Craving something crispy, cheesy, filled with flavor, and perfect for parties? Let me introduce you to my Loaded Tater Tots Appetizer recipe! Everyone will love a delicious handheld cup of crunchy tater tot cups filled with classic toppings like sour cream, bacon bits, and chives. Or, get creative and try your favorite sauces and extra goodies on these yummy baked snacks!
WHAT’S COVERED IN THIS POST
Seeing Tater Tots in a New Light
“Gimme your tots!” Do you remember that phrase from the movie Napoleon Dynamite? Well, tater tots have certainly come a long way from being just a last-minute freezer-to-oven side dish. They are now super trendy for making lots of creative munchies and meals!
This loaded tater tots appetizer recipe uses tater tots as the edible base for a heavenly, tasty trio: cheese, bacon bits, and sour cream. How does that all sound?
These are similar to loaded potatoes but are easy to make and, in my opinion, much tastier to enjoy. This recipe makes loaded tater tot cups that are crunchy, cheesy, and tangy. That’s perfect for a game night party appetizer or as a quick afternoon snack.
To be sure, tater tots won’t be on any healthy foods list. But, hey, that’s ok!
Sometimes you simply need an indulgent, delicious, comforting, and satisfying snack. So, go ahead and splurge with this Loaded Tater Tots Appetizer dish.
What Ingredients are in Loaded Tater Tots
This incredibly easy tater tot appetizer is made with only a few simple ingredients. Here is everything you need:
- Frozen tater tots
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Sour cream
- Cooked bacon
- Green onions
Other suggestions for toppings to try: zesty hot sauce or salsa, ranch dressing, and crispy french fried onions.
Substitute the sour cream with Greek yogurt for a “healthier” tater tots appetizer if you like.
How to Make A Tater Tots Appetizer
Although there are a number of steps in the prep of this dish, they are really easy to make. And there are photos showing the step-by-step prep each step of the way!
In fact, this would be a good food activity to have kids help with. Plus, they are sure to love the tasty results.
The number of tots you place in each muffin tin depends on the size of the muffin pan you’re using.
In the pictures here, I used a regular-sized muffin pan, adding 5 tater tots each.
The complete recipe below also includes instructions for using mini-muffin-sized pans.
Baking the Tasty Tater Tot Appetizer
Spray your muffin tin with nonstick spray. Then add a few tots to each muffin well, and bake the frozen tater tots in the oven. Let cool before moving on to the next step.
Then, depending on the size of your muffin tin, use a shot glass, small juice glass, or measuring cup to make the tater tot cups. Gently press the glass or cup into the cooked tots to create potato cups.
I used a small Duralex juice glass to create deep impressions in each group of tater tots. The photo below shows how to create the tater tot cups.
TIP: You only want a small gap between the glass and muffin tin opening. Twist the glass or container until the edges of the potatoes are close to the top of the muffin tin opening.
Bake again for a few minutes until crispy. Then it’s time to fill the tater tots cups with cheese!
Add grated or shredded cheese to each tater tot cup. I used a small melon baller to measure and add the cheese to the cups.
Bake again for just a couple of minutes until the cheese is melted and your appetizers are almost done!
Get the Full Loaded Tater Tots Appetizer Recipe Below!
Lastly, top the cheese with chopped bacon bits, sour cream, sliced green onions, or chopped chives.
Get creative and add Tabasco sauce, a drizzle of ranch dressing, and/or BBQ sauce, zesty marinara sauce, or diced tomato.
These loaded tater tots are so yummy! Be sure to make enough though for each person to have plenty because they will definitely go quickly.
If you love appetizers, check out these easy appetizer recipes
- Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers
- Mini Cheese Biscuits
- Bisquick Sausage Balls with Cheese
- Pretzel Balls from Ready-Dough
- Pretzel Cheese DIp
- Tater Tot Egg Nests
- Easy Party Appetizers
- Italian Sliders
- 3 Ingredient Biscuits
- How to Make a Cheese and Charcuterie Board
Frequently Asked Questions
You can. Follow steps 1-6 in the recipe, then refrigerate. Before serving, cover the muffin tin with foil and bake the tater tot cups at 400ºF for 10 minutes or until crispy and golden. Add toppings and serve.
I recommend keeping them in a crockpot on the warm setting to keep them at 175ºF for serving.
Loaded Tater Tot Appetizer Recipe
Loaded Tater Tots Appetizer
Equipment
- Muffin pan, regular or mini sized
Ingredients
- 48-60 frozen tater tots (16-oz bag)
- 3/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 2 green onions, sliced (green part only)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450ºF. Spray muffin pan cups with cooking spray.
- For mini-sized muffin pan: Place 2-3 tater tots in each muffin cup.
