Bold, crispy, and fully loaded, these loaded tater tots are everything you love about nachos—just with tots instead of chips! This totchos recipe is packed with layers of flavor: golden baked tater tots, seasoned ground beef, gooey cheese sauce, and all your favorite toppings. If you’re looking for an easy, fun twist on traditional nachos, this is the ultimate comfort food that’s perfect for parties, game days, or even weeknight dinners.
This totchos recipe brings bold, Tex-Mex flavor with a fun and crispy twist. Skip the chips—tater tot nachos start with a golden layer of crunchy tots that are just right for piling on beef, melted cheese, and all your favorite toppings. Known by many names like totchos, loaded tots, or tater tot nachos, this recipe delivers big flavor in every bite. It’s the kind of dish that works for game day, a quick dinner, or whenever you’re craving something savory and totally satisfying.
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Why We Love This Totchos Recipe
- Crispy and filling comfort food
Filled with your favorite nacho toppings, this recipe makes an incredibly filling snack or meal that can easily feed a crowd. - They’re perfect for parties
You can serve a platter of them as an easy game-day party snack or meal, and they’re sure to be a hit! - Very versatile
You can customize this recipe however you like. Just choose your favorite protein and go wild with toppings!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Ground beef: Using lean ground beef will prevent your snack from becoming too greasy. To reduce the calories and fat, you can substitute ground hamburger with ground chicken or turkey.
🎯 TFN Pro Tip
For additional Tex-Mex flavor, use ground chorizo or pork instead. Another great topping idea for totchos is to use Chili con Carne, or shred a few baked chicken tenderloins.
- Cheese sauce: Tater tot nachos are the most delicious with a homemade cheese sauce. A store-bought brand is fine, but we use our cheese sauce with Velveeta recipe.
If you don’t want to use processed cheese products, you can use our cheese white sauce recipe, or make a nacho cheese sauce from scratch. - Taco seasoning: You will need either a 1-ounce packet of taco seasoning mix, or 2 tablespoons of your favorite seasoning for chicken tacos.
Recipe Variations
- Breakfast Totchos: For morning cravings, layer your tots with scrambled eggs, cooked slices bacon, and shredded cheese. Toss under the broiler just long enough to get that beautiful golden brown finish. Serve with hot sauce or a side of buttered toast for a brunch that’s sure to impress.
- Mini Tot Appetizers: Turn this into a finger food favorite by baking the tots in mini muffin tins. Our mini appetizer cups with tater tots recipe has similar flavors to these tater tot nachos. Top each one with a spoonful of taco meat and a sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese. Bake until melty and top with a drizzle of ranch dressing and a few sliced scallions for a bite-sized party win.
- Vegetarian totchos: For a meatless version, skip the beef and sauté some garlic, onions, and black beans with taco seasoning. Top your crispy tater tots with the mixture, melted mozzarella cheese, and a spoonful of queso. Finish with chopped chives and a few pickled jalapeños for a savory, veggie-packed option.
- Spicy game day totchos: Make your next watch party extra memorable with layers of taco meat, melted pepper jack, and crumbled crispy bacon. Use your air fryer to re-crisp the tots if needed, then finish with chopped Monterey Jack, a pinch of salt, and a dash of hot sauce to bring the heat.
Equipment Used in this Recipe
- Skillet
- Saucepan
- Serving platter
- Chef’s knife
How to Make Tater Tot Nachos
- Use frozen potato tots.
To avoid soggy potatoes, you must use tater tots from frozen.
- Roast the jalapenos for extra flavor.
Roasting the chiles will mellow the spiciness, and also add a smoky flavor.
- Drain any grease.
If you’re using lean ground beef, it’s important to cook the beef until browned and remove excess fat, if necessary. This helps prevent your totchos from becoming soggy.
- Add other seasonings.
Feel free to add other seasonings, such as a Cajun spice blend or chili powder for extra flavor and heat.
Need More Ideas for Game Day Snacks and Appetizers?
Make some taco wonton cups, a platter of cheese jalapeno poppers, or our super popular recipe for buffalo chicken appetizers.
Serving Suggestions
Loaded tater tots are the ultimate comfort food to serve as a fun appetizer, casual lunch, or hearty side dish alongside grilled burgers or sandwiches. Their golden crispiness on the outside and tender interior make them perfect for holding rich, flavorful toppings like chili, melty cheese, and a pat of butter for extra indulgence. You can also turn them into loaded tater tot cups for parties or game day gatherings, where guests can top their own with sour cream, avocado dip, and salsa. However you serve them, they’re guaranteed to be a hit!
Recipe FAQs
Tater Tots were created by F. Nephi Grigg of Ore-Ida in 1953, as a way to use the extra potato shavings that came from making frozen French fries. Later, Jim Parker came up with the idea for “totchos” aka “tachos” with the combination of tater tots and nacho toppings.
Yes, it is possible to make this recipe vegan or vegetarian. You can use vegan-friendly proteins like plant-based crumbles, refried beans, or black beans. Instead of using dairy cheese sauce, you can use a vegan cheese sauce or vegan nacho cheese sauce.
