12 Ways To Season Frozen Tater Tots For A Bolder Flavor

Once upon a time, on an Idaho farm far-far away, tater tots were just a sidekick to your main entree or a fun alternative to french fries. The subtle, pillowy, bite-sized treats made from bits and nibs of potato can be found in the freezer section at the grocery store but also on the happy hour menu at your favorite bar and grill.

Nowadays, cauliflower can be pizza and tater tots can be nachos. These irresistible treats have great range and adaptability on the table; begging to be dipped, tossed, and loaded up with assorted flavors. The tater tot is your oyster with a little imagination or a delectable sauce.

Built for convenience, your ordinary tater tot can be enjoyed in its simplest form or wrapped in bacon for a substantial side or shareable party dish. All you need is an air fryer and a dream to elevate the standard frozen, store-bought tater tots into an impressive appetizer or complementary side for your next Summer BBQ, cocktail party, or quick weekday dinner.

Layer rich flavors like garlic, savory parmesan cheese, and fresh parsley for a restaurant-style starter. Consider this recipe as a dupe for another beloved carb: garlic bread. The key to this dish is a crispy base, which can be achieved by showing your frozen tater tots what that air fryer can do!

Melt a small amount of butter or olive oil on the stove or in a microwave-safe dish, then mix in as much or as little diced garlic as you'd like to infuse the butter or olive oil. Once you have your desired serving size of crispy, crunchy tater tots hot from the air fryer, toss in the garlic mixture to coat the tots. Plate and top with a dusting of grated parmesan or pecorino cheese, and roughly chopped fresh parsley to garnish. Serve hot.

The beauty of this dish is that it can be elevated with fresh ingredients, or easy and approachable with grated parmesan from your fridge canister, or garlic from the jar. Work with the ingredients you have on hand to get these tater tots as close to your favorite gastropub appetizer as possible.

Take dinner on a detour to Louisiana by tossing your freshly-fried tots in a warm Cajun spice. You can find a variety of authentic Cajun flavors in your grocers' seasoning section, with popular brands like Ragin' Cajun, Slap Ya Mama, and Tony Chachere's original Creole seasoning. However, you can easily blend a mix at home, and customize your mix to your heat preference by adding more cayenne pepper. Homemade Cajun spice can be a welcome addition to other snacks like popcorn, or entrees like salmon, and creamy pasta Alfredo. 

Fry, bake, or air fry your tater tots until crisp and golden brown. Don't forget to season your tater tots with salt, then toss in a bowl with a generous amount of Cajun spice to coat. Serve hot with a wedge of lemon for an extra zest that complements the heat of the spices. Spicy Cajun tater tots go great with BBQ ribs, sloppy Joes, or a Cajun turkey po'boy, and can be dipped in a garlic aioli sauce or BBQ sauce.

Ditch the drive-thru and build your own In-N-Out, no-longer-a-secret menu tater tots in your home kitchen. A friend to all grilled and toasted sandwiches, "animal style" adds wild amounts of flavor with melty cheese, grilled onions, and thousand island sauce.

For ease in assembly and clean-up, use a sheet pan to bake frozen tater tots to the directions on the bag. Once you've reached optimal golden crisp on your tater tots, remove from the oven and top with a layer of sliced American cheese, add your tray back into the oven for five minutes or until the cheese is melted completely. Remove the tray from the oven and top your cheesy tots with caramelized or grilled onions to your liking. 

The "secret is in the sauce," as they say, so don't skimp when it comes to drizzling on the dressing. Surprisingly, a homemade Thousand Island dressing can be achieved by mixing together some pantry and fridge staples like garlic, mayonnaise, ketchup, sweet relish, apple cider vinegar, and a dash of salt.

Pickle lovers rejoice! Pickle-flavored snacks and seasonings are becoming more popular and accessible in local grocery outlets. Leading the charge on many pickle-flavored snacks is popular grocer, Trader Joe's, who now make a pickle seasoning. They are also the purveyors of many other popular seasoning blends like Everything but the Bagel, and Everything but the Leftovers around Thanksgiving.