- For regular sized muffin pan: Place 4-5 tater tots in each muffin cup.
- Place tater tots muffin pan on bottom rack of the oven and and bake 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven.
- Spray bottom of shot glass or small juice glass with cooking spray. Use it (in a twisting motion) to press the tater tots in each muffin cup to make potato cup. Return to oven; bake additional 15 minutes or until deep golden brown.
- Add 1 tablespoon of cheese to each potato cups. Bake for 4-5 minutes, or until the cheese has melted. Transfer to platter and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Add sour cream, bacon, and green onion to each tater tot cup, and other garnishes. Serve warm.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Could I use bacon bits ? The kind in a jar or bag .. thanks for posting
Yes, you can! I do.
These look lovely but what on earth are tater tots?? We don’t have them in England – are they the same as hash browns ?
Yes, they are very small shredded potatoes (smaller than hash browns) that are formed into balls and cooked, then frozen. So we buy them frozen and I used them as the “cup” for this loaded tater tot appetizer.
My family loves these. I can’t make enough they gobble them up so fast
They are delicious! I am so glad your family enjoys the recipe – thank you!
Made these for a brunch cruise. They were delicious! Made full muffin size. They held up well and had great crunch, flavor, and appealed to everyone! I will make these again, may try the mini version next time. 😋
I need an appetizer for a party tomorrow, so I just did a test run of this recipe.
Oh my! I can’t believe I haven’t had this in my rotation before. It’s delicious and easy and will be a huge hit, I am sure. Thank you.
They are so tasty! Enjoy this new tater tot recipe 😍
I must thank you for this incredible recipe!! I made them for my Mom’s 92nd birthday and she, my husband and I wished I had made TWO dozen instead of one. Delicious!!
I’m so glad everyone loved it! Thanks for letting me know.
Made these tonight for the Super Bowl. Definitely our new favorite party recipe! So cute and totally yummy. Can’t wait to try other ingredients in these adorable tater tot cups.
Great recipe! I had to substitute “Simply Southwestern Potatoes ” as I didn’t have the hashbrowns. Still followed the recipe. I put some taco meat & cheese on some. Turned out great!!
That sounds delicious! And, I’m glad to know that those potatoes worked for you.
I was pleasantly surprised at how good these were.
Right? Who’d have thought tater tots could taste so amazing!
Brought the loaded tater tots to my grandsons birthday party. Everyone loved them. Will be making again but will double the recipe. Thank you for sharing
So glad they were a hit at the party. I usually have to double the recipe, too, because they go so quickly!
This would be a great appetizer for our friendsgiving.
Yes, it would be perfect for Friendsgiving, too!
What a coup!! When I have my family over for dinner my grandson who is a junior in high school he’s not in love with baked potatoes or even mashed potatoes can you imagine? But this appetizer will put him in paradise and I can’t wait to try it
It will. This tater tots appetizer never fails to delight!
Look amazing. Looking for new years day appetizers.
Everyone will love this one! Be sure to make enough, lol.
This could work for grab and go breakfasts too…just put some beaten eggs, bacon, onion and cheese in the potato cups and bake!
That’s a great idea!! Perfect for breakfast. I also have a recipe here: https://thefeatherednester.com/egg-nests-breakfast-brunch/ that turns these tater tot cups into egg nests.
I made these last night for dinner guests. Unfortunately, I only made half pan of the mini size because I had another appetizer too. I should have made a full pan and deleted the other appetizer. These were a big hit. Easy to make with limited ingredients. I’ll be making these for all gatherings.
I’m so glad everyone loved them!! They are always a big hit.
These look incredible! What a great appetizer!
Thanks! We will be nibbling on them for Super Bowl.
can you make these ahead of time and reheat?
I haven’t done so, but I’m sure you could. When reheating in the oven, I would cover them with foil to allow them to reheat without burning. Let me know how they reheat.
I made these for Christmas Eve and everyone, including my picky husband, loved them. I made 48 of them in mini cups and they were the perfect two bite finger food. I baked the cheese on them and set out little dishes with sour cream, green onions and bacon bits. The few that were left reheated well and they were even good cold. This will be a standard. Sorry I didn’t take a picture.
They’re always a hit in our family, too! I’m so glad your family loved them, too. Happy New Year!!
May I ask how you reheated them? Want to make for our potluck group but would have to make ahead & reheat before serving!!
Thanks
I usually keep them in the Instant Pot or in a slow cooker on warm. If you want to reheat them in an oven, I would cover them with foil and reheat them in the oven at 350 degrees F for 20-30 minutes. Depending on the depth of your casserole dish, they could reheat as quickly as 20 minutes or take 30 minutes.