the old standard frozen favorite. Forget that stale bag from the Antarctic regions of your freezer, and DIY with me!
What are tater tots?
Also known as Tater Gems, they are little cylinders of crispy potatoes, kind of like small barrel-shaped fries. Generally sold frozen in a plastic bag in your grocer’s freezer.
When I first moved out on my own and started ‘cooking,’ Tater Tots, along with Mr. Noodles, were pretty much the staples of my diet. Getting those little gems perfectly browned and crispy was my claim to fame.
Try these Air Fryer Potato Puffs for another tater gem recipe option! It is much healthier than deep-frying.
Ingredients for this recipe:
- 1 large cooked and cooled baked potato
- caramelized onions or granulated
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
You do need to have an already baked and cooled baked potato for this tater tots recipe. I usually make baked potatoes for dinner the night before and just throw an extra one in. After it cools, I put it into a container and store it in the fridge overnight. Easy peasy!
Sounds very good. How do you bake the potatoes to be able to grate them? My baked potatoes are always too soft to grate.
I leave them in the fridge overnight 🙂
hi there , most recipes call for draining the potatoes before shaping them. is this an unnecessary step? thank you! can’t wait to try this
This recipe uses leftover baked potato that has already been cooked. No need to drain anything. Easy peasy. Enjoy!
Could you make these in a bigger batch and then freeze them for another day?
Yes! You can store them in the freezer in an air-tight container once completely cooled. They should be good for up to one month.
Reheat from frozen by baking at 400 for 15 minutes or until crispy.
Hi! I’ve been following your web site for some time now and finally
got the courage to go ahead and give you a shout out from Humble
Texas! Just wanted to say keep up the excellent job!
Shouts right back from Canada, y’all! 😉 Thanks so much. 🙂 No need to be shy in the future!
Wow, what a great idea. I’ve never made tater tots at home before. These look so amazing! I also love how you added caramelized onions.
Thanks doll! I was super impressed how these turned out. I swear, much better than the frozen. The caramelized onions were the kicker. I hope you give them a try! 🙂
These look delicious! And so much better than the frozen kind…
Thanks Alex! We used the word delicious, too! 😉 Who needs frozen crap? Not us! 🙂
I love this idea! So clever and so much better than a store-bought bag of potato-randomness. It would be fun to get the kids in on making them as well…I think I’ll have to do that! Thanks for a great idea!
Perfect for an activity with the kiddos! 🙂 I hope the family loves them as much as we did. Thanks Bonnie!
Ohh! These look so good! I have a soft spot for tater tots and I love that these are baked and not fried. I will be making these soon!
There are good, if I do say so myself. 😉 I actually made baked potatoes tonight for dinner mainly so I can have these taters tomorrow! Thanks for the nice comment, Isadora. I hope you love them. 🙂
What great idea! We call these “potato gems” in Australia, and they are a staple food of most school aged children. In fact I probably havent eaten them since I was a child! I used to love them though so no doubt I would love your homemade version. They look so crispy and delicious 🙂
I’m on a big nostalgia kick these days! I used to have these all.the.time. I think the caramelized onions make them so much more grown up though, right? I hope you love these ‘gems’. 😉
Yum yum! I bet my girls would LOVE these! I actually love potatoes and caramelized onions, so putting the two together sounds heavenly! 🙂
I’m sure the kiddos would love them. The big kids too! 😉