Loaded tater tots don’t reheat well once assembled, but you can store the components separately and reassemble later. To reheat, bake the tots on a foil-lined sheet pan at 350°F to bring back their crispiness.
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Loaded Tater Tots (Totchos)
Equipment
- skillet
- saucepan
- serving platter
- chef's knife
Ingredients
- 28-32 ounces frozen tater tots
- 1 pound lean ground beef preferably 80/20 or 85/15
- 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) taco seasoning
- 1 ½ cups nacho cheese sauce homemade or store bought
- 1 large tomato seeded and diced
- 2 green onions thinly sliced
- 1 jalapeno pepper thinly sliced (See Notes)
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Optional Toppings
- sour cream
- guacamole
- crumbled Mexican cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
- Arrange tater tots in a single layer on a baking sheet. Transfer the pan of tots to the preheated oven. Bake for 30 minutes, until dark golden and crispy, or per package directions.
- Meanwhile, place a large skillet over medium heat on the stovetop. Add ground beef to the skillet. Using a wooden or silicone spoon, brown the ground beef, using the spoon to break up the meat as it cooks. If necessary, drain any fat from the pan.
- Add taco seasoning to the pan; Using a wooden spoon, stir to combine seasoning with beef, then follow the package directions for preparing taco meat.
- Warm the cheese sauce in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until warmed through. If using store bought sauce, follow heating directions on the container.
- Assemble totchos
- Arrange baked tater tots on a large serving platter. Spoon cooked ground beef evenly over top. Top with diced tomatoes and sliced green onions.
- Using a large tablespoon, drizzle tater tot nachos with cheese sauce, then top with jalapeno slices and chopped cilantro. Add your favorite garnishes on top. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Jalapenos – To decrease the spiciness of jalapeno peppers, remove the inner membrane and seeds. Optionally, bake the slices on a sheet pan at 400°F for 10 minutes. This will give the peppers a fantastic roasted flavor!
- Cheese Sauce – We recommend making our Velveeta cheese sauce recipe for the totchos , but any prepared cheese sauce will taste great.
- Who created tater tots and totchos?
- Tater Tots were created by F. Nephi Grigg of Ore-Ida in 1953, as a way to use the extra potato shavings that came from making frozen French fries. Later, Jim Parker came up with the idea for “totchos” aka “tachos” with the combination of tater tots and nacho toppings.
- Is it possible to make vegan or vegetarian totchos?
- Yes, it is possible to make this recipe vegan or vegetarian. You can use vegan-friendly proteins like plant-based crumbles, refried beans, or black beans. Instead of using dairy cheese sauce, you can use a vegan cheese sauce or vegan nacho cheese sauce.
- Breakfast Totchos: For morning cravings, layer your tots with scrambled eggs, cooked slices bacon, and shredded cheese. Toss under the broiler just long enough to get that beautiful golden brown finish. Serve with hot sauce or a side of buttered toast for a brunch that’s sure to impress.
- Mini Tot Appetizers: Turn this into a finger food favorite by baking the tots in mini muffin tins. Our mini appetizer cups with tater tots recipe has similar flavors to these tater tot nachos. Top each one with a spoonful of taco meat and a sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese. Bake until melty and top with a drizzle of ranch dressing and a few sliced scallions for a bite-sized party win.
- Vegetarian totchos: For a meatless version, skip the beef and sauté some garlic, onions, and black beans with taco seasoning. Top your crispy tater tots with the mixture, melted mozzarella cheese, and a spoonful of queso. Finish with chopped chives and a few pickled jalapeños for a savory, veggie-packed option.
- Spicy game day totchos: Make your next watch party extra memorable with layers of taco meat, melted pepper jack, and crumbled crispy bacon. Use your air fryer to re-crisp the tots if needed, then finish with chopped Monterey Jack, a pinch of salt, and a dash of hot sauce to bring the heat.
- Because this dish has cold and hot ingredients, it really isn’t possible to reheat the loaded tater tots after you assemble them.
- However, you can make extra, and then store the ingredients in your fridge in separate containers. This makes the meal easy to reheat, assemble, and enjoy later.
- The best way to reheat tots is in the oven at 350°F, on a sheet pan lined with aluminum foil. Similar to an oven-baked fried chicken recipe, using foil helps to crisp up the outside of the potatoes.
Nutrition
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TC LOTTERY LOGIN says
These Tachos look absolutely delicious! I love the idea of combining loaded tater tots with all those tasty toppings. Can’t wait to try this recipe at my next gathering!
whatsplus.cc says
These Tachos look absolutely delicious! I love the idea of combining loaded tater tots with all those toppings. Can’t wait to try this recipe for my next game night!
Shashi says
Such a fabulous idea! Im not a huge fan of nachos – but tater tots I adore so this has me drooling! Perfect for movie night!
Seema Sriram says
This is such cool name and my teens will be super duper happy to make these. So colourful.