You can find copycat mixes outside of Trader Joe's, in your grocers' spice aisle or with the seasoning dip mixes. Pickle seasoning essentially brings together the bright and tangy flavors of jarred dill pickle brine but in a dry form, with granulated onion, granulated garlic, dried dill, and powdered vinegar.

Swap the satisfying crunch of a dill pickle with a crispy browned tater tot, featuring a generous dusting of pickle seasoning. To turn the pickle flavor up a notch, top your pickle tots with a few sprigs of fresh minced dill, and serve with pickle aioli made from sour cream, mayonnaise, and chopped dill pickles.

Inspired by takeout you might find in a local taverna, try layering your tots with flavors of the Mediterranean. Start with a base of crunchy, fully cooked tater tots, then lightly drizzle with olive oil, and toss in a rustic za'atar spice blend. Finish the plate with an ample sprinkling of crumbled feta cheese, and serve with a wedge of lemon.

We could stop right here and enjoy as a side dish for your falafel wrap, or we could keep layering on the Mediterranean-inspired toppings to make a full meal. Try an approach like you're building a plate of totchos, swapping out Mexican flavors like pico de gallo for a salsa made of fresh dill, diced cucumbers, and tomatoes. Replacing nacho cheese for feta crumbles, and carne asada for Mediterranean grilled chicken.

Make it interactive with a build-your-own Mediterranean totcho station! More topping options can include pickled red onion, balsamic glaze, kalamata olives, and tzatziki sauce.

We know it as the harbinger of fall, but there are no official kitchen rules that ban pumpkin pie spice from making an appearance outside of autumn. The arrival of the PSL brings a source of amusement to the internet each year, along with an onslaught of pumpkin-spiced everything to grocery shelves everywhere. Your basic pumpkin pie spice is a fragrant blend of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg. For a more developed version, the recipe team at Tasting Table suggests freshly grinding the spices.

For this dish, we'll swap out the traditional russet potato tater tots for a sweet potato tater tot, still found in your grocers' freezer section. Prepare your frozen sweet potato tots to the instructions on the bag. While your tots are heating, in a small bowl, mix two tablespoons of brown sugar with one tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice. Once your sweet potato tots are perfectly crisp, sprinkle a light dusting of the pumpkin spice mixture to coat. Enjoy with a warm maple syrup dipping sauce for a sweet alternative reminiscent of sweet potato casserole and your favorite fall drink.

Opt for fakeout takeout at home and try frozen tater tots slathered in a rich and spicy Buffalo sauce. These tots pair well with fried chicken, a turkey club sandwich, or on an appetizer platter with other fried favorites like mozzarella sticks and onion rings.

If you're opting for convenience, use a popular store-bought brand of Buffalo sauce like Frank's Red Hot or Sweet Baby Ray's. However, you may be surprised to find that you can achieve that distinct kick-in-the-mouth sauce with some fridge and pantry staples like apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and butter with this quick homemade Buffalo sauce recipe.

Build your Buffalo tater tots by preparing your frozen tater tots until you get a crunchy deep-fried exterior. Pour on the Buffalo sauce with your heart (not your heartburn), toss to coat well, then top with crumbled blue cheese, chopped green onion, and serve with crunchy vegetable sticks to offset the heat.

Frozen tater tots are an old faithful and easy side dish by themselves, but with a few basic ingredients, you can level them up to a bistro-worthy dish. Inspired by my favorite dinner rolls I once had in an upscale steakhouse, I embraced dills' distinct and somewhat grassy flavor as an easy way to zhuzh up frozen tater tots.

These frozen tater tots are made more refined with the welcome addition of compound butter. Commonly used as a delectable finishing touch on baked potatoes or atop a seared steak, compound butter can be achieved by combining aromatic herbs, garlic, lemon, and good-quality butter.

Tap into your inner chef to build a compound butter with added dill, garlic, and a touch of lemon zest. Combine ahead of time in a food processing machine, then transfer to a sealable container, or roll into a log shape and wrap tightly to chill in the refrigerator ahead of serving. Melt a few pats of your dill and garlic compound butter in a saucepan, then carefully pour over your baked frozen tater tots. Garnish with small sprigs of fresh dill fronds and finish with salt to taste.

One of your favorite stick-to-your-fingers flavors for chips makes a great seasoning for frozen tater tots. Ranch seasoning is made to mimic traditional ranch dipping sauce or salad dressing with flavors like garlic, onion, herbs (like tangy dill and parsley), spices like salt and pepper (or even cayenne for extra intensity), with a creamy undertone of buttermilk in powdered form.

You might already have these zesty ingredients in your cupboard to blend into a homemade ranch seasoning to have at-the-ready for topping any of your favorite snacks. Once you make your own ranch seasoning from scratch, you'll never need to buy the dip packets or name-brand versions that come in a canister.

Ranch seasoning will lift up your frozen tater tots to superb snack level but will also keep well in the pantry. Shake your ranch seasoning on top of prepared tater tots, and serve with sour cream and a spritz from a lemon wedge. You can also use this seasoning atop pretzels, popcorn, as a marinade, or for roasted vegetables.

Elote is currently having a much-deserved moment in the spotlight, popularizing the street snack that mixes sweet corn, tangy sauce, salty cheese, spices, and a spritz of acidic lime. Another perfect side for your Summer BBQ, these tots are loaded with elote-style toppings. Grab the recipe for grilled Mexican street corn.

Use fresh, canned, or frozen corn to build a well-seasoned mixture that you will later load onto your cooked tots. For convenience, frozen fire-roasted corn is recommended. In a bowl, mix together Mexican crema, mayonnaise, lime juice, salt, chili powder or Tajín seasoning, chopped cilantro, corn, and cotija cheese. This mixture can be made a day ahead of time to let the flavors marry, it only gets better overnight. The street corn mixture makes a great standalone dip for tortilla or corn chips, and can be enjoyed chilled or hot and bubbly.

Assemble your tater tots on a sheet pan and bake until golden crisp. While hot, season your tots with Tajín or plain salt, then load with your corn mixture, and top with more fresh cotija cheese, diced or pickled jalapeno for more heat, sprigs of cilantro, and fresh wedges of lime on the side.

If you're looking for a sweet brunch side that can hold its own next to a savory breakfast entree, these sweet potato tater tots dusted in cinnamon and sugar will work wonders. These cravable tots mimic the deep-fried carnival treat, and begin with a base of frozen sweet potato tater tots.

If you don't already have a pre-mixed container of cinnamon and sugar, the ideal ratio mixes one part ground cinnamon to four parts white sugar. Nowadays, you can even purchase a pre-made mixture in the baking or seasoning aisle of the grocery store. Cinnamon Toast Crunch even makes its own mixture called "Cinnadust," if you'd prefer to emulate the breakfast cereal.

For an extra crisp churro-like texture, deep fry the sweet potato tater tots until golden. After removing the tots from oil, let rest on a paper towel to absorb any excess oil, then toss while hot into a mixing bowl and coat the tots in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. The mixture should coat all sides of the tater tot and leave a sugary residue on your fingers while you eat. Serve these churro tater tots alongside a brunch menu of fried eggs, and candied bacon, or chicken and waffles.

You'll want to pin this idea for your next dinner party with the guests you love to impress. Mix basic with bougie, with frozen tater tots serving as the vehicle for luxurious caviar. This is bound to be the most decadent but approachable appetizer to land on your tongue.

It can be hard to select a caviar, so you'll want to know the differences between expensive and reasonable caviar, and how to pair it with a modest frozen tater tot. Another option that adds flavor and color is using fish roe as an affordable alternative to caviar.

Bake, fry, or air fry your tater tots until crisp, then lightly season with salt to your liking. A pinch of flaked salt can be an elegant touch, if available. Allow to cool slightly before arranging the tots evenly on a serving tray. Top each tater tot with a small dollop of crème fraîche, then a careful dab of caviar. A small sliver of chive makes a perfectly delicate garnish atop each bite, and this appetizer has leveled up your basic freezer staple.